Puppies are good for January.
Even on the bleakest and most blah-filled days, a cute young puppy can light up the most somber of moods.
My mood was not somber yesterday because I kept fairly busy, shoveling out a pathway to the deck, working on a story assignment, giving little Foster a haircut, watching another good Netflix movie and visiting my horses.
I have found that breaking up a day into little chunks of work and fun (mainly for a change of pace) can enhance one's winter mood.
It was quiet over at Roxane's stable, and I think my three horses wanted to keep it that way.
After a day of steady drizzle, they preferred to stay under cover and not come to the gate to greet me.
I didn't blame them.
Still, I made my way into their paddock and gave them each some TLC with a brush. They didn't seem to mind that at all.
After leaving Roxane's, I decided to drive the neighborhood roads looking for scenes worth photographing. That's a challenge in January.
It's hard to remove "bleak" from landscape shots on fog-filled days---unless you cheat and go to your photo library, like I did with the bottom photo today.
I also decided to stop at my sisters' for a puppy fix. Miss Callie was down in the barn where Barbara and Laurie were cleaning stalls.
She is so small that the cats look big next to her. She seems to get along with them, and she was happy to see me.
And, she was still as cute as she could be while racing down the aisle or sleuthing out a nice bite of horse apple.
The brief visit in the barn with Callie, my sisters, and, later, Debbie and her pups provided a nice touch to the afternoon.
This morning, even with the fog, I enjoyed a subtle sense of early early spring. On our usual trip to the far shed when I throw the ball for Bridie, I carried a flashlight, as I always do.
I've learned that the flashlight keeps me from stumbling over unseen objects or ankle-breaking holes. So, I keep my route lit up all through these early-morning walks.
After about ten minutes of walking and throwing the ball, it's time to head back to the house where I throw some Jimmy Dean sausages in the skillet and walk out to the road to get the paper.
This morning, while leaving the shed area I turned off the flashlight because I didn't need it. We are finally getting some morning light during the 6-7 hour.
And, what a boost it provides to one's outlook, knowing that as more light comes, our desire and ability to spend more time outside will increase.
It may be a while before the birds start adding to the atmosphere, but this morning's taste of spring satisfied me just as much as those sausage frying in the pan.
And, so, there's a puppy and the light is coming back to our lives even through some gloomy fog.
Plus, January has only a week left, and we can almost start thinking about how nice it will be to say we've made it through another North Idaho winter.
Happy Wednesday.
Besides the photo, I've added a music video as a little teaser for spring.
Play the music while scrolling through the photos, and, of course, let the music play for a little longer with that pup.
Enjoy.
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