The morning count anew

As many of you know, I am a little obsessed with counting how many kelpies, whippets, greyhounds, tabby cats, wattlebirds, magpies…the list is endless…that I see on my morning walks.

Such a huge motivation to get outside and start searching…amazing how the kilometres add up and time whizzes by when observing our furry and feathered friends!

Similarly, in my beloved rural France I cannot wait to hit the hilly countryside and see what I encounter. This year we had a multitude of shiny blackbirds on the lawn each morning diligently searching for worms, enormous colourful pigeons cooing in the linden trees and the elusive woodpecker tapping away with focused determination in the cherry tree! On the road into the village, I frequently encountered a group of beautiful delicate deer, hares bobbing rapidly by through the sunflower fields and colourful pheasants running in a startled road runner manner down the middle of the country roads.

Back home again in my small western suburb, I have noticed an extraordinary number of suave, personable dachshunds in a very pleasing variety of colours and fluffiness. They are everywhere! What a delight! Another furry being to add to my excel spreadsheet of my daily morning encounters!

Wherever we live, a focused, observational stroll can be such an endearing (not to mention motivating!) bonus for our daily exercise.