How Nice To Get Up Before The Sun Does.

Our household has a new routine.

Bob of course is worried that for the rest of his life his internal clock will ring for him before dawn or rather pre-pre-dawn, but it is merely for the summer and as soon as the days are getting shorter, our wake-up time will be following the first light. Today being Saturday, he thought we'd sleep in but we both woke up at half past three.

No, don't feel bad for us because it is a fantastic time to greet the day ahead. Everything is quiet, the sky is still cloaked with the remnants of night and apart from a buck defending his territory complete with his dears and the odd late-stayer at Stubit' s ( Buschenschank last night ) the stillness is immense and clear of all the noisy clutter a day brings.

Mausi as per usual fits in brilliantly with anything we do and has changed her sleeping patterns as well by starting to chase imaginary bugs at four in in the morning. Her perch on the open window only gets into prime time viewing territory after five.

This morning I sat on our front door step, sipping a strong cup of tea and taking note of our wonderful life. A blackbird was contemplating me and the speed with which I could reach it but only for a moment before I got put into the non-threatening category. It flew onto the lawn in front of me, pecked for a worm and then went on to have a mini fight with its mate.

For some reason I thought those two blackbirds had put on a skit for Mausi as she was uttering little cat cries distorted by her shivering in excitement at the show on hand. Gosh, those two birds chirped, flew in a twin spitfire spiral and pushed each other over the lawn all within centimeters of the open window which had our cat perched in it. But out of her line of sight, they were best friends again possibly congratulating each other at having driven Mausi mad.

A few hours into our blissful morning the sounds of a typical Saturday can be heard and felt. Life is a tad slower than on a weekday but busy nonetheless. Bob and I are driving to Oberwart today for a round of shopping and the funny thing is that even though we are ready and dressed, it is far too early as the shops only open at nine...

Biggi