Morning routines

I have a summer morning routine. 

I get up a little before 6, shower, and dress for work. I walk down stairs and step over the Saint Bernard, who usually sleeps on the stairway landing. She might thump her tail a couple of times to acknowledge my presence, but rarely gets up until the rest of the family arises sometime later.

I throw my L.L. Bean boots on, and walk out to water the pigs and check their food and give them a scratch. I usually give them a small bucket of raw peanuts for a good morning treat. They love them, and happily munch away. 

 I throw a cabbage or some scrap greens & weeds out to the chickens. They are up with the dawn and usually greet me with curious clucks and squawks.

After I talk to the hens for a few minutes, I'll walk through one of the garden beds to see how things are fairing. 

This morning, I noticed my squash have a riot of blossoms under those big, itchy leaves. 

I have 3 different kinds of squash planted in this raised bed - the near rows are zucchini, and the back two rows are an acorn and hubbard squash. I always end up planting 2 or 3 more plants than I really should, forgetting how aggressively these things grow. But who cares. The chickens will eat anything we don't, and I always give in to the temptation to pinch off some of the blossoms as they show up to stuff and fry and eat. One of my favorite treats, and a rarity unless you grow your own squash, as the blossoms wilt so quickly. 

Then I change out of my Bean boots and into my dress shoes, grab two Diet Cokes and head out into the morning traffic and throw on whatever podcast I am listening to on the radio, and am at peace with the world.