First Morning; 17 July,2008, Thursday

I just walked out in the barely blue that comes between the thick blackness of full night and the scuddy pink of almost morning, and my feet left curled dark footprints on the grass where the dew had been. On the inside, exhaustion taps at me and tries to get my attention, but I'm focused on the gentle chocolate lab who is arched indelicately at the end of the leash, leaving steaming sculptures on the lawn. Across the fence,a pony stretches and yawns, see-sawing her jaw to the right,then the left, and I give up and give in to the power of suggestion, and yawn,too,clutching my nightshirt with arms folded across my tummy, feeling for the presence of the cell phone in my pocket without thinking.  The big Lab looks up at me, wondering why I've bothered to open my mouth so far and not make any noise...and being a good dog, and full of hope, she waits.