Full moons and Blue Christmases

And so another Christmas is over.  Mine was, as usual, quiet, and as usual began with a sunrise walk.  Last year it was with Shiloh, my Sunrise Sheltie.  This year, as Mitzi is not up to a sunrise walk on Crofton Sea Walk, it was with my visiting dog Bessie.

But first, to back up a little:

I'd read, earlier in the week, that there would be a full moon Christmas Eve - the first since 1977. So when Mitzi woke me after midnight, needing out for a pee,  I took the camera with me.  It was a beautiful full moon.  But I had to give my head a shake when I uploaded the photos. Could it be?  Was that for real?

Christmas morning I was up early, shortly after five, for no other reason than I felt like it. Retired people who live by themselves get to do crazy things like that.   The critters stayed in bed while I enjoyed my first cup of coffee to the soft sounds of Christmas music and the soft glow of lights on the tree.  I thought of Christmases past, and of my family, and of the many critters who have shared Christmas mornings with me.  By seven, Bessie was awake and ready to go for an early morning walk,  just as I have done every Christmas morning since moving to the island.

It's kinda dark still, Auntie Jean.
Are you sure there aren't monsters in those trees?

We strolled to the far end of the seawalk and sat on a log on Crofton Beach.  As the day began to dawn, the black of night turned to deep blue.  I'm sure this wasn't what Elvis had in mind when he crooned Blue Christmas, but I like this image better than the one he paints:

Blue Christmas

Slowly the sun, though hidden from my camera's eye by the islands and mountains to the east and south, began to paint the North Shore Mountains on the mainland with tips of pink:

Sunrise reflected on far-away mountains

The local mill was silhouetted in the early morning light, making even industrial pollution look artistic:

As we slowly made our way back, Bessie was far more interested in checking out smells on the seawalk and watching the birds on the water:

Hmmm.....large male Labrador, fed raw, friendly, local, lives with a cat.....

Excuse me...do you have some spare socks for my cold webbed feet?

That bird won't eat me, will he?

We wandered down the spit to the old wharf, where Bessie posed for photos by the water's edge. She waited patiently as I captured the image of a sailboat in the morning light.

Two hours later, we headed home for breakfast and phone calls, another coffee and a good book. It was, for me, a very peaceful Christmas.  I hope it was for you, too.