Yesterday morning as the sun was rising, I stepped outside…and peered into what seemed a primordial mist that was enveloping the trees surrounding me…with a soft orange glow in the East. The unusually mild air foretold an unexpected taste of Spring…in January. It did turn out to be a beautiful day…a welcomed interlude from the cold weather we’ve been having lately. By mid-afternoon, the sun was warm…and there was a peacefulness in the air that defies description…the best of Autumn…and Spring…in one new, short, ethereal season occurring in mid-Winter…here in the Carolinas. Half-expecting trees to blossom forth at any moment in the warm, moist humid air…along with the pungent-sweet scent of burning leaves.
It was not to be wasted. I quickly grabbed Belle, and we went for a drive through the countryside…windows open…lapping up the nectar borne on the winds of this strange new season. Belle…thoroughly enjoying herself…
riding shotgun…glancing at me from time to time…“Is this for real?”
When it was time to turn around and make our way back…we took the long way home.
delithopia 
Aww, Belle sure is a little cutie! I enjoyed reading this post, thanks for sharing it :)
Thanks MQ!
Nothing like an unexpected special day and a good buddy to share it with. She sure is a doll!
Princess of Pomerania :)
I lived in NC in what seems like another lifetime. A small town called Bahama just outside of Durham, today it lives on only in memory having been swallowed by some branch of the Little River. Bahama’s claim to fame was hoop cheese (and yes, tobacco). It was a fine time. My own Poms came later.
(Suddenly I feel stricken by the voice of Meryl Streep in Out of Africa “I had a faaahm in Africa…)