This magnificent beast Oscar is not only Chief of Security here on Rietfontein, but also doubles up as a season-synchronized alarm clock.
In summer we sleep with the double doors onto the veranda open so that he can patrol the perimeters if need be but he is normally to be found asleep next to my side of the bed. In the early hours as the sky starts lightening I can hear that he’s awake. I keep my eyes closed in the hope of another half hour but I can hear him attending to important matters of grooming. I can then feel him sitting upright next to the bed staring at me and I know it’s time. Always 4:30 am without fail! Because he is season-synchronized (a very high tech dog), winter mornings are 5:30 am. I have pointed out to him that the sky is definitely not getting light at 5:30 am in winter but he has people to see, places to go.
But back to summer. Running very early on summer mornings is absolute bliss, and Oscar knows this. He also knows that I need time to appreciate how the sun’s rays creep slowly over the horizon bathing everything in a heavenly light. Time to get the camera out!
