At night, Fate sleeps in her crate in the bedroom, it is good and peaceful in there for her, and she needs the rest and quiet. Around 5 or 6 a.m., when the first light comes into the bedroom, I am always up and I let her out of the crate. She runs to the bed and hops up and nuzzles each of us a bit and then finds somewhere to curl up. She sits quietly, sometimes asleep, sometimes awake, until we both decide to get up and get to work..

She is different at this time, quiet, still, patient. She absolutely grasps that this is quiet time, Maria and I are sleeping or taking or reading at this hour. She is especially loving and affectionate in this time, before she gets out and gets busy running around, walking in the woods, circling the sheep, badgering Red, making quilts with Maria.

This is when the sweetness and her comes out. Red lies all night by my side of the bed, he never moves or wants to get up in bed, he lies completely still unless I get up or call him. This morning, I decided to get a portrait of this side of Fate, at sunrise.