SIGNS OF SPRING

Is it spring yet? We’re seeing highs at 60 and above. The forecast shows that temps over the next ten days will be in the 50s or low 60s with Saturday at 64. When Mike saw that he hastened to call Ken, and they made plans to remove the locust tree that is now overgrown and a nuisance. Trust me – it will be back, and that’s okay, too. This is not an area where trees grow easily.

Suddenly my winter coat is too warm and so is the quilt on the bed. Of course, that’s only temporary. We don’t put them away until after the Fourth of July.

 

I hear new bird voices every day. The crocus, just peeking through last week, are now pushing their buds through the soil. The dogs have spring fever and are harder to manage. And on Sunday, daylight saving time begins.

It might be another month before we visit the farm. The melting snow and the rain make mud, and that’s altogether worse than the snow. Still, I look forward to being where the dogs can play outside in a big yard without constant supervision. (Bess, especially, isn’t trustworthy.)

Sunday afternoon, Mike took Bess and Nellie on a hike, and it only takes once to reinforce a positive experience. The next afternoon Bess vocalized plenty to Mike as he sat at his desk. Just to be sure she didn’t need to go out, he opened the door. No, that wasn’t it. Back to the office they went where Bess continued to express her opinion about Mike’s lack of interest in her agenda. Nellie feigned disinterest but her eyes were open and occasionally her ear twitched.

“Not now -- I’m busy!” I heard Mike say.

“eee-ower,” Bess said. (Human syllables are inadequate to express canine language.)

Mike really didn’t want to take the dogs for a hike, so instead, we loaded them in the pick-up and headed up the Snake River beyond Asotin to look for a geocache which we didn’t find. Then we let the dogs out to run in the wildlife area. . .

. . .and that’s where we were when I took the pictures of the sun playing on the hills. So beautiful – so March. KW