Spring has Sprung!

 Spring is defined in many ways; by the Julian calendar, by the vernal equinox, by when the first crocuses bloom, by the last frost, and so on. Whichever way you measure it, for most of us it is when the weather becomes sufficiently warm enough to allow one to shed the heavy coat of winter and venture forth without mittens and hats. Here in Michigan, we often get a "false Spring", a day that tricks you into believing it just might be the end of winter and then the next day the temps plummet and a surprise snowfall greets you instead. 

This spring we had a few of those false starts, but as of today it feels like it just might really stick around. The sun is shining brightly, the plants are waking up in the garden. And the big tell... the LILACS are blooming on the large bush at the corner of my house! I absolutely did run out and snag a few blossoms to perfume my dining room! They have such a glorious scent. 

The other reliable indicator of spring is my own personal activity. I finally feel like walking the dog every morning instead of just letting him out into the backyard on his own. We have a dog that loves to walk... he would go for 3 walks a day if we would take him. Truthfully, we probably should take him more than once a day; it would benefit us even more than him. Now that Spring seems willing to stick around, my dog will be a happier hound, and my step counter will log more activity.

The upshot of all this is, we made it! The long Winter is over and it's time to get out an enjoy every beautiful day we have before us. Happy Spring!

Walking at Sunset

Took a lovely stroll after dinner in our nearby park as the sun was sinking low. The park is one of our favorite place to walk and there are lovely paved paths that wind through it, making it a perfect place to go with the greyhounds.

The park tonight was alive with activity. The most noticeable was the groups of kids and parents doing "conditioning" for Little League Football. Now I use the term conditioning with a just a little bit of a grin. The athletes involved were all between the ages of 5-7 years old! So some of them could barely see about the face guard on their tiny helmets. Others were busy doing anything but what the grown-up coaches were barking at them to do. One little guy decided he'd rather do cartwheels than run toward a blocking pad that his dad was holding up as a target. It was hilarious. When they would tumble they would fall into little heaps on the grass and ended up looking like someone ha tossed a jersey on the grass, but then the jersey would wiggle and up would pop a little boy! Funny!

Also in the park were a good number of dog walkers and just plain walkers as well. So there was a lot of tail wagging and sniffing going on. There was a lovely breeze blowing and it was a little hard to believe that it was August based on the temperatures. I found myself making a mental pact with myself not to let the opportunities to walk in the evening slip by once school gets up and going. There is nothing more relaxing than a walk after dinner... even the greys loved it. (Of course, they are presently sacked out on the floor snoozing.) Perfect ending to a perfect day.