Once Again Into the Fray

This weekend Cosi and I are again going to NJ to try for that elusive Excellent Q. We were only one R away from qualifying last time. I've continued to work his turns and crosses with box work and single jump exercises (with plenty of breaks for playing ball in between).

These mild days and spring-like mornings have given me spring fever. I had the windows on the second floor open yesterday, just to get some fresh air. The 37" of snow is gone; the speed circle I had to shovel around the A-frame has vanished. Funny, after that blizzard in February, I didn't think we'd ever have grass again in the yard. We have tiny crocuses in the yard, and seeing them pop up is a definite sign of a change in the seasons.

Keep your paws crossed for us for the weekend.

Here's a picture of sunny days...Cosi poses next to the day lilies in the garden last summer.

Spectacular!

I took a vacation day today and, boy, did I win the lottery! It's so beautiful outside.

It's funny the things that stick in your memory. This morning as I was walking the dogs at 6:30, I remembered the first time I noticed spring.

When I was 34 (*many* moons ago), I had to have major surgery. When I came home from the hospital, it was late April. I am a person always on the go. I am usually doing something constructive. I can't just sit. Even when I "watch" TV, I'm knitting. So the recovery from this operation made me actually stop, relax, and notice what was going on around me. For the first time I noticed buds, trees blooming, azaleas (now my favorite spring flower), and the true beauty of spring. Previously I had blasted through the season, eager to get to summer--my favorite time of year.

This morning as the doggies and I were walking, I again noticed the beauty of spring and felt the glorious feelings of newness, hope, and renewal. It soothed my soul. Spectacular!

Tease, Tease, Tease

Mother Nature is a Tease
What a weekend! The weather was 50 then 60 degrees F on Saturday and Sunday. I kept finding excuses to stay outside. The dogs and I had glorious hour-long walks twice a day both days. I'm thinking that today they're saying, "Thank goodness she went to work. Now we can rest!"

Now the next bout of cold weather or snow will be doubly hard to deal with since we've had this taste of spring. I worked Cosi in the yard on jumping on Saturday. He was a giant mud ball by the time we were done. I've devised a new clean-up method. Instead of just wiping paws when they come in, I fill a low bucket with warm water. Paws must be dunked, swished, and wiped before coming in. Of course, one is paid the sum of One Huge Dog Biscuit for this work.

An Intersting Site
A friend of mine went to a museum featuring the works of various portrait artists. Here's a web site she shared with me showing photographs by Yousuf Karsh: http://www.karsh.org/#/the_work/home/

I found it quite intriguing. Enjoy.