Spring is definitely here in Western North Carolina. Yeah, there may be a few more slightly chilly days and slightly cold nights, but everything is budding and blooming and turning green - the season has turned, and all the young types in the neighborhood already broke out the shorts and tank tops. Seriously? At 70 degrees?
We older transplanted Floridians aren't ready for that. Though today I did have to shed my thin green wool sweater (St. Patrick's Day, hello???) for a green cotton tee shirt with my jeans, before heading for the French Broad park. It was approaching heavenly - robins and buds and green shoots everywhere, seniors slowly ambling along with the support of a chatty young companion, young moms pushing strollers, boomers like myself walking alone or in pairs (watching those seniors and thinking yeah, not a bad place to get old), college students on bikes, young writer types writing at picnic tables, and a couple who set up camp chairs and just parked themselves to watch the river and enjoy. Damn, I do love this city.
The dogs are absolutely crazy - remember, we moved here in the second half of November and crash landed into the coldest temps and biggest snowfalls they'd seen here in DECADES, followed by cold, rain, mud, snow, cold, rain, mud, all conditions these Florida-born dogs never experienced in their lives. They adapted like troupers, but are now absolutely crazy about the change in conditions. Today it was 70 and sunny, and when I take the dogs out they can't tear themselves away from sniffing the fascinating new sniffs.
Murphy is a complete pain in the ass, which is proof that he LOVES it here - he's at home and wants to conquer the world. Last night I got home after 9 and opened the door - Murphy shot out past me! I dropped my stuff, told Sophie to WAIT! and slammed the door to go after my escaped Bossy Dog.
He didn't go far. He stopped when ordered. He didn't even leave the breezeway, and I'm pretty sure he was just heading for his favorite pee bush (I have named it George) a small boxwood on the front side of the building. I don't think he intended to do anything but go take a pee where he wanted, but I had to crack down on that sort of behavior. I stopped him, scooped him up, put him on his leash, and then we went out to do their evening business, and he got to pee on George. Order must be kept, though it is spring, and everything is getting green and smells so wonderfully sniffy.
I'm glad to hear the Bossy One is feeling good enough to make a break for it. I met some friends to knit this evening, and at 9PM, it was warm enough that we all walked across the parking lot to our cars in just t-shirts and jeans. Hopefully, we're through with snow for the year.
ReplyDeleteBrenda in Iowa.
The Bossy One must be feeling pretty good -- an he had been waiting for hours to check his p-mails on the World Wide Widdle.
ReplyDeleteGae, in Callala Bay
He's feeling shockingly good - I'm thinking the teeth really were causing at least some of his recent issues. Now he's a complete PITA, which means he's feeling fine. And yeah, living in an apartment complex full of dogs means the WWW is just loaded with fascinating p-mail all the time!
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