Thursday, January 06, 2011

going outside

My young dog, Meisha, suffers these days from cabin fever. She wants to swim and spend time outdoors with me and her brother, Banjo. The Banj and I, however, are content with running outside to do basic tasks—filling the bird feeding stations or shoveling a bit of snow. The extended times enjoyed in the yard last fall have been greatly shortened by ice, snow, and extreme cold spells.

Today, the sun shone down and the temperature was relatively mild, so I bundled up and told Meisha to "bring her ball." She placed it in her mouth, shot out the door, and promptly dropped it at my feet. Before my fingers froze, I think I threw it at least 25 times. But she still had energy.

As we chased the ball around the yard, my thoughts shot forward to early April. I have so many dead weeds to pull out, so many fall plantings to watch for, and so many plans for a vegetable garden and more lively flower beds.

As always, I'd like January and February to just hit me with their best shot. I can survive whatever they send my way, but I'd just like to get on with it.

As always, I'm ready for spring a few months ahead of schedule. And so is wee Meisha.

No comments: