Day 629

Each Golden had two walks today...first Sam, then Gus and finally Lilly and Ranger in tandem! The morning walks were beautiful, but the afternoon walks were incredible!!! What kind of February is this? The Groundhog's prediction might just be right on the mark. Just ask our maple trees! The sap is running so fast, the buckets are filling FAST and it is even dripping on our heads!

This is in no way a complaint...it is simply surreal and unnatural for Minnesotans to live this way! When we are used to shoveling, braving the slippery roadways/sidewalks and being so cold outside it's hard to breathe the air, this spring-like weather is a bit disconcerting. Although my heart goes out to farmers and my concern for our 10,000 plus lakes is growing, I am loving this reprieve from winter and the hardships that tag along.

Today, there were families on bicycles, people wearing shorts, motorcycles, myriads of dogs being walked and children screaming joyously as they played outside with their neighbors. Instead of a brisk, freezing nod and a mumbled, "Why do we live here?", people actually stopped on the sidewalk to chat and catch up on each other's lives. If I didn't know better, I would believe it is April or May.

Oh well, even if our forecasting rodent tells us spring is right around the corner and our maple trees agree, we all know there will be more cold, snow and ice in our future. Even so, winter has been shortened by over three months and we Minnesotans can face a couple months of that season. Bring it on!