Green Apple Clog Blog: Spring... has sprung??

Ahhhhh... the first day of Spring!!!

I actually used to dread the coming of Spring. Springtime meant that all my activity loves would have to be put away and it sucked. Skiing, skating, snowshoeing and just so much more. I love Winter! I love crisp-cold days spent on the ski hill followed by skidooing out for a starlight campfire with a thermos of hot chocolate and weinies to roast. I love the bright yet cozy daytime comfort that only a shimmering blanket of snow can offer my soul. And I relish in the safety of the long, dark nights of my beloved wintertine. I dream of snow, I wish for snow... I cherish snow. I don't know why I love our long, cold winters, I just know I do.

But sometimes... something happens that changes our heart-wishes. For me, the change came with the arrival of my two sweet boys who relish and thrive in the not-so-cold of times. During the past two and half years my husband and I adopted and became parents to two Greyhounds (both former racers) who have burrowed themselves so far into my heart that I can't even remember what life was like without them, nor do I want to. For anyone who doesn't know, Greyhounds have incredibly thin skin covering their extremely muscular bodies with no insulating fat layer. They get cold very fast and aren't able to regulate their body temperature which means a lot of bundling for walks in cold weather, both for warmth and for skin protection from cuts easily caused by just touching a slight crust of snow. For my boys, my wishes have changed to wishing for mild winters with little snow while hoping for early springlike weather.

Spring did show up this year, officially by date anyhow, but along with its arrival came a sudden snowstorm that left us with yet another fourteen inches of fresh snow that in years past would have thrilled me beyond measure; this year however, not so much. We did have something to be thankful for on the first official day of Spring though... it was +2 C and beautifully sunny... we were going to enjoy every minute of our single layer walk! It was our first walk in four and a half months that the boys each only needed a jacket and boots without the added bulky layer of their full snowsuits and what a beautiful walk it was!!!

Actually... I kind of got all my wishes in one day this year; a beautiful, warm Spring Day filled with a fresh, sparkling blanket of snow. My boys were exhausted from just a short walk through the heavily melting snow out at our camp but we had a really great time.

Our quick camp visit went a little somethin' like this.....