we can all enjoy… until mosquitoes begin their campaign to bring us to our knees from lack of blood and the incessant drill saw droning. Then I dream of fall.

This time of year fills me with vigor and a new appreciation of life. I can walk around our place in freedom; freedom being measured by the height of my gumboots, that is. The warmth of the sun soaks in to the bones and I can feel the easing of a winter’s worth of aches. I count each new tree showing bright bits of new leaf. I rejoice in the new appearance of grass, the emergence of treasured plants – all signs of having survived another winter.

The dogs can’t get enough time outside. So many odors to pursue. Zahn finds joy in racing down the field in water soaked tractor tracks. Water flies in all directions. He whirls and runs back to me still in the water. At first the dachshunds tippy toe and work hard to stay out of the mud and water. Next thing I know they are soaking wet, looking naked with their feathers plastered tight against their skin. They delight in digging in the mud; each mouse hole just can’t be missed.

You can imagine the wet and dirt tracked in every spring, but after a long dark winter I refused to be bothered by a house that shows we are a happy crew.