Spring!

It's getting to be Spring in Edmonton. Spring is my very favorite season, and normally, I'm all eager for those first few days of warm weather, when after months of cold, you can walk out of the house without a coat on, and feel the sun's rays on your face, and actually smell the air. I'm not such a fan of spring in Edmonton, though, because Spring here just means weeks of mud, mud, mud. Those six months of snow that have been compacted on the ground have to melt and slowly seep into the soil, and when they do, they leave behind mounds of trash and gravel and dirt that have to be cleared up by street crews. It's often weeks before the ground is dry enough -- and the threat of another snowfall is past -- before they get to work and make it to my neighborhood. In the meantime, Remy is restricted to the house all day, except for brief, heavily supervised walks outside, lest he turn our backyard into a mud pit and himself into "Swamp Thing." Needless to say, we're all becoming a little stir-crazy around here, and the animals in particular have become insane with Spring fever. But once they feel it in their bones, I know that we're not due for another snowstorm, and Spring really is on it's way.

Remy wonders why he can't come inside and rest after his roll in the mud.