Springy!

The ground has re-appeared, and the air is becoming more temperate.

The girls have enjoyed TWO very rare doggie playdates this week. The first was a surprise visit from basset friend Sydney, still technically in her puppyhood. Our girls seem to quite like her, and had a good romp indoors and out while our human friend & contractor helped Geoff with a bit of soffit patching to encourage "our" raccoon to find a more welcoming home (hopefully not someone else's attic).

In this picture, the girls do quite a convincing job of looking mellow, perhaps even bored or downcast. I think subsequent photos will prove that this was a short break in the action when Lulu came to play!


Lu may be small, but she holds her own - especially when Gladwyn starts pawing at her. This was their first time hanging out together, and they settled in pretty quickly. Hesper rarely starts the action, but when she gets going, she sure goes.


Gladwyn thankfully knows the difference between small dogs and, say, squirrels, but you might not know it by the way she gives chase (and bays - have truly never heard such an intense, loud, continuous vocalization from a canine before).


Lu made the occasional quick turnaround, and became the pursuer...


Being out in the yard feels good, although there is ample evidence that plenty of work is in store to tidy things up for outdoor living. At least the Christmas decorations are down, and won't be greeting us upon our return from Thailand after Easter. Well, everything except the greenery and dogwood arrangements. But evergreens are all-season, right? I'll see what I can do about them, but won't make any promises - we now leave a day earlier than we thought (thank goodness other team members had received their electronic tickets & noticed the date was different than the itinerary we had been given). So, tomorrow is our last evening at home, and the next we head to Toronto to sleep for the night before taking off the following morning. Pretty much ready now, I think. Just a few odds and ends on the 'to-do' list...