Here I am, your resident 3-Day meteorologist, reporting that spring has indeed arrived here in the Twin Cities. Honest...I really mean it...this time. I am well aware that it snowed last week. But we've had sunny skies and temps in the 50s and 60s since Friday and the forecast calls for much of the same throughout the week. On Sunday, I took a long walk through my neighborhood wearing shirt sleeves (no, it wasn't a 3-Day training walk - it's too early for that). Today it was in the 70s. Sure made it tough to come back into the office and stay inside all afternoon, after taking a walk over the lunch hour (again...not a training walk - it's still too early for that). My boss is on vacation this week, so one would think it would have been a good day to take the afternoon off. Obviously, I'm not as smart as people give me credit for.
The spring weather has brought many familiar faces back to my neighborhood. My friend Emily, the mourning dove, sat on the power lines last night, calling to me in her rich, sweet voice. Squirrels are scampering everywhere - it looks like Jake has put on a little weight over the winter, so he better get in shape if he's going to keep up with his pals, Sam & Dave. Thumper the rabbit came by on Saturday, to see if I had planted anything in the garden yet. He's so impatient - he'll have to wait another month or so. Today, when I got home from an after dinner walk (nope, that wasn't a training walk, either), Stan the cardinal was perched on the back fence, wearing the brightest coat of red feathers I've ever seen. His wife Ginger must be on his case about his appearance again.
My favorite part-time neighbors, Donald and Daisy, are back too. I met them four years ago, in May of 2003. I was taking apart my old deck, in preparation for new siding that was to be installed on the house. On a warm and sunny Saturday morning, I got up early, had breakfast, and looked out the living room window before starting my work. There, in the front yard, two ducks - one male and one female - strolled about as if they owned the place. They waddled next to the shrubs, across the lawn to the driveway, and occasionally just settled down on the grass to rest.
The ducks hung around almost all day, perhaps waiting to be invited inside for a glass of iced tea. They poked their beaks into the garage a couple of times to check things out - or to taunt me with the fact that the Anaheim Mighty Ducks had swept the Minnesota Wild out of the NHL playoffs the night before. Each time I took a break from my work and approached them, they trotted away - sometimes flying across the street. But as soon as I was nowhere to be seen, they returned.
I named them Donald and Daisy. I soon learned that Donald and Daisy spent the spring and summer months living in the small pond down the block from my house, though they often stopped by my front yard when I wasn't home, as if they were keeping an eye on the place. They have returned each spring. This year, they arrived a couple of weeks ago on a cool, rainy morning. Last week's snow might have scared them off, but they were back this weekend.
And as fate would have it, the Anaheim Ducks are once again in the process of sweeping the Minnesota Wild out of the NHL playoffs. Perhaps someone is trying to tell me something.
The spring weather has brought many familiar faces back to my neighborhood. My friend Emily, the mourning dove, sat on the power lines last night, calling to me in her rich, sweet voice. Squirrels are scampering everywhere - it looks like Jake has put on a little weight over the winter, so he better get in shape if he's going to keep up with his pals, Sam & Dave. Thumper the rabbit came by on Saturday, to see if I had planted anything in the garden yet. He's so impatient - he'll have to wait another month or so. Today, when I got home from an after dinner walk (nope, that wasn't a training walk, either), Stan the cardinal was perched on the back fence, wearing the brightest coat of red feathers I've ever seen. His wife Ginger must be on his case about his appearance again.
My favorite part-time neighbors, Donald and Daisy, are back too. I met them four years ago, in May of 2003. I was taking apart my old deck, in preparation for new siding that was to be installed on the house. On a warm and sunny Saturday morning, I got up early, had breakfast, and looked out the living room window before starting my work. There, in the front yard, two ducks - one male and one female - strolled about as if they owned the place. They waddled next to the shrubs, across the lawn to the driveway, and occasionally just settled down on the grass to rest.
The ducks hung around almost all day, perhaps waiting to be invited inside for a glass of iced tea. They poked their beaks into the garage a couple of times to check things out - or to taunt me with the fact that the Anaheim Mighty Ducks had swept the Minnesota Wild out of the NHL playoffs the night before. Each time I took a break from my work and approached them, they trotted away - sometimes flying across the street. But as soon as I was nowhere to be seen, they returned.
I named them Donald and Daisy. I soon learned that Donald and Daisy spent the spring and summer months living in the small pond down the block from my house, though they often stopped by my front yard when I wasn't home, as if they were keeping an eye on the place. They have returned each spring. This year, they arrived a couple of weeks ago on a cool, rainy morning. Last week's snow might have scared them off, but they were back this weekend.
And as fate would have it, the Anaheim Ducks are once again in the process of sweeping the Minnesota Wild out of the NHL playoffs. Perhaps someone is trying to tell me something.
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