Signs of spring

1. The obvious: bird signs. A robin looking for worms. A pair of mourning doves perched on a branch, kissing. That was weird. More shoebirds than usual. Mom calls them shoebirds... everyone else calls them nuthatches except those crazy ornithologists, who call them Sitta carolinensis.

2. Muddy ground + warm temperature = more to sniff outside.

3. The burrito blanket (see previous post) has been washed, folded and stored away. Sigh. I miss that blanket already.

4. Less boots to "borrow" from the humans, but more summer shoes.

5. Windows open! Amplified noises! BARK!!!

6. The first opossum of the season creeping around under the trees at night. This was disturbing. From the front, it had the face of a barn owl, but from the side you could see its long snout. A shape-shifter? Mom says opossums are even scarier up close. One time she saw one in the bottom of an empty metal garbage can, staring up at her when she lifted the lid. It had a million teeth like an alligator. Mom is a city girl and didn't know anything about opossums. At first she thought it was someone's ferret that had escaped. A possum in the city? Apparently so!

Be careful what you wish for

Snow.

I remember that magical stuff. So far we've had rain that's trying really hard to be snow, but only a few real flakes. And those flakes pretty much melted before they hit the ground. "No accumulation." Snow is fun to jump around in and to eat. When I get out there in the snow I run around trying to gobble it up like a dog who hasn't been fed in days. Why do I eat snow? And why do I like to brave the cold weather to prance around in it? I guess I'm a real trooper who likes to act tough.

For now, I'm satisfied with building snow forts out of blankets. Luckily the humans own a lot of blankets that are pretty damn fluffy. My human goddess (sometimes referred to as Mom) says I am building a nest or even a cocoon. She calls me a nesting doll.

Is it Indian Summer yet?

There was Apache fog this morning.

Leaves are falling. They don't taste very good, but they're fun to step on. The air smells different. A primal instinct is taking hold. It's called hibernation. Any excuse to curl up on a cozy blanket.

Shouldn't someone be baking an apple pie?