Cabin Fever

Tuesday and Wednesday, the weather was gorgeous here. It reminded me that it's possible to live without piles of snow everywhere, covering every blade of grass. It is possible to walk outside without being bundled and still shivering from an icy wind. I started to believe that, at some point, winter would be over.

Everyone in the house was pretty excited about it. We didn't see Gomez for most of the past two days—she was always perched in one of the open windows, breathing in the fresh air and the scent of birds, skunks, etc. Beckett would be out back for hours, making our yard even muddier (I hadn't thought it was possible!) and sniffing for any sign of squirrels in the yard.

And then it ended. Winter returned this morning. I woke up to a fresh layer of snow on the ground and cold wind whipping through the screens on the previously open windows.

When I let Beckett out back to take care of business before his walk, he was completely dismayed. He trotted onto the porch, looked around, and looked mournfully back at me. I opened the door, and he scurried back inside and to the bottom of the steps. When I reached him, he raced back upstairs, under the comforter.

After another wonderful half-hour in bed, we got up for real this time. In getting ready for work, at one point I was in the living room to see Gomez sitting on the floor, staring up at a window that had been open the day before. She put her head back and cried.

I know how she feels. Spring, we miss you.


p.s. Hard to believe our backyard ever looked like that--or ever will again!