In Bloom

I woke this morning to a fragrance I couldn’t quite put my nose on. It was a sweet smell that filled my nostrils with the memories of spring. When I asked Gretchen about it, she said that we were experiencing an early spring and I was smelling the first blooms.

“Why’s it early?” I asked.

“That’s a great question,” she said, “one that many people are debating all over the world.”

“Really?” was my shocked response. “Aren’t they happy about the beautiful fragrance?”

“Well, here’s the thing,” she tried to explain, “that beautiful fragrance of spring isn’t everywhere today. Some people are waking up to snow!”

“Oh,” I moaned, “I so miss the snow. It smells wonderful, too!”

“Yeah, buddy,” Gretchen lamented with me, “I miss the snow, too, but today we have warm temperatures and trees and flowers in bloom so I guess we just have enjoy it!”

And that we did. It started with a morning of teaching. All the students were surprised by my new haircut. Last week, they thought I was getting fat. This week, they worried that Gretchen wasn’t feeding me enough. Kids! What are you gonna do with them?

After school, I was taken home to eat my brunch (though I didn’t eat it until much later) while Gretchen fetched Rosie and Tyson. It was such a beautiful, spring-like day they headed up to the gardens to try to find some flowers to pose in front of. Instead, they found the city!

Of course, mostly the siblings were interested in what was in Gretchen’s pocket so it was hard to get just the right photo in front of just the right plants. Instead, she got begging!

Next up was Gemma who’d had a lively weekend so she was rather subdued today – if that’s at all possible! She walked over with Gretchen to pick up Oshi and Perrito who were thrilled that it was warm outside and NOT raining! They found a beautiful cherry tree in full bloom, but Gretchen said it was like herding cats to get them to pose nicely in front of the tree.

Once the boys were dropped off back at home, Gemma came over to our house and we had a romp in the backyard for a bit before we headed out on our walk! Can you tell we played keep away?

We dropped Gemma back at her house and then meandered over to Saber’s. The only bad thing about warm weather is that the tennis courts are in use by humans playing tennis (of all things) so Saber and I had to go for a walk first.

So up to the gardens we went where we posed under the honeysuckle…

…then down by the tennis club for a pose with the city behind us…

…and finally, we found an unoccupied tennis court where we could play keep away and chase…

The weather report called for temperatures in the 60s today. I’m not sure we reached that mark, but it was sure a lovely day with the fragrance of spring blooming all around us!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin