Spring in the Northeast

I am amazed at how fast time has gone by. I just happened to think it has been awhile since I posted here and could not believe that it has been a month since my last post.

I managed to get into a late winter funk and just let time pass by. Now the weather is warming and the snow is fast disappearing from my yard it is time to start thinking flowers, gardening and just sitting on my deck soaking up the sun. We still have a couple of months to go before we are well into warm weather, but it is nice to enjoy this month before the May flies start hatching and make it impossible to be outside without a smoke screen around you to drive them away. I had told my husband it would be labor day before we would be able to enjoy the deck, but each day brings the snow mounds down more and more. I now have hope that we may enjoy it by Memorial Day.

As I mentioned we have 4 shelties that live in our home trying their best to rule over us. From left to right Duncan 4 1/2 y.o., Tinkerbelle 7 1/2 y.o., Miss Ripley 10 3/4 y.o. and Fidget 8 y.o. They are a well organized pack and really can not do anything without knowing just where everyone is. Mr. Fidget developed an infection or a form of cancer in one of his toes on a rear foot over the past month. No matter how often I bandaged it he managed to pull it off so yesterday we visited the Dr. Today he is having the toe amputated. It amazes me that we love and feed them and make sure they are all up to date with shots, then bam, out of the blue something as small as a little sore turns into something like this. I have two that are within 6 months of each other. They are both agility competitors and have many titles. Tinkerbelle has a big fatty tumor which the Dr says can come out or stay in. It has increased double the size from when we found it a year ago, but does not seem to bother her in the least. Just another worry on my list. My 10 3/4 y.o. Miss Ripley is almost completely deaf and I hate to even contemplate what life without her will be like. And the Duncan the youngest is so people shy that I feel like a failure with him because he misses out on so much attention, because he won't go near anyone other than my husband and I. We are a family of dog lovers and he will not have anything to with any of my children or grandchildren. He gets so upset that he just shakes all over when I put him in someones lap. I feel so guilty for making him do it that I try to limit the amount of time he is forced against his will. They all go camping with us and people are amazed that we travel with 4 dogs and that they are so well behaved. Most people do not even know we have them until we go out for walks. We put up a fence around our canopy and they just lay there for the most part and behave. I do not like other dogs barking a lot and so do not let mine do it. Fidget has come through the surgery just fine and will be ready to go home when I get off work. I can relax now. I always worry when they have to go under anesthesia.