Early Spring Walk

The boys & I headed out on a beautiful early spring day for a walk. I wanted to get out & enjoy the warm day, try out my new mud boots & see how Annie would do on a leash. All went well.

In fact, walking Annie was a joy! Our last dog was part husky & always pulled while on a lead. Annie never pulled, came back when called, & enjoyed all the new smells.

The boys always moan & groan when I tell them it's time for a walk. Well, usually just B, the oldest, but sometimes the younger two will pick up on it. However, they always enjoy the walk when we start out - as shown in this photo.

If they start complaining of being too tired, I play a game with them. They have to run to certain points along the way & wait. "Run to the birch tree!" "Run to that mailbox!" "Run to that driveway!" Somehow that always makes them forget how tired they are. Some days they end up running the whole way home - generally a mile - with no ill effects either. [grin]

We have now started the fifth season that is felt here in Maine - one of the least talked about - MUD SEASON! We also live on a dirt road. {sigh} In fact, one section of our road is SO bad (they even tried to grade it the other day to fix the ruts & such) that we have to avoid it until spring has fully sprung. :-) I had to put my truck in 4-wheel drive the other day to manage that section. I don't relish the thought of getting stuck there!

During our walk we tried to go up a different road since it has a "really big hill" that N wanted to climb. However, after getting only 100 yards up the road I made us all turn around. It was horrible! N wasn't too happy, but I didn't like the thought of mucking it all day either. I was hoping for an enjoyable walk! LOL I did take photos of them to try to show how muddy it was. It didn't come out as well as I had hoped.

A photo of Annie's butt & my three guys smiling at me.

Annie sort of looking at me but all my guys looking at her.
I guess I can't win on this one.

Getting close to the end of the driveway.

We walked 1.25 miles this day. The weather was so wonderful. It was in the high 50's. There was even a breeze blowing but it was actually WARM instead of being cold!!! We've had a lot of warm air lately - a lot of the smaller streams are starting to thaw out. Due to the warming & rain we've had lately, the snow is disappearing fast although we still have some impressive banks. I know that next month, it will only be a memory - if only mud season will pass quickly!