The sun is shining, and it’s warm out. Abby has been promising that as soon as it gets warm, she and I would start walking the dogs every day like we did last year. She was reluctant today, though, because it is so windy, and not quite exactly warm yet, with a high of about 58. I knelt next to the couch and smiled, and literally said, “Encourage, encourage, encourage!” She grudgingly agreed, and by the time we had the dogs hooked up and were leaving the house, she was happy she did. We had a nice walk, and Abby even got Sierra to heel off-leash for two laps.

When we got home, I wanted to be outside, so I dug the garden for a while, then chain-sawed some more on the ice-storm-broken elm, then finally fussed at the DR mower for half an hour until it started, and I mowed some thicket with it. Sidebar: I swear that mower has a give-up detector, because it only starts when I have given up and yank on the starter cord out of frustration.