Tired of winter.

Over the weekend it was gorgeous. Warm, sunny, lovely and as always this winter, it preceded a freezing mess.I decided to think positive thoughts. I opened all the window, put away all the coats, breaking the cats heart because he now sees my winter vest as his bed. I got all gungho and washed all the dog blankets, it is possible to forget what he looks like when not wearing his sweater and generally swathed in blankets - with the coats all hung up and the blankets being washed it was easy to think that the warm up was really spring.

While sitting in front of an open window in short sleeves perusing one of my seed catalogs, I took another step towards Garden 2014:

Its a variety that as quick trip to the Ag site assured me grows well in North Carolina. Its a white corn which I like better than yellow. Its a "sweet" but its no so sweet that it won't hold for a couple of days. This year its going to be planted in the ground, like its neighbors the potatoes. I am going for a retro feel this year, garden-wise. Not so much that I'm getting tricked into weak, bug fostering, disease ready "heirloom" varieties, but I'm using the ground for more than something to walk on.

I want to get some coffee grounds to ad to the compost and the soil, but so far I haven't been able to find a donor.  There is work to be done, good thing its still winter. By Monday afternoon the temperature had dropped precipitously, ice was forming on bridges and over passes and it was sleeting and it was not spring.

When it was still spring I took Rocket to Dix campus and we worked on his agility skills. We did most of our work on his long jump skills. On Saturday he needed me to run beside him as he jumped but on Sunday, he was able to make the leap on his own. I would really like to practice jumps but there isn't anything at the police dog course to do that within reason. There are jumps but they are way, way too high for him and much higher than the jumps for agility. I think in this weeks class we get a take-home agility skill set to practice with. I am really looking forward to this, we can buy them if we want to and for $40, I'm going to buy it at the end of the class.

Rocket is doing very well with his spins and his bowing and walking backwards, and following me and a handful of treats around in a circle, first in one direction and then the other- this is not the same as spinning. getting better at his "downs". He still doesn't like the act of "down" but he'll do it if he is tempted with enough treats. He also won't spin without treats. He won't do much without treats. Sigh

As soon as it was winter again almost all the coats came out of hiding.