Dear Spring,

Welcome back! Even if you’re just stopping by for a visit, it’s nice to know that you’re in the neighborhood. Stay as long as you like and come back soon.

Sincerely,

Stir-Crazy in Yakima

I always like how great forty-five degrees and sunny can feel after a long cold winter. I was running around in a t-shirt, long pants, and sandals this afternoon while cleaning out my car and never once felt chilled. Not quite warm enough out to start opening house windows yet, but I did turn off the furnace and watched as the indoor temp remained constant in the February sun. Most of the snow is melted from the backyard except in one shady corner, so we’re left with mud soup in places where I graded out the yard last fall. So lots of dog paw wiping going on. All of the south facing mountain slopes around here are snow-free. You can see in the background of a couple of the pictures below (the ones with the dogs running across the bridge) that the north slopes are still clinging to their snow pack. One step closer to summer though. I’m ready.