Spring takes on a whole new meaning when you have a dog.

For the past few days, when Humphrey bonks me in the forehead (or better yet, right smack dab on the mouth) with his cold wet nose to tell me it is time to go out at 5:30 a.m., I gladly hop out of bed to walk him.  Ok, not gladly, but with far fewer ‘sigghhhhs’ and ‘arggghhhs’ than before. 

You see, dogs don’t get as cold as we do.  At least not as quickly, anyway.  But first thing in the morning, they also haven’t been sleeping all snuggled up in their duvet, long separated from the cool pre-dawn air.  But I have.  And I’m very happy there.  And because I know that the chill in our bedroom is nothing compared to the -20 degree air outside, it makes getting up that much harder.  Especially when it involves layering and parka, mitten, hat, and scarf-wearing just to stay ‘sort of’ warm.  It sucks. 

So needless to say, the warmer temperatures of late are making me very happy.  Not only have our morning walks together have become quite pleasant, with Humphrey taking full advantage of not being rushed immediately back inside, but he is also giving us more reason to be out enjoying the fresh air after a long cold winter.  I’m already looking forward to our camping and hiking adventures this summer.