It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Last week while Bob was out of town I was

A. sick
B. lazy
C. working a 60 hour week for vacation coverage
D. all of the above.

Correct answer: D.

So this morning I geared up, dropped Sammi off at school, and got my recovering booty over to the gym only to discover that it is closed this entire week, which I might have known if I'd darkened the door once last week to read the sign posted.

Serendipitously, however, all last week the weather went from bright sunshine on Monday to rain and snow the rest of the week, while this week we have the return of the bright gorgeous Colorado sunshine and blue, blue skies. I wish my eyes were that color blue. It takes my breath away.

I leash up the pups, grab the keys, and head out for a long walk. I can't stick to the track for an hour, but an hour out in the cool breeze is easy. We're about 20 yards from the house when I realize I don't have my poop-scoop supplies clipped onto the leash, so we return, unlock the house, get clipped up, and head back out.

It isn't until we're almost to the off-leash dog park that I notice the clip is gone. Luckily, neither pup has needed a sanitation call, but I decide instead of making the loop, we'll retrace our steps after they play to see if we can figure out where it fell.

There are 4-5 other dogs there to play chase and a million balls to fetch and a nice loop for me to walk so we take out time. Katy will run herself into the ground playing fetch, though, and at 9, she doesn't listen to her aging hips well enough. So after a bit I sit down and she joins me while Evan plays a little longer. Here's the view:

You can see Evan off in the distance socializing. The high school is the large building on the right, our little neighborhood with the red roofs is on the left. And check out that blue sky :)


So we head back down the trail looking for our lost supplies...

Along the way, I snap the amazing signs of spring all around us:





Keep an eye on this fella. Very soon there will be a million dazzlingly fierce yellow flowers that will turn into leaves in the space of a few weeks. Nature's first green is gold...






While the Aspen are best known for their Autumn hues, I love them just as much when the delicate fluttering green leaves first erupt. They tremble with beauty. The big fat spruce alongside is bursting with cones up top.

Okay, so with all this looking up, you think, did you manage to find the dropped supplies?

Yep. At exactly the 20 yard point from the house at the same spot where we turned around to go back and get said supplies, there they were, waiting for our return. It was at this moment, in sight of the door, that I reach down to pick them up and shove a hand in my pocket to get my keys.

Which aren't there.

Screw the poop supplies. Where the ___ are my keys??!? Visions of walking back and forth looking for them now pop into my head. The 90 minutes of walking has been nice, don't get me wrong, but I did want to relax at the computer before hitting the shower and then starting the work day.

Deciding it is possible I left them in the house (locking the door from the inside) we get into the backyard, thank God again for the hideakey, and discover them, sure enough, sitting on the counter. Whew. Another delightful Tuesday after all.




P.S. It's Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. and the trash guys still aren't here. ;)