Spring Day

Spring is here! This is the time you feel the quiet, but very strong energy from plants. They have full juice of life. Flowers and leaves don't compete with anything, but they are just eager to flourish. They cannot wait to come out to see the sun.

The bulbs planted last fall are now showing off their beauty. Tulips are the most beautiful in early morning. The flowers are in shape. The light morning sun brings up their colors very lively. As the sun goes higher, the blooms open too much. They are not pretty anymore at this point. Interestingly, they open and close responding the light everyday. Next morning, they are back in shape.

Blue sky, no cloud. It's a perfect hang out day. Marilyn and I signed up for the Bark for Life, a cancer walk with pooches, in March. This is our second year. This time, we called for pooches to join us. Then, Ethan and Sammy joined the team with their moms. We teamed up as Mighty Paws. Yes, today was the day of the walk. Sammy and Marilyn have been friends. They met Ethan for the first time. After the little canine greeting, they were like friends for years. That's the way to go, Mighty Paws!

At the football field where the walk took place, we met a lot of cool fellow doggies. We met Gracie, a Great Mountain dog. She is actually fighting with a cancer for herself and joined the cancer walk for others' cure. God bless you, Gracie. We hope you'd be free from the cancer soon.

Big dogs, little dogs, youngsters and elders... All dogs behaved so well and they enjoyed socializing with other dogs. It was as if they felt they were united with the purple bandanas they received at the registration. This is a great environment for Marilyn. She is afraid of other dogs. At this neutral ground, she was able to put herself out a little more than usual. She met some other dogs, and was able to go through doggie greeting process without freaking out. It was a great opportunity for her to learn not all dogs would hurt her. We also saw our neighbors, Sam and Kenya with Olga. They joined the walk, too.

After the blessing from the Father, we started the walk. The Father also joined the walk with his dog. Marilyn was not able to catch up with Ethan and Sammy. She went with her own grandma pace. We took a little break after the third lap. We finally caught up with Sammy and Ethan. Ethan found a kiddy pool outside the course. He stepped in, then sat down in the water. He was content like people in a hot tub. Once she got a drink of water and a little love from a lady at a vendor's booth, Marilyn and I finished the walk.

Then, a surprise! Cosmo, Marilyn's boyfriend, was there. He came to show his support. His hip and legs don't let him walk as much as he wants anymore. So, he volunteered to be our cheerleader. He is always in a good spirit. He is a perfect cheerleader, isn't he?

Ethan found himself pretty hot. It was 1:30, the hottest time in a day. He started digging the ground to get a cool spot. We decided to head back to get a shade for our proud pooches. We got our hands full with goodies — treats, toys, poop bags and etc. We, the proud moms, were excited with them.

When we got back, Cosmo already made himself at home in the shade. His eyes were saying "What did it take so long to come back? Let's start the party!"

We completed the walk. And, it's Cinco de Mayo! We celebrated everything we could think of with Taco. The dogs got baked beef neck bones for their accomplishment. Everybody went to town. We heard crunching noises from all four dogs. Food, drink and talk... it was a nice hang out day.

Did anybody say tomorrow is a hang over day? No, we behaved. Only a glass of Margarita... just enough to remind ourselves "Life is good!"