Learning to love that wet dog smell

I love my dogs but walking them on a drizzly, chilly morning has just never been my idea of a great time. I even bought these groovy rain boots with colorful polka dots on them, thinking they might at least make the walking fun…nope!

So, feeling like Schleprock, this morning I pulled on my groovy boots, put on my son’s raincoat (it goes almost to my knees and past my fingers for maximum coverage!), and trudged outside with my dogs leading. Unlike me, they LOVE drizzly, chilly mornings. Actually, they just love mornings, period! Their noses are on full alert, sniffing out all of the little piles the bunnies have left them. Don’t ask…I can’t explain it. Lexi did her thing and finished with her ritual end-zone dance–kicking up her hind feet and spraying grass over everything behind her, which happened to be my coffee mug this morning. I told you I was feeling like Schleprock!

Banjo was doing serpentine maneuvers–first left to sniff the big bush on the corner, then right to tag the tulip tree, ears perked the whole time so as not to miss any bunnies or birds that needed to be chased. The idea of an ensuing chase woke me up out of my head-hanging trudge, and I grabbed on to the leashes with more than just an index finger.

That’s when I heard it–the “birdie birdie” song that I only seem to hear in the springtime. I still haven’t figured out what bird makes that sound (any bird lovers out there?). I looked up into the trees searching for the source. Have you ever noticed that the grass seems greener, and the pink blossoms on the trees seem pinker when the sky is grey? This morning, I did. Maybe this drizzly, chilly morning walking thing ain’t so bad after all.

Now, if I can just figure out how to appreciate that wet dog smell…