Inching toward spring

Today was one of those days when Mother Nature reminded us that while the calendar may indicate it's spring we still, in fact, live in Vermont: we had clear blue skies and temperatures cool enough that I could see my breath when I went outside at 12:30 in the afternoon.

At the museum we hosted an event aimed toward getting people geared up for fishing season: visitors could tie clown flies, made a practice rod for casting, practice their fishing knots, or have the chance to see what it feels like to reel in a fish. Here, Yoshi tests one of the pseudo-fish out:



We also had a pair of fly tyers there demonstrating their craft. One of the gentlemen, whose name I of course don't recall, brought samples of some of his more unusual creations to show kids that your fly tying is only limited by your imagination:





After work I went up to my folks' house so we could all have dinner together. Before that, though, Mom took me over to Equinox Pond to show me something she thought I'd like to photograph. On our way over, I noticed a fairly large dead tree caught up in the branches of a living one:



What Mom had spotted earlier in the day while she and Dad were out walking Kaylee was a bunch of ice formations along where run-off water was pouring out of a culvert and down through the woods. I worked my way along both sides of the stream as I took these, and Kaylee was helpful enough to wade through the stream and then shake herself off all over my back about a foot from where I crouched on the bank—clearly she wanted me to enjoy the full sensory experience:















As we walked back home Mom also spotted this bit of fungus, which stood out vividly against the bark:



Just after we cleared the woods Kaylee spotted her good friend Robbie. Naturally, playtime ensued:





But since she'd already been on three walks and played ball earlier in the day, after she'd gotten her cheese and we'd had our drinks Kaylee made herself comfy and decided she'd had enough of the whole movement thing—at least for the time being:



I don't know about anyone else, but to me that's the look of a dog thinking, "Nothing short of an entire side of beef would entice me to move from this spot—and even then I'd have to give it some serious consideration."