Signs of Spring

Hello. This is The Daily Bone and I’m your hopeful doggie host Chester L. W. Spaniel.

It hasn’t snowed in almost two weeks. Could this mean winter is finally through? When I look out the window I see lots of birds flying through the trees, hopping on the ground, and catching worms. The grackles are squawking and showing off their shiny feathers. The robins are in combat mode over territory—in fact, they start their singing competition at four in the morning! The gold finches are changing their olive drab winter feathers for their bright yellow summer ones. A few flowers are blooming; a month late, I might add. Members of the Evil Squirrel Cartel have been spotted foraging on the ground, eating maple tree seeds, and that's OK with me. Big, fat mourning doves sit on the ground under the bird feeder, and nap in the warm sunshine. I dare to say that Spring is finally here in Western New York. I'll remain mindful, though, that in 2009, we had snow in May!

Another sign of Spring is the covert arrival of Easter bunnies. I’ve chased a few bunnies, and have even caught a couple during my career as a home security expert. Unlike squirrels, bunnies cannot just scamper up into the nearest tree. Instead, they run around and around the yard and are lots of fun to chase. These Easter type bunnies, though, are armed with poisonous chocolate disguised as eggs. To make their subterfuge even more confusing, sometimes they dye regular white eggs with bright, pastel colors. Then they mix all that up with other kinds of egg shaped candy called jelly beans, and hide them among the fake grass in their special arsenal carrier device called an Easter basket. This is then secretly delivered to houses everywhere. Somehow, these sneaky bunnies, egg-shaped candy, colored eggs, fake grass and baskets represent an annual religious event. Once again human traditions and holidays confuse the heck out of me!

I’m going to pause here for a moment. My concerned associate Joseph (Joey dog) Spaniel has an important public service announcement from the Yum Yum Coalition to all you doggies out there: do not eat the chocolate eggs. They will kill you. But you can eat everything else, including the bunny if you happen to be able to catch him. 

Remember, no chocolate for doggies!

This is a photo of snow on the lilacs in May 2009!