Today in PA was truly beautiful, lots of sun, great temp, so my daughter and I decided it was the perfect day for our first official walk of spring. We harnassed up 5 fuzzies and out to the yard we went. Let me tell you, it is dang hard trying to go in 4 different directions (two guys were on a tandem, so they had to work out which direction on their own!!). This was our first outdoor experience with 3 of the group. The two older gentlemen who arrived in January were quite delighted. Moe, the older (7-1/2 years now) just appeared to be a whole new ferret, so lively, playing and rolling through the grass, trying to get in the neighbor's pachysandra patch! I was worried Moe would not make it to spring, I kept telling him every night when he curls up in my shirt for a nap that he had to keep strong, he had to spend at least one spring with us! It was wonderful to watch him, years just seemed to melt off the old guy, his stiff walk was bouncy, even if for a little while. His buddy Barney, who is 4+, wanted to roll in the grass and lay in the sun. The other end of the age spectrum was Tori's new baby Angel, just under 5 months old. Boy did her eyes light up! She was out running for at least 2 hours, she did not seem to know where to go first. All the guys were back inside napping, but she was still a ball of energy. I was working on the garden when I finally noticed she crawled under Tor's sweatshirt for a nap! That was a first and we were delighted in that too! But, just a quick nap and then out she came again needing to check that all the good stuff was still there! The remembering part - today reminded so much of how much I miss my Syd who crossed just a month ago. He loved days like today, he would have come in filthy with a dark nose from digging in the dirt. If tomorrow is a beautiful day in your hometown, take your fuzzies out for a little bit of spring air. Don't keep thinking you will do it tomorrow, unfortunately sometimes there is no tomorrow, much as with Syd. I would give anything to be able to have just one more walk with my big guy. We are preparing a wildflower patch next to his grave in memory of him and all the other fuzzies who have crossed too soon and those who have crossed without ever knowing the love that Syd knew even for a short time. Hugs to everyone, Jen and Gang [Posted in FML issue 3001]