Yes, I agree that it is all relative as to where you are living and what the usual is. I also think that people with dogs get Spring fever like everyone else. Nice weather brings everyone out. At the park near us, right now they are having soccer (football to those not in N. America) practice and games for the kids. Parents come out with their dogs, and picnic with umbrellas, etc. So, it is definitely no place to take Sandy.Sabrina wrote:Haha, the ambiguities of the English language! Good point Diane about dogs in your neck of the desertminkee wrote:Diane, I think your definition of 'warm weather' and the definition us Brits have is probably miles apart!
It's different where I am - everyone has grassy yards. Yep, "warm weather/ fair weather" walkers for me means: It has been below freezing (before factoring in the wind chill
) and snowing and icing, and now it's warm and sunny so everyone is out!
Charley and I walk in all sorts of weather - his definition of "tolerable" is much wider than mine!
Sabrina, I don't know where you are, but this is one reason that we don't spend the winters at our house near Bangor, Maine.
(By the way, Bangor, Maine is the home of the author of horror 
Stephen King. He actually is the nicest guy and can be seen walking around town in his Bangor High School jacket. His favorite eateries include Burger King and Bagel Central where on a Sunday morning, he can be found with his wife Tabitha, also an author, his son, DIL, and grandkids. One morning, I was sitting there writing in my journal, and OH noticed that King was watching me and jotting down notes.
If you look him up online, you may even be able to see his house with a black wrought iron fence with bats in the design.
We took my parents there when they visited us in May 2006, before we bought our house in Albuquerque.But, OH would definitely prefer the winters in Maine instead of the heat here. As OH says, we go from winter to Summer and skip Spring in Albuquerque. He HATES the heat and the people who come outside when it gets warm.
But, this time of year in Maine is called "Mud & Black Fly Season". All the snow is melting and creating mud. And from Mother's Day (2nd Sunday in May) to Father's Day (3rd Sunday in June) is when the huge black flies and mosquitos come out.
Up until last year, when my mom's dementia started getting worse, we drove to Maine from March to beginning of May. Instead, we stay in Albuquerque so we can visit my parents in May. We plan on taking mom out for Mother's Day.
I do miss seeing my forsythia and lilacs, though, that bloom in June. And even with the mud and muck, Sandy still prefers the green grass at our Maine home. We have a half acre of land, but a fence on only one side of the house that Sandy could easily crawl under.
Our particular town is rural and considered horse country.
Most Mainiacs (I love that term
) don't believe in fences except a couple of neighbors so their dogs can enjoy the outdoors safely. The majority of dogs in our neighborhood, though, either run around loose or tied to a post. What I really hate is that a large number of people end up using the "invisible fence" with their dogs wearing the electric collars. Ouch! 
Our next door neighbor hates when we show up as she can't let her dog run outside loose as he always ends up coming into our yard where Sandy on leash really reacts and goes totally bezerk.
(That is why we have found strange poo in our yard as their dog comes over to do his business, and the neighbors don't bother to check it out and pick it up.
)Diane
