These are the times that try dogs’ souls – Mud Season.  Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Mud Season!  Nothing compares to the scent of freshly made mud from melting snow, and rolling in it brings a sense of pleasure that is beyond description.  However, Mom and Dad don’t share these sentiments, and Mud Season instead becomes a time of confinement and baths…lots of baths.  No longer are we allowed to freely romp outside.  Instead we are constantly being told the word, “NO!”  “No! Don’t roll there!”  “No! Don’t dig there!”  Or the even more offensive, “No! Get those muddy paws out of MY clean living room!”  For you see, humans just don’t appreciate mud.

But what humans don’t understand is each season has its own unique qualities.  There are the fragrant flowers in Summer, crunchy leaves in Fall, magical snow in Winter, and in the Spring there’s mud.  We need Mud Season to fully appreciate all seasons. As Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” So with that in mind, Asa and I will endure the constant nagging and baths, knowing that we are resigned to the influence of Mud Season.