As a horse girl, I’m not a big fan of groundhogs to begin with. I’ve always been taught to watch out for their holes less my horse step in one and break her leg (funnily enough, I’m the one who’s stepped in one and sprained an ankle). So, good ole Punxsatawney Phil was already on my bad side before he went and saw his shadow last week.

Despite the dumb little rodent’s prediction of six more weeks of winter, I saw the first sign of spring today …

… Ace’s summer coat is starting to grow in!

He’s not shedding yet, but I saw the disctinct shiny, soft, dark hair starting to come in underneath the coarse, long, lighter hair on his neck and shoulders. Boy was that a beautiful thing!

On top of that, we’ve had a warm weekend (mid-40’s) in Northeast Ohio and nearly all of the snow that has been on the ground since before Christmas has melted. The grass may be dirty and brown, but I sure was happy to see it.

It gave me thoughts of everything thawing and the ground drying up enough that I can take Ace out in the back fields to ride.

I’m really looking forward to spring.