It’s that time of year… the season at the cusp of spring and winter.. Yes, it’s springter!
A time for much gritting…
Paths are turned into icy rinks and have to be gritted to save limbs from being broken.
We grit our teeth as the warmth of spring is conquered by the chills of winter.
The dog is still injured and on leashed walks until May. Oh, what to do with all that surplus energy?
Young men from the county come out to school to fill up the green containers with sand and gravel, which can then be used in the school yard when it is dangerously slippery.
For me, this epitomizes the joyfulness of even the most humble job. Every time they throw a shovelful of grit into the container, the huge crowd of schoolchildren cheer and shout and celebrate with outbursts of “Strike!”
The more joyful the kids, the happier the men at work. Each shovelful is received with rapturous applause.
How will you share the joy and show someone how much you appreciate them?
Lady Fi 
“Springter” — perfect!
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Springter..a Lady Fi original.. I may quote you someday! Poor Oscar..he must be restless..on the leash all the time..have the ankletbiters play some games with him.. and hide treats around the house..or hide one treat under one of two plastic cups.. Chance loves that winter game!
A thumbs up always encourages me..:)
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Oh poor pup, thinking “I can run as far as I can see, just let me go…”
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It is hard to imagine you are still coping with the mush and ice. Spring hit Luebeck about two weeks ago, and we have all miraculously forgotten what a hard winter it was. It is amazing what a difference a few degrees to the north makes. Yet, the sun is shinning longer, isn’t it?
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That’s kids for you! Lovely. I can just hear the cheers. 😉
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True grit indeed!
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I’m sorry to hear that Oscar is so poorly still. Let’s hope that he will soon be bounding around and not having any future upsets. Sick animals are so sad – it’s so hard to know what to do to cheer them up.
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It’s not that he’s poorly.. he is full of beans! But his leg needs to heal so he is not allowed off the leash or to run and jump as he is used to doing…
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Springter – excellent.
Spring is really rearing its head over here – it’s sunny and I’m wearing just a T-shirt. And, obviously, trousers etc.
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Springter. Yes, that is so true…! I made a really bad decision today, thinking it would be OK to ride my bike into town with no gloves on. Realizing halfway it is still too cold, all I could do was pretend my fingers did not hurt… 🙂 Man.
I read an old post of yours about Sweden and Switzerland and laughed out loud. (Which felt rather awkward since I am currently in a library…). When I was a Swedish exchange student living in the US for a year I got asked all kinds of strange questions. People wanted me to tell them everything about the Swedish bikini team (they got that from a beer commercial, I think). Funny, though.
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How can you not have joy in what you´re doing, with kids cheering you on! I will have to follow their example and cheer up my hubby. 🙂
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Children have such a gift for delighting in simple things, don’t they – we grown-ups should try to learn from them.
Belated New Year’s Resolution – Delight in the simple!
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Nothing like pride in one’s work
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They sound like lovely guys!
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Poor Oscar! We hope he gets off the lead soon! Not easy, having a dog that wants to run around but can’t for his own sake!
Love the community spirit in the school yard!
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I, too, love springter! The idea of joy coming from such a humble pursuit tickles me. It’s a good lesson, isn’t it?
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I like to hear how the children are entertained with the men throwing shovels of dirt. Children can be so easy to please sometimes.
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When the snow turns to ice is the worst time of year because it’s so easy to slip and fall. I hope the snow and ice are gone soon.
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springter- ha! i like it! Sorry the pup is still not up to par, but he’s sure handsome!
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The story of the children cheering for the shovels of snow made me wonder if the school children here in the US would do that. Unfortunately, probably not. And the parents would complain about the dirt.
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Oh, and poor Oscar!
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it’s the little things…. :o)
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This is so interesting.
Love getting these cultural tidbits from your POV.
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Poor Oscar. I hope he gets to run and be his true dog self soon.
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A hug. A big yahoo! Chasing after my kid, grabbing her and putting smooches all over her face.
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nice, can someone push it over the edge into spring? smiles. fun…”STRIKE!”
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