The rain cleared away the last of the snow, and uncovered green grass everywhere. It's strange; the schedule of the year is so normal to me but the weather contained within it is so foreign. Jessie, in particular, was completely baffled by the trees already beginning to bloom and was convinced they had made some terrible mistake; she was very worried for their health and safety. Jonathan, likewise, assures me that the worst of winter is still to come and that it won't be anything like spring till May. But it sure looks like a regular end-of-January to me: buds coming out all over, trees starting to bloom, pussy willows, green grass...and yet it's surrounded by dead-looking trees and bushes, and occasionally covered by snow. A Mediterranean climate by schedule, a cold landlocked climate by content? Ask me in a couple of months.

Anyway, what with the snow being gone and the sun being out, I took Tristram across to the big park. We did not get to see ponies at work, but we walked around the stable and met them. He ran across giant open fields, chased crows yelling "Duck! Duck!," and played with a Jack Russell terrier who was there for his daily tiring. Tristram got kisses, hugged him a bunch (actually, the dog was the same size as one of his favorite stuffed dogs; I think he thought he could pick it up and carry it around the same way), gave him sticks and pine cones one after another till the dog didn't know what to do with them (all the more so because Tristram was occasionally confused about which end to offer the stick to), and tried very hard to grab the wagging tail. But mostly he chased the dog and got himself good and tired. I'm pretty sure that, in all, he walked at least twice as far as he ever had in his life. For once he was glad to get back in the stroller.

I have had a little less fun, as I've come down with a cold or a mild flu. I had special mom powers of immunity for a very long time, and I miss them. Everybody knows about the extremely robust short and long term immunity boost for breastfed kids, but it seemed I got superpowers of health too, which was a very pleasant surprise. Or maybe it was just that since I had no time to be sick as it didn't make any difference how I felt, I still had to mom up and do all my regular duties, I just didn't bother noticing. It's hard to tell the difference when you're sleep-deprived for months. But what with the tonsil infection in November and another, thankfully milder illness now, I have to face the fact that I've lost my lactational invulnerability. I suppose at one year old it's best for him to be getting most of his food from not-me, though he's nowhere near ready to wean completely. And neither am I. If I'm sick, he probably will be too, but at least I can make sure he's stocked with a good dose of antibodies to this virus first.