Even though this week is spring break at my university I have no plans to go on a crazy trip, let alone a normal trip, or to do anything really. I am trying to take this in stride, as all I really want to do is escape for the week and get away from the everyday stress that is grad school. Instead I have been trying (an partly succeeding) to get work done, both for my current research project and some spring cleaning around the house. This “break” also provides some nice time to write a blog post or two, or at least get a start on writing one. I don’t know about other bloggers, but sometimes it takes me a day or several to put together a post, and sometimes posts that I have started get lost in my drafts folder. I opened up that folder today and found an old Weekly Photo Challenge that I never got around to posting. The theme was carefree, and the image that I had chosen for this particular post instantly brightened my cloudy day.
This picture was taken on one of the many days the dogs came with me along to the garden and kept me company as I watered and pulled weeds. Seeing this picture reminded me that even though things may not be the way that I want them, I can still make the best of it. The dogs don’t particularly like to be tied to the fence while I work in the garden. There are way more fun things to explore (and destroy) and they want to be closer to me, but they tolerate it. They love spending time outside and find things to do like chewing on sticks and dosing in the sunshine. We keep them cool with fresh water to drink and sprays from the hose, and in return we get those wonderfully dopey, carefree smiles. As I look at the rest of my week, I try to take some advice from those goofy dogs and take a moment to smile. Spring will be here soon, and the sun will be shining again.
Bark, Eat, Grow 
They are adorable!