In Simsbury, Connecticut, it’s not the budding trees, a line of honking geese overhead, or a 73-degree day in the middle of March that gives us the sign. We don’t rely on groundhogs or a date on the calendar.

Happy First Day of Spring, everyone!

This morning we awoke to a grisly scene: an amputated horn and unicorn guts splattered across the kitchen floor.

Anna has been dying for hamsters all year. She pored over books, articles, and videos. She shared her research dissertation with me on Google Docs. She begged. She negotiated. She pestered. She saved up all her money for chew toys. She received her Master’s Degree in Rodent Nutrition. 

By day two, she was bored of her new nocturnal friends. The cats, on the other hand, now have their very own entertainment system.