Dear Friends,

The sap is running in the sugar maples—clearly the earliest in my memory—the ground is bare and even my kiwi plant is starting to bud. This is the mildest winter that I have seen here in the Green Mountains, but it is not over yet and there is snow in the forecast for tonight.

I had a great time on my break in Jamaica and am rested and ready. I really think that paid vacations may benefit the company either as much or more than the employee, so we ask our employees to take their vacation time in large chunks rather than a day here and a day there. We benefit when employees take the time away from the business, de-stress and then come back with renewed energy and new ideas.

I am very pleased to announce a new/old addition to the Small Dog team. Dawn D’Angelillo was Small Dog’s fourth employee and worked long and hard for the company for a decade before she left to pursue other interests. She was my original co-author for Kibbles & Bytes and was responsible for all of the marketing at Small Dog Electronics. Dawn will be returning to Small Dog Electronics as our Director of Marketing starting next week.