Snow!

My First Snowstorm, 2009

It snowed!  And not just a little bit.  Over the course of about twenty four hours, a blizzard dumped just over one foot of snow onto my backyard.  I love it; always have.  I've loved snow ever since I was a little bitty puppy experiencing my very first snowstorm (which happened to be a substantial one like this).

Sister documented my adventures outside once the blizzard finally ended and I'd like to share the photos with my loyal readers.

1-2 Inches Accumulation

First, I helped everyone shovel--by barking out instructions of course!  In fact, I was so absorbed in my job of pointing out spots people missed and reminding everyone to lift with their legs and not with their backs, that I started developing a few inches of accumulation myself. It was well worth it though.  My family did a spectacular job of clearing the snow.  But I didn't just bark out instructions while I watched from behind my front fence.  I also spent some time gnawing on chunks of ice.

Searching for Intruders

Next I did a perimeter sweep of my backyard.  First, I bunked noses with Honey, the dog next door, and then I ran (or bunny hopped as Sister calls it) across the yard to chase down (and bark at) a woodpecker pecking at the neighbor's tree.  After scaring the woodpecker off, I started checking for bunnies and squirrels, but luckily, the snow seemed to have kept them away.

Where Did That Ball Go?

After that, Ma and I played ball, or at least tried to.  As I've said in the past, I'm not a big fan of the game.  But snow, I figured, makes everything better so I thought I'd give it another try.  However, as soon as Ma tossed me the ball, I quickly discovered that there was a big problem with the game.  As soon as the ball landed in the snow, it was gone.  I stuck my head in some footprint holes and dug a few new ones, but I simply could not find the ball.  Eventually, Sister took pity on me, located my ball, and handed it to me.  My final verdict:  the game of fetch is about as pointless in the snow as it is on dry ground.

Lounging on the Mountain

Exhausted from searching for my ball and correcting people's snow shoveling techniques, I decided to take a break by lounging on the giant mountain of snow Ma was building for me from what had accumulated on the driveway.  Later this week, when it gets a little harder as a result of melting, I'll start "dig, dig, digging" my way through it, but for now, since it was nice and soft, it made for a comfortable place to rest and take in the world for a couple of minutes.

Ripping Snowballs Out of My Tail

Now, my family knows it's time to go inside when they start getting cold.  Me?  I know it's time to go in when I start developing snowballs in my fur.  It's really quite embarrassing.  One minute I'm running around the backyard without a care in the world and suddenly I notice that my chest, legs, and tail are covered in miniature snowballs and there are ice pellets stuck in between my toes.  I do my best to rip them out myself, but the best tool for the job is easily the hairdryer.

And do you know what the best part of this entire event was?  It's the fact that the snow, because of its volume, will be around for days, if not weeks, to come.  The fun will literally go on and on!