Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Snow Falling in Winter

[Author's Note: Okay. I admit it. This blog entry is really just an excuse to post a lot of pictures.]

So we got a biiiig lovely snowstorm the other day. This is not earth-shattering news, of course, but it WAS rather pretty. Unfortunately, it did cause some injuries to the dogs....


AAAAAHHHHH!!! Ali has no legs!


Pepper has no legs either!



Armless legless dogs!



Finn has no legs and an alien stuck to his butt! (I would say "Run away! Run away!" but clearly it is NOT POSSIBLE ANY MORE!)

Apart from the carnage of the armless legless dogs, it was really quite pretty. Relatively warm, with big lacy flakes falling softly through a diffuse pearly light. Every so often a breath of a breeze whispered through, dislodging the heavy mantling of snow from the trees and making tiny local blizzards.

Spruce shedding snow



D's house in the calm...



... and in the breeze, 30 seconds later.


The snow fell all day like this. Just as the storm began to wane, D called to let me know that he had a lot of snow to brush off the Cessna, and invited me to come over, bring a dog, and keep him company (and help excavate the plane, if I so desired.) Here it is, tied down on the lake.

The Cessna before....


... during....

... having the extremely accurate "arm gauge" snow-depth measurement....


... and after excavation. (The wings aren't black and wrinkly. Those are wing covers.)

The fact of it is that on a warm day like that, with the snow falling thick and pretty and the light all diffuse and softly glowing, as if it comes both from nowhere and from everywhere at once, it is really rather a pleasant thing to go brush the snow off the Cessna. It's like painting in reverse: you load your brush with white to reveal the vibrant glossy red of the bird. Apart from which, the dogs are entertaining; they're highly excited by all the snow being brushed off the plane, and God forbid you should set down your gloves or your whisk broom. Those are obviously HIGH VALUE TOYS, since you are playing with them and denying them to the dogs. The minute you turn your back, they're suddenly borne away in the jaws of some Border collie. The only downside, from the dogs' point of view, of spending an afternoon this way is that when it is warm and snowy (and by warm I mean 30 degrees), there's a tendency for ice to accumulate between their toes.


Finn! Look at your feet! You have ice balls!


Dude! I WOULD, except you neutered me, remember?

After all this, of course, the best thing in the world is to go inside, have something hot to drink, and watch an old Cary Grant movie (with popcorn, naturally.)

I don't know; somehow, it seems that there's nothing like a heavy snowfall to make the simple pleasures of life seem like the most decadent of luxuries.

Maybe it's just me.

13 comments:

Holly said...

"Dude! I WOULD, except you neutered me, remember?"

that made me laugh! I am so glad that there are still peeps who enjoy the snow....I would NOT be one of them. Woke up to snow again this morning and I'm more than a touch tired of it. I want hot and dry, but I'll settle for hot.

Gennasus said...

I love your snowy photos - so much of it!! Our dogs love it just like yours but I'm not sure they could cope with depth like that!

Joe Allen said...

Fun!

Say, what do you call a dog with no legs?

Doesn't matter, they won't come anyway.

Dragon43 said...

I am extremely jealous of that 180 Mr. D has .... ::: sigh ::::

Snow pictures are hard to get, you done good.

AKDD said...

Holly, I know your pain... I just don't know it til a little later in the season! :D Up here we get the most snow in March, so we're right on target. OTOH, the light is coming on so fast that it's hard to feel bitter about it. We're gaining over 30 minutes a week now.

Gennasus, littler dogs up here either have to tunnel or swim (unless they have a thoughtful owner who will shovel paths for them, or a bigger dog who tromps them a trail.) My little Kenzie dog is pretty intrepid, but in very deep snow she sometimes mires down. It doesn't seem to trouble her much; only once in my recollection did she need help escaping from the trench she'd gleefully bounded into, only to discover that it was over two feet deep in snow and here she was, with six inch legs. Drat.

Joe - HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Dragon - thx for your compliments on the snow pics. And the 180 IS a sweet little plane, a tough little workhorse that takes him (and sometimes me) all KINDS of places he could not go otherwise. He's planning to go up the Iditarod trail in it (with a pal from Maine) as we speak, but so far they've been skunked on the weather. Supposed to clear a little starting Sat, but by then they might have to skip McGrath and points further along the trail and go strait to Nome! OTOH, it IS Alaska... weather prediction is a difficult biz up here, so it could clear today. One never knows.

Colleen said...

You're not the only one. I love getting snow like that! *sigh* I miss Alaska. Great pictures!

Della said...

Fabulous pictures! They bring back so many memories, especially the snow falling from the Spruce tree! Also glad I'm seeing from a distance... lol

StellaStar said...

Hey there! This is the first time I've left a comment, but I'm a pretty avid reader of your blog. I just wanted to say hey and that I love your writing...it's always a fun read, and gives me a new perspective on what goes on in vet offices. I am definitely more sympathetic when my own vet's office is ultra busy just from reading your experiences.

-Shout out from a small town in oHIo.

Barb said...

Gorgeous pictures!!
And I'll trade the hot and dry for snow ANYTIME!!!

Dana - World by the Tail, Inc. said...

I loved seeing the pictures of the snow and all the excitement! Watching a dog in the snow reminds me of my beloved golden retriever Roxanne. She once got so excited in a snowstorm that she actually broke a bone in her tail!

Dogs have a lot to teach us about enjoying the simple, silly gifts that everyday life hands us.

Nicki said...

Yeah-another vet with border collies-very handsome ones too! You can check us out my "kids" and some funny vet stories too at my blog!

AR-HR.com said...

"Dude! I WOULD, except you neutered me, remember?"
Great laugh and a great diversion. Thanks!
Erica Saunders
http://AR-HR.com

AKDD said...

Thanks, guys! Glad you enjoyed the pics, and that you could (albeit vicariously) share the snowy day with me. :)