The very major snowstorm/blizzard which just hammered the plains and midwest seems to have slid by my house with barely a nod in our direction. We got a little snow. We got a little wind. The temp has been going UP since I got up about 6 this morning, expecting the worst and finding nothing even faintly remarkable for this time of year.
So, we went out to play. Even Cooper seemed to enjoy it a bit. This used to be his favorite time of year but without that front leg I think he has some trouble getting around in the snow. It's slick-- he knows he can fall. He is cautious. Nevertheless he did a perimeter check and then came back to where I was standing with the camera. He still looks as dangerous as ever, black on white.
Conley and Llewis were out. Nigel had at this point refused to budge from his spot on the floor. We have radiant heat-- the pipes run through the concrete slab on which the house is built. The pipes are starting to break and we do have places where water dribbles up through cracks in the cement slab. But it means the floors are very warm. The tile in the bathroom gets so hot I cannot stand on it in my bare feet. So you can imagine how the dogs love it. They drag the beds to spots over the pipes. At night, this can be really tricky in the dark.
Then Conley found a ball. It rained yesterday and so the ball was frozen, but he tried to play with it anyway.
He proceeded to roll it around and try to pick it up. When it is squeezed it makes the sound of a roaring crowd and an announcer type voice yells about a home run. The dogs love it, especially Cooper.
But it wasn't a very co-operative toy.
And besides, Conley found out a bitter truth about little boys, frozen objects, and warm, wet tongues.
I do not think there is any mistaking that look.
Eventually, as usual, everything devolved into wrassling and thrashing around in the snow. Nigel wanted back in, but Llewis and Conley stuck it out a few more minutes.
And then it was over. Playtime ended. Too cold, too wet, and besides Cooper had gotten tired of watching and began to try to referee. Since it was early in the morning, I shushed him, and after a moment of watching, he came in, too.
And everyone is asleep now, on the couch, on the beds dragged over the pipes in the floor. Outside it is still snowing just a bit but nothing important, and the temperature, as I wrote this, dropped one degree.
Hope everyone who got zapped is warm and safe.
It's winter.
