The things I do ...

We all know how I feel about winter. Aside from the snow day yesterday which made me do a little happy dance, I loathe this time of year. (Yes, that's why there's a spring countdown on my sidebar.) My idea of the perfect winter is one where I get to stay inside all the time, curled up in bed with a remote control, two cats, and a dog, covered by 10-12 quilts. (Hubby isn't mentioned here because he'd have to bring the computer, and it's not a laptop, and it's only a queen-sized bed.)

Well, it looks like things are about to change around here. Because as much as I hate winter, there's a little black and white snowbunny who went totally bonkers yesterday when she went outside. I took probably about 15-20 shots of her running around like a maniac ("crackerdog", to quote James Herriott), and this is the only shot that wasn't blurry because she felt the need to SIT DOWN in the snow and take a breather.

(And here I was worried she was going to be cold on her belly from where they shaved her for surgery.)

As of this morning, the novelty has long worn off for me. (After all, the snow is still out there and now I do have to go out in it.) But Piper keeps wanting to go out and play in it. And, furthermore, she wants to know why I'm not playing too.

It's been almost two weeks since her surgery, which means we can go back to the Bark Park again. Only little wrinkle in this is that the gate to the parking lot is now closed and we have to walk along a (non-ploughed) path through the woods to get to the Bark Park. I don't know exactly how far it is, but I know that it's farther than my little sneakers would get me. (I have boots around here somewhere, but I can't find them, and my feet freeze in them anyway. I don't think they were designed by a Canadian.)

Since I love my dog, I guess I'm going to have to go against every fibre of my being and go outside in the snow. So I broke down. I went out and I bought these:


I feel a bit like an astronaut in them, and driving in them has been interesting, but BOY! Are they warm! The label said they were good to -4 degrees F (-20 C), and if it's that cold, let's face it -- I'm not going anywhere without being paid for it. But when it comes to playing with Piper, these should do the trick.

Now, if we could just extend daylight a little longer, that would totally rock.