Patiently Waiting For Spring

The snow is melting and Rox sits patiently waiting for more warm weather....

Math Test

Poor Rox failed her math test today.

Bob went out in the way back to check on roof snow on northern roof. Rox, of course, thought she was invited.

Rox is 9 inches tall at the shoulder. The snow is about 21 inches deep. If I hadn't seen her go after him, I'd never had known where she was. Not even her tail showed. I imagine she was pretty surprised!

The story ends well. I hollered and pointed. Bob trudged over and lifted her out. He carried her back to the patio where is is shoveled.

Miss Silly Girl wouldn't come in, just stood there on the patio staring at Bob and thinking of ways she could meet up with Daddy in the Deep Snow.

We know she's smart because she didn't try it a second time!

How Can I Refuse?

The weather here has been brutally cold for the past 8 weeks. Temps ranging from -14 degrees to a warm of 10 degrees. Bob won't take Rox out for walks unless it's at least 10 degrees so she has been "severely deprived" (her words).

On the rare occasions when the temp and depth of snow has allowed, they go out for short periods. Rox's shaggy feet gather snow dingles and ice balls. When it hurts she stops and raises her paw. Bob picks her up, takes of his glove and digs out the ice ball. A couple of licky kisses and off they go again.

But returning home is a real show... she comes in the door with a white, ice-ball beard, snow dingles decorating all her feet and her entire underbelly, and uncomfortable ice balls in her toes.

Oh, I should say here that Bob always gets up before me. I'm a Life-Long Late Sleeper and not ashamed to admit it.

Anyhoo, one morning I happened to get up early (before they came back from their walk) and I was horrified to see her condition when she walked in!

Immediately I wrapped her in a bath towel, sat in front of the heat vent and started picking ice balls out from between her toes. By the time I got all the snow dingles and ice balls off her, she was sleeping in my arms, wrapped burrito style.

I held her feet to my skin to warm them and rocked her until she felt warm enough to wake up again and demand her post-walk treat.

See where I'm going here?....

Now, every morning, Bob lifts her off the bed and she runs around to my side and talks to me until I get up too. Ra-roo, ark ark, wah-oooooo......... She won't go downstairs until I'm up and going down as well!

Sometimes it's hard to believe that animals can be so smart - but she continues to train us. I often wonder if she thinks we are slow learners.