BESS LEARNS THE SNOWBALL GAME

“Winter Storm Smites L-C Valley” read a headline in today’s newspaper. Yes, we have 9 to 12 inches of the stuff after the overnight storm. Citizens of our valley don’t like snow very much. We don’t like to drive in the stuff. Those of us who don’t need to travel out of the valley in winter don’t have go-in-the-snow tires. We just don't have enough snow to make snow tires a practical investment, so when we do have snow, as we're bound to, it's a challenge.

Snow here gets a lot of negative press, but the fact is, if we don’t receive winter precipitation in our mountains, we have a summer of drought. It’s a concern. So I say, “Yay! It snowed!” It's really a good thing.

      

Mike took Bess and Nellie out for their morning walk, and Bess stayed out to play “the snowball game” with Fun Guy (Mike). She learned to find the packed snowballs in the soft snow and fetch them back to Mike.

According to the forecast, the snow won’t last long. It’s already 31 and over the next few days a warming trend will set in – highs in the 40s and lows in the 30s. So, the snow will turn to rain, and we’ll cope with slush for a few days. But -- maybe the rain will be snow in the mountains. I’m a fan of snow in the mountains. 

UPDATE:
It was quite clear this morning that Nellie was upset. What could be wrong? Then it dawned on me that Bess had played one of Nellie's favorite games, the snowball game, and Nellie had been left inside. I suggested that Mike give her equal time.

So, Mike put Bess in the crate, got a tennis ball, and took Nellie outside. At first she couldn't find the tennis ball in the deep snow, so Mike tossed it where she could more easily find it, and then she was onto it. She had a great time. And when she came back in, she was content to settle down for her nap. KW