Snowstorm, Round One (with Goldens)
As of yesterday, late morning, we were dug out of the first snowstorm. First ... yes, we are expecting another to begin at any moment, this time with accumulations of 20-27 inches (50-68 cm) over the next day and a half. It is difficult to estimate our accumulations from the first since the snow came with high winds and there was a lot of drifting. Upon venturing outside (and yes, frenchpony, I did eventually go outside because I had to help Bobby shovel out the car ;), the snow came to my knees in some places and almost to my hips in others. I have heard the estimate of 30 inches (76 cm) floated around, and I think that's a fairly reasonable estimate for us too.
Following are pictures we've taken over the past few days, of the snowfall as well as the Goldens. (Because I haven't posted Golden pictures in a while and what else is there to do while cooped in the house but to take cute pictures of your pets?)
The Goldens have had a particularly interesting time in the snow since it is, in places, higher than they are. Bobby had to dig out a little potty place for them; Lance still resisted and held it for more than a day until he realized that the mean old snow was not going away. Poor guy lifted his leg for about five minutes when he eventually went, though.
The Goldens outside mid-snow:
They have since created for themselves a whole network of trails on the south side of the yard. It like a Golden Retriever highway system. They have not touched the northern half of the yard, though. The start of the Golden Retriever highway system with the bird bath and picnic table for perspective:
The north side of the yard where Golden Retrievers dare not venture:
The side of the house, looking into the backyard:
Alex has the right idea of how to behave during a snowstorm: curl up in Mommy and Daddy's bed:
In the throes of cabin fever, people do weird things. Alex loves clothing: He loves to run under my legs when I'm wearing a long coat or skirt; I'll sometimes throw a cloak or sweater over his back, and he'll walk about like it's the most normal thing in the world. So we decided to see if he'd like to wear a T-shirt, my France '98 World Cup T-shirt to be exact. He seemed to like it except that he never quite figured out that it was okay to lay down on the floor in it, so we eventually took it off.
Before anyone thinks that we just embarrass our animals during winter weather ...
Bobby left his winter coat in the car and so had to wear his black overcoat and face mask to go out for firewood. We thought he looked like a train robber and so added the hat for effect:
Before putting on my coat to venture out on the first day:
As noted, the snow almost came to my hips in places. Bobby had blazed a trail out to the car to get his coat. First, the snow had drifted against the door, so we could only get it open a foot and, let me tell you, squeezing my butt (literally) through that little space was not easy. The buttons my coat are all broken, so I had it safety-pinned closed, and one of the safety pins popped open during the squeeze. I got distracted, stepping into the snow, not expecting it to be as deep as it was, and fell flat on my face. Bobby was squeezing through the door meanwhile; I was half-screaming, half-laughing; he was laughing; I could barely get out of the snow ... it was a mess. Here is the aftermath:
I have not lived it down. I get teased about it pretty much daily.
Bobby in the snow, not having fallen down first:
We decided to do the car and driveway in two days. After the first day of work, Bobby asked if I wanted to hike to the top of the hill with him. This is the highest point in Carroll County, and it has a gorgeous view west to the mountains. He had his camera, and we figured it was worth the walk.
Some yeti in a ridiculous hat:
Two houses down from us are the town limits, and the road becomes unpaved. The town plows had just plowed the snow over the entrance to the unpaved road ... which really sucks for the people who live up there! The street starts after the big pile of snow:
But we decided that we had to see the view and take pictures, so even though it was an uphill climb in knee- to thigh-high snow, we were going to do it, dammit! Part of the way up, thankfully, one of the residents had clear a short trail. We got to the top, the view was amazing as expected, got out the camera, and ...
The stupid batteries had died.
Back in the house, Super Bowl Sunday ...
Lancelot is scared of just about everything. Two of things that frighten him the most are the bread machine and the smoke detector. Bobby was making barbecue wings for himself for during the Super Bowl and set off the smoke detector. Lancelot flew into the living room and attempted to crawl on top of my chest. (I was laying on the couch doing a school assigment.) The result was a nice gouge from his claw and a bruise. He remained glued to my side for the rest of the night. Here I am, during the Super Bowl, attempting to complete my reading for Content Area Literacy cum Goldens.
And Lancelot: "But, Mommy, what if the mean smoke detector goes off again??"
We would often come home in the afternoons and find a throw pillow or two on the floor in the living room. Lance always has to carry something in his mouth, so I figured he was grabbing pillows because he couldn't find a toy. (He and Alex both have the habit of taking all of their toys into the basement, whence they never return upstairs again until Mommy gets annoyed and carries an armful of them up the stairs.) Then, one day, Bobby was working on his thesis in the basement and Lance came down the steps with a pillow in his mouth. Bobby was about to holler at him, but Lance dropped the pillow on the floor and proceeded to lay down on it.
A few weeks later, right after going to bed, we heard Lance come into the bedroom. He had a pillow in his mouth. He placed it down at the head of his doggie bed and laid down on it. A few minutes later, he got up again, picked up his pillow, and returned to sleep on it in the living room.
Now you can't yell at that!
But it's been one of those things that he does but we haven't been able to get on camera. Being cooped up with him all day, we finally had the opportunity. Here, he starts in the living room:
Then moves into the door leading into the dining room, taking his pillow with him:
Yesterday (Monday), Bobby returned to the top of the hill. The County (we assume) had been through with the plow, so it was easier going. Here are some pictures from our gorgeous view. (One of the questions we asked ourselves while house-hunting in Carroll County: "Could we possibly bear that view every day?" We seem to be doing just fine. :)
Well, Round Two has started. It's been snowing pretty hard outside since right after I started this post. Bobby just came into the study with a big brick of frozen vegetable chowder that he made over the summer and kept just for a moment like this, we just hauled our next load of firewood into the basement--we're ready to go again!
Following are pictures we've taken over the past few days, of the snowfall as well as the Goldens. (Because I haven't posted Golden pictures in a while and what else is there to do while cooped in the house but to take cute pictures of your pets?)
The Goldens have had a particularly interesting time in the snow since it is, in places, higher than they are. Bobby had to dig out a little potty place for them; Lance still resisted and held it for more than a day until he realized that the mean old snow was not going away. Poor guy lifted his leg for about five minutes when he eventually went, though.
The Goldens outside mid-snow:
They have since created for themselves a whole network of trails on the south side of the yard. It like a Golden Retriever highway system. They have not touched the northern half of the yard, though. The start of the Golden Retriever highway system with the bird bath and picnic table for perspective:
The north side of the yard where Golden Retrievers dare not venture:
The side of the house, looking into the backyard:
Alex has the right idea of how to behave during a snowstorm: curl up in Mommy and Daddy's bed:
In the throes of cabin fever, people do weird things. Alex loves clothing: He loves to run under my legs when I'm wearing a long coat or skirt; I'll sometimes throw a cloak or sweater over his back, and he'll walk about like it's the most normal thing in the world. So we decided to see if he'd like to wear a T-shirt, my France '98 World Cup T-shirt to be exact. He seemed to like it except that he never quite figured out that it was okay to lay down on the floor in it, so we eventually took it off.
Before anyone thinks that we just embarrass our animals during winter weather ...
Bobby left his winter coat in the car and so had to wear his black overcoat and face mask to go out for firewood. We thought he looked like a train robber and so added the hat for effect:
Before putting on my coat to venture out on the first day:
As noted, the snow almost came to my hips in places. Bobby had blazed a trail out to the car to get his coat. First, the snow had drifted against the door, so we could only get it open a foot and, let me tell you, squeezing my butt (literally) through that little space was not easy. The buttons my coat are all broken, so I had it safety-pinned closed, and one of the safety pins popped open during the squeeze. I got distracted, stepping into the snow, not expecting it to be as deep as it was, and fell flat on my face. Bobby was squeezing through the door meanwhile; I was half-screaming, half-laughing; he was laughing; I could barely get out of the snow ... it was a mess. Here is the aftermath:
I have not lived it down. I get teased about it pretty much daily.
Bobby in the snow, not having fallen down first:
We decided to do the car and driveway in two days. After the first day of work, Bobby asked if I wanted to hike to the top of the hill with him. This is the highest point in Carroll County, and it has a gorgeous view west to the mountains. He had his camera, and we figured it was worth the walk.
Some yeti in a ridiculous hat:
Two houses down from us are the town limits, and the road becomes unpaved. The town plows had just plowed the snow over the entrance to the unpaved road ... which really sucks for the people who live up there! The street starts after the big pile of snow:
But we decided that we had to see the view and take pictures, so even though it was an uphill climb in knee- to thigh-high snow, we were going to do it, dammit! Part of the way up, thankfully, one of the residents had clear a short trail. We got to the top, the view was amazing as expected, got out the camera, and ...
The stupid batteries had died.
Back in the house, Super Bowl Sunday ...
Lancelot is scared of just about everything. Two of things that frighten him the most are the bread machine and the smoke detector. Bobby was making barbecue wings for himself for during the Super Bowl and set off the smoke detector. Lancelot flew into the living room and attempted to crawl on top of my chest. (I was laying on the couch doing a school assigment.) The result was a nice gouge from his claw and a bruise. He remained glued to my side for the rest of the night. Here I am, during the Super Bowl, attempting to complete my reading for Content Area Literacy cum Goldens.
And Lancelot: "But, Mommy, what if the mean smoke detector goes off again??"
We would often come home in the afternoons and find a throw pillow or two on the floor in the living room. Lance always has to carry something in his mouth, so I figured he was grabbing pillows because he couldn't find a toy. (He and Alex both have the habit of taking all of their toys into the basement, whence they never return upstairs again until Mommy gets annoyed and carries an armful of them up the stairs.) Then, one day, Bobby was working on his thesis in the basement and Lance came down the steps with a pillow in his mouth. Bobby was about to holler at him, but Lance dropped the pillow on the floor and proceeded to lay down on it.
A few weeks later, right after going to bed, we heard Lance come into the bedroom. He had a pillow in his mouth. He placed it down at the head of his doggie bed and laid down on it. A few minutes later, he got up again, picked up his pillow, and returned to sleep on it in the living room.
Now you can't yell at that!
But it's been one of those things that he does but we haven't been able to get on camera. Being cooped up with him all day, we finally had the opportunity. Here, he starts in the living room:
Then moves into the door leading into the dining room, taking his pillow with him:
Yesterday (Monday), Bobby returned to the top of the hill. The County (we assume) had been through with the plow, so it was easier going. Here are some pictures from our gorgeous view. (One of the questions we asked ourselves while house-hunting in Carroll County: "Could we possibly bear that view every day?" We seem to be doing just fine. :)
Well, Round Two has started. It's been snowing pretty hard outside since right after I started this post. Bobby just came into the study with a big brick of frozen vegetable chowder that he made over the summer and kept just for a moment like this, we just hauled our next load of firewood into the basement--we're ready to go again!