Winter's Snow Fun!

March 16 /08

OK. I don't want to hear any more grumbling about all the snow we have.

That's all that humies are talking about - that they've had it up to here, or there: way up there, like 400 centimeters high. (That's about 160 inches, or over 13 feet.) That's how much snow has fallen on this city of ours and all its embattled people this winter.

And there's no end in sight. It snowed again last night and Environment Canada's l4-day long-term forecast still has temperatures hovering below freezing most of the time, so this stuff isn't going to melt anytime soon. But hey, we're tough Canadians. We can handle it. Wow, it's going to be fun when it melts ... can Boxers swim?

I figure it's just a matter of perspective: you either see it as a winter wonderland of nice, white, fluffy stuff or hard, cold yukky stuff from Hell that cuts at your face like a knife.

Anyway I like being in the snow. All that slipping and sliding around and chasing snowballs makes me so joyful. And I love bringing home ice chunks, although I can't figure out what happens to them once I get them home. Within seconds, there's just a pool of water where the chunk used to be. They're slippery, sneaky things! And they make my mouth all pink and Mama thinks I look so cute.

Winter's also the time to prune our neighbour's tree. A walk doesn't go by when I don't chew a few yummy branches off my favourite birch and carry them home to munch 'n spit.

Mama makes me chew my branches in the hall because I make such a mess. Hey this one has a funny shape. Do you think Rudolf is missing an antler?

But really, the weather has made all the humies coo-coo. And my friends and I don't appreciate that we sometimes have to walk so quickly when we're outside, like we're in some kind of hurry. In the summer everyone is just walking along, slow and relaxed. We stop and talk and the dogs play. Now it's like, "Hi, how are ya? Bye." What's up with that?

The way I see it, this weather is great for job-creation. Montreal actually has 3,000 people using 2,200 pieces of equipment for snow removal. But there's so much snow we've run out of dumping sites. All over Montreal there are calvacades of snow removal trucks winding through the streets with nowhere to go! Winter's so funny !

A pack of dump trucks, lost and bewildered.

Anyway, this freaky weather has Mama and her friends talking gibberish about wierd things called Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming ... I happen to think that all this snow is nature's way of compensating for the lack of snow we had last winter; that Mama Nature knows what she's doing. So relax, people.

It's true that last year there were still flowers blooming in the garden in November, which is unheardof around here. This year, we're figuring we'll be lucky if the flowers start blooming in June. But we have to let nature take its course.

Anyway, I'm making the best of the winter wierdness. Even though everyone plays Rock/Paper/Scissors about who has to do the late-night walk in the freezing cold, I'm always good to go. I actually even do a little night skiing. The view is amazing from the top of my favourite hill. I sniff the air and check out which doggie friends are also on their hurried night walks. I'm real nosey up there.

Snooping around at the summit of Mount Cheferest. Hey, there's Nakita - she's walking really fast... what y'know - she got a new red collar. ... Notice I'm favouring my back left paw? It was so cold but do I look like I care? Nope.

Anyway, once I'm up there, I stiffen my legs and start sliding down slowly. I pick up speed about half-way down and zoom to a smooth landing at the bottom. All the while, Mama's reeling in the leash like a fishing rod so I don't end up on the road. We've got it down to a science now.

Skiing downhill and coming to a perfect stop.

Winter's kind of pretty if you stop and think about it. It's like being in a snowglobe !
So cool !