Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
Before taking Ellie on her morning walk, I snapped this picture from our top steps of the snow that had fallen overnight, an unusual sight in Portland. The sun was rising, not that I could tell, clouds covered the skies and the snow was still falling.
The snow was still coming down as a tired but happy Ellie waited to go inside after a long walk through the deep snow. Despite my best intentions I didn’t take too many pictures over the hour and a half we walked as it often felt like it would intrude on the fun we were having. So after getting her settled inside I went back outside for more pictures.
After an unusually heavy snowfall hit Portland one night, Ellie and I were working our way back home on our morning walk when I noticed a massive snowman in front of one of the houses, the kind you see in the movies but never here since we rarely get much snow, so I wanted a quick picture. Ellie was starting to tire after our long and joyful walk through the tall snow so I left her on what I presumed was the sidewalk and told her to stay and walked a few feet over and got my picture of the snowman.
I had to laugh when I turned around and saw the saddest dog in the world, all alone in this desolate landscape, looking for someone to love. Her droopy jowls when she sits still make her look so sad, but I knew the mental calculation she was making. She gets a treat if she sits still when we’re near a street and I give her the stay command, and she gets a treat if she sits still while I take a picture, so what she really wanted to know was, “Am I getting one treat or two?”
She got two.
You do make me laugh, pup, you do make me laugh.
When a moon hits your eye and Ellie’s by your side,
that’s amore.
I take the MAX light rail to work most of the time, so during our winter storms I often decide to go to work or take vacation time based on how well the train is running. The day after our big snow the trains were running well so I went back to work, my hat’s off to everyone who made that possible. It takes me a lot longer to commute on the train than by car but it is much less stressful. I did take some time off later due to ice, typically our biggest problem in the winter.
These pictures are taken at the 7th Avenue station, where I board the train in the morning and get off in the evening. It’s about a 15 or 20 minute walk from our house. That walk is also the most dangerous part of my life, especially the busy streets near the station, I had to jump back on the sidewalk on Thursday when a semi blatantly ran a red light at high speed. I drove on Friday since protests were likely to shut down the trains during my evening commute (and they did) but when I got in the car in the morning, it hit me how much I miss the car but not the drive. I love driving but the traffic makes it miserable. I’m very thankful for these trains, I just wish I didn’t have to deal with cars to get to them.
Many of these posts are written on the train, but it’s a Saturday morning so I’m writing this one on the couch.
I was standing on our front steps watching a squirrel move through a snowy tree when I turned around and was transported back 16 years. Up top is Boo watching me from our front door, below is Templeton watching me from the back door in 2001.
Ellie watches the last rays of the setting sun from a snow-covered hill in Irving Park. I thought this Sunday afternoon walk was going to be our last walk together in the snow after a week of walking in the white as I was back at work on Monday, but I stayed home on Tuesday when temperatures didn’t warm as quickly as predicted and a possible ice storm was approaching. Thankfully the ice just missed us but Ellie and I had one more long walk in the snow that morning before the great thaw started in the evening.
I treasure every moment with this sweet pup.
A week ago we got an unusually heavy snow (5th heaviest snowfall on record for Portland) and work was canceled. This was the snow I had been hoping Ellie would get to play in (plenty more than I had hoped for), not only because she enjoys it but because it reminds me of the snowstorm that led to us adopting her, so we went out for a long walk in the morning. On some streets we were the first to be out and had to blaze a trail through the deep snow, in the early going she was happy to plunge along in the lead but an hour and a half later she was happy to follow in my footsteps.
She went on another long walk in the afternoon around sunset, I took this picture of her on our shoveled sidewalk after we got back so you can see that with the snow up to her belly it was a lot of work for our elderly pup to get through the snow, she got more than her share of exercise that day. Normally snow melts pretty quickly here in Portland but a cold snap kept the snow around for a week, it started warming last night and the snow is rapidly melting (and the water now seeping into our basement).
We had a great time in the snow, the pup and I, but now I’m ready for spring. When does that start, next week?
While it may seem like Ellie is awaiting the rising of the sun, she’s really awaiting the giving of the treats, her reward for sitting still when I take pictures on our walks.
Boolie 