Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
Our cat Sam watches the snow fall outside our picture window. This is the fourth time we’ve gotten snow this crazy winter but this is the first heavy snowfall. The other times ice was much more of a problem, but this is the lovely snow I had hoped to take Ellie out in the previous times. They’ve canceled work tomorrow so I’ll be able to take her on a nice long walk in the morning.
The blue skies behind Boo are the sky blue walls of my office. When we bought the house years ago, to go along with the brown hardwood floors and area rug, I had the walls painted sky blue with a white ceiling, so I could have my earth and sky even while sitting indoors. My mini-earth is full of beautiful creatures too, but mine are more snuggly.
I finally figured out why Boo was so enamored with the Boo Box, a box that was part of the packaging for the dog ramp we got for Ellie to help her get into the car in her old age. I knew that he liked the size, which was perfectly Boo-sized, but he didn’t show the same devotion to other boxes of the same size. Then I realized that the bottom of the Boo Box was completely flat, while the other boxes had folded flaps that kept the bottom from being smooth.
I’ve been drinking Carnation instant breakfast every morning for at least a couple of decades, so we get in delivered in bulk. The smaller boxes were close in size to the Boo Box and I realized if I opened it a particular way, I could end up with a smooth bottom. So I cut the top off and Boo took to it right away, although it is too tall for him to be able to stretch out like he enjoys. I also put out some old shoe boxes with flat bottoms that have a much lower height and he’s been enjoying those too.
I might wrap this one in wrapping paper so it looks a little more festive, or maybe I should see if Nestle is interested in sponsorship …
This is the look of a cat who can’t believe his impudent young sister had the audacity to lick him on the head. I reminded our nine-year old that eight years ago an impudent young cat wrapped his arms around his older sister’s head and gave her a full-on bath. I’m not sure he appreciated the reminder.
St. George may have killed a dragon, but Ellie charmed one. As Obi-wan teaches, “You can’t win. But there are alternatives to fighting.”
I took some time off in November and December but didn’t get out hiking as much as I hoped as my stomach was a bit unsettled in the early going, plus we had some bad weather that I didn’t want to venture out in. The benefit was that I could take Ellie on long walks in the mornings during the week instead of just on the weekends. Sometimes I record our walks in my GPS app, with several overlaid on top of each other you can see how much of the neighborhood we canvas. We always go to the dog park first (upper left corner) and then south towards Broadway before winding our way back, mostly based on where she chooses to go and how much energy she has. Our walks are ringed in by the busy streets that I won’t let her cross, our neighborhood is relatively pedestrian-friendly but there are limits. She’s 13 years old but in pretty good shape all things considered, she typically can go for an hour to an hour and a half on these walks.
I’m off on Monday as well but then it’s back to the normal work, and walk, routine.
When it became clear we were going to get a little bit of snow a week and a half ago, I took the day off work so I could take Ellie out to enjoy it. Normally on weekdays my wife walks her in the morning and I walk her in the evenings, but since I was home I took her on a long walk in the morning and then, when it started snowing, for another walk in the afternoon. I was hoping for large lazy flakes but instead we got a driving wind and biting snow. When we got to Irving Park, the wind had swept the sports fields mostly clear of snow, so I was relieved when we got up to the dog park that not all the snow had blown away.
I didn’t try for many pictures as the wind was blowing the snow almost horizontally and Ellie squinted to keep the small pellets from hitting her eyes. We continued on through the neighborhood where the trees and houses provided relief from the wind and she was delighted, giving me another long walk of an hour and a half after a similar walk in the morning (those are the longest she’s gone in her elderly years). She doesn’t normally do two long walks a day and was a little stiff-legged afterwards so in the evening I took her on a very short one just to make sure she could go to the bathroom if she needed to, besides which the ice was already starting to form, immediately eroding any desire on her part to walk further.
When we got back from the afternoon walk, I toweled off the melting snow and we climbed up into my love seat. She put her head in my lap as she sometimes does, hoping to extend our time together as much as possible before sleep separated us. Her fur was glistening from the melted snow and I wished I could get stuck in that moment for a little while, my sweet pup saying thank you for our day together, hoping to make it last.
She fell asleep almost immediately though, and soon all three cats joined her both in snuggling and in sleeping on me, and all was bliss except I found myself wishing I had thought to make some hot chocolate before the pets climbed all over me.
I took Thursday off since there was a chance of snow and I wanted to let our aging pup enjoy some snow time. The temperature was supposed to rise in the evening so the snow wouldn’t last and I had to seize the moment. I was hoping for big softly falling flakes but there was a strong wind that made pictures difficult, so mostly we just walked around the neighborhood. I did get a few pictures in the dog park, such as this close-up of snow on the black fur of her back.
Thankfully she went on a really long walk in the afternoon snow after a really long walk in the morning, as the evening didn’t warm as expected and instead we got freezing rain. Ellie despises ice as much as she loves snow and refuses to go for even a short walk when it’s icy. At her age I wouldn’t have risked it anyway and I just made a path for her in the backyard, but it did amuse me for the next couple of days while the ice lasted, when I let her out to go to the bathroom, she quickly did her business and then made a beeline back to the door, just in case I was under the delusion I might get her out for a walk.
But she does Boo, she does.
Boo had been sleeping on my legs when Trixie curled up beside him, inching her head closer and closer to his, waiting to see if he would object with each advance. When she reached her goal of having her head completely on top of his, he opened his eyes briefly but to her great delight he let her stay, and they both soon fell asleep.
