snow – Page 10

Red Five Prepares for the Trench Run

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?

Here Comes the Sun

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.

Night Falls, And So Does the Snow

I took this picture from inside the house as an unusually heavy snowstorm blanketed Portland. The snow was still falling when I went to sleep, I measured 10 inches of snow outside the garage in the morning.

Snow Watch

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.

No Pikas

I was thinking of pikas when taking these pictures, relying on snow to insulate their talus field homes to survive the brutal winter, but I wasn’t expecting to see any. These rocks are part of the multi-tiered rock wall that we had installed this fall as part of a landscaping project. I’ll have more to say later but we absolutely love the work that Mandi and her team at Habitat Gardens did, the rain gardens have almost completely eliminated water from the basement and the new landscaping out front, replacing a wall of junipers on our front slope, makes me happy every time I walk past.

I must admit I’m tempted to try to find a little stone pika that I can hide in one of the crevices.

Crow’s Feet

Silver Linings

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.

Where Do I Live Again?

Our winters here in Portland are generally mild, but this fall has packed a bit of a punch at the end. We got a little bit of snow on Thursday a week and a half ago, and thankfully since I have some flexibility with vacation time right now, I was able to take the day off and let our dog Ellie enjoy the snow. But then as so often happens in Portland, we got some freezing rain and suddenly everything is coated in ice and trees and branches started falling all around our old neighborhood. We lost power a few times on Friday but never for too long. While walking Ellie I noticed a tree had fallen on a lovely old Mercedes a couple of streets over, completely crushing the back.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning while we were asleep the power kicked off and we didn’t get it back until that evening. Sadly the house was at its coolest when we lost power since we let it cool down at night, so I piled on extra layers and a hat until we had heat again. The house never got that cold so we weren’t exactly suffering, it was only down to 57 when the electricity returned.

This past week we got more snow, not very much but it arrived right before the evening rush hour and made a mess of everything. Fortunately I had also taken that day off but my wife wasn’t so lucky, since the train she was going to take home got shut down when some switches froze, she ended up spending the night at work. It’s going to warm tomorrow and the remaining ice should be gone, which will make a certain dog (and her walker) very happy, even if it takes the snow with it.

That’s enough winter weather for me this year, and winter hasn’t officially started yet!

The Windswept Prairie

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.

A Song of Ice and Fur

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.