While we haven’t had an over-abundance of snow yet, other locales across the country have been inundated. What does this mean when you have a dog? Well in our case, it means when we go outside for daily walks, we run of the risk of harming fragile paws from neighbors who over-enthusiastically spread snow melt on sidewalks and driveways. Great for humans, not so great for the ‘paw set.’
Sure, putting on boots for extended walks protects them but installation on 8 paws isn’t possible all the time or particularly appreciated by the fur-gallery around the Ranch. Sam reluctantly allows boots, but Elsa on the other hand starts pirouetting around like Mikhail Baryshnikov. I haven’t been able to convince her yet that snow boots are not some torturous form of Chinese foot binding. So we often end up walking in the gutter area of the street when there is a lot of salt spread on walks and I have to keep her from licking her paws when it builds up. Conversely, avoiding salted walks by walking on snow-covered streets sometimes results in ice balls building up in their pads so we have to stop and remove them since they probably feel a little like a small stone in your shoe. I know I can’t walk like that and don’t expect my fur-kids to do so either.
We had hospital duty over the weekend and maintenance always over salts the walkways from the parking lot to the entrance even though the snow from our last storm was over two weeks ago as well as probably 95% melted. Luckily I carry individual wipes with me whenever we go to the hospital during the winter. And with all sorts of potential germs in a hospital setting, I don’t want Sam licking his paws when we get home. It also inspired me to look for a recipe I could easily make that would help comfort and protect paws, especially in winter.
And voila! Just look at this one with minimal ingredients. Should be easy to protect the fur-kids’ paws when we don’t wear snow boots. Calendula is super healing, avocado and coconut will be extra moisturizing and beeswax will help coat and protect the surface of their paws.
January is typically the least snowiest but coldest month in winter. But I think I’d pay good money to see something like this picture taken from historic ski town of Breckenridge, which is about 79 miles west of Denver. In my neighborhood, there was a tiny dusting while the high was around freezing but felt more like the low to mid-20’s with the windchill. Brrr. Have you received any fresh snow your way? How’s your rooftop?
Boy this past weekend sure was a cluster weather wise, wasn’t it? Hope everyone is safe and warm now. Yesterday was very windy and melted most of our 6″ of snow and the temps were more than decently warm for January.
Seems like juggling is now my newest winter hobby, because a girl just can’t have enough hobbies, right? No, I’m not talking about juggling balls, more like juggling pet and people and assembling their clothing. Originally I was going to call this post “Dressed for Success” because of how I have to bundle me and two dogs up for our walks during cold weather. Then I thought, “Hmm, can I really claim success” when clearly I suck at it?!
When it’s bitter cold, it’s probably best to dress in layers, right? I figured layers would keep me sufficiently warm. And I was right. But half way through even a shortened walk, I started to feel like I was about to ignite, it’s so hot. Notice the dogs’ coats and the Michelin Man puffy coat. I’m also wearing a sweater and fleece pants, lined Sorrel boots, hat, mittens and sunglasses for the glare. All those needs to be put on inside the house. On the days when snow boots are put on the dogs, you can add at least another 20 minutes trying to cover 8 paws before leaving. Mittens are the final go-to item to put on once outside to be able to lock the door when I leave and by now I’m already starting to overheat after dressing the dogs (“could you please hold still while I buckle all these straps?”), pulling the boots on, zipping the coat and making sure there are plenty of poop bags on board. Mittens are a blessing for keeping normally cold hands a bit more toasty, I rationalize. There’s just one problem with mittens.
What ‘cha doing back there, mom?
How in the bloody-blue-blazes do you hold two leashes, keep the dogs going in the same direction, maintain your balance on an icy sidewalk and then try to pull out a waste bag with mittens? I mean, it’s all I can do to get the darn things on, and the second one is pulled up with my teeth and now I have to remove one in order to pull the bag out, and try to open it up. Meanwhile the Ninja has spotted a squirrel and is laser focused on that, all the while trying to stretch as close as possible to said squirrel and as far away from me as possible. Think drawn and quartered. Now that Sam has squeezed out a ‘deposit,’ he wants to get away from the steaming pile ASAP, which translates into “let’s wrap the leash around mom’s legs, behind her.”
Can anyone explain to me how to separate the ends of the bags so you can easily open them? Is there some secret trick? Even in the best of winter weather, it’s like trying to tear sheet metal apart. I’ve even tried tearing them off in advance, opening and separating the ends and putting them in my pocket of the jacket which normally results in enough static electricity being generated to re-glue them back together again or the bag surreptitiously slides out of the pocket leaving me back at square one with a mittened hand that needs to be pulled off and somehow separate those closed ends in order to pick up the poop.
By now I’m wigged out, sweating like a pig, all the while trying to corral the dogs without being knocked over, bending over the deepest spot of snow Sam could find, while securely holding on to both leashes, the bag, and now a fat mitten. And just for giggles, the hat has slid down over my eyes. How am I supposed to reposition the hat with those stupid mittens on? Could it possibly get any better?
So yeah, dressing for success in the winter time during cold spells isn’t exactly my story. Mittens, smittens. Blech! Juggling is apparently my new hobby this winter.
How do you ‘dress for success?’ Do you have challenges with waste bags?
Well that was an interesting few days, weather-wise! Did you survive with furnace and utilities all in tact? Wow, talk about some extreme conditions. Hope everyone made it safely through with sufficient tomato soup, grilled cheese with a warm fire for effect. While I don’t have a fireplace, we did manage to persevere. Did some online reading and came across this cartoon.Could it be any more ‘right on?’
Well…we managed to make it to the first full weekend following the New Year. Don’t know about you but we received 6″ yesterday and bitter cold with our high temperature being just 9ºF. Sam is longing for summer. I’m with him.
Any special plans for the weekend beyond staying warm?
Happy Monday, everyone! It was uncharacteristically foggy and very humid yesterday morning. Autumn continues to play peek-a-boo in the Mile High with chilly mornings and evenings but still reaching the low 80’s by afternoon. Here it is almost the first of November and we haven’t had any snow yet…which seems quite un-nerving. It’s beginning to shape up as a La Niña year which will mean colder than average and less precipitation than average for our part of the country which could pose problems for next summer. *Sigh*
The dogs were extra frisky in the early morning coolness and fog. Elsa tried to catch every leaf she could, thinking they must ALL be squirrels.
Hopefully you had a good weekend. Some of the teams I follow clearly are trying to make life personally unpleasant for me as a fan. Oh well…there’s always next week, right? What was your weekend highlight?
Mother Nature seems schizophrenic these days. We had a ‘little’ storm Tuesday night. No doubt the roof will probably need to be replaced and there certainly is a lot of clean-up of salad greens shredded leaves and flowers. While it could have been much worse (did you see the news showing houses floating by…on fire…in a flood as was the case earlier this week in West Virginia and my heart goes out to those folks). Still, it was gut wrenching after seeing the spectacular show of color and beauty by sweet Mother Nature just a couple of weeks ago. Remember this?Well, nasty Mother Nature must be pretty ticked-off because it all looks like this now.
Everywhere you look, all that’s left are shredded leaves and sticks with seed pods. 🙁 Don’t know whether the lupine will reseed with damaged seed pods at this point.
We experienced some severe flash flooding and at one point the street looked like a fast-moving river which was followed by a power outage once the storm was over. At one point I could have sworn I saw pairs of pets walking two-by-two toward Noah’s ark. A neighborhood hedge was struck by lightning so the fire department was called to put it out. It was a crazy couple of hours. While I’ve lived through any number of hailstorms over the years in the Mile High City, I have been fortunate not to have suffered damage like this one which lasted longer in duration than most its previous ‘cousins.’ Summer hailstorms are routine here in the 303 and coupled with temps in the 90s that really set the stage for all of the unsettled air mixed with a lot of moisture to create the perfect storm.
Coming home from being gone for a few hours to a chirping CO2 detector and a totally freaked out dog set the stage for poor Sam to be totally wigged out once the hail started. Once it began, it took most of the evening to calm this poor stressed puppy down. I guess there are worse ways to spend an evening in the dark than stroking the soft head of a shaking fur-kid.
Needless to say, the baseball game was delayed for cleanup but finally finished in the early morning hours. And in true Colorado Rockies fashion, the team lost 14-9. Ugh.
Any severe weather your way? How do your critters deal with it?
Not to be disrespectful to an elder but…please go away. Your sweet sister, Spring was here earlier this week with her lovely sunshine and warm temps breathing new life into a tired brown landscape, waking up tender blooms and even more tired uprights and pups sick of your constant returns to remind us how much we despise your all-to-long-of-a presence. After 87 visits to us over the past 6 weeks, we beg you to go gently into the night though immediately would be better and leave us the hell alone until next year. And take that stupid groundhog with you. You are both on the short list right now. Him for toying with us saying we’d have an early Spring and you for repeated arrivals as an unannounced guest much like Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie from the movie, Christmas Vacationwho drinks all the beer and generally makes the house look like a FEMA disaster zone. We’re done with both of you. We long for those 60 and 70 degree days with sunshine, blue skies, and soft breezes where she coaxed pretty tulips and perfectly scented lilacs to dazzle us. You, your snow mixed with a chilling rain and your lousy 30 degree temperatures with limited visibility can go away now and stop tormenting us. Please!
Signed,
Two tormented souls shivering in Denver, one of whom needs to pee badly and won’t do it in the chilly rain/snow nonsense you keep tossing at us.
Hope wherever you are that you are enjoying a real Spring that coincidently matches with the calendar.
Today is Primary Tuesday in the US and although Colorado held its caucus earlier, today New York state votes.
Sam here…well your votes have been counted…and it looks like you guys think I’m a gangsta artist! Woof, what’s up with THAT?! Still can’t believe mom posted that photo of me. Doesn’t she realize I’m a certifiable doofus dignified and regal canine? But perhaps it’s a good thing I’m a good source of amusement for her. She said something about being me being her ‘muse.’ Whatever gets you through the day, right?
Mom said it was hilarious that some of you guys thought I looked like a French artist. Why is it so hard to think of me as an artist, I asked? Most people think I’m a “French Poodle” (my breed is actually from Germany, just like my mom) and with my fluffy tail, I could easily paint amazing canvases with the best of the Dutch masters [background shrieks of laughter]. “Stop it, mom!! I absolutely could paint-it’s called contemporary art. As if she’d know anything about that. Pfft…she hasn’t picked up a brush in oh I’d say..fur-ever.” Parents…can’t live with them, can’t live with them [smirk].
Any who…mom and dad took me to see my grand peeps for the weekend. I love being able to check up on see my grandma and snoopervise chores around the house. My Oma needed to water plants and I went on the hunt for sun puddles helped. While she’s still recovering from pneumonia, she is doing much better. We are still blown away at her progress and general wellness given that the doctors didn’t even think she’d survive last October. Color us extremely grateful and thrilled beyond words!! It’s extremely rare that people flunk out of hospice but my grandma did!
While we were visiting the grandparents who live in bunny paradise, the whole state experienced another Snowmaggedon with nearly 4 ft. of snow falling in the mountains and foothills (mom’s daughter used to live in the foothills outside Denver before moving to Oregon and there was over 40″ of the white stuff near their old house–no wonder they moved!). It was mostly rain-mixed-with-snow where my grandma lives and my paws were crossed that her bunnies stayed warm and dry. With that kind of weather, it was difficult for my Sherlock Holmes nose to find their scent trails plus those 40 mph winds really messed up my hairs.
We made the trip home safely despite the wind, snow and stupid drivers and I still HATE riding in the car. I don’t get it…it seems like a good thing to do and I love going with my peeps. I always am so excited about going but as soon as the key is turned I freak out, pant like a lion and shake like a leaf the whole way. Mom fur-got to bring the herbal calming remedy that we used on our trip to California so I made her add it to my travel bag when we got home for our next long trip. I can’t wait….gulp…I think.
So if you live in New York, don’t fur-get to vote today and celebrate…there are only 7 more months till the whole seedy thing is over. Pennsylvania, you’re on deck. Howl!
We made the trip home safely and for the record “only” 6-7 inches of Spring fell in our neighborhood. Where my daughter used to live they received over 40″. Yes, that’s not a typo…f-o-r-t-y! More details tomorrow. Hope you had a marvy weekend.
