We have SNOW! Like, real snow. Enough to make snowballs. Enough for snow people. I know some of you are in places where you are sick of snow this year and ready to be done. But I’ve had two largely snow free winters now, and I miss the cold white stuff. We had some small snow showers shortly after we arrived here in March 2018, but since then it had only been the lightest of flurries, a brief dusting gone in minutes or a couple hours.
But last night it snowed continuously for hours, and today we had a good several centimeters. Pippin had a blast last night out on the balcony, including chasing a couple snow balls I threw for him. Sylvia is starting to feel she understands this cold, wet, white stuff and has gone out a lot more. They also cheerfully batted some small snowballs they’d accidentally carried in on their coats around the apartment last night.
This morning I was happy to see that the snow still blanketed the world outside. And even as I write this, late in the evening, there’s still a decent covering on the ground. The cats spent a bit more time outside again today, especially after I cleared off a couple chairs.
Sylvia is definitely taking a “snow in small doses” approach. I did our heating bills no favors when last night I didn’t close the door each time she came in, as she would want back out seconds later. I’m not sure if she was coming in to warm her paws, or more for reassurance that the snow was staying put outside. As for Pippin, while I generally trust him to come in when he’s cold, I do keep more of an eye on him in the snow because he gets so excited. He didn’t appreciate that when it was actively snowing I made him stop for a few seconds so I could wipe the snowflakes off his fur before they melted and soaked in. I will say that even after he spent a good 15-20 minutes outside today, his ears and paw pads were still warm. His fluffy coat has exploded in floofiness in the last few weeks as the temperatures stayed colder. This clearly helped him out considerably today.
Sylvia initially requested her usual “walk” today, but decided she wasn’t interested before we made it out of our apartment. As we go out for her enjoyment, I wasn’t going to force it. Pippin was happy to take her place.
Because we’ve only recently started doing more regular walks outside, Pippin is still on a shorter lead. I’ve hooked two shorter leads together to give him a bit more length. He’s getting better at understanding he can’t just dash off, and that he needs to pay attention to me (and what I’m saying) as well as the fascinating world around him. He definitely enjoyed getting to leap through the snow.
One odd realization I had this morning was that I had nothing to clear off. No walkway or sidewalk I’m responsible for, no car I’ll need to drive. It’s the first time since college that I’ve had real snow AND nothing I needed to do about it. It was rather nice, and makes me all the more sad we had so little the last two years while I had no snow responsibilities. Maybe this winter will make up for it. It’s supposed to stay colder tomorrow and Monday, and we might get a bit more snow midweek, so I’m hoping we get to keep the white stuff a bit longer.