Winter’s Grip

We appear to be experiencing a cold snap. Not horrible. Not like the mountains for snow and freezing temperatures everyone on the east coast experienced, but still, for these here parts, it’s chilly. Worst thing about it — it kind of feels like we got fooled. I mean, everything is in bloom and SHAZAM! the temperatures drop below freezing. Not good for the daffodils. Not good for the euphorbia that’s busting out all over the place. Not good for dogs with only a bit of hair.

At least today, we didn’t get any snow flurries…at least not yet…they are predicted for tonight. Sure wish it would stick. I hate the teasing.

I suppose that’s what I find so fascinating about the seasons — each one holds me differently. Summer holds me in soft warmth as if I’m buried in a warm down comforter curled up right next to a glowing fireplace. My muscles relax. My tongue measures the heat by the length it can extend. And my body longs to spread out on the cool kitchen floor — my belly flat, my legs outstretched.

The fall is precisely what the word implies — a slight lean into something less stressful, a slow tumble into quieter days and longer nights. Fall is orange against blue, yellow scattered on the green grass, and this feeling that I must get done whatever I am doing for soon they’ll be no more time left to do it.

Spring, on the other hand, puts a bounce in my step. These past few weeks, as the temperatures climbed in the upper 50s and lower 60s, I felt more alive, more willing to pursue my adventures with a bit more vim, a bit more vigor. Every flower surprises me. Every new scent on the ground requires investigation. There are squirrels popping up everywhere and I must stay forever vigilant lest I miss one crossing my path. Spring makes me feel hopeful.

Which is why this winter has confused me. We never really had winter. We had an endless October in some ways, a November stuck in neutral. There was no snow. There was only one trip to the mountains. Some days, when I’d exercised hard, I even thought about a swim in the lake. I never think about the swim in the lake during the winter months, but not only did I think I about it, I actually did it a couple of times this winter. Yes, it was cold, but it wasn’t anything like what I’d expect for a winter time swim.

So that feeling of hopefulness, that feeling that the grip of cold, of dark days is about to pass and spring about to spread like wild flowers in an empty field has eluded me. Sure, there are squirrels who mock me, but there was never an absence of squirrels, which is what winter is all about. Sure, there are flowers, but the grass never seemed to go dormant, the bulbs never really fell asleep, and so I wasn’t surprised when the forsythia  showed up in February and the daffodils bloomed in early March.

I guess that’s what I miss — the surprise of spring. Winter never really gripped us tightly so I never longed for the brilliance of tulips, the sun’s alarm earlier each day, the smell of warmth on the wind. All those things were kind of all there since the hand of winter was more gentle this year.

Well, until now. I was fooled. So the snow yesterday, the chill this morning — they were like winter grasping at my tender tail one last time and I don’t like it when anyone — winter or human — grabs my tail! I guess that’s why I’m kind of grumpy this week. Not terribly so, but between the seasons thrown into a bit of a reverse, Gretchen’s inability to take me to agility class because of her gimpy leg, and that lack of spring’s anticipation have made me a little less patient, a little more disobedient, a little less willing to do as I’m told 100% of the time.

Much to Gretchen’s chagrin. She tried to get some of my grumpiness out (as you can see from the photos) with a play session with Gemma and Ollie…

A rest at home while Rosie sat by the daffodils and then shook her head to produce a splatter of flattering drool…

Further rest while Saber practiced his patience despite the blade of grass on his nose…

…and his first meeting with Chloe who was rather leery of the big dog wanting to sniff her all over…

And then a walk with Alice who was bored with the posing by the euphorbia, though happy to see me (yes, she’s happy)…

But I’m still feeling a bit miffed — it’s neither a real winter nor the hopefulness of spring. It’s a conundrum, that’s what it is and I’m not very patient with conundrums.

Still, when I look back over the day, I have no regrets. It was a full day — time to play with friends and take a nap — life really doesn’t get much better than that no matter what the season.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Happy Valentine’s Day (a tad early!)

Gretchen was trying to figure out how to put a heart shape around photos, but could only manage an oval. It works, though doesn’t it? You can really see how these two — Saber and Gemma — love each other even without having to look into their eyes.

They set the tone for the Friday before Valentine’s Day. There was actually a lot of love to go around, though we had to dodge the raindrops in order to spread the love today.

Our day had some twists in it that I wasn’t expecting and I’m not talking about the weather either. First, we left school this morning and picked up Woobie. “Woobie?” I questioned Gretchen. “Why Woobie?” She informed me that the schedule got changed and Woobie would be our first walk of the day. Of course, that’s when it started to rain. Not hard, but definitely enough that by the time we stopped by Monty’s house to pick him up, we were pretty wet.

But then the rain subsided and the three of us walked to the park to the tennis courts.

Woobie escorted us home where we posed for a photo on the porch. The dark clouds were really moving in so you can imagine what was coming…more rain!

Monty and I got brunch while Woobie braved the rain and headed next door to pick up Oshi and Perrito. By then the rain was really coming down so the only chance Gretchen got to take a photo was under the cover of Woobie’s porch.

Oshi and Perrito got quite the rub down when they got home, but by the time Gretchen walked over to Gemma’s house, the rain stopped again. Just in case, Gemma had to wear her raincoat, though. They headed toward the park and even though Gretchen knew they’d stop by Saber’s house, Gemma pulled her there regardless. I’m telling you, this is true love.

It’s a good thing Saber is all skin, isn’t it?

And it’s a good thing he wears out quickly otherwise Gemma would run him into the ground…well, it looks like she did!

Gretchen was going to take another photo of the two lovebirds on their walk, but every time she went to get her camera out of her backpack, the two of them threw themselves at each other. It was safer for everyone to avoid another photo op!

Those two went home tired and will no doubt dream of each other tonight while Gretchen headed home to pick us up. And guess who decided to join us? Jessica and Quillette! See, another twist, but that wasn’t all. We walked up to Bradner Gardens and when Gretchen marched up the long stairway to a familiar house, I knew we were in for yet another twist — Chloe!!!

We haven’t seen Chloe for over a year. We generally only walk her when her Mom’s off skiing, but the weather hasn’t produced much snow here (sorry to the other Washington!) and so not many ski trips can be planned. But today we got a real treat as all four of us (and two humans) walked down to the lake and practiced sitting as close together as we dared on that high up dock!

I have to say, I have a special place in my heart for that Chloe. Can you tell?

We walked back up through Mount Baker park and when we got to the top of the hill we could see gray, gray clouds painted on the horizon. Would we make it home before the clouds opened up on us?

To be concluded…

…just kiddin! Chloe got home alright and we made it back to our house just as the rain started pelting the ground. Whew! I’m going to be away for a few days and dog blog will pick up again next Wednesday. I’m off to hopefully recuperate from my intestinal distress and Gretchen will be faithfully by my side administering love, massages, and something called acidophilus. Is that like a Greek Dog or something?

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Rubin

Signs of Spring

Gretchen promised that the rain would stop and she was right. No rain today!  Instead, we had lots and lots of sun with a slight breeze from the South. Nice, very nice.

Our day wasn’t super busy, either. We got a message from Chloe’s mom, so we added Chloe to our short list of walks.  She was very happy to see us even though the picture to the left doesn’t suggest that she likes me very much…but trust me, we have a close friendship based on silent and subtle communications.

This is something that humans often don’t understand about dogs. We know what’s going on. Even when it may not look like we know what’s going on, we know. Take this picture, for instance. Gretchen put me in a STAY, which means I can’t go anywhere until she taps me on my head and says, “release.” (Yeah, I’m a pretty well-trained, aren’t I?) Even though I’m in a stay it doesn’t mean that I can’t look with interest at something down the road and in this photo that “something” was another dog about 2 blocks away.

Notice Chloe, though. She looks slightly annoyed that we’ve stopped or perhaps bored that Gretchen is posing us one more time.

Is she aware of me?

You bet she is, in fact she leaned over and took a big whiff, curious about why I was curious.  I tried to tell her — dog, another dog — but Chloe was busy smelling me.  “You smell good,” she said.

“I know,” I told her. “I went to the spa last week and I still smell like shampoo!”

“Spa? You mean that place where they put you in a big tub and wash you?”

“That’s the place,” I said.

“You’re braver than I thought,” she replied, “Is that why Gretchen wants to take our picture because you look good?”

“Yep, probably, so if we want to get this over with and start walking some more, we better look at her because she thinks eye contact is important.”

“Humans,” Chloe huffed, “They are so into eye contact!”

Yes, all of that happened between us while Gretchen worked on getting just the right photo. When we were done (or should I say when she was done!) we continued on with our walk and saw lots and lots more signs of Spring.

Chloe and I headed to the new trail where we walked together…

Smelled spring together…

Looked for squirrels!

And walked together some more…

Next up? Ollie!!!! Only Ollie wasn’t feeling his full and spunky self today. His left front leg was a tad bit sore so we just walked — down to the lake, up the big hill, through the park and back home…

And yes, we posed in one of my least favorite spots, but Gretchen wanted to show that Seattle isn’t all about rain…

Ironically, Ollie NEVER sits still for photographs like this, but he also isn’t so fond of grates that are 15 feet off the ground so he is kind of frozen in this sit position.

I’m in a STAY again because, given any freedom, I would have cowered off that stupid grate without a moment’s hesitation.

What I have to do for art…

I’m off to agility class where I get lots of praise, lots of time to play, and lots and lots of treats!  Woof!

Have a great evening!

Rubin

Under the Weather

Despite the title of today’s blog, the weather was warm, dry, and fairly spring-like. Alas, the title refers to my tummy.  I woke up numerous times last night and urgently needed to go outside. I don’t like being sick, but as the day progresses, I’m feeling better and better.  Maybe it’s the mushed up pumpkin Gretchen keeps feeding me, but I think it’s hanging with my dog-friends that’s been the best remedy!

First up, the boys next door — Oshi and Perrito.  Since they live next door, they love to look out the window at our house laying a guilt trip on us with their sad eyes and lonely barks.  Gretchen had to work away from home this morning, so I watched the boys through the window and they watched me. When Gretchen came home, we were all happy to see her and off on a walk we went!

The boys next door

Oh, and the best thing?  Ann took the day off and after her massage this morning (lucky her) she joined us on our walk.

All of us were itching to play so we headed straight to the tennis courts for a frolic.  The only problem with having Ann join us is that Oshi just wants to hang out with her.  He loves to be loved and since there were extra hands around, he was all over that!

Scratch me right there!

Don’t let Ann’s down vest and warm gloves fool you. It was actually pretty warm out and all that hint of spring, made me want to play. Perrito thought that was a great idea, too, so he followed me around leaping up on me to nudge my shoulder and squeal in my ear…”Isn’t this fun?

Isn't this fun?

Perrito flies across the courts when he’s in a frisky mood like this and then, just like that he gets tired.  His little tongue wiggles madly after awhile and Gretchen does her best to capture it with her camera.

"I like love, too!"

But today, it was difficult to capture because every time Gretchen focused on Perrito, he raced over to Ann (and Oshi) and say, “Hey, I like loving too!”

In between the loving session, though, we had a great romp.

We headed back home and as I write, I can see my buddy Oshi staring at me from his kitchen window. Oh by the way, he’s standing on top of the kitchen table looking at me.

Gretchen finally got a picture of herself though, thanks to Ann.  It turned out pretty well, don’t you think?

My swiffer dogs!

Next up, a special treat. We got to visit Chloe. She’s an occasional client, but it’s always wonderful when her mom calls and we set a date.  Chloe was happy to see us and howled her happiness all the way out the door.

Chloe may not seem happy in her pictures, but she sure loves her walks. We headed down to the lake and Chloe posed for some serious photos. Can you see the sort of blue sky behind her?

Ms. Serious

Uh, I'm not much for water...

Chloe, as you can tell from her expression, is not as into water as I am.  Once we arrived at the lake, I jumped right in and waited patiently for Gretchen to fetch my ball from her bag of toys. Good thing it was warm today because that lake is still pretty cold. Chloe, on the other hand, watched from the shore, unimpressed with my swimming abilities.

It's warm, come on in!

Unimpressed, buddy!

Swimming is sooo boring...

Can we go yet?

Nope, one more picture!

The serious case of Rubin and Chloe

So, despite my queasy stomach and my lack of sleep, I got to do some of my favorite things (cue Julie Andrews, please!) — walk, swim, play fetch, and hang out with my friends.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin