But They Promised Us SNOW!!

What a frustrating winter! Yesterday they promised us snow, so we happily waited for this:

But instead, we had gray skies and this:

Whoever heard of daffodils blooming in FEBRUARY – in the northeast! And look at the height of the full-sized daffodil stalks behind the minis – they should only just be breaking through the ground!

We love winter, we love snow. We really missed them this year. All we got was this little 1-2 inch tease in early January that melted in two days:

A small smattering of snow

But then, at the end of the day, this unseasonably warm weather graces us with this stunningly rich treasure, and all’s right with the world again:

The Little Birdie Who Thought He Could

We finally had our first winter snow this past weekend! We were so thrilled, even though it was only about 3 inches deep.

Of course, it was rained away two days later. But while it was here, we LOVED it!

After a snow, our Bird Diner is always busy, both at the feeder itself and underneath, where messy pickers fling seeds.

All plumped up for winter!

And there’s just something about the bland atmosphere that makes bird colors POP

One little chickadee thought he could pay us a visit. I guess he needs to see a Bird Optometrist for a pair of tiny glasses, because he flew into our sliding glass door HARD, leaving behind a tiny little feather and knocking himself into a stupor:

He sat like that for more than 15 minutes, beak open, not moving a muscle. I started wondering if he’d killed himself and frozen in place!

Wow! That was some landing!

He was near the house, where it’s a little bit more protected from predators like hawks, but there are a couple of huge cats that roam the neighborhood, and they’d just love to happen upon a stunned bird. So Daisy and I kept watch just in case.

Are you okay, little one?

Fortunately they didn’t come around, and this little guy finally started moving his head in tiny little increments, as if he was testing to see if he could manage it.

Half an hour later, he was turning his head normally and he moved really close to the house until he was ready to fly away. A happy ending!

       

The Post Formerly Known As “Rain, Rain Go Away….”

…but I didn’t want to call it that because my blogging buddy Daily Bailey scooped me on the title! LOL! Both of our dogs have the same reaction to rainy days – they get lazy and enjoy a good loll about the house. I guess it’s the Bichon in Daisy, eh Bailey?

Not much outdoor time for Daisy this week. We’ve had rain, rain, and more rain with dark gray cloudy skies and thunder in between. Whatever happened to “April showers bring May flowers”? Seems to me like this year, April showers have just brought more May showers.

So now this:

Has turned into this:

And this:

Has turned into this:

Frankly, I prefer the snow. At least we can take Daisy out to play in it, and it’s so beautiful. (Rain can be beautiful too, but not when it lasts a whole week and floods the yard!)

And then there’s the work involved. When Daisy goes out in the snow, she comes back in and simply gets blow-dried. On rainy days, she has to be bathed – she’s so low to the ground that she comes in with a muddy underside, muddy legs, and muddy paws. Not to mention that wonderful “wet dog smell”…yuck. And I don’t even want to talk about what happens when she inevitably shakes herself off before we can get her into the bath!

Sniffle…Cough…ACHOO! Can Dogs Catch Our Colds?

I’m sitting here sniffling and sneezing with a nasty winter cold. Ugh. Not surprising, though, since I always seem to be around lots of people who don’t mind sharing their cold germs. Very generous indeed!

Ack! Keep those cold germs to yourself, please!!

I got concerned that Daisy could catch this thing – it’s a strong one, and from what I’ve heard, they’re lasting anywhere from 2-4 weeks this year. Now THAT’S something to look forward to…{said with extreme sarcasm}.

Anyway, from what I’ve read, it seems that neither colds nor the flu can be transmitted from human to dog, or vice versa. Dogs can catch their own kind of cold, but they can’t catch ours.

Thank goodness.

There was an exception, apparently, with the 2009 H1N1 flu, which was transmitted to some dogs, cats and ferrets(!). Since we don’t know what flu strain will actually be prevalent each year or whether it can be transmitted to our pets until it’s too late, here are a few precautions you can take:

~ Don’t shower your pet with germs. Cover coughs and sneezes.

~ Wash your hands frequently (a good practice anyway).

~ Make sure to keep your pet out of the garbage where he could get hold of  your tissues (yuck).

~ Restrain from close cuddling during the flu’s most contagious time – while you still have a fever.

Essentially, you just give your dog the same consideration as you would anyone else. Pretty simple.

I’m gonna go lie down now. Stay well everyone!

Northeast Ice Storm

Today’s a day when a picture is worth a thousand words – I took these photos this morning of our ice-covered world here in the northeast:

Icicles hanging from the bird feeder look like holiday decorations

Ice encased car

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iced tree branches

 

 

Icicles even hang from the planters!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I'll stay warm and cozy.

 

 

Daisy watches her squirrel buddy under the bird feeder

 

Rewind: Frozen Havachon a la Coat

Before the Big Storm, we’d just bought Daisy a new weatherproof fleece-lined coat. The hand-me-down dressy coat just wasn’t cutting it with all our snow this year. It just got soaked and weighed her down.

This is SO humiliating!

When we tried the new coat on Daisy, she froze in place. Positively froze. Wouldn’t move.

And when we put the hood on her, she lowered her head as if it weighed a ton and just stood there like a dozing cow. I got down on the floor with her, and once again she shoved her head into the crook of my arm, as if she was so embarrassed by this new contraption. (Very reminiscent of the Great Christmas Antler Humiliation!)

This is NOT a hat-loving dog!

I can't see a thing!!

Ugh! Not another hat!

Snow…Daisy… Havachon Winter Wonderland!

No need for words today, the pictures tell the story of our 14+ inch overnight snowfall and one happy Havachon puppy! Have a cup of cocoa while you visit with us, these pictures will give you chills even if you’re in a warm climate!

During the snowfall. Wheeeeee!!!!

Daisy modeling her new winter coat during the snowfall.

Put the cocoa on! I'm ready to come inside!

Over 14 inches!

Nature at her most beautiful in winter.

Only room for one at the Avian Diner

Large branches weighed down into the snow.

Back yard beauty…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting his turn at the feeder

Back yard beauty

The Seed is Always Sweeter on the Other Side of the Bird Feeder

We finally have a true winter in the northeast, with lots of snow, ice, and freezing rain. Temps below the freezing mark for many days in a row – no wimpy winter this year!

Light snow today, followed by a Nor’easter tomorrow through Thursday with “significant” accumulations.

Yesterday had below zero wind chills.

As a result, the winter birds are looking for food, since so many of their usual sources remain buried in snow or are encased in ice. So we keep our bird feeder filled, and in return, they give us the beauty of their presence.

I knew it was going to be a rough winter back in fall, when I saw the squirrels’ bodies beefing up beyond their normal winter fullness and their tails thicker than ever.

And the birds were getting fatter and fatter in preparation for the long winter months ahead. While the weather forecasters predicted a mild winter, Nature knew differently.

The perches on our 4-perch bird feeder are constantly filled with birds and there’s a waiting line! One bird waits its turn on the squirrel baffle, one on top of the feeder, another on top of the pole, a bunch in the tree branches watching and waiting. Another dozen or so pecking at the fallen seed on the ground, just waiting for an opening above.

Waiting their turn...with a dozen more on the ground and more in the trees

But the puzzling thing is: when there’s plenty of food in every trough, why do they always have to move to another perch and pull food from that side? Why is the seed always sweeter on the other side of the bird feeder?

Sometimes they even go so far as to push another bird off its perch so they can taste the delicacies around the corner. Other times, when there are fewer “customers” at the Avian Diner (LOL!), they go from perch to perch, around and around the feeder, sampling morsels from each.

It’s all the same stuff. Wild Bird Food. Period.

I’ve noticed that the female cardinal’s colors are suddenly getting brighter on her neck and under her tail; even her beak seems to be a brighter orange.

Deep winter blesses us with abundant beauty.

Snow Day = Snow Play! Another First For Daisy! :)

A continuation of the Year of Firsts – Daisy’s first snowfalls.

We love snow, we love everything about it.

That incomparable, peaceful quiet that accompanies the falling snow.
The outline of tree branches in that frosty winter white.
The unifying purity that blends landscapes into acres of uninterrupted beauty.
The icicles that decorate the house in nature’s glory.
The sparkle of the snow that embraces the ground in a diamond-clad coating.

We LOVE snow.

And now, so does Daisy.

It seems to energize her…not that she needs any additional energy LOL! But take her out during a snowfall and she races around like she’s celebrating this amazing transformation of her world.

We got about 9 more inches of snow today! DD took Daisy out in her heavy pink coat with the furry collar (given to us by a friend); she stepped into the snow and stopped as if she were trying to figure out what this crunchy cold stuff was. (We couldn’t take her out after the last snowfall because we ended up with over 3 feet of snow – she’d have become a frozen pupsicle! LOL

This snow makes my ears look pretty wild!!

Once Daisy stepped into the deeper snow, she and DD romped around the yard for several minutes. She stopped occasionally to investigate this miracle of nature, pushing her face into the snow, shaking herself off (with no real results!), and racing around with her ears flying helter-skelter.

Several minutes was apparently Daisy’s maximum endurance level – after that, she wanted to return to the warmth of the house! Her legs, feet, and underside were covered in icy balls. We wrapped her in a towel and blow dried her, the snowy balls melting off little by little. And a mini-miracle occurred – it was the first time EVER in her 9 month life that she actually LIKED the blow dryer!! The warmth must have been a welcome feeling after being covered in snow and ice balls.

Once dry and warm again, here was the aftermath of Daisy’s first snow day:

....zzzzzzzzz......

Our Frozen Feathered Friend

Over the weekend we had a bit more snow – not enough to keep us housebound this time, but just enough to put a fresh white coating over the snow that’s been on the ground for a while.

During this beautiful snowfall, I glanced out the window at the bird feeder and saw this pretty little gal, a female cardinal, who appeared to be frozen in place:

I say that she seemed to be frozen there because I watched her in that position for a couple of minutes before going to get my camera, coming back, taking my time zooming in, etc. and then taking the shot. She remained there for quite a while longer even after all that. It’s unusual to see a bird stay motionless in the same spot for such a long period of time – she never even moved her head!

It seemed to me as if she’d been happily eating at the feeder, never noticing that all the other birds had flown away when the snow started, and then suddenly, she turned around and saw the snow coming down pretty heavily. I imagined her staring at it for so long thinking, “Uh ohhhhhhh…what do I do now? Which way is home? I don’t like flying in snow!” LOL

Eventually she did leave, but she was sitting in that same position for more than 5 minutes. Whatever her reason, she gave me a great photo op!

I'm so glad to be warm and toasty with my fleece blankets!