This Olympian Should Win A Medal In Humanity

I’m not a sports lover, so I’m not one for watching the Olympics (don’t throw rotten fruit at me!!); in recent years I’ve become disgusted by the inhumanity some countries embrace just to make their streets look better for the cameras and tourists, not to mention attracting new business.

From China bulldozing generations-old family huts and leaving poverty-stricken families homeless – their main goal for doing this, of course, was to make things look good for reporters’ and tourists’ cameras – to Russia euthanizing thousands of homeless stray dogs with pesticides, the greed and ugliness behind the spectacle turns my stomach and turns me off. What seems to have started out all those years ago as a true athletic competition in the spirit of good sportsmanship seems to have turned a very ugly corner.

But there are bright spots – people with hearts who won’t ignore these atrocities, like the Russian billionaire who created a makeshift shelter to save those poor strays, many of which were just puppies.

And US Olympian Gus Kenworthy, a silver medalist who makes me proud to have him represent our country for far more than just his medals. Kenworthy was arranging for puppy vaccinations and trying to bring at least four puppies he found in Sochi back home with him.

One guy making a difference. Imagine that multiplied by hundreds. If only.

Gus Kenworthy takes home more than a gold medal in my opinion – he gets an unprecedented platinum medal for heart, humanity, and kindness. And that may be an understatement.

It’s not those animals’ faults that they’re strays….

We’re part of the Thursday Barks & Bytes blog hop, hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog.

Daisy, the Ice Princess

And so it came about a week ago, just as predicted – a snow storm followed by an ice storm. I think the winter of 2014 is making up for all those years that we haven’t had a proper winter!

MORE snow is on its way?? Wow, we’ve had more snow this year than I’ve seen in my entire 3 years!

Daisy was kept very busy inside, sounding off her doggy-alarm every time a chunk of ice or snow fell off the roof and smashed onto the ground. To be fair, the ice and snow are so heavy that they did sound like they were ripping off part of the house.

AND NOW WE’RE GETTING ANOTHER SNOW/ICE STORM TODAY INTO TOMORROW – our sixth this winter! Right on top of the many, many inches of snow still on the ground! This is the storm that crippled Atlanta, Georgia yesterday. With the high winds we’re getting, they’re saying this may actually be classified as a blizzard.  I’m not surprised, there are near-white-out conditions outside right now (as you can see by the lack of clarity in the photo). Here’s what I woke up to, and we have a l-o-n-g way yet to go (possibly 14″!).

Just the start of the latest snowstorm in a record-breaking snow season!

So what’s the best thing for a chilly puppy to do after using up so much energy protecting us from all that falling ice and running through the snow outside?

Find the puppy!

We’re in Thursday Barks and Bytes hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog. Grab the badge and join the fun!

Here We Go Again…..

The last batch of snow is still on the ground, and yesterday we got another big blast! Another foot of snow came down – it snowed for 12 hours straight, from around 5 AM through 5 PM. But it was a gorgeous snowfall – tons of flakes gently making their way straight down with no wind. Just making everything look beautiful.

I love that very special quiet that comes with a good snowfall, and how pristine everything looks. No cars moving, no outdoor garden equipment blaring, and everything is unified by a sparkling blanket of white. It’s exquisite.

Early morning light kissing the snow-topped trees in our back yard. Just breathtaking!

Even our house was decorated in a sparkling icy fringe:

Mother Nature graced our home with crystal icicles.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Daisy is staying outside longer and longer now that she’s wrapped up in her warm red puffy coat. Well, guess what? She’s starting to like the snow again! She seems to have a pattern. First she’s on Border Patrol all the way around the yard:

I must make sure our borders are secure from intruders! Oh wait, what’s this? Deer tracks? Cool!

Then she takes DD on a wild run, zigzagging to and fro across the yard:

Race ya back to the house!

Haha beat ya!

Now that’s the kind of snow fun I love to see a dog have! 😀 I can’t wait to introduce her to snowballs…. Tonight we’re supposed to get more snow – anywhere from 6 to 16 inches, depending on how the storm moves. Tomorrow it gets a bit scary, though, because the storm is supposed to turn into an ice storm, making driving extremely dangerous. They’re already telling us to stay home and off the streets. I don’t mind more snow, but ice storms are another thing!