Tag: winter

My Life With Dogs – February 2022

On the prairies January can be a tough month… but sometimes February can be just as daunting. It is one of those swing months that can go either way.

This year, winter wins.

The cold has been unrelenting and the snow just keeps falling. With thoughts of spring deeply buried, my only plan for sanity is to deal with it one day at a time.

We have had so much snow that the access to the backfield has been lost. **sigh** We miss it dearly.

We are still getting out for our daily walks but, especially with the cold, we often spend more time prepping and dressing than walking. Thank goodness for the backyard. It continues to allow for outdoor play.

“Even though February was the shortest month of the year, sometimes it seemed like the longest.” ~ J.D. Robb

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Life With Dogs – February 2021

A polar vortex settled over our prairie city during the early weeks of February, bringing with it record-breaking cold temperatures. Weather-wise, we had been spoiled these past few months so the couple of weeks of extreme cold were a reality check on what defines a Winnipeg Winter.

Walks with the dogs were short ones at best.

Winter jackets became a must. Between the three of us, getting dressed for our morning jaunt often took more effort and more time than the actual walk. But, for the most part, we were out there, every morning.

With wind chills reaching below -40C, outdoor time was kept to a minimum. Lacie and I were fairly content with snuggling on the couch but Odin found the days long.

Thank goodness he is a master at backyard zoomies… a great way to release pent-up energy.

Odin isn’t one to play fetch, but every once in a while he will pick up a toy and RUN!

Lacie, with her constant game of fetch, tolerates the cold much better than Odin. Plus her fur provides a much warmer coat.

Thankfully the end of February is seeing warmer days. The snow and ice are disappearing fast.

Soon it will be the time of splash-boots and towels.

“Without Valentine’s Day, February would be… well, January.” ~ Jim Gaffigan

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This post is part of the 2021 Life With Dogs photography project.
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Project 52 | Week 12 – In Search of Colour

As of this week I will once more be participating in the Pet Photography 52 Weeks Project. This will involve one post a week with an added twist… a blog circle.

With this challenge, we, a group of pet photographers, are given a weekly theme. All participants will post a photo related to the current theme and then will link to the next person in the blog circle. By clicking on the link at the bottom of the post, the reader is taken on a journey from one blog to the next, all connected by the same topic. How fun is this!!

This week’s theme is “Colourful”… a bit of a challenge on the prairies in March.

On this particular cold, March morning we were up early. I happened to glance out the back window and was struck by what I saw. A bright red/orange glow had split our monochromatic winter landscape. There it was… our chance for colour! I hurriedly got dressed, grabbed the dogs and headed out, camera in hand.

Nature did not disappoint.

Heading home. Mission accomplished!

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.” ~ Claude Monet

Project 52 _______________________
This post is part of the Pet Photography Project 52 blog circle. To see what the next photographer is sharing for the weekly theme, “Colourful”, visit Pet Love Photography, serving Greater Cincinnati, the San Francisco Bay Area, and destinations nationwide. Continue to click the link at the end of each post in the blog circle until you eventually find your way back here. Enjoy!

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Project 52 Week 8 – Road Warrior

The theme for Week 8 of the Pet Photographers Project 52 blog circle is “Road Warrior”.

This is a tough one but after some thought, I decided that the best way to interpret this was to relate it to our winter walks on winter roads… one has to be a bit of a warrior when tackling all this snow and the cold.

Here in Winnipeg, we are used to winter weather but this January and February the cold has been unrelenting. With temps dipping down to -40C combined with an above average snowfall the morning walks have been a challenge, to say the least.

But walk we do.

Lacie needs her walks and in all honesty, so do I.

So we dress the dress and walk the walk.

This year I have come to appreciate the warmth provided by a wool scarf covering my lower face and nose. And for Lacie, anything below -20C necessitates an overcoat. We tried and tried the booties for her feet but we can’t seem to keep them on. So now I keep a watchful eye for cold and lifted paws. I have found that as long as she is moving, she is good.

Our winter walks may not be as long as our summer strolls but at least we are out there. We have missed only one morning and considering the weather, that is saying something.

We may be stretching it some by referring to ourselves as road warriors… perhaps winter warriors is more like it.

The frigid morning air brings its own beauty with sundogs occasionally dancing about the morning sun. More sundogs can be seen here and here.

With the passing of the winter solstice, the days are slowly lengthening. More light fills our morning walks bringing with it the promise of warmer days. Not quite yet… but hopefully soon.

“Hear! hear!” screamed the jay from a neighbouring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, “winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Project 52 _______________________
This post is part of the Pet Photography Project 52 blog circle. To see what the next photographer is sharing for the weekly theme, “Road Warrior”, visit Lynda Mowat from Heartstrings Photography, based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Continue to click the link at the end of each post in the blog circle until you eventually find your way back here. Enjoy!

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Snow Day with Dogs

It is the time of never ending winter, early February when the snow falls and flies with each new gust of the north wind. There’s not much to do except to stay indoors, pile on the sweaters and find a good book.

That is, unless you have a dog…

Lacie doesn’t seem to mind the cold and snow. As long as we are outside, preferably with a ball, she is a happy girl.

If not for her, I’m not so sure I would have left the warmth of the house… but how can I resist those sad eyes starring up at me while she rests her soft head on my lap. I know all to well what she is trying to say.

Once outside it’s all about the ball, the chase and then another throw. Over and over til her lifted front feet signal the end of the game. We trudge back indoors, leaving wet footprints along the entrance floor, shedding leashes, scarfs,coats and mitts as we go.

Warm again… until the next go.

Life with dogs… it gets us going, even when we would rather not.

“Snow flakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes…”

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