Hibernating

It's been a long week and it's about to get worse. We've been experiencing some extremely cold temps lately and starting tomorrow we're going to get a blizzard and wind chills in the negative 50 degree range that will last most of this week. We haven't seen temps this low here since February 1996 - that was the month/year that I moved to Wausau... 23 years ago.

It's pure craziness. And that's exactly what our cooped-up lives have been like this week - crazy.

The dogs are going crazy and so am I. Stir crazy, that is.

We're running out of indoor games to play and I'm getting tired of limiting their outdoor time to go potty so I don't end up having to carry them in when their paws freeze and they refuse to move. (Yes, this has happened twice in the past week).

Honestly, I'm not looking forward to this week. It's going to be even harder than last week. 

Despite the cold outside, I made the best of it inside today. The sun was shining so bright I felt like I needed sunglasses in the house! I spent most of the day baking dog treats in my kitchen so I could enjoy the south-facing windows and absorb as much sunlight as possible. I even wore shorts because my kitchen was getting so warm from the combination of the sun streaming in, the oven on for over an hour and the dehydrator running all day. It felt like summer inside, but outside was another story.

I play games with the dogs, but as soon as I stop, they give me this look like "that's all you got?" Every time I turn around I'm confronted with sad puppy eyes and defeated postures. Either that, or they're barking at me to play but quickly get tired of whatever I play with them... they just want to be outside and stretch their legs on a long walk or hike.

I completely understand. I want that too. My body is feeling sore from sitting around too much. I long to take a hike and get some exercise too. This winter has not turned out the way I wanted it to.

But I guess that's Mother Nature for you. These kind of days make you appreciate the good ones. Looks like we're in for another week of hibernation.

No Snow

We never got the snow that we were supposed to get this weekend. Sidewalks and hiking trails are still icy in most spots. While I don't mind the "no shoveling" part of not having snow, this bare icy ground is getting old. I wanted Jake to have a chance to play in the snow this winter... diving into piles of snow and digging out buried tennis balls with a face full of snowflakes.

In the meantime, we're making the best of what we've got. Yesterday's weather consisted of freezing mist. It lent a nice glowing light to the scenery, but it was bitterly cold with the light wind.

We hiked for a bit and tried out my new camera lens, but the chilly dampness kept us from going too far or staying out too long. My hands were frozen by the time we got back to the car... I could barely feel my fingertips.

Thankful for the thermos of hot coffee back at the car, we slowly thawed out on the drive home. Roads were slippery with the freezing mist, so travel was slow.

Back home, we all laid down for a short nap in a warm bed... snuggled together for warmth.

Still hoping for some snow soon.

A Breath of Spring Before the Storm

For the past few days we've enjoyed temps in the high 30's to low 40's - absolute pleasure for the beginning of January in Wisconsin! It's been like a breath of spring. We've taken advantage of the warmer weather with a long Friday night walk, a sunny Saturday afternoon urban hike with Alan and a solo hike with just me and the dogs this afternoon.

During our urban hike with Alan, the dogs came across some open water near the trail and insisted on taking a dip. I'll never understand why dogs want to go swimming in the winter! But since both dogs have some Labrador Retriever in them, it's impossible to keep them out of water if it's available. And once Charlie was in, Jake had to go in too.

Soaking up the warmth, sunshine and mild breeze has been so invigorating for all of us. I think it's a special gift from Mother Nature when you get a chance to enjoy the outdoors with a break from the cold, dark days of deep winter.

Tonight we're forecast to get 3-6" of wet snow, so for this weekend we took advantage of the current minimal snow cover on the ground and enjoyed some great hiking. By next weekend, we could be using our snowshoes!

I'm also experimenting with my Canon DSLR camera and researching a new lens purchase. My current lens is a normal lens and I'm dying to get a wide angle lens so I can get some better photos. In the meantime (while I'm researching which lens to buy - and how much to spend), I'm learning my camera's settings and getting comfortable using manual and auto settings so that once I have my new lens, I'll be ready to rock and roll!

On our hike today, I was surprised that we had the trail all to ourselves. I was sure with the warmer weather that we'd run into some other hikers or horse-back riders, but we lucked out. The dogs fully enjoyed their off-leash time today.

It was apparent that horses had been using this trail recently due to the sporadic piles of manure. Unfortunately, both dogs decided that these piles were placed there just for them to enjoy and were continuously sneaking bites of this decadence. After a while I gave up trying to shoo them away from their snack... I remember reading somewhere that people and dogs (throughout history) have "reset" their digestive systems by eating poop. Hopefully the doggos were getting something they needed from these treats, and even though they get a monthly de-wormer which should prevent anything icky happening internally, they won't be giving me kisses anytime soon.

Jake indulging in "horse snacks"

We took a couple of short breaks during our hike. I sat on a log or a rock and just watched these two hilarious dogs playing in the woods; teasing each other with stolen sticks or prized pieces of wood for a game of chase. I get so much joy from just observing their silly dog behavior.

The rest of our weekend will be spent at home, cleaning the house, watching some t.v. and resting up before we have to shovel snow tomorrow. It was a very good weekend. We hope you got to enjoy some outdoor time with your pups this weekend!

VIDEOS (click links):

Sharing sticks on a hiking break:

Taking a break to eat wood: