Playing With Balls

Once again the weather is doing its rain/sleet/snow thing and the sidewalks are just too dangerous to walk on today.... so Charlie and I are playing indoor games!

I have to admit, Charlie has an embarrassingly full toy box overflowing with a variety of different toys ~ she's spoiled. In fact, she has THREE toy boxes! One is downstairs and includes "small dog" toys that she shares with her roommate, Peanut (a Chihuahua/Shitzu mix); one upstairs in my apartment mostly filled with bouncy balls and food-dispensing toys; and one in the closet with toys that we rotate between the other two toy boxes so they don't get bored with the same toys all the time.

I know.

With all these different toys, I've had an opportunity to learn what my dog really likes. And mostly, she likes to make noise. But not just any noise. She likes squeaky toys that she can "talk" with. Yep, she can make a toy "squeak" a variety of different ways depending on how she holds it in her mouth, and she takes a lot of pride in getting them to make some pretty strange sounds! I love this about her!

The picture above shows a few of her favorites. The spiky ones don't squeak, but she absolutely LOVES the texture of these in her mouth. And I love them because they don't get as slimy as the tennis balls do.

Last Thanksgiving, she got the orange football squeaky toy pictured above. She rolled around with that one for a full hour, completely blissed out with the "duck-like" squeak that it makes.

Today, I bought her this new squeaky toy I found at Marathon Town & Country Store in Wausau. I hadn't planned on getting her any new toys - she has plenty! But the label on this one stated "Special squeaker makes different sounds." A huge smile spread across my face when I read that! I know my dog so well that I could totally see the hours of fun this toy would bring her tonight (and many nights to come). And I was right! She actually voluntarily skipped her dinner tonight because she was so wrapped up in making this thing squeak in her own language.

She's currently hanging out in her tent, happily squeaking away. Oh yeah... she's got a tent too. Yep, I know... spoiled.

Sometimes good toys are hard to come by. Seems like the big box stores have all the same-old generic ones that you find everywhere. I tend to find the best toys at Marathon Town & Country Store... they carry a lot of ones that I never see anywhere else. If you live in this area, you should check them out this Saturday at their 12th annual open house.

Midnight Thunder-Snow

Last night, just after midnight, I woke up to the sound of distant rumbling thunder. I had been thinking earlier that evening that it would be cool to get a thunderstorm about now, but with all the snow and lingering cold weather I figured it would be awhile - so this turn of events put a sleepy smile on my face as I slowly drifted back to sleep. But about a half hour later there was a big *crack* of thunder that woke me up with a start and I thought Charlie might start barking... but she just snuggled herself in closer against me, sighed and went back to sleep.

This morning, though, it appears that there was no thunderstorm last night; everything was covered in 2 inches of wet, dripping snow... last night had to be thunder-snow.

And the crappy weather continues. The National Weather Service is forecasting another 1-3 inches of rain through this evening and then changing over to snow tonight, with additional snow accumulation of 2-4 inches through tomorrow night. Since the rivers and lakes are still ice-covered, all this precipitation is going to cause a lot of flooding problems. And our temperatures continue to be about 15 degrees below normal.

The lack of spring sunshine and change of season is starting to take its toll on me. I'm grumpy, short-tempered, and tired. I need to see some tulips and daffodils pretty soon.

Spring Noise

As the weather warms and people emerge from winter's hibernation, the neighborhood noise increases. There is loud music blasting from a house down the street with skateboarders on their sidewalk doing jumps - landing loudly on the pavement and making banging noises. Whoops and hollers all up and down the street. Cars with windows down, music blaring. High school cross-country runners pounding the pavement and dogs barking from every backyard.

All this noise and we haven't even reached 50 degrees yet! I guess it's only natural to celebrate the change of season by getting outside.

After working on my taxes all morning (and finally finishing them!), Charlie and I walked downtown to enjoy what was left of the day. I wanted to walk across the bridge to Barker-Stewart Island, part of the River Edge Parkway, but I could tell from the bridge that the path was still snowy-slushy and I wasn't wearing proper shoes for that terrain. We turned back and continued walking the Parkway instead. The river is still encased in snow and ice, but there are little spots where water has opened up. The sounds of geese, red-winged blackbirds, finches and robins are everywhere.

There's still plenty of snow piled up everywhere, but it's receding little by little. Which I guess is a good thing for Charlie. You see, Charlie was born in the fall and was technically potty-trained on snow. So when spring rolls around and the snow starts disappearing, it's harder for her to find a "good spot" to go. We had to step off-path quite a few times so she could find a snow-pile to pee on. This is her third spring, and she still insists on doing this. Eventually she'll give in and go pee on the grass, but as long as there is snow left, that remains to be "the good spot."

Funny girl.

Look Both Ways!

The black, crusty snowbanks are finally receding enough for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The angle of the sun in the sky changes the feeling of the season enough to see spring coming. Things outside feel different... there is a hint of warmness in the air, the breeze is swirling bits of dust and dirt, there is a slight feeling of moisture as the snow melts away and winter's dryness dissipates.

Charlie and I are resuming our morning and evening walks on a more regular schedule - no more weather excuses! I'm somewhat surprised (and disappointed in myself) at how skittish Charlie has become towards everyday objects - a half-melted snowman, a plastic bag blowing across the street, sudden loud noises - all make her jump! I feel as though I've let her down by not socializing her to the outside world enough in the winter. I mean, sure we hike in the woods... she's familiar and comfortable with that solitude. It's the city noise that she's become unaccustomed to and now frightens her. I worry what the neighborhood noise will do to her once we are able to open windows in the house!

In order to get her comfortable with city noises again, we've been walking downtown a lot lately. We're noticing a lot more walkers, bikers and skateboarders out now that the weather has gotten a bit nicer and the sidewalks are finally clear.

The other night we proceeded into a crosswalk at a non-busy street corner and were almost hit by a car! He was just going to roll through the stop sign and hadn't even looked in our direction. I yanked Charlie's leash back and watched as his eyes popped out and his mouth formed an "O" as he realized he was about to hit us. We quickly ran across the street and out of the crosswalk, but it makes me ask:

"Why the hell is everyone in such a damn hurry!?"

Life has gotten so hectic that we're running around like chickens with our heads cut off, not even paying attention to where we're going. I'll get off my soapbox now, but geez, I really wish there was a way to make people stop and pay attention.

Today was National Walk To Work Day... which I did. I even noticed a few new people walking the same route as me, presumably also walking to work. I feel so lucky that I live close enough to my workplace to be able to walk. If you live close enough to walk (or bike) to work, I hope you see it as an opportunity to slow down and enjoy life, take care of yourself and do some good for the environment. And if you drive, please look both ways!

Get walking people. 

National Walking Day - April 3

“I come to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home. I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are, grand and beautiful.”
-Henry David Thoreau

Tomorrow, April 3rd, is the American Heart Association's National Walking Day. Click this link for more information and how to get involved. It's a great excuse to wear sneakers to work!

Get Walking!