WHOA! WAIT!

We are in the season called "Spring." I checked the calendar to make sure. Today is the 26th of April, which is definitely after the 21st. Of March.

But we Bears don't need calendars to know what time of year it is. Usually. 

But yesterday wasn't "usually."

Yup. It snowed!

It showed yesterday, and even overnight. This morning, when I ventured out of the house, it was pretty tough slogging. And messy.

Sigh!












Adding to yesterday's excitement, an old friend came to be a house guest.

Yes, that's Wally. 

For those of you who don't know Wally, he is our daughter-in-law's dog. If A has to work late at the university, I get to take him for a walk, somewhere around supper time. (Our son's family is only two blocks from our place, so walking Wally is no big deal.) Since he and I are already good friends, why shouldn't Wally come and stay with me?

You see, A is going to be away for a while at meetings, in a nice place. So she is taking her whole family along. And J (my wife) is going, too! 

Since a trip to a "far country" would require much more energy that I have, I get to stay home with Wally. And look after two houses. But don't worry about me. I can still split my own fire wood and shovel (at least part of) our sidewalks. (Yes, we did light a fire yesterday, when the electricity was off because of the storm.)

Anyhow, Wally does one of several predictable things. He follows me around the house when I'm moving. He'll rest on the floor of my study while I'm working there — sometimes. Or he rests in his kennel.

Or he sleeps in his kennel.

Or he sleeps on the kitchen floor when I'm eating.

From all that sleeping and resting, you'd think he is a really laid-back dog. And generally he is. However, when I take him for a walk, sometimes Wally sees a cat (or something like that). For Wally, who is a sighthound, cat = prey, and he wants to chase it. In the process, he can drag me all over the place if I'm not careful. He is fast and he is very strong. He would think nothing of chasing and killing a Fox or a Coyote. All in a day's life for a sighthound. For me, not so much. In fact, not at all.

Anyhow, for the next week and a half Wally and I will be sharing this house. And I'm sure we will get along just fine. Unless he decides to chase one of the birds in our back yard. That is just not on! It will bring out the Bear in me! And that will be another matter, entirely, because Wally isn't built to handle Bears.

So, in the meantime, friends, blessings and Bear hugs. As always!

Today's Weather Report

It's 2°C and overcast right now. It is supposed to be -4C overnight with a light wind. Tomorrow's anticipated high is  12C — enough to melt most of the remaining snow. Tuesday's expected high is 17; Wednesday's, 23, with a 10% chance of rain. All this white stuff was just an atmospheric "blip." But I hope the storm didn't kill too many calves — spring storms have a nasty habit of doing that.