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Monday, February 24, 2014

Unexpected snow

It has been snowing for two solid days. Not wildly, not massively, but very persistently. While the weather forecast called for a couple of inches, the amount of snow has taken everyone by surprise.

This is quite a change from last week, when we had bare ground and even some sunshine.

Here's Lydia, on guard duty.

Wait! Do I see something?


As of yesterday (Sunday) morning we had bare ground. But the snow, while fairly light, hasn't let up in 36 hours.

We've barely had any wind, so the snow pretty much stays where it falls.

Often the snow obscured the view toward our neighbors.

This is excellent weather to stay holed up (an advantage to working at home), but I had an errand that took me to town. The drive was quite lovely...

...until I got clear of the trees. Can you see the road? Well guess what, neither could I.

It was a touch better on the way home. At least I could see some landmarks. Vaguely.

Once I was closer to home, I could once again admire the scenery.

Since I was already "suited and booted," as we call it, I decided to do some barn chores. Here the yearling calves patiently wait for dinner.

Snow on the last of the big tractor tires we got in last fall for the garden.

Here Matilda and Amy were very eager to get into the barn for the night.

Major looks like a reverse Dalmatian in this kind of weather.

Younger Daughter wiped him down with a towel.

Whenever we get snow like this, Lydia gets snowballs between her furry toes...

...which she proceeds to chew out, sorta like yummy snacks.

Then -- often with wet feet -- she'll climb onto somebody's bed and take a nap.

I went out and measured the snow depth at about 4 pm Monday afternoon. Exactly eight inches.

We aren't getting the huge whomping snowstorms the east and midwest are getting, but I'm grateful for the snow we do have. It means moisture for farmers this summer.


  1. I've got a Springer Spaniel with furry paws that are prone to collecting snowballs between the toes. I use a homemade version of a product called "musher's wax" to keep the snow from balling up. I keep bees and so I have plenty of beeswax. You can do an internet search for the recipe. It's essentially 1 part beeswax 1 part oil (I use flaxseed oil, as it's a drying oil and not likely to go rancid) and a very small pinch of borax to emulsify the wax. as a bonus, it keeps the paw pads supple and heals chapping. One small batch lasts all winter.

  2. I couldn't help but laugh about Lydia. I have a black Chow mix and with all that long hair, she's a snow magnet. When she walks in the door, she looks like a chocolate sugar cookie! She loves it though, cause it means her favorite....a tummy rub! Right inside the door, she stops, puts her back feet out a bit, and her front ones forward a bit, and she stays put until she is completely rubbed down with the dog towel. Then it's off to chew out the snow snacks from between her toes and take a nap. Yep, know exactly what you're talking about.

  3. Clip the hair between Lydia,s toes, if possible. She will be thankful. Beautiful dog!!!

  4. For Lydia's feet, there's a product called Musher's Secret. Its basically a mixture of waxes that you apply to the paw pads and the fur inbetween and it prevents snowballs between the toes. I use it on my Tibetan Mastiff and it makes a huge difference.

    Don't trim the fur between her feet though, at least not any more than you already have (if you have), its her natural snowshoes and she needs it!

  5. I wasn't aware that the Great Pyr had double dew claws in the rear as well. Our Beauceron has them, but has that short fur which makes it very easy to see. We get comments all the time about them wherever we go. She is a pretty rare breed most people think are shepherd/doberman mixes, but she's not. Hence the double dews. When breeding the Beauceron they actually bred for the double dews because they found that the dogs who naturally had the double dews had stronger natural instincts. :) We've been blessed abundantly with snow here... but it got up into the 50's this weekend (shock!). Enjoy and thanks for sharing the wonderful photos!

    Learning in NY

  6. and besides our beauceron all of our dogs are of the long fur variety... Australian shepherd, border collie, sheltie (we do dog sport competitions), so ours come in looking like walking snowballs... everywhere!

    Learning in NY