Thursday, February 07, 2013


We are expecting something unusual today: sunshine. At least during the morning hours. We had some sun yesterday, too. Wow! Two days in a row. It has certainly been gloomy of late. And wet. The rain seems constant. The puddles never drain or dry up.

Running water on and around the vineyard road. If you enlarge the picture, you might see how muddy the dog is.

Callie comes back from every walk covered in sand and mud from her flanks down to her toes. That, of course, necessitates a shower on our return before she's allowed back into the house. We have a routine and she willingly steps into the utility room shower stall for her "undercarriage wash." Then it's a buff dry with her special towels.

And she gets this "spa treatment" twice a day. When it's very cold out and everything's frozen, she doesn't need a bath. Likewise, when it's very hot and dry in the summer, no bath is necessary. But right now it's cold but not frozen, and wet, wet, wet. Lots of cold, damp fun.

Instead of saying "let's go for a walk," I now say, "let's go get the muddy paws."


  1. Mud, that sounds like a reason for pause!!!

  2. I am sure unknown to you, that Callie likes walking in the mud....good thing she does not roll around in it.
    "Let's go get the muddy paws."

  3. Hi Virginia, Callie rolls in stuff, but it's not mud. It's worse. Ken

  4. When I had an English Sheepdog, I could have used a shower in a utility room. Did you add it or was it already in your home when you purchased it?
    Long-haired dogs in the northwest winter/spring without that convenience made life interesting...and used up a lot of towels and sweat equity.

  5. I used to spend many an hour playing in the mud as a child :)

  6. In his dotage, our dog Mickey has taken to rolling in poo. We can't figure out what the appeal is all of a sudden, but we've had to give him a lot more baths lately. And without the benefit of a utility room shower. I'm glad you guys have a good setup for that.


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