Introduction to Winter

It sure took long enough this year, but we finally have some snow! You might wonder why a mature dog like me -- after all, I did turn 5 recently -- would be getting so impatient about something as uncontrollable as the seasons.

The reason is that I have been eager to introduce my younger sister Gladys to Winter and all its fun! As a southern dog (she comes from Kentucky and Tennessee), she had never seen snow before moving to Vermont. And her introduction wasn't immediate like mine. I came to Vermont from Virginia in the month of March, and there was still plenty of snow on the ground. Gladys came here in April. There was snow in the mountains at that time, but she never made it up. I bet she's been living all this time thinking that all of life was running in the grass, rolling in leaves, and swimming in the river.

How wrong she was! She got to see snow twice briefly -- once in October and once in November. But only with this last snowfall (not even a deep one, mind you), is she getting the idea that this might be sticking around for awhile. And although she was a bit tentative with the two earlier snowfalls, she is fully embracing this latest one. We are in full-on frolick mode, whether it's running in snow-covered fields or just ruckus-ing in our own backyard. We've been so excited that we both recently jumped the 40-inch fence in our backyard just to get to some freshies. I realize that it's no biggie for a dog my size to hop a 40-inch fence. But Gladys? Get real!

In fact, I used to be sad when my humans left for work, and I'd have to stay home. No longer. Now I look forward to it (please don't tell any humans -- I don't want to hurt any feelings). They leave, and the real fun begins. And I feel the same way about winter.

Let the games begin!