Hi anipals!

I don’t know what the weather has been like near you, but I hope it’s as nice as it has been here! The last few days it’s been getting colder but still really nice and sunny. It’s quite heavenly although running through the fields is a bit difficult since it’s rained off and on at night. I come home with my paws caked in mud. Mom’s not too thrilled and I’m leaving a beach-worth of sand in the entry hall every night…but that’s all part of spring fun.

I definitely notice that spring is coming, though. The warmer weather is starting to set in and it’s not quite as blustery and chilled each morning. By the time we’re done with the walk and I’ve chased a ball a few times, I am just pooped. Mom almost has to drag me back home and then I just wander around the house for a while until I find a corner to lay down in. I prefer the cold floor of our mudroom but since the door is usually closed I can’t get in there…and when I do I’m always afraid I will get locked in if someone doesn’t notice me. It’s very traumatic for me.

I wanted to share some photos of one of the last walks we took in the snow. It also happened to be Valentine’s Day. A few days later, all this beautiful snow was gone but I sure did have fun playing in it until it all melted away. You can barely even tell that it was practically a blizzard out there! The snow was coming down like crazy. Looks nice, though, doesn’t it?

Lucky for me (and sometimes also unlucky because he still nibbles on my ears a lot) we ran into Dexter and his mom. Which meant we got to roll around, jump, crash into each other and otherwise play in all the lovely snow. I made sure that Dexter knew right from the start that I was in charge of these games.

Even though we look ferocious, we really were just having fun. Dogs look really mean and intense when they play sometimes which really makes humans concerned…but we just like to play rough and show off to each other.

And sometimes we just like to show our strength and dominance. Dexter is a pretty big dog already although I greatly outweigh him. But he still manages to hold his own when we wrestle…I think he just likes it when I put him in his place.

How he manages to run sideways I just do not know. The dog has a gift.

After round one, Dexter had to chow down on a few mouthfuls of snow. We were really worked up and panting hard. Few things are better than cold, icy, fresh snow after a long round of roughhousing. But dogs, always be sure to stay away from the yellow stuff. It may look like a banana or lemon flavored snow cone…but I assure you it is NOT!

Dexter also had to go and great Mackenzie. It’s funny because he is really scared of most children, especially if they are in a stroller. Mack was actually in her sled which turned out to be the perfect height for licking her. I guess he’s not scared of her because she’s really calm and quiet around dogs…and I’ve told him that she loves giving me treats at home. So perhaps he’s hoping to score something from her.

After all that, Dexter wanted to play a bit more…but I just wanted to get back home and prepare for a nap. As we walked home, Dexter would dash away and try to get me to chase him. It almost worked a few times…but finally I just let him do his thing. I’m getting too old for all the craziness. And, to be honest, I’d much rather just walk over to him than run. I got a lot of Newfie butt to carry around with me!

Dexter’s enthusiasm in no way meant that he wasn’t at least a little tired, though. I mean look at his tongue…it’s got to be sticking out at least twice as far as mine!

It was a really good time and I only had to stop to get snow out of my paw once. I hope that our trip to the mountains in two weeks will be filled with more snow and nice walks. Maybe I’ll even make some new friends. And if there’s no snow, at least I don’t have to worry about ice damming in my paws…or being dried off afterwards. Ah, the shame.

Is spring arriving yet where you are? Or are you still looking at snow on the ground and wondering when it will ever stop? 😉

Newfie kisses,

Ayla