Drifting Along ....

It's mid-February and the main topic of conversation these days is spring flooding. Again. This year. It's getting really old. We have more snow than we did last year at this time, and it has a higher moisture content than last year's. And, just like last year, there is more snow south of us - snow that eventually melts and runs north. Crazy river. Many people still have battle fatigue from last year ... so the thought of going through it all again is hard to take. I broke down and spent my vacation budget on flood insurance. It was just too close last year. The big unknowns yet are how much precipitation we'll receive in March and April, and how fast the snow melts. A slow melt is what we're hoping for.

The long winter starts to take a toll on everyone about now; including the girls. They've been fighting more the past few weeks, and I'm not sure what that's about. It may be that they haven't been getting enough exercise. We've been getting out with the snow shoes on weekends, but I've turned into a wimp on weeknights. I get home from work and just want to hibernate for the rest of the night ... especially now with the Olympics going on! I tell myself that the girls are 9-1/2 and almost 11 now and they don't need as much exercise! But they've put on a couple of extra pounds, and we all sleep better if we get out for at least a short walk in the evening. Their leads are buried somewhere deep in the snow, so I let them run unleashed in our neighborhood. They're usually pretty good about staying close to home, but they do like to wander down the block to a house rented by college students where they know they're likely to find left over pizza and other tasty delights. One night last week I let them out to go potty about 11:00. When Dee Dee didn't come right back, I called for her, and she barked - from my neighbor's yard. There is a fence between us, but the drift in my yard is so high that she was able to walk right up and over it. Getting back wasn't so easy. I had to put my boots and coat on over my pajamas and sneak into my neighbor's yard to rescue her. I wasn't too happy with her that night - nor the next day when Princess did the same thing! The drifts are like concrete. I cracked my bumper on one at the end of the driveway (grrrr ...) and the girls have cut a track through the back yard on top of the snow. It's kind of funny because, looking out the back door, you'd never know we had a deck! It's just one giant snow drift that covers everything. Yes, we are longing for spring .... we just don't want it to come all at once!