As I proclaim, “But, it’s still autumn,” the dogs are chomping at the bit to get up outside. They always seem to be extra excited with the first snowfall of the season. Saturday afternoon, as I made several trips outside to remove the heavy, wet snow from my coveted pink Dogwood tree and my lovely young Cousa Dogwood tree, the dogs raced around the backfield as the snow fell rapidly and in massive quantities from the sky. I loved watching them leap like white tail deer through the deepening snow. They kept it up for hours. No desire to come inside.
The inevitable occurred – by 4:15 PM on Saturday, we had lost power. It was restored briefly at 6:00 PM. When the lights went back on, I jumped into action getting the dogs fed, preparing dinner, and showering (the last one I’d see for a while). That done, darkness fell and the snow seemed to intensify. Both Dogwood trees were now bent over and buried under a heavy blanket of saturated white stuff. I’d simply have to let nature take its course.
After dinner, the dogs, now tired out from the afternoon’s glorious romp and well fed, were happy and content to lie in front of the fire – James on his dog bed right next to the fire and the girls, Annie and Lily, cozying up with me on the couch. We could hear the wind whirling outside and the snap of tree limps breaking under the weight of the waterlogged snow. Power went out for good at 1:00 a.m. and the snow continued throughout the night.
Sunday morning revealed a 14-inch covering of snow and trees down everywhere, large branches dangling precariously from electrical wires. Power was out throughout the county and other parts of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. I strapped on my snowshoes and the dogs and I headed out to do a perimeter check of the fencing surrounding the backfield. Fortunately, none of the large old maples on the hillside had fallen over the fencing – all was intact. This is always my first concern. The sky was bright blue, the sun was shining, and the dogs were loving the deep snow. I ran around the yard with them making tracks with my snowshoes. They love to play the snowshoe game!
We’re now into day five of the power outage. Everything from the refrigerator has been dumped in the trash. Tree and power crews are working round the clock to remove fallen limps from electrical wires and repair downed wires. Recovery is slow and we’ve been told that power might be restored by Friday….!!!! Throughout it all, the dogs have been terrific. They’ve spent the warm 50 degree days outside playing for long stretches of time. When nighttime darkness settles in and the candles and flashlights are lit, they settle right down. Great dogs they are! If only people could be as patient and content!
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