I’m pretty sure we’re getting Winter all in one week! The clouds gathered over the lake, and arriving Thursday night along dune's edge, began to drop snow. And boy, did it accumulate quickly! We had about 8” here in North Muskegon by Saturday morning. The snow continued to fall through Sunday, and this morning we are well over a foot of snow. A rarity here in Michigan - at least in the past 7 years…
Saturday, in our excitement of the fresh snow, my husband, Andy, and I packed up the kiddos and headed inland toPatterson Park, one of our favorite small town parks in Ravenna. With my camera in hand, and dressed for the Arctic cold temperatures, I let the dogs loose. They jumped out of the truck and dashed for the field… only making it about 10 feet before turning around and looking at Andy in a sad and longing way. He laughed out loud as he lit his cigar, and trudged out into the snow, plowing a path for the dogs, who happily followed.
The snow was so deep that from across the field, all you could see was the tips of Winston’s ears and every so often, Amelia’s head as she clambered up on Winston’s back with a lack of patience and much frustration that she couldn’t get around him to bound ahead and blaze the trail. Andy had it right when he called them “snow dolphins” as the dogs disappeared, then quickly reappearing further down the field with a wave of snow flying to either side, their smiles covered in the fresh powder.
They tired quickly, forced to take stop in their tracks to take a break and rethink the direction they were choosing to plow toward. I watched closely to ensure they weren’t getting too cold, but neither showed signs of being chilled. Amelia has blown her entire undercoat, but her high energy and short attention span was keeping her moving, staying warm enough to continue our adventure.
It was entertaining to see Winston and Amelia bound around and struggle in the snow. When Andy and I were ready to start packing up the truck, the dogs begged for another lap in the field, to which we caved and let them stay a bit longer to play. Winston vocalized his displeasure in having to leave, but was soon sound asleep in the back seat on our drive home.
This week is going to be bitter cold and nearly every day we are predicted to get more lake effect snow. I’m sure by Friday, we’ll be needing balloons to tie to Winston and Amelia’s collars in order to keep track of them in the deep snow!
Stay warm, enjoy the winter wonderland, and cheers to it finally feeling like Winter!
