The calm before the storm

It was shattered yesterday. A sweet and mild day full of drips of melting snow and bird calls and soft sun was followed by a punch in the nose of a snow storm. I can easily ice my armpits in the backyard without lying down and the squirrels need some extra bounce today.

But a bigger storm will hit tonight. Hurricane Tasha is coming to stay. I have put little PostIt notes that read "This belongs to Finnegan. Do not touch," on all the furniture and my toys and water dish and food bowl. The cats are teaching each other how to plug their ears with their paws and they keep falling over in their attempts. My Person seems absolutely oblivious (what else is new) and isn't preparing nets, dungeons, chains, separate dining facilities, ANYTHING! I better put one of those PostIt notes on her.

So I am enjoying the quiet - broken only by the growls of snowplows and the snaps of snow shovels and people's backs. And waiting for the real storm to begin.

Sunbathing

Roller coaster weather has left us all a bit dazzled. It has thawed, then frozen, then thawed, then frozen so many times lately people don't know whether to wear their shorts or their long underwear. I have seen someone wear both at the same time! I bet people wish they all had one outfit, serviceable and stylish for all weather conditions, like a certain little red dog does.

The cat brothers are stupified by the sunlight. (And by everything else but we won't talk about that now.) While I am busy working, pulling squirrel duty from the back step - admittedly a very sunny spot - Adric and Ollie are inside lounging and giving each other a good tongue washing. I'd give them a good tongue lashing for being so lazy, but maybe they feel like they are working.

I could use a bath too but I am not really due until May. So I will give one of my socks a slurp and let the sun do the rest of the work.

Cold nose, warm heart

Today is a tough day for some folks, especially visiting and thin-blooded southern Best Friends, but I am just the guy to warm the day up. My nose may feel cold but I am a hot dog! Lots of running and jumping and snuggling will make Valentine's day warm no matter what the thermometer says.

I also recommend barking for warming things up. Ask my friend Tasha. She's an expert.

She came for a sleep over this week and we had a blast. In two separate rooms of course. We played a great game called "I can't see you and therefore you do not exist!" whenever we had to be in the same room together. Adric the Cat tried to paste her a few good ones making him my favorite cat brother, right after Pico and Ollie that is. (Hmmm, bottom of the list as usual. Sorry Adric.)

I can't wait until Tasha comes back for a longer stay so here's a little shout-out to her and everyone else too: Happy Valentine's Day!

Mug shot

I am recovering from a visit by my human cousins. They are pretty fun but the indignities I endure to amuse them!

I got my own back today though. I led them on a merry chase around the dog park, running lightly through deep damp snow and leaping logs and skittering across icy ground. I can think of two kids who are going to sleep well tonight! They were lying in twisted piles more than they were chasing me. "Let's corner him!" they yelled time and time again. As if!

Still, we had a good visit together. I stared at them meltingly until they handed over pizza. I nosed around under their covers to keep them awake. I made sure they got up extra early and I ate their breakfast leftovers when they weren't looking.

Now it is just me and my Person to clear away the dishes and the blankets and the spills and the books and art supplies. But I got a wee bit tired out entertaining my cousins so maybe I'll just have to sleep through the clean-up!

Back on the job

Okay. I woke up from my delirium of happiness and there is still work to do. So here I am, up a tree, wondering what to do next.

The weather is warming up so I will spend more time outside today. This means I can chase more squirrels and there are more dogs at the dog park that need some harassing. Rumor has it that my only dog friend is coming for a sleep-over soon so I am going to practice all my snarky tricks like stealing treats really fast and always being in front on a walk. Plus I need to sneak a magic marker from my Person and draw a circle around everything that the Barking Furball Tasha is not allowed to touch. Like the contents of the livingroom.

Meanwhile my human cousins are heading my way so I have chores to do to get ready. I better go linger near my leash until my Person gets the drift and off we'll go for the day.