Memories of Snow

This might have been nice to remember last week when we were melting on our feet, but we certainly weren’t out in the yard last week!

This huge branch fell in the snowstorm in March 2010, the heavy end end on the ground near our picnic table and the other kind of balanced on the fence and some brushy shrubs I have near the fence. When the snow melted just enough for Cookie to join me as I filled bird feeders, she came outside with me. I was eyeing up the branch, trying to decide what I’d do with it, but Cookie had no doubts. As soon as she discovered it she decided it was meant to be her personal backyard playground set, stepped up on it and followed all the branches out as far as she could, then sat down in the middle. She also discovered it made a great step stool onto the picnic table bench, saving her just that much effort of getting from the ground to the bench, then up to the table.

She does this every time we go outside, no matter the season, and today was no different. After I cut the grass I let Cookie out to supervise my work for a while. I remember the day we went out to explore our “new” backyard after the heavy snow and ice and extended cold. Cookie thinks I make too big a deal about her age, but I’m just as thrilled to see her out there climbing her branch this year when she’s 19 as I was last year when she was 18. She’s one tough Cookie!