Snowed In

Snow-covered pines and bamboo in our front yard

Friday afternoon, December 18, the blue-grey mountain across the road abruptly disappeared into white. We were ready to depart for an early Christmas celebration at Leigh's sister's house in Connecticut on Saturday morning. . .or so we thought. The snow came down hard and fast all night Friday and part of the day Saturday.

Our house under 14 inches of snow

 

14 inches of snow and 3 days later we are still digging out with a barn shovel and the snow shovel I bought at the drugstore in the "impulse buy" section Friday morning.

 Una, alert during a previous snow
(which kept us from the Winston-Salem dog show)

Anlyn lurks in a sheltered spot

Noel!

Dashing Through the Snow!

Kalakirya Howff Noel Caerlin, LCM IV, VLCM

This is Vickie's very favorite picture of Leigh's old girl Noel, who will be 12 on Christmas Eve 2009. This picture was taken at a 2002 CHAMP field trial at Montpelier in Virginia, the year she was Number 1 ASFA Borzoi. There was 8 inches of crusted snow on the ground. Cancel the trial because of a little SNOW?  HELL, no! We kicked out a path for the string and ran those puppies! And they had a blast--even the veteran borzoi ran well that day. Vanessa Johnson and Diana Darling were the other borzoi slippers that weekend. No pun intended--though Vickie did a spectacular face-plant in the snow while walking dogs that morning at the motel.

Noel is doing pretty well for her age. She has been retired from lure coursing for several years but she still loves traveling--especialy checking in to the motel. 

She had surgery to remove 4 small mammary tumors last Wednesday and seems to have bounced back nicely. We feel blessed to have her with us.

We sing The First Noel for her every year around this time, but sometimes we customize the words a little, just for her:

The first Noel

The Angels did say,

Was to certain poor Shepherds

In fields where they lay

In fields where they lay,

Chained to their doghouses

Because they were not sighthounds

And could not go lure-coursing.

Noel, Noel, Noel, No-o-eeeelllll!

Go chase the bunnies behind the motel!