Oh dear, somehow I dropped the blogging ball when things started happening too fast around here.  While I want the dogs to have first place in my life, turns out making a living sometimes takes over.   I can’t really say things are back in balance … but I am trying … and as always, my ever patient canine family tries to teach me what is important in life.  Namely, them.

And so this past weekend, the snowest and coldest of our new year in central Virginia … they demanded that we get some fresh air and enjoy our one whole inch of snow.  The sun was brilliant, but even her best efforts only rewarded us with a blistering 21 degrees.  Brrrr…

Going outdoors here is met with great enthusiasm.  Jackson and Maggie blast out like race horses leaving the gate.  Petunia and Emma roll out in a bundle of snarls and posturing, and the rest bring up the rear, hoping that the herding expertise of little Yippee doesn’t manifest with a bite to a flank.

After this initial drama of entering the deep freeze … what do these bundles of athletic prowess do?

What are you looking for Snickers?  Are you finding anything?  I know what I am looking for … but no amount of sniffing seems to produce it.  Can you find some balance for me in that snow?  Can you find me a job that is less stressful?  Is there some magic in that snow that will help me figure out a way to make a living with dogs as the center of the program?

In the end … I agreed with my little pup-sicle … all the searching was only resulting in red checks and no answers for me and little exercise for them.  I think we are all trying to sniff out the answers to our challenges.  I hope 2017 brings the answers we seek!