And here I was worrying about missing the snow by living on the east coast? Ha! I love the way snow looks, I love how you can play in it, I love how my dog loves it. But I don’t love how the DC area is not prepared to deal with it, so I don’t expect to be able to drive for at least a couple days, given that it’s not supposed to stop falling til tomorrow evening. This normally wouldn’t be an issue, but I have stuff to do. I’m on my way to Colorado next week for a temporary work assignment, for which I’m totally stoked. It’s funny how things just fall in your lap sometimes. But I guess for now I’ll just catch up on my reading and play with “Bon Hiver,” nickname number 11 for  the snow-addicted canine princess.

This winter I’ve noticed that the lift-served snowboarding just isn’t cutting it. Maybe it’s because Tahoe ski resorts are more crowded and have less trees than Telluride, or maybe it’s that I lack ski buddies so when I go, I seek more of a solitary time with nature than a party on the mountain. But the snowboarding these days just isn’t filling my need for nature. So I’ve taken to going hiking at Boca Reservoir, which sometimes is more like postholing (especially for the dog), but it’s a great spot for hiking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing – and there are bald eagles there! Supposedly. At least, I saw one flying over I-80 the other day and heard that they nest near the reservoir, but I’ve yet to see one there thus far.

After patiently waiting in the car while I went snowboarding for two hours, I guess she had to take her energy out somehow. Thinking I’d get her nice and tired, I threw the toy over the snow bank and down the hill, and was immediately overcome by guilt when we both realized the snow was too deep for her and she quickly got stuck and looked pleadingly at me with that scared look in her eye. So I trudged down, pulled her out of the hole, and pushed her back up the hill as I crawled on my hands and knees, every now and then plunging past my knees and filling my boots with snow. If you’re looking for an adventurous workout for you and your dog, this one combines cardio and lunges with fear, guilt and wet socks. Perfect, right?