Happy New Year! After fighting my way to the end of 2022 through a tough virus, I’m back to celebrate 2023 with y’all! Holiday celebrations were over the top here on the high desert. Enjoying faith, family, furry friends, and food, everything was at it should be. Plainly, my holidays were magical for the first time in a very, very long time.
My Mysterious Marine is the pet of a dog we’ll call Wookie. I wrote that correctly. He doesn’t not HAVE a pet, he IS the pet, as am I with Oliver. Wookie is quite a character, for sure, smiling purposely when she is happy. The internet states that 93% of dog owners THINK their dogs can smile. In reality, only 3% of the dog world can truly smile. Even less smile at the right time. Wookie smiles when her heart is singing. She smiles when her favorite girlfriend comes to the door. (That’s me.) If you laugh, she smiles more brightly. Oliver and I are smitten with Wookie. Now, she is about to increase the canine population by 6 or 7. Wookie is heavy with “Wooklings”. Oliver hasn’t quite caught on yet, but in just a few short days, he’ll understand completely. He’s going to be the honorary “Dad”.
Wookie has a complete staff of two loyal, thumb-laden minions that will cater to her every need. She’ll have her very own birthing suite and two doggie-doulas at the ready. Excitement is building. Stay tuned for future announcements.
With the holidays officially over, and Valentine’s Day just around the corner, boxes packed with the red and green of Christmas are ready to return to the barn. There’s a slight cause for delay.
Snow.
Last night, as I slept soundly while still recovering from the Death Flu of 2022, snow fell quietly on the desert floor. This morning, I awoke to 3″ of white covering everything in sight. I do love the distinct seasons here on the desert. Living in the Central Valley of California, there were two seasons. Hot and Fog. Of course, you could drive three to four hours in any direction and find a little variety, but in much of California, you don’t experience snow. Ever. Of course, the trade off is surfing and the Tournament of Roses Parade, so isn’t all that bad a deal.
Sadly, I’m not prepared for the latest storm. The snow shovels sit safe and dry in the garden shed. The garden shed is at the back of the yard, (approximately 5,249.5 feet away from my desk chair), needing snow shoveling to approach and enter. Hmmm. Winter preparedness. A good blog for another day. Wish I’d put plans into action a little earlier. With perseverance, the snow will be shoveled before it turns into ice. At least, that’s the plan.
I have learned a few things about snow since becoming a Nevadan in 2014.
Windshield wipers can freeze to your window under a blanket of snow.
Your Jeep doors can freeze shut.
You should remove snow off the roof of your Jeep before moving down the road. Shifting roof snow is a bit shocking when coming to a stop.
A garage is an exceptional luxury in any snowstorm.
Whatever you do today, think a little about storm preparedness. For whatever reasons, the news tells us our storms are a bit intense these days. Could it be, that maybe we’ve become a little softer than our grandparents of the 1900’s? Have a plan. Have a go bag ready with a medications, documents, and other essentials. Disasters occur when we least expect them. Be ready. At the very least, put the darn snow shovel in the attached garage.
Putting on snow boots now.
More tomorrow.