Romping in the nation's capital

Even the first dog loves the snow. Here's a picture of Bo chest-deep in the district's historic snowfall. After today, Washington, D.C, could surpass Syracuse, N.Y., as the snowiest city in the nation.

Winter woes

In my extremely humble opinion, Wednesday's winter storm was one of the worst I've experienced since moving up here.

There have been snow storms that dumped feet of white stuff on the ground, and there were ice events that created more short-term havoc but melted quickly.

Early Wednesday morning, the snow started falling. By mid-morning in the City of Poughkeepsie, freezing rain and sleet came down. Mid-afternoon, rain, but temperatures never rose too much above freezing.

After sundown, falling precipitation was again of the frozen variety.

All that ... uh ... mess created a glassy environment on which it was impossible for any creature with legs to maneuver.

Now I realize that as I write this many people throughout the eastern United States still do not have power. Yes, things could have been worse. But I play the cards I'm dealt.

I had to work the early morning shift at the paper Wednesday, arriving at the office at 6:30 a.m. Morning walkies were OK; it was only snow and not too much of it.

I made a conscious decision not to come home mid-shift to take care of Kate figuring I'd be home by 3-ish.

I really, really, really, did not want to have to clean the car off, drive home, walk Kate, clean the car off, drive back to work, work, clean the car off and drive home.

By late-afternoon, while it was raining, Kate managed to pee. My sidewalk had not been touched; indeed the snow guys had started shoveling but then stopped and left. (They decided to come back much later and use a snow blower.)

Long, tedious story, short, since I'd been up since 4 a.m. I crashed and woke at 11 p.m., realizing Kate hadn't been out since around 4 p.m.

By that time, the temps had dropped, freezing the top layer perfectly. The sidewalks up the street had been cleared much earlier in the day, so any subsequent precip was ice.

Kate couldn't find any traction nor could I. She would either break through the ice and her paws would plunge down a couple of inches or her legs would simply splay until they stopped on some tiny imperfection in the ice.

She was, needless to say, unsettled by this. And so was I. She managed, awkwardly, but amusingly, to poop. But a pee wasn't in the cards. After about 20 minutes I gave up.

Thursday morning we managed to get down the sidewalk to the street which had slush on it.

Kate doesn't like to go on the street. I guess she has gotten so used to grass that she no longer considers it a viable venue.

We walked up and down the block for 25 minutes ...

I was praying that the passing cars would slow down enough to not spray me with slush; all but one — the b****** — did, but I managed to get out of the way

... before Kate finally found a pile of snow/slush on which she peed.

And she really had to go!

Since then she has gotten better and more accepting of having to go no matter what. Conditions aren't much improved. Yesterday midday we couldn't get off the sidewalk onto the street because of melted ice turning into lakes at the curb cuts.

All the dog people in the office had tales of woe because of the storm, though my editor Maria Burnham said she was going to start calling Kate "Her Highness."

These New York winters — and we've been lucky for the past couple — are really starting to get to me.

Winter trials and tribulations

Last winter we had maybe two days when it snowed. Thinking back, I'm not remembering it being that big a deal.

Not for me, mind you. I have boots.

I only care when it affects Kate.

When you are dependent on the outside for your bathroom facilities, any impediment must be taken seriously.

This month's snow — and then ice — left some impressive piles of the white stuff here in the City of Poughkeepsie. Granted, a walk down the street this morning revealed even more grass showing than even 24 hours ago — here at the end of December.

Several hard rains and temps well above freezing have decimated the snow, leaving Kate plenty of choice when it comes to doing her bidness. But when the snow first arrived, and the snow shovelers finally did their jobs, there was precious little space for a dog who usually requires grass to complete the task.

And then the freezing rain came, leaving a glassy surface over the mounds of snow. That was an obstacle that could not be overcome. The picture above, taken this morning, showed that Kate could indeed still stand on the snow, but only for a second. Soon after the picture was snapped, two of her paws fell through.

Now we are back to lots of prime real estate for Kate to choose from. For now, no searching for the first available spot. I am certain that eventually the clouds will gather, the weather forecasters will fret and the snows will come. And Kate will be frustrated (I'm projecting again).

And to the person who couldn't be bothered to pick up after your dog when it went on the sidewalk, I hope your New Year is filled with ruined shoes.