Walking in a Winter Wonderland

"We'll prespire, as we walk all the way up the $%ing
mountain in four feet of snow, wishing we were by the fire....and
we have a blockade, so the plans that we made, are all cancelled now cause the
car won't make it up the road in this Winter- friggin-
Wonderland (because we have no snow chains, and no one knows how to operate the four wheel drive, and the Ford drives like a moving Mac Truck). " And so is life on Mount Charleston!

Carly The Conscientious Canine

One would think she is the doggie reincarnation of
Einstein (or, at least, that is who she presumes herself to be).

She trots around with her pink doggie nose in the air, sniffing at the clothing, shoes, jewelry and even the body odor, or each person in the room, as if to announce her approval (or the lack thereof in most cases).

We are all members of her pack: Mom being the alpha, me being the next in line to the alpha, Carly the beta, Cole the annoying halfbreed (she recognizes him as the teenager pup and allows him to explore but not so much as to hurt himself), and Aidan the baby runt puppy who needs protection.

So....on goes conscientious Carly the Canine in her new home, sniffing at every soiled diaper or dirty shoe in disgust, waiting patiently under the table for each half-nibbled carrot from Cole, prancing frantically as she enjoys four feet of snow in our front yard, growling boldy at each newcomer with a firm stance as if she were the Knight from Monty Python touting her sword and proclaiming, "None Shall Pass!".

We welcome her into her home, not only as our dog, but as a member of our family, i.e., "pack", as she would label it, with much ado and with much love.

-P.A.