Tasha Tuesday

Here's a not very artsy shot of Tasha standing on the road through the vineyard. Our walks lately have been very wet and muddy. Until Monday, when everything froze. I like when it freezes because I don't have to wash and dry the dog after our walks. Tasha is also learning about ice. It's much harder to drink from the puddles when they're frozen.

Tasha has an appointment with the groomer at the end of the month.

She's doing fine while Ken is gone. During the day she spends part of her time down by the front door looking, waiting, for him to get home. To be honest, she does that even when he is home. On Sunday morning, she let me sleep until 05h30 before wanting to go outside. On Monday, however, it was 04h30. And did I mention it was below freezing?

The waking up process goes like this: first there's a barely audible whimper. Then maybe another, a little louder. When I don't respond, she goes into a low growl that gets a little louder each time. By then I'm moving under the covers. "In a few minutes..." I say. She doesn't buy it. If she's not already on the bed, she jumps up and starts pawing me. This can be painful if I don't cover my face in time. Then there's the shrill bark. I'm up. Socks, shirts, pants, and she nips at them as I put them on which is, in the groggy darkness of the pre-dawn hours, loads of fun. Then we head downstairs. Coat, hat, shoes, flashlight. Bark, bark, bark, until we're outside. I can't wait for summer.