So the big story this winter was all the snow. It was Vancouver's snowiest winter since the 1960's, well before most people I know were born. It paralyzed the city for what seemed like weeks, as most Vancouverites aren't used to driving in snow, and frankly the municipalities here just don't have the right amount of the right equipment to deal with blizzard like conditions.

As you can see to your left, it started out as a normal amount of snow, pretty par for the course in Vancouver. Murphy loves snow - he pounces in it, digs in it and eats it. But as you'll see later on in the update, and you can see a hint of it in the photo above, even Murphy got a little overwhelmed by the shear volume.

But we'll get back to the snow in a moment, First up we have Christmas dinner!

I was working over Christmas this year, and (obviously) so were several of my coworkers. So we decided to have Christmas dinner together. I have all sorts of dinner party like stuff, so I offered to host. Below we have Murphy hanging out with some of the guests while dinner was being prepared:

Now, I was working Christmas day, and, obviously, I don't cook turkey, so Tim brought a turkey over, by bus, and cooked it while I was at work. Carrie Ann came over in the afternoon to hang out with Tim while he slaved over the bird.

 

So that was Christmas dinner. Because of all the snow it took me nearly two hours to run people home to Vancouver, but all in all it was a great night. I have no pictures of Murphy's gifts because he didn't get any from me this year - he already has too much of everything! So I made a donation in his name to The World Society for the Protection of Animals, as did my sister, and my parents donated to The English Cocker Spaniel Club of Canada's rescue division.

Ok, now back to all the snow. So Murphy was loving it for the first few days. But as the days went by, it got a little unmanageable. How was he supposed to find his usual bathroom break spot?

Poor little guy would look forlornly out at the street, but there was far less traffic, both of the vehicular and pedestrian kind. By the end of this snowstorm we couldn't even open that gate!

Now Murphy loves to walk along the edge of the yard under the bushes, and when the snow first started he was able to get in between the snowbank and the bushes for a good sniff:

But once the snow piled up there were only tiny tunnels remaining. Below you can see him appraising the situation, wondering how he can get up there and under the bushes:

He did jump up there, and I had to grab him as quickly as I could to haul him out. The tunnels would have collapsed on him in an avalanche and that would have been the end of Murphy!

However, if I lifted him up and boosted him to the (usually) grassy part of the yard, Murphy was still able to take part in his favourite winter time activity - snow digging!

He buries himself up to the neck, and snorts and sniffs. Below you can see the ice crystals adhering to his head:

Only problem is how he ends up covered in snow. The shot above is actually only a very mild accumulation of snow. And Murphy is usually pretty good about waiting at the door for me to come to towel him off:

But when the snow is either very thick or wet, another step is required - the blow dry. I don't know if it's his age, but Murphy has come to love the blow dryer. Below you have him waiting patiently for a go:

We ended up spending a lot of December inside, simply because it was too cold and icy to chance the sidewalks. In fact, the sidewalks were so covered in compacted snow that people's heads, when they walked by our yard, were way up above our gate. Below you have Murphy spending a cozy evening inside:

So that was our December!

Email me!

Meghan

Here's the link to the next update: Early 2009
Here's the link to the previous update: Fall 2008

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