Sunday, December 7, 2008

Decorative snow...

An intense but brief little snow storm visited us yesterday evening. Tiny, jewel-like flakes, sifting down like flour, blanketing everyting in a soft, shallow blanket of white. The ground was too warm for the roads and sidewalks to take any coating, but the grass, tress, and rooftops recieved their customary gilding - lovely, and yet at the same time, utterly harmless. Delaware Decorative Snow.

I look out the window this morning, and everything is accented in white - Not thick enough to conceal shapes, it never-the-less conceals what ought to be concealed - All the little details that might detract from the image before me are made innocent in their icy white lace clothing - There are no scars on the neighbors' lawns, no discouloration where the county came through and tore up yards to replace water mains. The raw stump of the massive maple that was cut down no longer looks like a broken tooth -It's now a snowy cairn marking the place where that looming giant once stood.

Into this innocent view, Suka trots; her normal fast, prancing gait reduced to three-quarters time, as she savors the sensation of snow on her feet. She dips her head and skims some snow into her mouth, like a gull drinking on the wing, and continues her detailed examination of the world, trotting daintilly along, checking each corner, and following scents that ought to have vanished under the snow. Her forelegs fold up under her, like collapsing landing gear; her hind legs never miss a beat, driving her chin and chest along in the snow. Over onto her side, she rolls her shoulders, head rolling even further. Still, her hind legs drive forward. Head rotating further still, finally her hips are torqued out of line, and she flops over onto her side, laying there, as if simply luxurating in the feel of snow against her fur. Then, with a snap, Suka whips over onto her back, and begins to wriggle, writhe, and luxuriate in a good old fashioned back-scratching, hind legs kicking alternately, spastically, in delight. I grin at her groans of pleasure; she looks so silly, and so obviously loves a good roll in the snow, I cannot resist.

With a sudden flurl, she springs back to her feet, and gives heself a vigorous shake... Time to move on, and find a new spot to flatten.

One of these days, I really must replace my camera.


Coda:
As I was writing this, the snow returned. Suka's smooshed spots are rapidly vanishing. I guess I'll have to let her out to try again. Oh damn.
;-)

2 comments:

AKDD said...

Damn, that sounds fun! I love a good dog-roll-in-snow.

Pretty writing today, Bro.

MaskedMan said...

Thanks! I was inspired by the subject matter.