Smells like ... Spring...

As Franklin and I walked outside this morning we both stopped to smell the air. This is Franklin's normal morning routine, not so much for me though. What caught my attention this morning was the warmth and heaviness of the air. Even though the temperature was in the 30's and there was no sun to be found, it smelled like Spring. 


I know Franklin felt the shift in the air too because he was super excited about his walk. We saw a few other doggie friends and he even played and ran with them, which almost never happens. 


Coats, gloves and scarves are still required for now, but it makes me feel better to know that before long flowers will be blooming and I can shift from a heavy coat to a light wind breaker. Right now, that sounds like heaven. 

A Companion for Franklin?...

For the past three years,  probably... maybe longer, my husband and I have debated getting another dog. We debate the ins and outs of a new dog, like who is going to get up in the middle of the night to take the puppy out, or how do you crate train one dog while the other one stays free, or how do we keep Franklin from being jealous. 


Most of the questions we debate are easily answered, which is why we think an older dog would be ideal, but for me, my biggest concern is Franklin. How will a new dog affect my little guy. How will we bring another dog into Franklin's house and make him understand that this dog is here for good. I worry about other things like size compatibility and temperament and sleeping arrangements... and.... and... and..., it could go on forever. The idea of getting another dog is exhausting and we haven't even moved beyond the discussion phase. 


I imagine these are the same kind of conversations that people have before they have another child. Although I am not comparing my dog to a kid, he is like a kid to me and I worry about his well-being and happiness.  


**As a side note, my blog has really become a Franklin blog but I promise that there will be more than just Franklin happening around our house as soon as Spring gets here. 

Doggie Regression {Around the House}...

I'm not sure if it's the cold, the left over snow or the lack of sunshine, but over the past two weeks my lovely little dog has regressed back to his stubborn, obstinate teenage phase. I completely understand his frustration with the snow as it has taken over every sidewalk in our neighborhood and has forced us to walk in the road with the salt and brine mix which hurts his feet. I also understand his frustration with the cold because I too feel angry when I have to put on 4 layers of clothes just to walk down the street to go get the mail. And, I completely understand his frustration with little or no sunshine for weeks on end. Franklin is a part beagle so he loves to lay in the warm sunshine while he naps the day away. 


But, for the past two week Franklin, who is 5, has decided that he is not going to listen to anything I say. Walks that use to be enjoyable are now full of me telling him to get out of the middle of the road or me saying "no, this way." Then when we get home he refuses to come inside and finally when he does he stands and stares at me for minutes on end with his super hateful "I'm mad at you" look. Trust me, when you see the look you know he's mad at you. 

This phase is definitely not as bad as the original teenage phase was, but I am ready for this regression to end. I am also hoping for more sunshine, warmer temperatures and Spring to come soon. Until then, Franklin and I will continue to go on walks and I will try to be more patient with him. 

Snow hibernation...

After the big snowstorm last weekend, the D.C. area was blanketed again last Monday with more snow. My house ended up with an additional 10 inches, which brought our total to... well.... a lot. With all the snow on the ground and the roads, Franklin, my husband and I went into hibernation mode. 

Very little was done around our house last week. We made dinner a few nights, but mostly ate leftovers and frozen pizza's, I think I vacuumed once and did the dishes once or twice. It was nice to have a week full of nothing to do and nowhere to go, but next time that we have 7 days together with nothing going on, I would like to go on a vacation to somewhere warm with frozen drinks instead of staying inside with three feet of snow outside.

Today, though, we decided to leave the house and rejoin civilization. The roads are decent around town, but it's iffy going into our neighborhood. Poor Franklin is still a little traumatized by the snow when it comes to going outside to go to the bathroom and I know he missed his dog walking pals this week. Hopefully, all of this beautiful snow will continue to melt and in it's place flowers will bloom. But, until then, it looks like we are going to get more snow in a few days. *Sigh*  

*These pictures were taken on a Winter day a few weeks ago when it was sunny and much warmer. 

Snowpocalypse Day 2...

Last night, we let Franklin out to go to the bathroom before bed and the snow was already up to his belly. The look he gave us was one of complete annoyance. Since then, we have had many, many more inches of snow. My husband and doggie went out this morning to shovel more snow. This kind of turned into a block party with all of our neighbors joining in the shoveling fun. Franklin and his favorite doggie friend, Kaya, played in the snow and had a great time. While the boys were outside freezing, I stayed inside and made a bacon and cheese quiche and homemade hot cocoa. Yum....

This afternoon, the boys braved the cold once again to shovel the driveway. Although Franklin was exhausted, he jumped up the second that I asked him if he wanted to go outside again. I'm not sure what the total numbers are right now. But, I know that we have a lot of snow and we are running out of places to put it. 

Snowpocalypse 2010...

Well, the snow storm of my lifetime has struck... We are a few hours into what is being referred to in my household as Snowpocalypse 2010. All week we have been hearing about what was coming. Total snow amounts varied from 8 inches to 24 inches. Finally, today as the snow began the weather guys decided that we would end up with roughly 30 inches of snow on the ground. 30 inches!!! I can't even imagine what that will look like. In anticipation of the 30 inches, my husband and I are settling in for a long cozy weekend.

Here is just a preview of all of the snow pictures I will take. This is my beloved shoveling the driveway in an attempt to "stay ahead of it." And of course, I had to get Franklin playing in the snow in there.

          

This final picture was taken about 5 minutes after my husband finished shoveling that part of the driveway. Besides the shoveling, around here it will be a lovely weekend full of reading, watching movies (Food Inc. I hope), and spending time on the couch. Happy Weekend everyone!

Doggie Snow Angels...

As I rolled out of bed and put on my many layers of clothing to take Franklin on his walk, I thought about the warm days of Spring and Summer ahead. I thought about the warm sunshine on my face and the warm breeze that smells like fresh flowers. I thought about Spring dresses and wearing cute flats instead of my bulky boots.  But, as I looked out the window I quickly realized that we had another few inches of snow on the ground and that it is in fact ... still winter.

Over the weekend we had about 8 inches of snow and of course, I had to take my favorite little dog out to play in it. Franklin loves the snow. He will run all over the place with his nose stuck to the ground and then when he's found the perfect spot, he rolls and rolls in it. He will lay on his back and wiggle from side to side making doggie snow angels. It's so funny to watch and almost makes the cold, gray, snowy days of winter worth it. 

Since this winter has been very hard on his skin, Franklin has to have a bath once a week with a special medicated shampoo. This week, I bathed him on Sunday so he would have enough time on Saturday to play in the snow and get it out of his system. Let me tell you, that didn't work. After giving him a bath and making sure he was dry, I let him out to go to the bathroom and the very first thing he did was lay down in the snow. He is such a funny dog that it is hard to be mad at him when he does things like that.

This weekend we are expected to get more snow. If this does happen, I'm sure our weekend plans will be full of doggie snow angels.

Doggie Tales...

Yesterday morning I was running around the house unpacking things and putting stuff away, when I turned around and saw Franklin dreaming about his farm dog days. From October until last week, Franklin had been able to go outside whenever he wanted and run on a nine acre farm with two other farm dogs and a farm cat.  He was in heaven as he bounded up the hills with his ears flapping in the wind and his nose in the air smelling all of the new and different smells. The snow didn't hurt his enthusiasm for country living either.

When I saw him staring out the window yesterday, I know he was wanting someone to let him out so he could freely run, smell and pee on everything he could find. I know adjusting to city life again will take some time for him, so in the mean time my goal is to take him to the dog park more often and to take him on more walks. I think this is the least I can do since he has been such a trooper over the hardest months of our lives.

During our most trying times, he was a protector, a comforter, a snuggler, an entertainer, and just a really great dog. So here is to more walks and more trips to the dog park in 2010. I hope everyone has a great New Year and has someone, even if it's a dog, who is all of these things to you.  Happy New Year!