Nellie
Nobody wants to do this Bark. It’s because we haven’t posted a DailyBark for a long time and we are all embarrassed. Whenever mom mentions it’s time for a Bark, the other mutts run outside. I can’t run and I won’t leave mom, so I’m the one mom talks to.
It really bothers mom when we don’t post the DailyBark. She keeps giving us ideas. How about the time I fell head first in a snow drift? How about the fun we had when the lights went out. These are all good ideas, but nobody felt much like barking.
Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer. I told Ash that if we didn’t post a Bark soon nobody would read our stuff anymore. Ash looked real sad and said, “I know you’re right Nellie. I’m just so bummed out I can’t bring myself to do it.”
Tess, Jack and Ash were in a circle around me, looking at their paws and acting nervous. Finally Jack blurted out, “Nellie, why don’t you do the Bark?”
I was shocked and flattered at the same time. It was the first time my pack had asked me to do anything to help them. They were always the ones looking out for me. Bringing me home when I got lost in the dark, getting mom when I was stuck in some corner and couldn’t get up. I was thrilled.
“Sure, I’d be glad to do the Bark,” I said. “I’ll get right on it.”
Here’s what happened. We knew a big storm was coming, so we laid in all the stuff you need. We had a generator, fuel, food for the birds and chickens, grub for us mutts, grass for the goats, and plenty for mom and dad.
One by one things started going downhill. Once the snow was a couple of inches deep, I couldn’t find any place to do my business. Mom and dad shoveled for hours, but the snow kept coming. I had a little area just for me, but usually fell head first into a snow pile coming and going.
The lights went out, the phone went dead, the internet connection hardly worked. We had oil lamps for light and the gas fireplace for heat. It was spooky and fun at the same time. Mom cooked our grub on the gas stove and made sure we always had something warm in our bellies.
Eventually the snow stopped and the rains came. Then it froze and the winds started. Bam! Crack! That made Ash and Tess bark like crazy fools. Trees fell everywhere. The roads to town were blocked with trees. We had to have the neighbor plow out our driveway so we could get to the main road. Then we had to dodge the ice and trees to take the one route still open.
We were stuck for three days. It was kinda fun. We were together. Nobody got hurt. We had plenty to eat, but we did run out of frozen turkey necks. Ash had it the worst because it’s really hard to play ball in the deep snow. He lost a bunch of his old tennis balls in the snow, but we found them when the snow melted.
Life is pretty much back to normal now, except for all the debris the storm tossed around. There are lots of broken plants and trees on the lawn. Jack thinks that’s cool because he likes to piss on things that are out of place.
So that’s our big adventure. It’s true, we could have done a Bark or two while we were storm bound, but we were busy just keeping warm and shoveling snow.
Now that I’ve done this Bark for the pack, I’m sure Ash will post something real soon. He has some neat shots of stuff we did during the storm.
Nellie