December Storm

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0968dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B>Unless otherwise noted, all images and text on this site are my own creations.</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B>Please do not infringe.</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="345960f0.gif" border=0 width="150" height="15" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>Please sign one of our Registers </B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://pub39.bravenet.com/guestbook/show.php?usernum=3286124372&cpv=1/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://pub39.bravenet.com/guestbook/show"><U><B>Bravenet Guest Register</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://htmlgear.lycos.com/guest/control.guest?u=thisildorealm&i=2&a=sign" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://htmlgear.lycos.com/guest/control."><U><B>htmlGear Guest Register</B></U></A><B><IMG SRC="345960f0.gif" border=0 width="150" height="15" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="7c264b30.jpg" border=0 width="100" height="179" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=116 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0978dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336633" FACE="Trebuchet MS" ><B>Thisildo Realm</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Thisildo Realm"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My First Walk With A Dog"><U>My First Walk With A Dog</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Billies Home!"><U>Billie's Home!</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gizmos Adventure Weekend"><U>Gizmo's Adventure Weekend</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Midnight Screams"><U>Midnight Screams</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id95.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Temper, Temper"><U>Temper, Temper</U></A>   |   <B>December Storm</B>   |   <A HREF="id251.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The SnowGal"><U>The SnowGal</U></A></div> <bR> <div> back to <B> </B><A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Village Library"><U><B>The Village Library</B></U></A><B>      </B><A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Map"><U><B>Site Map</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=364 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0978dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B>December Storm</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" WIDTH="654" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1363 WIDTH="646"><div> <B>04 December 2002 </B></div> <div>  <IMG SRC="70c655e0.jpg" border=0 width="101" height="350" ALT="2002Dec04-Cedar" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="0">   </div> <div>      Mercy! It's still Autumn in The Realm but you sure wouldn't know it by looking out the window! An awful ice storm blew in during the morning of 04 December and while it started out being a bit messy with sleet falling, it soon turned to a snow event.</div> <bR> <div>      When a storm came to The Realm in January I thought it would be a perfect time to just open the door and let the fur kids <I>run!</I>  Well, it was a terrific idea at the time and the girls so thoroughly enjoyed themselves! Right after I let them go, I headed down to the creek and started whistling for them to join me. In a matter of minutes they were by my side and we wandered all around enjoying the delights of all the gorgeous snow.  Well, this time was different... very different!</div> <bR> <div>      The girls took the events of the last snow fall as "tradition" -even though it was the first time I'd done this, it was still a tradition! As soon as they saw the snow, they were dancing all around and whimpering "It's snowing mom! Open the door! It's<I> snowing</I>!!"  One of these days I'm going to pay attention to myself and follow my instincts - this wasn't the day, though! I opened the door and the girls fairly flew off the porch and headed out across the neighbor's back yard. </div> <bR> <div>      I headed down toward the creek and whistled for them... why I ever thought there would be a delightful repeat of the last adventure is beyond me. I soon found myself by myself at the creek, calling and whistling myself breathless and of course, the girls were no where to be seen or heard. :::sigh:::</div> <bR> <div>      I started hearing dogs barking and thought "uh oh". The barking was from up beyond the house, so I started climbing to the front yard. Not an easy feat as the snow was sitting on a half inch of sleet, so the footing was anything but secure! I finally made my way to the front yard and discovered the barking was coming from across the street... By the time I made it to the top of the drive way and looked across the road, I spot my girls in the neighbor's yard (they hadn't shut the gate) and their three dogs barking and going nuts. :::sigh:::</div> <bR> <div>      By the time I got to the end of their drive, I spot Billie bounding toward me with her face covered in blood! OMG! Buffy is wandering around sniffing and doing her level best to mark the entire yard!</div> <bR> <div>      I finally get Billie tethered and tie her to the gate so I can fetch Buffy. Buffy wants no part of going home! She's having waaaaay too much fun and is not at all ready to quit and come home. After much cajoling and pleading, she finally lets me get the Halti collar on her and we collect Billie.</div> <bR> <div>      Back in the house I begin the task of cleaning up Billie. I'm seeing a lot of blood, but from past experience, I know that doesn't necessarily mean there's a lot of damage - just that there's a lot of blood! So, I start cleaning her face and checking her for wounds, hoping all the while that if there's any that they won't need stitches! </div> <bR> <div>      Well many rinses later, I discover that there's not a wound on Billie anywhere! She's come away clean. Thank you Lord! I went back across the road and asked the neighbor how her dogs faired and she said that one of them has a small cut on its face, but other than that, all's well. Then she even assumed responsibility for the situation and actually apologized to me for leaving her gate open! Tell me that didn't blow my mind! <g> Had to confess it was just as much my fault for letting my girls run.</div> <bR> <div>      Needless to say, there won't be any more "free running" for a good long time - at least long enough for me to forget about this near disaster! And I'll be checking to be sure the neighbor's gate is closed first! <giggle></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>