Snow: Crack for Dogs

Snow, snowball, powder, nose powder--however you want to call it, our dogs go crazy in the snow. The older one, Shasta (pictured above) runs around with his nose burrowing along the ground, making crazed whuffling pig noises. Throwing fluffy handfuls in the air always yields some amusing antics. The other younger dog Baker simply loses his mind, flailing and shaking wildly until you make him stop. We gather it is the canine equivalent of a Slip 'N Slide. A Slip 'N Slide covered with dog drugs.

By far, the best dog-in-snow game is "Find the Snowball" but it requires more than we've seen here in the lowlands. We'll pack them in the back of the car when we head up to Alpental, and come back to let them out to play at lunch. We throw snowball after snowball into the huge banks next to the parking lot, eating our food while we watch Shasta, who is retrieval-obsessed, repeatedly try to find the snowball in the snowbank. Better than cable. Baker is far smarter and has figured out this ruse long ago. Here he stares us down, refusing to chase a snowball.