Since I’ve moved many of my egg cups to the mantel/shelf in the studio, I rearranged the ones that remain on the shelf in our bedroom. That’s Christie’s framed print that I bought from her when I was working in California. It used to be in the living room, but Don found a little print that he loved and I wanted him to be able to see it from his chair, which was exactly where the rose print was. And that’s how things are moved around here.

And right below the shelf is Mabel, ready for work, but safely tucked away in the bedroom. That plant is yet another of my porch plants that I’ve managed to keep alive this winter. They are stashed all over the house.

I figured out what happened with Scoutie the other night. We’ve had some melting going on around here and it has caused the snow to be uneven and slippery, especially on her paths in the dog corral. Add to that the rain that we got yesterday. The freeze/melt/freeze cycle is not helping at all. Her arthritis has been really bothering her and I’ve watched her in the corral when she slips on the snow and loses her footing. It’s terribly hard for her. Last night, I thought I would take her out on the leash to help guide her (thought I don’t think it ended up doing any good) and I was slipping and sliding everywhere, just as she was. She wouldn’t pee or poop, probably because it was scary and she couldn’t relax enough to take care of business. I took her out onto the driveway, thinking that might be easier, but the damned rain had frozen, so it was very slick and slippery. I ended up taking her back into the corral, where she pooped. But no pee.

That had to have been the problem. She went out that night and was slipping and sliding and didn’t do anything. Since I can’t see her out there with all the frigging mounds of snow, I had no idea she hadn’t done her business. And she simply couldn’t hold it during the night.

It’s going to melt more today and tomorrow and I have no idea what to do. I’ll salt everything today, but this nightmare of a February continues to make things incredibly hard for us. Every time I start to think I can relax, something else happens. I don’t want her hurting and all this walking on uneven surfaces is indeed causing her pain. Do I drive down the road at night and walk her on that private road we used to use? Do I hope the driveway stays free of ice and try walking her there? Will she even go there? Due to the nature of our property, the snow and ice that melt flow downhill to the top of the driveway and it all collects there. If it goes down below freezing, it turns to ice again. An endless cycle.

I went to bed worrying about the whole thing, couldn’t sleep, got only a few hours. I heard Scout moving around at 6:15 and let her out. So no messes occurred last night.

Can I just let out a blood curdling scream? And then can someone magically transport us to a warmer climate for the next two months?

Okay. Another pretty sunset.

A reminder: our Christmas Critter Felt Along party is officially Monday. But the post will be up tomorrow evening, the 23rd, at 6:00 pm. So even though it posts then, it will be Monday’s post. Does that make sense? So don’t be wondering if there’s anything wrong with me if you don’t see a Monday post. Sunday night’s post is Monday’s post.

I’m exhausted just from explaining that.

Happy Saturday.