As I’ve written about the snow piling up around our Little Bitty the past few days here in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, somebody asked me in a comment about the reaction of Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle.
Well, Diana, I do believe you will be able to see for yourself.
Making backyard tracks in Syracuse, N.Y.
Not one of the tracks surrounding our beloved rescue mutt is a human footprint at this point. Neither myself nor my dear wife Karen had stepped off our covered back porch to venture that far out in our backyard since the Nor’easter came through midweek. It’s far too easy to open the door to let Ellie B scoot down to do her thing.
Ellie B puts her nose into it.
She loves to feel the cool wind and run. Her tracks cross themselves haphazardly in happy dog trails to nowhere in particular and everywhere her Ellie B spirit moves her.
Her thing includes hauling out her rawhide “bones” and any number of plushie squeak toys to bury in the white stuff. I stepped down off the porch with my iPad Air to better capture her in action as she goes deep. The snow-covered, pale green toy next to her nose was under the snow until she unearthed it a moment before this. The bone is one of several she has out in the yard, and is about to replace it.
Our young graybeard.
Of course, when she comes up for air, there are telltale signs of her digging fascination. Ellie B remembers where she leaves her treasures. Great nose under that snow.
Isn’t this fun?
And like many 4-year-olds, parental approval is still important to our sweet Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle.
Have you had a pet who enjoys playing in the snow, and if so, what were the trademark moves? Is your yard full of animal tracks, domestic or wild, and can you figure out which species has left all of them? Have you found surprises in your yard come a spring melt, and if so, what have they been?
Mark Bialczak 
Aww, she’s such a sweet girl! ❤ I wonder if the snow helped banish the critter collection you had going on in the summer. 🙂 Anytime I lived up North in snow country, I only had cats, and they stayed indoors. Here, my cats are all indoor kids, however, we feed a feral cat who was here when we got here 5 years ago… She's far too wild to even go in a box to get out of the wind and cold rain, but we have found that if we put out a blanket warmed in the dryer, and sprinkle it with catnip, she'll sleep on that when it's really cold out. About a half mile down the street, I've been seeing a little red fox. And in my yard, there are often raccoons, opossums, armadillos, snakes, and sometimes gators. But there's never any snow for their tracks. And that makes me sad. 😦
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I wonder what a gator would do in snow, Rachel?
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Well, they stay underwater when it’s too hot, because they easily get sunburned. That’s why you normally see them on land in the early morning or evening, or when it’s cool outside. But, yeah, I wonder how they’d fare in snow. We usually only see snow maybe once every 10 years, and then it’s not enough to stick to the ground.
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What a cutie pie! That last picture of her is so precious. 🙂 I wish I liked snow as much as she does. I wouldn’t go out in the snow to dig even if there was gold underneath!
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I went out in it to take pictures of her digging in it. I guess all that shoveling the week ahead numbed me. C’mon, Mrs. B. Gold? I know, you’d have Mr. B out there with two shovels and a backhoe!
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Our snow is gone, Mark! Rained yesterday and melted it all away. Crazy stuff this winter weather. Winter is the only time we let cat out as she hates the snow so will not go far. Though once I let her out, then couldn’t find her. Realized the snow was just hard enough that she could walk on it without leaving tracks. Also was high enough that a jump over our back fence was easy. Drove the neighborhood 30 minutes looking for her, then finally found her up our backyard neighbor’s tree. We test the snow first before putting her out now.
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Oh, Liz, the inside/outside cat dilemma. Is she declawed? That would be really bad. Still, a cat not used to being out there can’t fend for itself against wild stuff. Karen’s son Daryl hated for us to let “his” cat Toby out after he moved away, but Toby always wanted to go out so he’d slip past us every time we’d open the door. What a hoo-ha that was. When we were moving Karen from her house to our Little Bitty, Toby escaped and ran away, and Daryl went back every day until he found him a week later in a shed outside the old house. Thank God. We had dear Toby with us here until we had to take that last visit to the vet two years ago.
It’s raining a bit here, too, just above freezing. Maybe hitting 40 tomorrow. The melt is coming. I have to finish my shopping.
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so cute, ellie seems to love it all, just like my kinders when we have snow at recess time, we pretend we are going to and playing at the beach ) ! nacho the cat does not seem to be a fan so far, we’ll see when the real snow hits.
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Is Nacho an inside cat only or an inside and outside cat, Beth?
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He’s both, started put life as a stray, but balks as soon as he steps into any hint of snow and quickly runs back inside )
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Maybe Nacho had a bad deal in the snow already in his life, Beth.
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yes, that’s what i think too, mark –
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I want to hug her; she is so beautiful. I haven’t seen any tracks in the non-snow. I did, however, see a dead deer being pecked apart by a gaggle of vultures on the way home from Tex-Mex food.
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That is nature, Kerbey, though rather unappetizing. I’m glad you saw it on the way home from, not on the way to.
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I loved this post, Mark! I had a lab/german shepherd mix dog, have mentioned dear Toby before. When he was a ‘wee little puppy’ my ex-husband made paths with his shovel in the yard, it was so funny to see Toby exploring around these ‘tunnels.’ My favorite image of him, I captured in a puppy pose, with a little bit of snow balancing on the end of his little nose. I enjoy Ellie B. posts and the way she was trying to find a place to hid her chewy bone was precious indeed. Happy 57th birthday, Mark, tomorrow!! I will have my two grandsons overnight and may not make it bright and early to blog. Library opens at noon… smiles, Robin
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I’m glad you like to see Ellie B enjoying the snow, Robin, and how it reminds you of Toby as a puppy. That sounds very darling indeed. And thank you for your kind wishes!
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Frank barks at the snow…and looks at it with resentment and disdain on the rare occasion that he has to actually walk in it, but then he gets used to it. 😀 Your pup is looking adorable as usual!
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Resentment and disdain is the opposite reaction from Ellie B. I wonder if Frank would turn that frown upside down if he were exposed to snow more often, Nerdy?
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Oh, I’d love to find out! If only we could arrange for more snow in the Charlotte area! 😉
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I had a Pekingese when I moved to this building Mark, and he wanted to explore his new surroundings after a deep snow. He was totally paper trained, but I was game for a walk, so we walked — 15 blocks. Max resisted all efforts to turn back toward home, until he finally decided he was tired. At that point he sat down, looked at me with those huge brown eyes and refused to move another inch. Five pounds of dog starts weighing more and more with each block I had to carry him on the way home, and by the time I got back I’m sure that mutt weighed 500 pounds. He didn’t seem quite as cute as he was the day I brought him home from the shelter then, but I was still stupid in love with him.
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That was a day, oh, boy. He ain’t heavy, he’s my Pekingese. Poor Max. Poorer you, Angie. 😦
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I love this Mark! I used to have a Sheppard/wolf cross who would plough through the snow with his snout buried deep in the snow. It was fun to watch! ❤
Diana xo
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Yes, it is a hoot to watch the sheer unbridled joy, Diana. I love thinking about your Sheppard/Wolf cross acting like that!!
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Oh my goodness, look at all that snow!! Wow, we had three inches of rain in California, and it’s a huge deal. Ellie is a doll. What a sweet dog she is. I lived in Colorado with snow for a few years, Mark, and my cats liked to go out it in, but no digging! You know, they like to bring their little treasures inside. 🙂 Hope you’re staying warm. It looks like a great day for a fire in the fireplace.
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Cats like to bring presents. Yup! We have no fireplace, Amy, but the furnace sure is doing its job. 🙂
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what a wonderful romp in the snow. Ellie B. has it made – the cool outdoors, a huge yard and a warm welcome when she ventures back indoor. Our cats have been indoor cats for many years now. I believe they enjoyed ‘looking’ at the snow and would only have wanted to venture outside to pursue the critters they spotted. 😉
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Indoor cats are so much easier to live with, Judy. Good call there. Yes, Ellie B has it made in the shade. And snow. Once in a while, the sun, too. 🙂
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Lovely pictures of your pooch Mark. Ellie B is beautiful. My Missy dog loves the snow: running and rolling and digging her nose into it. Most all she loves chasing snowballs. The cat (an elderly gentleman cat) doesn’t like it at all now, but quite enjoyed sitting somewhere quiet in the snow to birdwatch when he was younger. He always came in with snowballs in his armpits (if you know where I mean) which needed defrosting (he is extremely furry). Lots of snow up north, but we’ve had just had frost and sleet. I know it’s a pain if you have to go anywhere or do anything, or even just clear the drive, but me and Missy are envious of your snow! Plenty time for us yet!
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I hope you and Missy get your snow to enjoy, Cicely! And yes, I know exactly what you mean by the cat’s snowy armpits. The stoic birdwatching must have been quite the fun for him.
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Snow Miser left us but a dusting last night. He must have used up all his snow on Syracuse. 🙂
The kitties enjoy looking at the snowflakes falling from the sky, from the safety of their warm perches inside The House on the Hill. I’d never let them out in it, and I don’t think they’d be interested. 🙂
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No, the kitties need to stay inside the House on the Hill, Austin.
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🙂
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My trees are bending and the birds have no place to shelter. I need to get back there and shake the snow off
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Yes, Joe, get the birds back in place, please and thank you.
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Very cute pooch! Our puppy wasn’t sure what to do with the snow, for the short time we had some : ) He kept mincing his paws, like “what is this crap?” How old is your dog?
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Ellie B is 4. She does some paw-mincing on the first snow every year, too!
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Both of my dogs love the snow, so fun to watch them frolic. Your pup looks happy as an icicle, Mark.
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She loves it out there, Mer. I have to entice her with cheese to get her to come back inside so she does not turn into an icicle!
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Mark she must be made for the snow, I can’t believe how beautiful she looks in it! Snow is her “color”!!!!
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She can’t hide in it as much as she tries! Thanks, Colleen. 🙂
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I love the canine having fun, the human who asked the question that inspired this wonderful post, and the dog’s best friend who wrote it!
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Your cat pictures and my dog pictures should hang out together, Ann!
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My dogs are like kids in the snow: they roll around in it, stay outside longer than usual, meander through the snow paths we’ve dug out for them (they are dachshunds and it’s funny to watch them travel through the pathways – it’s like a maze! the snow is often higher than they are tall!). They are long-haired dogs, and come inside with ice balls clinging to their fur, which I have to take the hair dryer to in order to dissolve. It’s like having kids, for pete’s sake! 😀
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I can picture you having to blow-dry the dachsunds, Kate, after they snow-maze themselves around the yard. That’s a great tale. Dogs are fun. I love it!
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Awww, look at that adorable face! Those ears are great! Before my cat went missing, she loved to go outside and hunt. That was her all-time favorite thing to do. (I think her mother was a ferrel cat). Whenever winter came and the weather outside was frightful, she would constantly come to me and “complain” and walk over to the doggie door and complain to me even more. She wanted me to make the weather better so she could go outside and hunt! LOL! (I would end up playing hide and seek with her – she being the hider and me being the seeker). I miss her!
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Cats can be a real handful when they want out and you know they have to day in, PJ. Sorry your’s is still on the lam. I hope she turns up, my friend. Some animals are gone for a long time and then reappear at home as if nothing happened.
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I hope you are right Mark. That would be a wonderful Christmas present to have her show back up. My worry is that she was caught by a coyote or fox (they eat a lot of cats and other small animals around here). Although, I felt I lived far enough in town they wouldn’t come this far. But, the river is only a few blocks from me, so you never know.
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Oh, boy. That is a big worry, PJ.
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Ha! Ellie B looks like she is having so much fun Mark. My parents used to raise black Labs and they loved the snow. They would race around the yard then fall over and roll around twisting everywhich way. The unrestricted exhuberance was delightful to watch. If only humans could let it all hang out like that. Ha! It was uplifting just to watch. You know, as much as I do have faith that there is a higher power in this world – I also believe that a lot of our characteristics were chosen, ostensibly by evolution (guided) for some “purpose”. I have to wonder how the unbounded delight some dogs show while playing in the snow.enhances their chances of survival as a species. Ha! I guess I sound pretty serious – perhaps they love snow because it is fun and no other reason.
I gotta tell you Mark, Ellie B looks so happy and healthy in the snow it is neat just looking at the pictures. Thanks so much for sharing them with us.
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I know what you mean, Paul. The twisting and turning in the snow sharpens their escape reflexes. I’ve seen smaller dogs use similar maneuvers against bigger aggressors when things get of hand at dog parks.
Yeah, Ellie is a peach in these photos. Thanks, Paul!
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You’re right – I have seen similar behaviour in fights . Good call. A lot of play is preparation for life. 🙂
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