Another snowy day. I love watching the snow fall, tiny flakes falling in such profusion that they pile up into inches and inches on the ground. And they come so quietly.

I enjoy putting the dogs out on snowy days. The cold seems to invigorate them and they bound out across the deck. They stop to anoint the first bushes they come to then race across to the fence where their buddies live in the neighboring yard. Their tails are in the air and they run along the fence to the back corner of the property to stick their noses in the drifts in front of the evergreens. I wonder what's in there.

The little dogs succumb to the cold first and come asking to be let inside again. Their pencil thin legs and short coats are sooner susceptible to the icy piles on the ground and the wind blowing across their expanse of lawn. Maxim and Mica romp in the snow, enjoying the blowing particles and the crisp icy prickles inside of their noses. Mica especially, with her chow and akita ancestors, relishes the wintry weather. Her thick coat insulates her and she will lie in the snow and on the deck watching the activity in the neighborhood. Maxim is just plain nosey and wants to be involved in everything.

When I bring them all inside they bound through the door, full of energy from their cold-charged blood. Often snow powders across the big dogs’ backs and both have ridges of snow on top of their noses where they have buried them in the snow. A greeting for me and a drink of water and they soon curl up cozy and warm again. Nobody enjoys a warm nap more than a dog who has romped through the cold and snow. Now they are all snuggled on the bed—among the pillows!—snoring gently.

I know it sounds foolish to someone who doesn’t love dogs, but I find such simple joy in them.

Notah called early this morning on his way to work. Thank the Lord for cell phones and Verizon wireless’s unlimited minutes among Verizon customers! I talk to him and his family several times a week. Miss them now, but if I couldn’t talk with them and receive text messages and pictures it would be so awful.

(Because they are so far away I’ve thought a lot about how sad it must have been for the mothers of pioneers when their children left. In most cases that departure was the last they seen or heard of their children. All the long, long miles between them. Oh dear, my heart can hardly imagine it!)

On Saturday they all attended a matanzeca (I think they called it, I couldn’t find a direct translation. Matanza is “to slaughter”) It was a money making festival that cost $10 per person. The whole deal is that any number of contestants enter and each one slaughters (I guess, or maybe it’s already dead ??) a pig. Then each contestant prepares a specified number of dishes from the various parts and roasts the rest of the pig whatever way they think is best. THEN, all of the people who have paid their ten bucks come though and can sample all of the dishes prepared by the contestants. At the end of the day everyone votes on who was the best cook! I guess they have some side line entertainments but the main diversion is eating. How fantastic is that!

They also featured an activity called “Cow Paddy Bingo”! Get this. The sponsors laid out a large coral in a numbered grid—like regular bingo. People could buy grid squares for however much. Then they released one cow into the coral. She wandered around until she felt compelled to take a dump. LOL Whoever had bought the square where her “cow paddy” landed won the $$ prize! If it straddled a line then both square owners split the cash. Only in cow country!

I thought they should send somebody in to scoop up the winning paddy, redefine the grid lines and do the whole thing over, but Notah said they only did it once. Wow! What a money maker! Limited only by the number of cows and the number of gullible bettors! And the whole thing would attract the attention a whole bunch of strange people! Shoot! I'd watch for a long time! Ohio farmers are missing a good gimmick! County fair farmers could make a mint!

Gotta get to NM some time soon!