Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, Mani the purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with, and here to bring you yet another weather-related post. You may remember me from other such weather-related posts as “This Is More Like It”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose. This was taken this evening. I’d just finished a biscuit, on the couch. 
I know I’ve already talked about the couch, but I like it a lot. The guy I live with takes naps on it, sometimes, in the afternoon, like he used to a lot, when Chess was here, getting old; they’d listen to an opera and fall asleep. He said that was called “Opera Day” and they both liked it a lot. We haven’t had an afternoon like that, yet, but we have taken naps in the living room, and that was pretty great.
Well, it snowed. The guy I live with wasn’t able to control the weather, like he was last time, and so this is what it looked like this morning.
That rolled-up “rabbit fence” was to put one of the patio rugs on, to dry it out after it rained the other day, and now I guess it’ll need to be dried out again.
It wasn’t very cold this morning; just snowy. The snow stopped later in the morning. 
There was water in the creek, a lot of it. And also in the canal. This is the time of year when the water in the canal starts flowing; it flows until October or November. There are fairly big fish in the canal, and also crawdads, some of which are not small. I’ve seen crawdads; they have big pinching claws.
You can see the creek in the upper right hand corner of this picture. It makes a turn to the left (north), and then goes under the canal, in a culvert.
The willows are always interesting.
In this picture, you can see our back yard. It’s the chain link fence in the middle of the picture. The pine tree is in the neighbor’s yard. There were raccoons in it the other night.
Nothing really happened for the rest of the day. The guy I live with went to the store, and came back.
Then we went on our evening walk. We followed the coyote trail which is pretty close to the back fences of all the houses.
In fact, there had been coyotes there not too long before we walked down the path. Some of those paw prints were not mine.
When we got back home, it snowed again, and now the garden is covered with snow.
That’s pretty much it for today. I just wanted to bring you up to date on our weather, which, as they say, is changeable. The guy I live with says that tonight will be the coldest night in about five weeks, and he’s not hugely thrilled about that, but there isn’t anything I can do about it. I like the snow, anyway. 
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Mani you are the most handsome boy~and sweet too. The guy you live with is very blessed to have you.
Thanks. I tell him that all the time.
That first willow picture is so beautiful I wish I could have one to frame. Mani, do you let TGYLW cuddle extensively if he feels like it? I wish my dogs would let me but they always want to move off. I could use a dog like you. There are bad things at my house right now, of a type your guy knows well. Too well.
The willows are kind of cool, aren’t they? We think they’re peach-leaf willows, Salix amygaloides; native. It turns out that I do like cuddling. It’s something I just discovered lately, and it’s pretty good. I’m sorry there are bad things at your house.
Snow becomes you, Mani. I like seeing all the mystery footprints when it snows here. A lot going on in my yard that I don’t see.
Thanks. There are things going on in my yard that I don’t always notice. Until I see tracks.
Beautiful snow, from afar. Even more beautiful from afar!
The snow is all gone now. It didn’t get as horribly cold last night as they said it might. So things are pretty much back to normal, except totally soaking wet. Which is a good thing. Partly for the garden, and partly because there will be a lot of mud to track into the house.
Since coyotes had been so recently down the trail, Mani, I am wondering what messages you picked up. When my dogs do a Neighborhood Walk rather than Dog Park, they are always sniffing for messages. Some of the messages must contain a lot of news, necessitating long sniffs, during which I’m taught patience. Your yard looks excellent in the snow. Those snow photos could hang on the wall next to our Michael Kennas. They share the same formal quality. You look more formal and handsome out in the snow too, Mani. I’m glad to learn about the cuddling. It’s a useful trait, to bring and receive comfort.
Thanks; the guy I live with really likes the way the willows look in the snow. Better in winter than in spring….. Yes, cuddling is beyond excellent. I also get a lot when his friend comes over. I like her a lot. I couldn’t even begin to describe the thousands of smells I smell, because they’re in Smell Language, but, like for instance, I can tell if a person I know has been in the house, and I can tell two weeks later. The snow is all gone, by the way. It was a really nice, sunny spring day today. And nothing bad happened the night they said it might.