White Winter

As I woke up my Lhasa Apso senses were on high alert. I had absolutely no idea what time it was but the bedroom curtains were drawn back and there was an eerie glow outside. When I talk about time, I don’t mean clocks and things because I just wouldn’t have a clue about that. To me, it’s either getting up time or going to bed time. Every other time is playtime. I looked up at the bedroom window. There was none of the usual bird chatter going on, which made it very quiet. Unusually quiet, I would say.

Guard duties

Mum and dad had been looking after my sister’s little people for a few days and while they were staying with us, dad had asked me to keep them safe. I am a Lhasa Apso guard dog and I take my duties very seriously. I slept on their bed every night. On this particular morning, they were still fast asleep which allowed me to jump off the bed and slip downstairs. This situation needed further investigation.

Whiteout

The curtains were always pulled across the patio doors but I could poke my head through the gap in the middle to get a better look at the garden. You can imagine. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I jumped back in amazement. The whole garden had a beautiful white blanket across it. Not only that, the shed roof and every other surface I could see was pure white as well. I had never seen anything quite as magical as this in my entire life. I was upstairs in no time and jumped up on dad’s bed. He wasn’t too pleased to be woken up before his ringing clock went off but he could see how agitated I was and he followed me downstairs grumbling all the way. When he pulled back the curtains, he laughed.

Winter wonderland

“It’s snow, Poppy! It’s just snow.” The sky was beginning to lighten as we both stepped into the garden. The snow felt cold around my paws but it seemed to be harmless. I became braver and ventured further down the garden. When I looked back, I could see all my little paw prints going right back to the door. Dad hadn’t moved. I supposed he had seen it all before but I loved it. The garden looked wonderful. It was a winter wonderland! Then we both went back into the house and made ourselves comfortable on the sofa. Dad didn’t want to wake up the others too soon.

Later on, the little humans charged noisily down the stairs and ran straight out of the door into the garden. They raced up and down the lawn and then ran from side to side squealing with delight and churning up the snow. Every time they fell over they would scoop up handfuls of snow and throw snowballs at each other. The little humans never become too tired to play. I joined in but only to make sure they came to no harm. By the time mum called them in for a hot drink, the garden looked in a terrible mess. Oh dear! What had earlier looked like a beautiful picture now looked absolutely awful.

Dad told me not to worry. There was going to be more snow the following night. See you next week.