Winter at Hundenruhe

It's a lovely crisp and cold morning at Hundenruhe Haven. Rays of sun are bouncing off of the mounds of snow and making the fields glitter and wink. It is so nice to see the sun again, and to have the robin's-egg-blue sky add some needed color to the landscape.
The temperature is rather cold again (single digits), but it is warm inside thanks to the new furnace and the radiant heater that the dogs love so dearly. Yesterday was a frenzy of cleaning and laundry (9 loads of dog laundry this week - a new record!). I clean every week, but every few weeks every dog bed's cover gets washed and major scrubbing of baseboards, etc. gets done. It had also snowed, so yesterday's chores also included digging out the walks, patios, porches, and the concrete steps leading up the hill to the house. It was a long and productive day, ending with the last load of laundry at about 9:00 pm.
Today is our day for peace and quiet. As I write, the dogs are all hanging out on their nice clean beds, having had their breakfasts and trips outdoors early this morning. Dan and I were up very early so Dan could get on the road. He is traveling to Minnesota today to pick up Tic Tac, a 12 year old blind miniature pinscher from a hoarding situation. She was surrendered along with 70 other dogs in December to a humane society in Minnesota. Min Pin Rescue contacted us and asked if we could take Tic Tac, as all but six had been adopted, taken into rescue, or euthanized. Amazingly, in only one month's time, the shelter had adopted out 39 dogs, sent the rest to rescues, and only had to euthanize six, and had only six left to go to rescues! What a fantastic coordinated effort! Kudos to whoever facilitated this at the MN shelter, and the rescues who stepped up to make it happen.
So, I am on my own today with the dogs and I am enjoying it thus far. I've had a lovely pot of tea, and since the major chores are done, I think I may settle in with the dogs for an afternoon of watching The Tudors. The forecast is for a major snow storm for the lakeshore communities (where I teach), so it looks like driving may be difficult for the next two days getting to and from school. So those patios, walks, porches, and steps are going to need to be dug out again soon! I am going to enjoy every minute of not having to go anywhere today as I await Tic Tac's arrival late this afternoon or early this evening. Unless she answers to her name, it will be changed in the coming weeks as we discover her personality. Stay tuned to find out what the new name will be!