Spent the weekend digging out from under another six inches of snow. Winter weary northerners shoveled driveways, searched for buried cars, and negotiated icy roads. This morning we woke up to a zero degree temperature reading and another struggle to don heavy coats, woolen scarves, fleece lined boots and insulated gloves. Walking from house to car is the equivalent of a ten minute workout with weights.
It will be April before we see signs of spring in northern Illinois. Not early April, that's when we usually get one of our heaviest snowfalls. By mid April temperatures will moderate and the rains will begin. Spring will be here in April.
My featured guest blogger:
It will be April before we see signs of spring in northern Illinois. Not early April, that's when we usually get one of our heaviest snowfalls. By mid April temperatures will moderate and the rains will begin. Spring will be here in April.
My featured guest blogger:
Hello everyone, I'm Toby. You may recognize me from previous blogs. This is my reward for being a good cat all week. I wasn't perfect, She tells me, but I'm much better. Yesterday for instance this idea of tearing up a magazine just popped into my head. She took away the magazine and told me that wasn't allowed. I saw Her put the magazine on the counter but did I grab it the minute Her back was turned? No, I tried to make a good impression.
There are so many rules. No walking on the counters, no jumping on the tables, no eating the dried flowers, no chewing on shoe laces, and on and on... Who could remember all those rules?
Somehow She knows what I've done even if She didn't see me do it. How does She know? I have to give that some thought. There must be a way to make Her believe it was one of the old cats or maybe that silly dog.
I remember where that magazine is.
There are so many rules. No walking on the counters, no jumping on the tables, no eating the dried flowers, no chewing on shoe laces, and on and on... Who could remember all those rules?
Somehow She knows what I've done even if She didn't see me do it. How does She know? I have to give that some thought. There must be a way to make Her believe it was one of the old cats or maybe that silly dog.
I remember where that magazine is.
33 comments:
Hi Toby, Now I know you have spring fever, but try to hang tough and be good, spring is on its way even to northern Illinois. Be good now:)
Was it a gardening magazine? Maybe Toby just wanted to get in on all the fun and learn some new tricks.
Your right. Spring seems so very very far away this morning. "Simba" Lord of Oak Hill Manor says "Hi Toby."
Oh, heck no! I am so sick of winter here in North Florida, I just don't know how ya'll take it. The snow is beautiful though. Love the kitty story.
Toby has a very innocent face. How could those sweet eyes have done anything wrong? It must have been the dog.
Good morning, Toby. These Humans have so many rules, but I've found giving them a little extra attention often relaxes them so that they are willing to bend a few rules. Who can expect us to stay off counters? If I didn't do that, the Woman here would never remember to prepare my dinner. Perhaps the Woman at your house is just a little cranky from this long winter--I know mine is.
Yours, Toby at the Prairie
Oh Tobby, you are a cute one, and have been very good. Is that magazine still intact? I hope so, especially if it was a gardening magazine! So sorry for the cold and snow up your way, Marnie. But is sounds like you are counting the days until spring warmth returns and will relish it when that happens. Hope lives.
Frances
Hi Tina, I go outside for an hour or so every evening to catch mice under the bird feeder. I can't go outside on a sunny day because I catch birds. That's against the rules too.
Hi Walk2Write, it was a crispy magazine the crackled when I bit the pages.
Hi Troutbirder, tell Simba hello.
NorthernShade, it was the dog. Yes, tell Her it was the dog.
Toby on the Prairie, She goes off to work every morning to create rules I must live by. What else could she be doing all day? I will try your method of lulling Her.
Toby
Good morning Darla, yes we get so sick of winter. You would think we could just ease gracefully into spring with ever warmer days. Not likely.
Hi Frances, we can't count them, it would be too frustrating when the count ended and the weather was still icky. We endure as we do every winter.
Marnie
I hope Spring comes quicker to you than April. Hi Toby!
love the innocent face on the last photo. ha! we all know better.
i had a sibling like that growing up always looking the innocent.
do you tire of the snow...i know i am always hoping we get more...if it's that cold anyway but i don't have to leave home to work either.
here's dreaming of an enchanted april day of spring...
Hi Sherri;)
Hi Marme, I guess I have a love/hate relationship with snow. It is beautiful but it's also a nuisance to deal with. Have to admit it much lovelier than bare frozen ground.
When I lived in northern Alabama and later in Tennessee a heavy snow was always deadly for someone who shouldn't have been driving. That was always sad.
Marnie
Toby is indeed a beautiful cat, Marnie ~ those eyes ... magnificent! Ah yes, snow ... lots & lots of snow. I hate to agree but I'm with you regarding spring. April it is!
Well, he looks a bit more contrite in this photo, anyway. Is he a kitten?! And, heck, maybe everything that goes wrong WAS the dog...
Hmmmm, Toby ... have you been giving lessons to our Jackie Dog? It would explain her uncanny ability to resist obeying our every whim...and I'm sure no magazine is safe from your claws. ;-D
Hi Marnie,
oh, we seem to have the same weather here in Maine....it rained yesterday but overnight another 5 inches of fresh snow clung to the trees creating a winter wonderland. I was glued to the window with my camera as I watched a great variety of birds at the feeders. We have also had big snow storms in April!
Toby is such a handsome cat. One of our kitties, Brody, eats plastic! That is a very bad thing to do so we have to hide all plastic in our house...he can even smell it and then searches for it.
Nan
I sure miss having a cat...but as long as Scratchy rules...well, you know the rest of the story!
It's funny how the last big snows of the season, I don't really get excited about, as the rising temps make short work of them, but they are a pain anyway. But I'm rushing to get things done in the house so I don't have to waste my summer doing those things.
But my old walls, have a rough finish, which I love, because the glaze I paint over them, looks much better on the roughness and the hole filler for each new nail hole takes on an old worn patina. I never worry about how the pictures hang, because I'm always changing and adding or selling. The more imperfect it looks, the better I like it. After all, I took the OLD wallpaper off the front room and left the old plaster as is, cracks and all. the wallpaper is original throughout the house. It's ripped and stained, but gives me a unique look that most would paint over or strip, but not the crazy one...I want to push the limits...it's good to be single...ha!
Spring is closer each day...sharon
I think spring comes in April to coincide with the end of tax season! It's much easier staying in and preparing tax return after tax return when it's icky outside. Well, until the urge to nap because of the dreary weather hits!
Toby, as long as She can still read the words on the pages, it should be okay to chew on the corners!
Hi Marnie,
Sorry to hear you got the big end of that snow! They were predicting a lot more for us here, but we only got a couple of inches that have already started to recede and we're supposed to have a warm up/cool down again this week. We're so tired of waiting for spring to come, as are you and the kitties too, I'm sure.
Hey, the "blame the dog" excuse isn't always fair! Though in our house it's the only one, lol. Fortunately we don't have to use it much yet with little Hanna. She's settled in so well now that she has that curious doggie "selective hearing" sometimes, lol. But she's such a sweet clown we have to forgive her and give her an ice puck to play with every night. :-)
I don't know about Toby though, he looks kinda shifty to me, heh.
I have to agree with NorthernShade, surely it was the dog and not Toby! :-)--Randy
Hi Joey, spring never comes before April. I think we are just more antsy than usual because we see our blogging friends with blooming gardens in late Feb. It's some kind of cosmic injustice;)
Hi Monica, Toby is three but a very active cat. He sure has you fooled. It isn't the dog;)
Hi CordwoodCabin, noting is safe. He may decide to push a plate off the counter just to hear that satisfying crash.
Marnie
Good morning Nan, I heard on this morning's news much of Maine is without power. I'll bet you got some great photos.
Hi Sharon, your picture arrangements look so perfect. You do a great job. When I stripped the old layers of wallpaper (circa 1970's on top) I tried to replace it with something similar to the bottom (oldest) layer. Now I'm tired of it and plan to try something new.
Hi BeadedTail, that's a lucky thing for us. Tax work would get short shrift if warm sunny days were calling;)
Hi IVG, we're supposed to warm up here and this will melt and we will have a sea of mud. I know when the dog misbehaves. I can tell from the broken window where she jumped out;)
Marnie
Hi Randy, I'm surprised how many people little Toby was able to fool. No, when the dog misbehaves it costs hundreds of dollars to fix. Replace a door, call the window man to replace the glass, repaint the car door, stuff like that. Toby couldn't on his best day create as much havoc as Aggie.
Marnie
Ohhhh! I love that cat!
Toby..you could do what my two boys do..ignore all the rules...LOL
Toby is the cutest cat! It sounds like he has cabin fever too.
My cat used to get on the table (close to the trash) and pull things from the trash. I believe she laughed while to big dog took the lecture!
Hi Balisha. Anyone reading these comments that is interested in a good story, click on Balisha's avatar to read her post about St Fiacre, the patron saint of gardeners. A very interesting story.
RamblingWoods, that's been Toby's MO so far;) He's lawless like the drifters in old westerns.
Hi Phillip, you're probably right. He dosn't get enough exercise.
Hi Dawn, I can't let Toby know your cats get away with framing the dog;)
Marnie
I know what you mean about waiting till April to see Spring Marnie. We're the same. March is our snowiest month so we have that left to look forward to. At least there may be some crocus blooming in-between snows. Toby is precious. I think he just has a case of cabin fever! Hang in there Marnie. It's almost March so that means April won't be far behind.
Hi Kathleen, you are right. Only five or six more weeks. We can do it.
Marnie
I think we got only 5" of the white stuff. According to Tom Skilling (WGN TV) we've been experiencing the coldest winter in 23 years. :-( The only thing happening in the garden right now are the Snowdrops and the Witch Hazel. Usually by now the Crocuses are blooming. Of course last year was worse; the 1st Snowdrop didn't bloom until the snow melted down on March 5th, and the Witch Hazel didn't start blooming until the 13th of March. So it's not that bad.
Marnie, I do like Toby...spirit, catitude and good looks! it has been unusually cold here and with no snow to protect our plants, we may lose a few...You know I really wanted snow once this winte...hopefully it won't decide to be a march snowfall...we have had them, but they are very rare. It must be both invigorating and irritating to visit blogs with a lot of spring bloom right now! I hope it gets to Northern Illinois soon! gail
LOL, Marnie,
I read this at work the other day. When I wrote a comment on my iphone, I accidently hit something wrong, and when I went to find the comment box again, it was gone. Technology, we love it, but there is a learning curve. I thought maybe my partially written comment got published, but see it didn't.
Well, thanks for the laugh. I hope this finds your magazine intact, Toby behaving, and some of your snow melting.
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