We Will Rebuild

Here in New England, we’re really going through something. A snowstorm to be precise.

“But it’s New England,” you say. “Isn’t that normal?”

Well, not anymore. Thanks to various ninos (but definitely not climate change, though, because we here don’t believe in bipartisan scientific conspiracies that everyone else in the world accepts as facts), Boston hasn’t had a plowable snowfall in two years. In fact, in November, I went out to ensure our old snowblower was ready for anything, and it wouldn’t start. Given its fifteen plus years of service, I decided it was time for a new snowblower. As soon as the delivery truck dropped it off, Lauren texted her friends to say, “Gordon just got a new snowblower. You can thank him for the snow-less winter we will now have.”

It sure looked like she was gonna be wrong. All week we’ve been warned about a big nor’easter that was going to bring a foot of snow to various parts of Massachusetts. The catch, though? Our area was in an unpredictable zone. For the last two days, I checked my weather app every two hours and gave reports like these to Lauren: “As of now, we’re getting 11.85 inches of snow” and “We’ve been downgraded to 1.77 inches of snow” and “We’re back up to 8.85 inches of snow” and “We’re down to 1.56 inches of snow.” In the middle of the storm, I checked the app. My entire lawn was green and rain-soaked, and the weather app let me know we had already had an inch of snow and could expect two more. Lol, weather app.

Dobby is a creature of habit, and he does not like weather extremes. He really, really hates heat and humidity, but he’s not a big fan of rain or snow, and he loathes wearing any jacket or sweater. Here he is in his raincoat, frozen in place, the hate and resignation all over his face.

Once I got him to move his legs finally, we headed out to hike in the woods in the rain. I prefer hiking in the woods on Sundays because I am not trying to get in a workout and I like not battling him over cars, having to pick up poop, etc. But heaven forbid we change his routine. Of late, he has been resisting hikes in the morning while trying to get me back on a regular walk. Now, couple it with a steady, icy, sideways rain, and he was determined to go back, as you can see in this video.

I thought he might head for the side door and just be done, but he went past the house and to the street. We were about half a block along when he struck back by dropping a messy deuce. Then, he as we walked up our first side street, all his motivation faded. He walked next to me and not in front of me. Only when I asked him if he wanted to go home did he pick up the pace, as you can see.

Mercifully, a flock of turkeys strutted into our path as we headed home, and Dobby revived his spirits by chasing them until they took off flying. With outdoor activities limited, we had to resort to indoor fetch.

Meanwhile, the rain finally converted to snow, and we’ve really had to batten down the hatches. Don’t worry, friends. We’re hearty New Englanders. We will overcome and rebuild.

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