Warm Days, Cold Noses....

Apparently, we're officially having an Indian summer. I learned yesterday from Frank Marzullo and the Fox 19 Stormtracker weather team that were having one. This is because we've had a 'hard freeze' and then the temperatures have risen. Given that we've had 70 degree days since Monday, this is definitely the case.

It still feels odd though that it's getting dark at 5 p.m. It feels odd that when I get home from work and the pups are in their crate, the shadows are already long in the kitchen and the puppies are still staring at me as if to say, "Dude! Why are you SO late?"

To make matters worse, I've been going out after work for the past two nights which means I come home, let them out, call them in so I can leave again and, by the time I get home, it's dark.

The puppies don't understand this. I don't understand it either, to be honest. It's to get home at 7 p.m and feel like it's far too late to have been out on a work night.

Still, it's all part of the process of moving between seasons. In a few weeks, it'll all feel normal. The Indian summer will be over and we'll be moving on into the chill of winter.

As you know, I love winter. I love the fact that it's a cleansing break between the finality of autumn and the newness of spring. I love snow. I love frost. I love having the perfect excuse to stay inside, snuggle up with a puppy and read or watch TV or write. It's all part of the semi-hibernation process.

And yet it's not winter yet as evidenced by the beautiful days we're having at the moment. It's wonderful to come home at lunch without a jacket and watch the puppies frollic in the garden they way they did most of the spring and summer. It's been too cold lately for them to do much outside but hunt the occasional squirrel, do their 'business' and come in. I think they're as delighted as I am that it's warm enough to go out.

Of course, it's still getting pretty nippy at night. We've still had a few frosts. Personally, this is the way I like my weather. I love the dramatic difference between daytime and nightime. Even when it's freezing outside, I keep my house cool at night so that I can snuggle in my bed and enjoy the cocoon factor. These days, I have two doggy-hot-water-bottles to keep me warm. Rory snuggles on the right, Sookie on the left. They burrow under the covers, heads towards my pillow and lay vertically pressed up against me. It's very comfortable and it's lovely to feel that loved and needed.

Naturally, I know it's really because they're cold and I'm a convenient puppy-warmer but it's still nice to have the snuggle factor on chilly nights. It makes the slightly eerie creaks and groans of my little house a little less sinister when you have two puppies you know will alert you if there's really something to be worried about.

I love having my pups to keep me company on chilly nights. Of course the fact that they like to press their cold noses up against me tends to make me jump a little at first but I'm getting used to it. I don't like it when they need to get up in the wee hours of the morning to go outside because it means I have to leave the cocoon of my bed to open the back door.

However, when we come back to bed, chilled from the frosty air, I do enjoy the race we have to see who can get under the covers first. I usually win.

They follow quickly, cold noses and all.

I love autumn!

Happy Thursday!