Would you PLEASE come down from there?

I got up off the couch to get the dog from our friends' house and then set out to walk her around the lake as I've done a few times recently, following the tracks in the snow.

But the most recent snowfall made it too difficult. The paths were covered with another layer of snow, and I kept sinking in. You really need show shoes or cross country skis there. I went less than half-way and then turned back.

Maddie, being lighter, was having a grand old time until she ran up into the woods where the snow was deeper. She sank at every footstep but sprang back up, making a little trail. When I told her to get out of there, instead of using the path she had just made, she headed back down in the fresh snow.

She was almost down when she stopped in her tracks and would not budge. A student came by and gave me a piece of a pretzel as a lure. No luck. At one point she just lay down. Concerned that she might be injured, I considered trying to climb up to get her. She really wasn't that far from the path, but I thought that with my balance issues, it wasn't a great idea. The stand-off continued for about 20 minutes, with me calling and her sitting there just looking around.

This is kind of embarrassing, but I called Mount Holyoke Public Safety, and they sent over a guy from Facilities Management. He asked if she was going to bite him. I assured him she would not. He was nice about it and took the leash and went up to get her. There wasn't anything wrong with her. Stubbornness? Enjoying the view? Temporarily traumatized? Uh, dare I say it, not too smart?

Anyway, it was back on the leash after that.

When I returned home, an avalanche of snow and ice had fallen off our copper roof onto the path and the steps leading to the mailbox. It obviously had to be cleared so the mailman could come up to the door. I surveyed the scene and sighed, muttering a few things.

Should I hire someone? Back to my mother: What would she do? Call the super, of course. Since I have no super, she would say to call somebody. But I just got a $420 bill for snow shoveling and plowing. Enough with the snow, already, and the money it costs to clear it. I grabbed the shovel.

Shovel shovel shovel. Stretch stretch. Shovel. Grab chunks of ice and throw them left, then throw them right. Shovel more. Stretch again.

Not wanting to add a backache to my knee and foot problems, I was very careful. When I came into the house, I got down on the floor and did some yoga poses and more stretches.

Later, I nodded off while sitting at the kitchen table.

Maddie was tired too, cuddling up with her green and white teddy bear and falling fast asleep.