Apparently the current rain/snow mix is traveling in wisps and bands of clouds and the forecast calls for varying amounts, depending upon which wisp or band travels our way. Not expected until mid-afternoon, one of the wisps passed over us about 8 AM. Naturally, my camera’s memory card was full, and in the time it took to download the photos to my computer’s hard drive and erase the camera memory, the huge, fluffy flakes had morphed into tiny little specks. However, they did leave behind a pretty blanket on the ground and trees, which might last for a little while. We aren’t sad; the past two ice and snow storms have more than satisfied any cold-weather longings we might have had. We are ready to bring on Spring!!! Here’s a little peak at what we were left with this morning!

Our second icy blast in less than six weeks – some kind of record for Oklahoma! The snow is still falling, and the forecast has now been changed to the possibility of six inches before it stops. With frigid temperatures through the weekend, this snow will last awhile.

Brrr! This is an example of a photo saying a thousand words . . .

Two of our boys bring the fun inside. They have loved the cold, fluffy snow, too.

You don’t have to give a lot to be a part of the immense effort to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are suffering so tremendously following the disastrous earthquake there this past Tuesday.

Go to www.clintonfoundation.org/haitiearthquake to donate any amount!

Text ‘Haiti’ at 20222 to donate $10 via Clinton’s organization.

Or donate to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or some other large organization, as they are more able than small, local organizations to get the aid to Haiti the fastest.

Watch this video to hear former President Bill Clinton talking with John Roberts on CNN about the urgency to act now to help the people of Haiti.

Well, it should be official. We must have a special sign or scent on our curbside that tells people to dump their dogs at our place. Neither me nor Don can turn away from strays, and they just keep dropping by our place. Most of the time we are able to reunite them with their owners, but it is surprising how many do not have collars, much less ID tags, to help us in this task. You know, I can understand that a dog can get out of a fenced yard, or dash out an open garage door, but this goes way beyond that.

We’ve returned dogs to owners who say ‘thank you’ but without much enthusiasm, and more often than not we hear ‘he got out last week and ran across the highway’ or something similar. Apparently, many owners think it’s funny or cute that their pets are escape artists. We’ve since stopped returning dogs to the same person; if we see them out again we just hope and pray they make it home without being hit by a car. It is no surprise that the majority of the stray dogs are males that have not been neutered, and more often than not they have no collars and are very thin. The condition of their coats tells the tale of how long they’ve been wandering. It is truly heartbreaking.

Take a look at craigslist.org under ‘Lost and Found’ and ‘Pets’ for an eye opener. In addition to the overflow of unwanted and unclaimed dogs at all the local shelters and rescue groups, there are tons of free dogs and cats being advertised on craigslist. It worries me that more often than not the listing is the last effort by the current owner to shed responsibility for the pet without turning it over to the pound.

Yet you can look at the Pets-For-Sale in the classifieds of our local paper any day of the week and see ‘pedigreed’ dogs selling for hundreds of dollars. Often these dogs are bred by ‘mom and pop’ home breeders, and the quality of the dogs is not guaranteed. It makes me sick to see people paying so much money for those dogs while so many dogs need homes but are facing certain death because they aren’t ‘in fashion’ or ‘fullblood’.

Efforts in our state to curb the puppy mills and pass laws that put the responsibility back onto owners simply are not on the books. The answer to this issue certainly isn’t simple, but seems to me a good starting place would be to enact and enforce mandatory neutering of all male and female cats and dogs that are not licensed for breeding purposes. Maybe we can’t stop all of the puppy mills, but surely it would reduce the number of unwanted puppies and kittens who have little hope for a safe, warm home with loving and responsible people to care for them.

That was a rant, but I feel better now.

It’s hard for me to really comprehend that the year 2010 has arrived. As a child of the -ties years, 2010 sounded so futuristic, and here it is. The ‘Weekly Reader’ we read in elementary school predicted that most of us would be helicoptering everywhere, and I couldn’t wait! Alas, that didn’t materialize. Luckily the dire predictions in ‘1984′ didn’t happen, either. There have been so many other things that have changed, but perhaps social changes over the years have been the most obvious. Most of these social changes have been for the better, while some have not. Overall, though, our country and our lives are better than they were ‘way back when’, and I’m glad I’ve lived to see it.

I hope all of you have a happy and prosperous New Year 2010!