ADHD · dogs · fitness · motivation · walking

Entirely Too Much Snow

Christine Hennebury

As I am writing this on Monday morning, I had already spent about 20 minutes arguing with myself about whether it was safe to take Khalee for a walk today.

You see, last week, things were looking up snow-wise.

The sidewalks were clear.

I could the grass at the edges of my driveway.

My patio had only a few chunks of icy snow on it.

I was looking forward to walking in my sneakers for change.

I knew it wasn’t actually spring but I was hoping things would move in that direction, or that winter would pause for a while.

Readers, it did not.

Between Thursday night and Saturday morning we had around 75cm of snow.

It was not fun.

And I had taken Khalee for a walk on Thursday but it was too stormy on Friday to go out.

On Saturday and Sunday, the roads were only partially clear and there was heavy equipment here and there, and it felt too risky to have my poor pup and poor me try to navigate all of that.

Last night, I saw that a nearby sidewalk has been cleared so I decided that I would take Khalee out this morning no matter what.

But this morning is very windy and a bit rainy and part of my brain tried to put the brakes on.

It really did its best to keep me and Khalee inside, telling me that the wind would make it hard to walk (truth: it’s not *that* windy!) and that while that sidewalk might be clear the road to get there might be hazardous (truth: some parts of the roads are narrow and snow-filled, others are clear and it’s only three minutes from my front door) and…and…and…

However, I couldn’t keep Khalee from another day of sniffvestigations, that didn’t seem fair.

So I bundled up, got her into her hoodie (more for visibility than warmth!), and braved the walk.

Do I feel better for getting outside?

Well, I don’t feel any worse!

Do I feel better for getting Khalee outside?

Oh, definitely!

So at least there’s that.

Here are a few photos from our walk, feel free to gloat about your spring weather in the comments while I am being all self-congratulatory about getting out for a walk today.

PS – We are supposed to have a ridiculous amount of rain overnight. So by the time you read this, all of these streets will be likely filled with slushy water that’s trying to seek out a drain. Sigh.

A photo of a dog standing on pavement facing a stop sign that is almost completely buried in snow.
A photo of my dog Khalee standing on clear pavement, she is facing a snowbank on the opposite side of the road. That snowbank is high enough to obscure a stop sign – there’s only a sliver of the top of the sign visible. Isn’t it weird that there is that much snow on the sides but the road is down to the pavement? Snow makes no sense!
A photo of a dog on a snowy sidewalk with a high snowbank next to her
My dog, Khalee, in a green hoodie, standing on a snow-covered sidewalk next to a huge snowbank that has been sheared pretty smooth by a plow/snowblower. Not every snowbank is this high, this one is near a corner. Still sucks though.
A photo of a dog on a snowy sidewalk next to a 3ft high snowbank.
My dog, Khalee, in her green hoodie on her way back home. She’s standing on a snow-covered sidewalk next to a smaller snowbank that is only about 3ft high. The road, which is cleared to the pavement, can be seen on the right side of the photo.

Published by Christine Hennebury

I'm a writer/storyteller/director/creativity & lifestory coach with a black belt in ITF Taekwon-do. I read voraciously and I write like my fingers are on fire. I'm the founder and Chair of the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl and I'm a former president of the St. John's Storytelling Festival. I bake a mean chocolate chip cookie.

2 thoughts on “Entirely Too Much Snow”

  1. Maybe that should be the the new license plate slogan for Nfld and Labrador “Entirely Too Much Snow. “

  2. Not gonna gloat about my mild climate. I went to college in Massachusetts & endured 4 years of what seemed to me to be a lot of snow – nothing to you! I don’t think there’s anything that would lure me to a snowy climate. You’re a hero for getting your pup out in all that!

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