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Well, it was frozen. Willow’s favorite lake covered in ice and snow. At first she was skeptical that it was a good idea and she kept returning to shore but when she realized that I was going to keep walking, she joined me and had fun. The ice is thick enough for ice fishing so I figured it was good for walking. There aren’t many good places for dog walking this time of year. This winter is dragging on, occasionally acting like it will give up its grip and allow Spring to start but it’s all fake news. Of course, it’s still winter. It is February for goodness sake. Sigh.

It was supposed to be Ski to the Sun, the 40 k marathon/relay race from Mazama to Sun Mountain but low snow on the valley floor forced the cancellation of the race. That didn’t stop the fun or keep folks from enjoying good ski conditions at Chickadee, Mazama and Rendezvous. I went to Chickadee and the Après party at the Methow Trails headquarters to get some photos.

I don’t know why but it seems that most events here in the Methow turn into costume/dance parties. This was no exception. At Chickadee, many skiers donned colorful outfits and the volunteers at the aid station were dressed in lots of spangly color and they had tunes going and they knew all the dance moves too. Rumor has it that there was whiskey at the Rendezvous. There was a DJ at the après party and raffles, food and beer too. And some dogs. Good times were had by all.

Yesterday was a gray day, very typical of what we’ve experienced this winter. Lots of gray days and not much snow. Here are some scenes from our walk, mostly shades of gray with little color. And perhaps, a cougar kill.

Saturday, Methow Trails once again hosted the Doggie Dash at their headquarters in Winthrop on a glorious sunny day. The Doggie Dash is a long running event that features a six-legged race with one person and one dog per team AND it’s a costume contest. Some folks want to win the race; others want to win the costume contest and take home the coveted Golden Poodle. It’s a traveling trophy which returns each year. There are three categories – adults with small dogs, kids and adults with big dogs. There were only two small dog teams. The other categories had more teams so there were two heats to determine who would go on to the finals race. The day started with a costume parade before the races and the best costume was decided at the end. This is always a favorite winter event with lots of spectators.

The blonde dogs came for a sleep over yesterday and lucky us, the sun came out to celebrate! We had a week of solid gray days and nights so it was a welcome sight.

Molly, being the senior dog, is now president of the Good Girls’ Club and she presides with dignity, even when rolling in the snow. Willow is the new secretary. Winnie has yet to accept any responsibility and some say she may still be in probationary status! We are all waiting for Molly to produce an agenda and a meeting date. She says it’s so hard to get those distant dogs – Junie, Addie, Rozie and Ginger, to commit to a date they can all be here (or somewhere else) together. Gretta says she’s around most of the time but not February! Everyone is so busy these days.