I like dogs. I like cats, too, but dogs feed that feeling of unbridled joy in me. They are always happy to see you, they are constantly discovering new things, and they make friends easily. What’s not to love?!? For a few years, I’ve been wanting to get a dog of my own, but it hasn’t been the right time. Now that I’m in Chicago (which is definitely a dog town), I’ve been thinking about how nice it would be to have a dog. I’ve got the beach right there… we could walk, play in the water, chase balls. Divine. At least that’s what I thought until I woke up this morning and saw how much snow fell over night. The door to my neighboring building is blocked with snow. There are drifts of snow at least three feet deep. And it’s really cold. Who wants to go outside multiple times a day to walk a dog in this kind of weather?

I was out on the beach by 8:15 this morning, to get photos of the nearly untouched snow. The only other people who were out (and bundled up much more smartly than I was) were those with their dogs. I grinned from ear to ear as I watched the dogs bounce and skid and leap through the snow. It was a great way to start the day. Maybe walking a dog multiple times a day in the dead of winter wouldn’t be so bad.

I took a series of pictures in the snow last night and another series (without dogs) this morning. Check out flikr if you want to get a taste of this storm.