It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Rain arrived on the Monterey Peninsula yesterday afternoon. It really poured! It has been really cold and kinda funky at night, too. This is strange for us here because September and October are our summer months here. It is time of year that the locals live for. It is usually warm and sunny and time for those wine grapes to sweeten up before harvest in late October. This year we had a couple of days of heat and that was it. I'm sorta disappointed.

The first rain of the year is also a time of drama for a certain small dog. She will stand at the back door staring out into the rain, not wanting to get her little puppy feet wet. The look on her face totally says, "You expect me to go out in THAT?!"

This morning was also our first walk in the fine rain. Liesl, the same dog who loves to play in the surf at the beach. The same dog who bites at the water coming out of the hose. The same dog who will walk through a random puddle. This was the same dog who only wanted to take care of her business and come back home this morning. She had an air about her that suggested that I had forgotten that she is undoubtedly a sugar cube. The slightest bit of rain will indeed make her melt. As I tried to give her a schnauzer pep talk, she looked at me as though I should remember that she is made of sugar. It is going to be a long winter...

The one nice thing about this time of year is that she does like to cuddle when it is cold. The other night she had decided to sleep in her own little bed. In the wee small hours of the morning though, the temperature had dropped and it was quite chilly. I woke up to her letting me know she wanted up on the bed. In the darkness, through my sleep laden eyes I could see the dark silhouette of two pointy ears over the side of the mattress. I picked her up, where she immediately took the warm spot. She made it clear that I should hike it over and make space for her under the blankets where she could cuddle up to me.

She is bossy. I am starting to doubt that I am at the top of the food chain in this household. I can't help myself though. I just love her so much.