It was 63° (17°C) when I took this photo this afternoon, and the snow is finally, at long last, beginning to give way to bare -- if soggy -- ground. We've gone from what seemed like perpetual winter to almost-summer, though all that white stuff still on the ground seems out of place with the temperature today. Our high tomorrow is forecast to be 70° (21°C), so we should have all the snow gone within a couple more days, we hope! Next up is mud season.
That's blind Allie on the right, with the munchkin brigade in the dog house ... blind Lucy on the left, Katie and Spencer, and blind Willie. His snoring was the only sound I could hear when I was outside taking photos.
Miss Marker and I even enjoyed coffee on the deck this morning after breakfast, though you can see the snow is lingering here, too:
But notice the kitchen window is open -- now that's a sign of spring!
---
The current Shelter Challenge started on Monday, April 4th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, June 19th. Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners. There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.
And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.
You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.
Please note: Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up.
Because of your votes, we won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge that ended in March. Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too. Thank you!
---
The ASPCA $100,000 Challenge -- Last Week For This Round
Our friends at the New Hampshire SPCA "downstate" (as they say here) in Stratham have made it into the qualifying round of the ASPCA's $100,000 Challenge to Save More Lives contest. They are competing to be one of the 50 shelters eligible to participate in the final round of the challenge. This is not a contest for us -- you need to care for a minimum of 1,000 animals during the year to enter. The NHSPCA has made it past the first stage and into the qualifying round, and now they need as many votes as possible to get one of the final 50 spots in the contest. On their behalf, we'd like to ask you to vote for them -- they do wonderful work and we'd like to support their efforts.
The qualifying round of the contest starts Monday, April 4 and runs until April 15 -- and you can vote EVERY DAY in this challenge, too! Please vote for the NHSPCA here.
If you have questions or want to know more about this Challenge, please go to this page. My standard disclaimer: I cannot help with voting issues, troubleshoot, or provide any other assistance for this contest.
Well, it does my heart good to hear that you two have actually engaged in something mildly leisurely, like sitting for morning coffee. To read your blog sometimes exhausts me. It seems even sitting involves work, like blogging for us, or driving a dog to the vet (although now in NH, that task is a little less laborious). I've often thought, "Do those two EVER get to take a break?" So, I'm glad to hear it, and here's to more use of those deck chairs. You guys are certainly deserving of a little lounging.
Posted by: Diane, Chehalis, WA | April 15, 2011 at 11:09 AM
It's lovely to see blind Alie "chillin'". You mentioned that she was taken off the adoption list due to some "ills". Have they improved? I sure hope so!
Posted by: Kathleen Rivard | April 11, 2011 at 05:15 PM
I'm glad that spring has finally sprung for you...all that snow gets old after a while! It sprung here a good month ago in South Carolina and we've been having crazy up and down temperatures, anywhere from the low 70s to 90!
It's great to see the dogs getting out and enjoying the nice weather. Is sure is a dogs' life!
Posted by: Ann | April 11, 2011 at 08:12 AM
I wish I could send you some of the 90F temps we've been having. Too hot, too fast for me, but then, I guess it goes with the location.
Big hugs all around,
ginger, Tobias & Tlingit
Posted by: ginger | April 11, 2011 at 05:38 AM
Here in Italy, we're having an unseasonably warm April, with highs between 27 and 31° C! Starting tomorrow, however, temperatures should drop to more "reasonable" levels.
We still had some snow in mid-March, which is pretty unusual in the Po Valley...
Posted by: Carla Polastro-Nigro | April 11, 2011 at 05:19 AM
Hip Hip Hooray for Spring!!! Love the blog!
Posted by: Shirley * James/Portland, OR | April 11, 2011 at 12:39 AM