New Years Holiday 2012

Happy New Year!
Happy 2012.


We had a new years holiday at Okushiga-kogen as usual.

Okushiga-kogen is in Nagano where Winter Olympic Game was held in 1998 and the Ski slalom venue was about ten min drive from our place in Okushiga.

So there is a lot of snow there in winter naturally but recently we've had less snow compared with that we had twenty years ago.

But this year although the weatherforecast said we'd have a warm winter from the Christmas time it's very cold everywhere and in the mountain area it snowed heavily.

The snow continued through to the new years time and when we got there the balcony of the mountain hut was covered with about 1.5m snow. My first work of 2012 was to get rid of the snow out of the balcony and make the way for the dogs to get down to the outside.

We enjoyed going out.

On the main road the snow is removed every day but on other roads the snow is pressed and they are really nice Nordic Ski lane.  In winter I go out with my telemark skis on.

Those who live with Border Collies could easily guess. The top of my skis attracted Dono and I had to stop in order to make Dono look away from my skis. If Dono eyed on to my skis and started to try to nip my skis, I would freeze.  Then Dono would wait for me to move and the opportunity for him to attack the skis again. I had to stay there literally freezing in the snow so that Dono would turn around and starts to chase Dada who was walking with steady gait.

That was as usual.  But this time it snowed heavily everyday and in the snow and the winding roads with ups and downs Dada sometimes disappeared from my eyesight while I was dealing with Dono.

I shouted, "Dada, Dada, COME. Da~~~chan!"

Out of the white air in front of me and Dono she ran to me with a big smile on her face.  Oh good! Good girl! And then she went away again with her as a matter of fact face and steady trotting steps.

Maybe because of her 13 years old age, maybe because we had that awful earthquake last year, I was really upset when I lost her sight, or rather when I saw her walking into the white air leaving me behind.   Dada please don't leave me.

After about fifteen min of me freezing so that he would walk forwards Dono decided it was not worth to eye on my skis and started to look for foxes or weasels or rabbits.

But I'm sure in his mind he did not forget the fun to eye on my skis. He might have been thinking,

"Well, maybe tomorrow I'll do better..."