Puppy love

Yesterday at the library the main topic of conversation (besides books) was the fact that nobody can remember our little corner of Paradise ever suffering such a blast of cold air as we've had the past three days. Old-timers who've been retreating from NOB every winter for 30 years said they'd never seen it so cold here. Iced-over birdbaths! Thirty-knot gusts! Thermometers plunging to 37 degrees! Caramba! Much fretting over outdoor events planned for the next week, including a concert where the Capt and I may be performing for an audience of a half-dozen hardy souls huddling under blankets. Still, my sister in Oklahoma provided me with a little more positive perspective when she sent me this shot of her front yard.

For the moment, the winds have died down, skies are blue and the sun (yes, that very same sun we hide from all summer) is making a welcome reappearance.  I'm going to meet fellow blogger Brenda at a little patio cafe for lunch, and meet her friend who's just started teaching at a school in Guaymas. We'll soak up some rays while we can and then tonight we'll be battening down the hatches once again as another norther rolls through.

I also worry about the dogs at the Refuge, which is now full to capacity. I went to tianguis (the weekly Mexican outdoor market in Empalme) last Sunday with another Refuge volunteer and we found a litter of seven puppies wandering around in the crowd that someone had apparently abandoned, assuming they'd be picked up by someone. We were able to catch four of them and bring them back for medical checks, worming and vaccinations. So now the Refuge has six puppies of various sizes. We've bundled them all up in sweaters made by our local professional knitter Alma. Every night the chiminea is stoked and the puppies are kenneled as close to the warmth as possible.

Two adult females have been recently spayed and are recovering, one a rescue from Hermosillo called Negrita (pictured above) and the other from the nearby Santa Rosa grocery store, so we call her Santa Rosa. And she does have a saintly disposition...

In other news,  I fell in love last weekend with a puppy I was babysitting for the weekend while her foster mom was in Tucson. Wink is about the size of a toy Yorkie, only about a month old, but already so bright and responsive, you'd think she was older. Possibly she's part chihuahua, or maybe she's just the runt of the litter. Over the weekend I taught her to do her whizbiz outside, sleep quietly on a cushion next to the bed and walk on a leash. I'd adopt her myself but the Capt is not persuaded, so she will join her siblings on a flight to New York where an agency called Stray from the Heart will find a home for her.

Lisa, who was kept confined for weeks while she recovered from mange and is therefore somewhat shy of humans, has grown back her coat and is looking good. She responds a lot better to human attention.

We have a handsome young male named Rocco who came to us after surgery to remove a wire that had been tightly wrapped around his neck when he was a pup (why? I can't imagine!) so it was imbedded in his skin as he grew. Rocco would make someone a wonderful guard dog or bodyguard for a woman, but he doesn't like children or men. Sometimes I wish we could have a visit from the Dog Whisperer to help us iron out these behaviors that are probably rooted in early abuse. Help us, Cesár!