First Snow!!!

Mrrrr Friends,

Yes, we are still occupying the kitchen table, sometimes in shifts. Nevertheless, I had to go celebrate the first snow of the season!

It was coming down so hard that it was darkish out there, so the photographer (who you might remember is quite, um, unfocused when outside with the cat) sometimes had the flashy thingy going.

Here's me heading out:

I have to get up on Oom's shoulder sometimes to get the lay of the land:

We went out to the brook to see the snow hats on my boulders:

By that time I had to hop up on my bench cause, frankly, my feet were a little cold...even a purebred Wisconsin Snowcat has to acclimate.

Our house is nice and warm so I can head right in and warm my toes after playing a bit with Oom and making sure she gets some exercise.

And tomorrow is Turkey Day! What a great way to start a long weekend of play!

It's All Good

Mrrrrr Friends,

Snow is back! What a relief.

Too bad I have to go back inside. But that's where the kibble is... And none of it is any fun unless Oom is out with me and I have Alex to go back to...

SNOW!

Mrrrr Friends,

There is nothing more exciting for a purebred Wisconsin Snowcat than the first good snow fall. Yep, we had a freak storm bout a month ago, but I knew that was not a keeper. Today might be the first good snow of what I hope is a snow-filled, drift-packed winter!

Here I am checking the little wood pile. Looking kind of skimpy if you ask me.

In the wild part of the yard, it takes longer for the snow to cover the grasses.

I tried to catch a few snowflakes in my mouth...it looks like I'm mad, but I'm not.

And here's what we had by midday!

Not a bad start. Me, I'm waiting for 4 feet of pack...perfect Snowcat weather!

Snowcat

Mrrrr Friends,

Some of you have asked, "what precisely is a Snowcat?"  I can only tell you what my mom told us kittens, and what is commonly accepted wisdom among cats in the Baraboo Hills of Wisconsin.

Snowcats are built for snow. We're extra furry all over (though still short-haired) and especially between our toe pads. We tend to be kind of compact and muscular, not long and lanky. But most of all, we love snow: we love the feel of ice on our pads, we like digging and playing in it. Indeed, many of us like water just fine too.

And what, in practice, that adds up to is this:

Snowcats float on snow. (That's the site near where I was buried the other day.)

These two pictures were taken in the middle of another 4 - 6" day putting our snow total for the last week up to about two feet. The snow had been wet, and hard going early in the week but after more snow, melty day time, then icy night time, pack started forming.

Now don't get me wrong...you aren't just born a Snowcat and you go out and float! Snowcats like me gotta use our physical attributes wisely. Here I am demonstrating a low walk.

I can be floating along and, all the sudden, a paw pops down through snow a bit so I go into low walk (not to be confused with the slow walk which is another thing entirely). Notice my leading paw, the careful placement, and the broad pad spread. The Snowcat pad spread in snow is the hallmark of our family. Here's another image where you can also see the role of the claws in establishing gentle but firm placement on the snow surface.

See the breadth of the pads in even a good pack situation? (These are hard to capture because any Snowcat worth his or her whiskers puts their back feet right in their front foot print when they walk in snow.)

Snowcat.

Sno-Cat

Snowshoe Cat

Mrrrrr Friends,

What a beautiful weekend it was here in the beauteous Adirondack Park! In the middle of winter, the temperatures reached 40 degrees F. It was super warm...I had Oom give me a good brushing to thin my very thick undercoat before we went out to hike each day.

We still had enough snow to go snowshoeing together...

Here, I am stretching and cleaning for our hike while I'm waiting for Oom. See the bits of blue sky!

After she got her new snowshoes on I had to do a thorough check.

The decks are very sturdy - a cat can warm his paws easily here. More importantly, the decks can be used as a springboard up the human leg when it's time to get out of the snow and take a break on Oom's shoulders - a real difficulty in deep snow.

I  made sure her bindings were done right.

And we were off! Oom blazing the trail and me following along.

Snowshoes are useful for an inquisitive, hiker-cat because they occasionally reveal cool stuff under the snow.

But for the most part, they simply make traveling easier, even when you're a purebred Wisconsin Snowcat made for snow travel. The snow thus far this season has been easy to punch through even to the expert paw. We haven't seen development of much pack - which improves conditions for furry guys like me strolling, hiking, and bounding about.

The snowy ice-hats were gone from the brook waters, though snow still covers the boulders.

This weekend thaw should help form a nice cold pack of what remains, and, if we get more snow as predicted, the conditions for a Snowcat should improve remarkably.

Snow pack is a pretty serious subject but to simply get a sense of the average snowpack temperature and density in your region - as well as snow fall data - go to this cool site. I recommend playing with the Google Earth link. I'm wishing for a colder snowpack temperature and depth, as well as more snow!

Today the temperatures have scuttled back down which is good, and Oom and I are watching the skies for flurries...