once upon a time, in the wild of northern michigan, there lived a very large puppy named atlas.

one morning, atlas went outside to find the whole world covered in white. he shivered a little. the white was wet and cold on his paws. for a moment, he wondered what had happened to his green grass. but then he saw his bush and went about his business and, when he went back inside, he forgot all about it.

every day, the white seemed to grow until soon, it was taller than atlas.

one day, atlas was taking his person for a walk when he smelled something under the white.

it smelled furry.

atlas dug in the white with one paw.

nothing.

he dug in the white with two paws.

nothing.

atlas dug more deeply, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, both paws moving as fast as they could go, until there was a large hole in front of him.

he stuck his nose in the hole. oh, the smell of fur was strong now!

atlas dug again, furiously, until all of a sudden, the ground collapsed and he fell nose-first into a large dry tunnel.

{to be continued in the story club}

atlas says:

“i have been waiting and waiting and waiting. if you won’t come out of the snow, i will come in after you, but i will not like it.”

“arrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooo! the snow is too deep and i am too tired. i am done with this nonsense.”

“i am king of the world!”

“i seem to have turned myself sideways. this hill is more confusing than i thought. i think i will be done now.”

“hey there. i have been waiting and waiting and waiting so i’m just checking up on you.”

“good. you’re still there. you will have to get out on your own. i am going away now.”

(yes, atlas is still alive and well. it’s been so cold lately that he is in full-on hibernation mode. as he told you already, he is very sensible.)

on monday, i helped my dad shovel. it was seven degrees below zero and the wind chill factor made it much much colder, but i was bundled up and happy to be outside and moving.

usually, atlas calmly watches me shovel from the window. that day, he did not. he barked and barked and barked. i heard his (extremely loud) bark through the walls.

finally, i let him come outside. he ran around me a few times, nipped at my mitten, then went to the garage door. i brought him inside, then came back out to shovel.

i figured that was the end of it. he saw what i was doing; he remembered that he didn’t want to be outside; he would calmly watch or take a nap. but no, he barked and barked and barked some more.

later that day, something occurred to me.

when he barked, what if he was saying, “it’s too cold! come in! come in! come in!”

when he nipped at my mitten, what if he was trying to pull me inside.

oh, atlas. here you were trying to take care of me and keep me safe, and i didn’t even listen.

happy christmas, if you celebrate.

merry wednesday, if you don’t.

either way, here is a dose of merriment from atlas and me. we hope that you enjoy it.

atlas and i are sharing a twin bed at the moment.

you can probably guess how humorous this is and how well i sleep. (in theory, it should work, only atlas has no concept of personal space. he never has. he stretches out and takes up all the space available.)

sometimes i try to sleep on a different bed, but when he’s not feeling well (which has been more often than usual as he recovers from the move), he sleeps better when i’m right there next to him.

the other night, the funniest thing happened.

atlas was chasing a fox that turned into a white tiger and then they fought and the tiger drew blood. i was running back to my little cabin in the woods, followed by atlas who was now being chased by the tiger – thinking through how i would get inside and let atlas in without letting the tiger in – when i rolled over and fell off the bed.

i woke up on my hands and knees on the floor.

oh, did i laugh.

somewhere in dreamland, that tiger is probably still chasing poor atlas.

people, atlas here.

we went on a new walk! we walked down the road a little ways and i found a trail around some water.

i ran up and down the trail and then i ran up and down some hills and then i went in the water to get a drink and then i smelled all the smells.

and then we went on the walk again in the afternoon and helen came. i like helen.

i would just like to say that people are weird. elizabeth and helen did not run up and down the trails and up and down the hills and they did not go in the water and smell all the smells. they had their cameras.

cameras. pfffffffft.

clearly dogs are much smarter than people.

oh! i saw a fox on the way home!

it was the best day ever.

(also, i have a farm! with deer and bears and rabbits! and then i have another farm! with coyote and porcupines! every dog should have a farm. they are the best thing ever.)

by the way, i am sharing lots of stories and photos about my daily adventures on my facebook page. you should come visit.

want to see where we’re moving through atlas’s eyes? you can click on the images to see a larger version.

the apple tree is on my grandparents’ old potato farm, not very far away. the rocky beach is eight miles down the road, perfect for a morning run. (there is another beach even closer, though i haven’t been to that one in years.) the sandy beach might be 20 minutes away. the sand dunes might be 20 minutes away. the trail is almost literally a block away.

and in case you’re wondering, that was my beach towel. i always lay a towel out for atlas. he always steals mine. unless someone has an even larger towel or blanket, in which case he will steal that one instead. it’s hilarious.

so!

atlas and i are moving to michigan.

(now there’s a thing i never thought i’d say. except for many reasons, it feels exactly right.)

the plan is to move at the end of the month, so if i am quieter than usual, you will know why. i am trying to remember that if there is anyone that can pull this off, it is insanely organized me. (i had the idea this afternoon and within an hour or two, the entire downstairs had been reviewed and filed into three categories: goodwill/give, storage, and car. maybe i should hire myself out.)

atlas looks a little woebegone – the act of packing is stressful for him – but when we arrive and he learns that there will be a kitty, he will be over-the-moon with glee.

the kitty is his cousin kia. she did not love him when they met in 2007, but now he is older and a little calmer, and he will have more than two weeks to win her over. i am confident that he will be able to pull it off.

i am a mixture of so many emotions.

but for now, i am sleepy, and so i will let this be the end.

(though i do want to say that i am so so so happy that atlas will get to spend quality time with a kitty. also, we will be closer to my east coast sister, who has three kitties, at least one of whom might actually like atlas, so there is the possibility of more kitty adventures! i have a huge smile on my face at the thought.)

if you have been wanting to buy something from me, but just haven’t gotten around to it, now would be a lovely time!

the story club is still pay-what-delights you. and if you wanted something from my etsy shop, you can enter MICHIGAN as the coupon code for 20% off your order.

this is golden hour on one of both atlas and my favorite places in the world: the wildwood trail in forest park.

atlas is so funny. whenever i stop to take pictures, and i’m there for a while, he comes back to check out what i’m doing. usually, he is unimpressed and continues on again.