Bess: her first experience of snow and her 8 month birthday

Bess with snow on her mustache at 8 months, peering around a tree to see if I am watching her; jumping off the stairs, and then running as fast as she could on the course she set herself. Finally Bess, when we brought her home about August 1, 2010. Amazing grace, amazing little Bess; sunshine pure.

Bess did loops in the garden, having never experienced anything like snow before. Ice yes, at Tenafly's pond in The Commons, but the white frozen water enveloping her and accumulating on the ground, bushes and trees was a novelty. She ran with such enthusiasm that showed her obvious pleasure and excitement. We had intended taking her to New Paltz, New York, for a three-day adventure in the state parks and at the inn where we reserved a suite, but that plan was nixed by the reality of the blizzard conditions that were predicted for Tenafly and the heavy snowfall up the Hudson Valley. Reality supplanted imagined pleasures; walks and hikes with Bess became brief stints in suburbia. But it was Bess's day and a happy one at that. We will reschedule for another time, and hope Nature cooperates.

Bess is difficult to photograph; one would almost say camera shy or rather camera curious. Once the lens is turned towards her , she gets up and moves on or walks directly towards the lens. My little elph cannot keep up with her motion. The second problem is the darkness of her fur. Black on black, but what a beautiful coat she has.