Snow Play
December 20 – 21, 2025
December 20th
We had rain that turned to snow overnight and woke this morning to a gorgeous snow-covered world. I decided to take photos before the sun evaporated the sparkling flocking from the grass, fences and branches. Cloud cover was still pretty heavy from last night’s storm, but the lighting was good enough – and it was 25 degrees so I could work the camera, which I can’t do well if I have to wear gloves. I have to throw the ball with the Chuck-It, drop it, then then grab the camera and try to photograph before the ball holds the ground, which just can’t be done with gloves! Today was Mercy’s 10th birthday, so she got to go first.
Mercy
See ALL of Mercy’s snow play photos
I didn’t have good snow play photos of the three young ones (Pascha, Dakuya & Zeal) since they grew up, so I did them next, in that order.
Pascha
Pascha is 2 years 8 months old
The clouds began breaking up during Pascha’s playtime, so I got some really cool photos in a variety of light qualities.
See ALL of Pascha’s snow play photos
Dakuya
Dakuya is 2 years 2 months old
The sun came out during Dakuya’s play time, so I got some great photos. Dakuya is VERY fast, so I’m amazed that I got as many photos as I did. I have to throw the ball then drop the Chuck-It, grab the camera and try to find her as she hurtles after the ball. Enjoy!!!
See ALL of Dakuya’s snow play photos
Zeal
Zeal is 2 years 6 months old
She’s usually quite graceful, except when she’s using her nose. Then she seems to forget where her legs are. I caught a bunch of photos of her in that non-graceful stage, as she was searching for her ball.
See ALL of Zeal’s snow play photos
I had to quit in order to clean up and get to the Tuba Christmas concert at 1:30. The rest of the dogs had to wait for their snow play photos until the next day.
December 21st
Hopeful
5 years 7 months
A lot of the snow melted yesterday. What didn’t, froze into clumps or slick patches of ice. I had to throw the ball the opposite way – up the hill – so that the dogs had the best traction as they sped after the ball (up the hill) and then returned more slowly with it and watched their footing. The light was a problem, so the dogs are a little dark in some of the photos as sun behind them broke through the clouds and created a glare. They played safely, though, which was more important than perfect photos
German Shepherds are notoriously hard-mouthed, and they’re rough on balls. Hopeful “killed” one during her session. It does make for some chuckles in the photos as it looks like it’s crying “ouch!”
See ALL of Hopeful’s snow play photos
Hesed & Varoom!
Hesed is 10 years 10 months old
Varoom! is 4 years 1 month old
Snow was threatening and the day was dark. The sun occasionally pushed through the clouds, giving a golden glow on some photos. Mother and daughter prefer to play together. Varoom! chases the ball and Hesed chases her. I love how many photos I get of them in perfect sequence – moving the same leg at the same time.
See all of Hesed’s and Varoom!’s snow play photos
I am editing the rest of the photos. Each dogs’ photos take several days to edit, downsize for the website, and get their page up, so check back to see when I get new ones up. Next are Spirit’s from 12/21/25.