Yesterday, November 30, 2008, marked the first snowfall in Springfield, Illinois of the season. The date coincides with the six month anniversary of the death of my beloved golden retriever named Holly from cancer. I was thinking about my dog and missing her yesterday morning as I woke. When I got out of bed, I opened the blinds to take a look in my backyard, wishing that I could see my dog roaming around out there. But instead there was a beautiful covering of snow on the ground and tiny snowflakes gently falling. It was a lovely peaceful scene and helped to bring a smile to my face remembering how much my dog loved the snow. I could almost see her racing out the door in glee to put her tracks all throughout the yard, sticking her nose to the ground, snorting, sneezing and licking in complete joy. I loved it when she would come to the back door, and as I let her in the house she would still have snow covering the top of her nose! Here are photos of Holly in the snow from her first winter and from last winter, her last at the age of five years.