Resident Meteorologist

This is Josey, my brother in law's 5-year old BC rescue... a beauty! She's part of the West Coast Set with Lucas. Josey warms up to people nicely (a super high pitched voice helps) and is a super cuddler. She has the art of the elbow nudge down to a science. Unlike Lucas, Josey doesn't harbor much, if any, curiosity at other dogs. This little girl is the worrying type, and like a lot of BCs, very noise sensitive. Which is peculiar because, well, this girl is noisy. And that to me is funny because I found one of the most endearing qualities about Josey is that she loves to bark.



I could hear my sister say "Are you freakin' crazy?" So yes, barking can be extremely annoying. Bark.. hmmm that is not quite a strong enough word... barkscreaming, yes! But it's the way she does it... while staring up at the sky. Looking up, checking things out and feverishly barking - clearly on a mission to be heard.

During our week at the Farm there were frequent, dramatic and very sudden passing t-storms. I was informed that storms like these do not happen in Sacramento. Josey was used to sunny blue California skies, so she was very keen on letting anyone within earshot know that something was not right up above.



Ominous dark grey blanket of storm clouds to the west. Thunderhead clouds at the horizon. Low quick moving gray clouds moving southeast. Distant rumbling. Flashes of light. Uh oh. There she goes... tense, pacing, on alert. On edge.


Enter fits of high-pitched barking. Circling, pacing, Josey faces us, wild-eyed, exchanging glances at us and up at the sky. All the while barkscreaming. Loudly. Let me translate:

"Don't you see, the clouds are coming? The clouds are coming! Oh no, we just GOTTA hurry up, this doesn't look good, let's GO now, come on, faster now! Let's go, don't you SEE? I'm showing you! The clouds are coming! The clouds are coming! Look! Oh shiz, did you hear THAT, oh no we gotta go, hurry let's go, that was thunder! Eek! THUNDER! And oh no, yup I saw lightning, tell me you saw that, oh gosh we gotsta go right NOW!"

Repeat until trail walk commences and all people and dogs are indoors. (At this point you hear nary a peep from Josey who is now hiding under the bed.) The clouds and thunder and lightning could be miles away or bearing down upon us, or may even be just a passing front. Whatever the weather Josey, would let us know if something was looming. We got in the habit of looking up whenever she did, er, whenever she told us to. And sure enough, inclement weather on the way. Sometimes we made it free and clear to cover, sometimes not. In those instances Josey was barking something a bit different as we got soaked in a downpour:

"Ohhhh you seeeeee.... I told you! The clouds! The CLOUDS! Can we get a move on now? Let's go! Now! I told you! Faster now, let's go! I am getting soaked!"

Here at the Farm for that week, Josey officially became our "Resident Meteorologist." Looking back at all the photos from the trip, I chuckle, because in many shots I catch Josey staring at the sky, studying movement, tracking the weather, in search of those less threatening blue skies.