Maine Coon Barnaby handles his first snowy winter and a backyard snowman build

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Continuation of this story. See chapters one and two by clicking on the respective links.
By December, Seattle was blanketed in a rare, thick layer of powder snow. For Lily, this winter felt completely different from the last. The lonely fog was entirely gone, replaced by the crisp, biting excitement of a winter wonderland right outside her backdoor.
Barnaby sat at the glass patio door, his nose twitching as he watched the thick flakes fall. His coat had grown into a dense winter armour, his silver-and-charcoal ruff so thick he looked like he was wearing a heavy wool scarf.

The Snow Monster

Lily and Maya, bundled up in thick parkas and colorful beanies, opened the back door. Barnaby did not hesitate. He stepped out onto the porch, lifted one massive paw, and pressed it into the fresh snow.
  • The Big Freeze: He immediately lifted his paw, shook it vigorously, and looked at Lily with an expression of deep, personal betrayal.
  • The Snowshoes: Within minutes, his wild genetics kicked in. Maine Coons have oversized, tufted paws that act as natural snowshoes. He began to bound through the drifts, his belly leaving a wide groove in the snow.
  • The Pounce: Maya threw a soft snowball toward the fence. Barnaby launched himself into the air, swatting it into a cloud of white powder, leaving him with a hilarious mustache of fresh snow.

Building the Guard

"Let's build a giant snowman to guard the yard," Maya suggested, her breath turning to mist.
The girls got to work, rolling a heavy base ball across the lawn. Barnaby trotted right alongside them, occasionally leaning his heavy shoulder against the growing snowball as if he were helping them push.
They stacked the middle section and the head. Maya found two perfect pieces of charcoal for the eyes, and Lily sacrificed a carrot from the kitchen for the nose. But as they looked at their creation, something felt missing.
"He looks too ordinary," Lily said, tapping her chin with her mitten.
Barnaby trilled a soft brrrp from the base of the snowman. He had discovered the pile of sticks the girls gathered for the snowman's arms. Instead of letting them use the sticks, he had claimed the largest, twistiest branch as his own personal chew toy, batting it with his paws.

The Finishing Touch

"I know!" Maya laughed. "He needs to look like the king of the yard."
Lily ran inside and returned with a leftover strip of faux-fur fabric from a school play costume. She wrapped it around the snowman's neck, creating a thick, shaggy mane that looked exactly like Barnaby’s winter ruff.
Barnaby approved of this artistic choice. He leaped up onto the snowman's middle section, balancing perfectly on the icy curve. He sat majestically right next to the carrot nose, his green eyes blinking against the winter sun, posing like a statue. For ten minutes, the girls took photos of their "Maine Coon Snowman" until Barnaby decided the seat was too cold and hopped down.

Warm Hearts

As the sun began to dip, painting the snow in shades of pink and lavender, the temperature plummeted. The girls retreated indoors, their toes tingling with cold.
The kitchen smelled of rich chocolate as Lily's mother poured three steaming mugs of hot cocoa—plus a small bowl of lactose-free cat milk for the champion builder.
Barnaby sat by the heating vent, methodically licking the melting ice crystals from his oversized paws. Once he was dry and warm, he curled up on the rug between Lily and Maya, his deep, rumbling purr filling the cozy room. Lily looked out the window at the silhouette of their snowman standing guard in the yard, then down at the giant, sleeping cat at her feet. She had never felt warmer.


Please excuse the occasional typo due to preparing these articles at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I don't have a proof reader.
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

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