winter animal attractions

Hello all you lucky Clevelanders. Don’t you just love that they are forecasting tons of the fluffy white stuff this weekend? I do! Everything will look so pretty like it’s covered in butter cream frosting and sparkly sugar...perhaps the last time for sledding or a snow-lady or getting all geared up in your best polar bear ski attire. EMBRACE THE SNOW! (but don’t forget to fill those birds feeders for our little feathered friends)

My dog is so funny in the snow, he hesitantly places each paw on top of the accumulation as if his next step will be his last. The best is when it has rained and turned to ice OVER the snow and he attempts to glide across it but instead gets stuck in a “snow sink hole,” I digress...

Speaking of dogs (or birds or polar bears) there are some very fun animal inspired events going on around town this weekend...so shovel out your driveway, bundle up the kids (or dogs) and get going.

Lake Erie Monsters invite you to pad up and bring your pup to Sundays hockey game against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Your ticket will cost $15, but your dog’ $5 will go directly to the Cleveland APL. I wonder if my little pup would like a beer and a pretzel on Sunday afternoon? (of course, he eats wood dust and fuzz) He sure would look cute in skates!



The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes is hosting Breakfast with the Birds on Saturday morning from 8-noon. If you don’t have a bird feeder you can learn to make one there. Want to explore the snowy outdoors? Bring your binoculars for a bird hike. If nothing else check out their live birds of prey show. And if all this activity makes you hungry, they will be serving all you can eat pancakes, sausage & applesauce, no need to eat like bird there. Call 216.321.5935 to pre-register.

Growing up my dad gave my mom this really cute Gmund Polar Bear stuffed animal that used to sit on their bed (insert cute “Aww” sound), myself and my sisters used to love to crawl into their bed and play with it, I think we enjoyed it more than my mom...another tangent...Did you know that real living polar bears (not the little stuffed ones) are indicators of our ecosystem? They are. Join Geoff York, senior program officer for polar bear conservation w/the World Wildlife Fund TOMORROW, Friday the 26th from 7-9pm when he speaks at Happy Days Lodge (500 W Streetsboro Rd in Peninsula.)

So if your feeling cooped up inside you home and need to get out...grab your real animal, your stuffed animal of your binoculars and explore! Enjoy.