Snowshoeing

You know, I've seriously considered changing the name of this blog from "Our Mountain Meanderings" to "We used to meander through the mountains but then we started this little farm and we are now always doing something farm-related instead of meandering." The short version could be "Our Work on our Mountain Farm." I haven't made the change yet, obviously.

But we finally took an afternoon a few weekends ago to breathe some life into our meandering ways again.
The weather has been warm for the most part, and it was the perfect day to head out.
Except for the snow part. Snow that has been experiencing warmth and rain is more akin to snow-cone/slushy ice.





















Maneuvering through thigh-deep snow-cones became a bit cumbersome for Mark with the extra 30 lbs. of Anna and 10 lbs. of backpack on his back, and Jacob's perseverance through such experiences is at a pretty low level. So after a bit, they headed back home and Andrew, Sophie, and I continued on to the tracks and the lake a ways behind our house.






















We had a great time exploring, that boy and I...although we did have a harrowing time with Sophie. For reasons I will never understand, she went loping out onto the ice, right to the edge of the open water. We hollered and whistled for her to no avail. And then it happened. The ice crumbled beneath her and she splashed in. She tried several times to clamber out, but the ice simply crumpled with each attempt. "Jesus, help her!" was all I could say. And then she was out, racing and shaking her way back up the bank towards us. We didn't know whether to love on her or scold her-I think we did both!

















It was a valuable lesson for Andrew in what to do if she hadn't been able to get out...it's one thing to hear "don't go after an animal, because the ice will just break for you, too, and she's not worth losing your life over." It's quite another thing to have seen the ice giving way underneath her, and seeing her struggle to climb out onto solid ice. I think he'll remember!























Of course later, as we were making our way inland along a stream, she started barking and carrying on, giving us the clue to head the other way. It was probably a moose, and I'm thankful we were spared an encounter. Yes, my love/hate relationship with that dog continues!