Snow Flow

Late last winter we experienced a sleet and ice storm in our area and this was quite different than the usual magical snowfall many people love and wish for. Instead of fluffy snow cascading down in a gentle rhythm from the sky, there was a cold, hard, pelting storm of tiny yet sharp ice crystals for nearly a whole day and night that stung anything in its wake, downed trees, broke power lines, caused accidents and made life difficult for many people. The only reason to venture outside was for absolute necessity, so for us and our three dogs, that meant bathroom trips to the yard for them, or in this case, trips out under the front patio and just barely into the low lying cover of the surrounding bushes and trees. And of course, it meant journeys outside for me to shovel. If you have never experienced shoveling snow, when it is the light and dry kind, it can be a fun workout, or multiple workouts. I say multiple workouts because when there is a long period of snowfall or a wet, icy rain, I journey outside every few hours to shovel in order to divide the task into smaller loads. Given the weight of snow I’d much rather tackle it in a few lighter sessions than in one heavy marathon.

After I finished shoveling and a day of melting went by, the roads were clear enough for the brave to try to drive. So I drove our two larger dogs, Maggie and Elvis, out to the closest local park to have a proper walk instead of the bare bones versions they had been forced to recently accept. I piloted our hearse to the park which is basically a small valley next to the local municipal building. I parked in the flat lot at the top and we made our way on the still slippery grounds away from the kids who were having a blast sledding very fast down the slick hill. I wished I had a big sled since I am Big John King…

Anyway, we went over to a tree laden area far off to the side and quickly but carefully made our way around as we were all happy to stretch our legs more than we had been able to in a few days. After completing the “taking care of business” part of the walk, we ventured around some big trees on the edge of a swell along the back of the building. For those who may be unfamiliar with what a swell is, it is basically a long ditch dug in the ground to collect rainwater and direct its flow away from buildings or other things. Swells usually run downhill, and are an effective way to negate flooding. I had to dig one around our home for that reason, and it’s a far tougher workout than shoveling snow!

Meanwhile, back to our three snowbound friends…

We rounded the bottom of one of the big trees and although I’m usually quite adept and balanced on my feet due to years of Aikido training, I felt my boots begin to slide along the slippery edge of the big swell and knew that I was basically about to glide into nature’s version of one of the half pipes you may have seen snowboarders ride in during the winter X-Games. It’s been a long time since I’ve skateboarded, but I had no choice but to go with the flow that was suddenly quite strong into the swell. I straightened my feet, lowered my hips, smiled big, let go of the dog leashes and went right down the side and into the six foot dip. I made it about ten feet downhill when I finally lost my balance, slid baseball style onto my right hip and came to a stop. What a rush…

I was so happy I couldn’t believe it! I had more fun in this one snow filled, spontaneous moment than I had had in a long time. I looked up to see Maggie and Elvis watching to see if dad was ok. Once they saw I was fine, and even better – happy – they wholeheartedly launched themselves as only dogs can into the swell after me. Before I go further I must explain that I thought it was safer to let go of the dogs in that one slippery moment because we were in a remote area of the park and if anything went wrong in the swell at least would only be me who got hurt. However, I did have a good feeling when I let go of their leashes and “dropped in…”

Meanwhile, back to the two dogs…

So Maggie and Elvis launched themselves down the side and quickly realized in the world of what I call “doggie physics” that there is very little friction on this kind of icy snow. Their paws spread out for balance as they flashed big, goofy smiles like children usually do when their stomachs react from sledding down a hill for the very first time. I could tell they were thrilled and they quickly slid right down into me, stopping on contact and barely able to contain themselves. I stood up and preached to the four legged choir, “Come on, let’s do that again!” Tails wagged and we went back up to slide down together this time. It was as much fun as the first time, and even better for me as a “doggie dad” because I now not only had control of them in the park, but was also able to offer them a whole new experience. So we went down again. And up. And down. And up. And down. We did this until I felt my hip starting to go numb from the wet ice. I knew that their paws were probably feeling about the same way, so we climbed out and made our way to the car, excited to tell mom all about what happened. She was quite amused and said, “That should go in your blog.” And so here it is.

I hope that in the midst of reading about our recent venture into the new category of winter Olympic sports - human and dog luge - you found out that something good (a shoveling workout and a new winter sport) can come from something difficult (an ice storm), dogs seem to like sledding, and that good things can happen if you go with the flow and share your good fortune with others!

Oh, and here’s a great safety tip if you have dogs in your family… An easy way to determine if the ground is too hot or cold for them is to simply place the palm of your hand on the ground you are all walking on and keep it there for awhile. If it’s unbearable for you, you can be sure it is for them, too. So get them to safety immediately because remember; they are standing with all of their weight on their feet while you are (most likely) wearing shoes.