The saga of the missing lens cap and the dreaded drift

"While their breeds are known for search and rescue, my canines like to search and rescue poop and dead things. "

The three canines could not wait to get out last week to enjoy the fresh powder that fell from the sky.

They ran, they sniffed, and they wrestled in the white stuff.
Perhaps the snow blanket provided a softer cushion for the beatings they inflict on each other.

Some of their love of the snow could be due to their breeding.

The Newfoundland and Saint Bernard breeds fall into the working group and both breeds are used in search and rescue. They are also built for the snow and cold weather.

The bloodhound is of course in the hound group. One site described the breed as a "nose with a dog attached."

​While Clem has short hair, his thick coat and long legs leave him at no disadvantage in the cold and snow.

While their breeds are known for search and rescue, my canines like to search and rescue poop and dead things. Nonetheless, Clem, Sadie and Sherman have walking poop dispensers of their own, Kyle and Kennedy.  
However, Clem does have an interest in tracking wildlife trails. Sometimes he and Sadie will find and unsuspecting mole, but those instances are few and far between.

Nonetheless, his tracking skills did not seem to be limited to natural items.

On one of the snowier days, I dropped a lens cap from my camera somewhere in the wilderness. The case of the missing lens cap led to me to try to retrace my footsteps through heavier snow.

It was quite the workout for the calf muscles and on that day the lens cap was not located.

​I tried to uncover every dark spot in the snow only to find one stick after another. 

I have extras, but this incident left yet another fallen lens cap somewhere in the woods. Fast forward to a few days later Clem was digging out something in the snow. My usual response was a groan and an often repeated question, "What are you messing with now?."

It was my lens cap.

​I was so shocked I almost forgot to grab it from the boisterous bloodhound. I know from experience the caps don't fit too well after Clem is done with them. I praised him for his efforts, but he wasn't happy. He would have rather had the prize than the praise.

Meanwhile despite the success of locating a lost lens cap, Mother Nature decided to make traversing the trails just a little more difficult.

A few days later came the dreaded drift. It is one thing I don't like about winter walking. Heavier snowfall usually isn't an issue once we have a good path broken.

However, crossing the field between our house and my parents house is a different story.

​Once the wind kicks up we have to break the path daily and sometimes it has drifted shut by the time we have returned from our walk. This means trying to trek through deep snow on an incline.

This kind of sounds like the old "uphill both ways" story. Then the goats like to be in front,

however they end up stopping a lot. I then have to try to detour around them.

This is like trying to pass those drivers on the roads who like to speed up when you attempt to go around them. I'm attempting to gain traction in the snow while the goats kept speeding up on the packed path.

However, I managed to get around the slow goats.

As the snow can hamper treks in the woods, it can also lead to other issues.

The snow fall at the beginning of last week was wetter than past frozen precipitation.

Sadie's fine coat, while it is built for cold weather, it also seems to attract snowballs like Velcro.

The poor girl must be carrying at least an extra five pounds or more on her leg hair.

Nonetheless, she takes it in stride. She pauses every few steps to groom the frozen chunks off.

She also insists on rolling the snow in the field right before we head into the house so she is good and wet. She then heads inside to the couch to thaw out.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

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