Mason

I’m glad we finally got some good snow for cross-country skiing. I’ve been needing to get some quality exercise, and skiing is it. However, I’m not the most expert of skiers. Last Saturday was a good example. I began skiing down a long hill, following snowmobile tracks. Unfortunately for me, some of the ruts caused by the snowmobile runners threw me off balance, and I landed in a heap in the powder on the uphill side of the trail, where I was unable to immediately get up. I finally got my right ski untangled from beneath my body and used a ski pole to push the release button to release boot from ski binding. The released ski then glided gently downhill about 200 yards before coming to rest on the trail! At least, I was able to get up and hobble down slope to retrieve the ski and make it uneventfully back home.

Ever notice how some dogs are really good at finding things that you’d think do not emit an odor? Shiloh is a good example. I can throw his rubber “Kong” toy into the thickest underbrush, and he can always find it. When he has trouble picking up the scent, he goes into a zig-zag pattern until he picks it up. I was shoveling off our deck after one of the recent snowstorms, and Shiloh was playing with an empty dog food can, often dropping it in the snow where I was shoveling, wanting me to play with him. I thought, “I’ll fix him. I’ll shovel his can off the deck into the snow pile, and he’ll never find it before spring.” Wrong! He went down the steps and immediately dug up the can, bringing it back to me. I repeated the procedure several more times, and Shiloh came up with the can in nothing flat every time! What a nose!