I realized today that one of the reasons I was so tired after doing the Home Delivered Meals route is that I was so afraid of slipping on the ice under the snow. Next time, if it's still icy, I'm going to bring along my ice walkers, as well as my ski poles, ... I haven't taken a walk around here without both the ice walkers and the poles since the ice storm we had earlier this week. Without them I am so tense and careful, that it takes a lot of energy, and isn't at all fun. I usually enjoy the challenge of the route in the roughest weather. I'm going to get some strap on ice walkers, as the rubber stretch on type tend to fall off and are too difficult to take off or put on. One came off during the course of the walk Thursday and today when wearing them, when taking the dogs for a walk. Even with only one on helps... but without them, I expect to slip and my body prepares for it with each step.

Even the dogs have a problem getting up a hill that has broken in tracks of deer or boot tracks for them to gain a little resistance from slipping backwards. Having four legs to the ground isn't too bad if they slip... at least they aren't going to fall down. Today Bear was again challenging himself. He likes to carry long, long branches through the woods to see if he can get them by the trees yet stay more or less on the path. I tried to make a video of him doing just that for YouTube, but couldn't get it to work, but put my attempt on YouTube (with the first video I took with my camera, and my first try at uploading it to YouTube. One can see it at http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=lUcDidjFxM8&feature=email )

(At least I think that will get you to the video.) Anyhow, I would have loved to get the video of him today. Bear found a branch buried in the ice and snow, and tries to wrestle it out of the snow, at first just breaking off a piece about a foot long. That wasn't good enough. He wrestles with the rest and manages to break the ice and snow hold, and, though not 8' long, it was like a huge sling shot, with him holding the one of the top Y parts, with the other dangling down underfoot. But he managed to walk proudly carrying it while his stubby tail was wagging with pleasure. He was happy. He had met the challenge... all by himself. When I tried to get him to pick up an 8' long branch for my video, he didn't want ME to tell him what to do, and grabbed a smaller branch, but HIS choice.

Bear was doing fine along the lower path with his giant sling-shot type branch, until he wanted to go to the upper path. Of course, he couldn't get any foothold on the ice under the snow, so I placed one of my ski-poles into the snow under him so the pole braced his butt, and he got up a little further, then I placed the pole again, bracing his butt, and he got to where he could deal with the underlying ice as it leveled off, but... of course... there were little saplings in his way, and he got stuck because his stick wouldn't fit through. I kept yelling, "Go a little to your LEFT.... A LITTLE TO YOUR LEFT." And, by golly, he moved his head a little to the left, and got through to the other path to continue proudly carrying his stick as we finished our trek to Cranberry Lake. Now... Where was my camera then!! It would have been a great video. I shouldn't leave home without it.