Not a lot of “thoughts” while walking in this one…herein I describe “Poop Patrol”, some of the most important work of the winter and early spring.
The dogs stop going out to the field when the snow is too deep or it’s too cold. Normally, their deposits are easy to see, but when it’s snowing a lot they get buried quickly; they also can melt the snow in the sun and sink down. (Is this gross or what?). So, you have to get out there with a spade and gather them up, and toss them out into the field whenever possible.
The design of every year’s snowshoe paths enables this activity. The photo below was taken right after a light snow that stayed on the colder trodden paths when the sun came out, showing the design of the paths from this winter. Note the ones that go towards the satellite dish…those help clear the dish from snow and Poop from the yard. 🙂
As the snow melts, it becomes critical to get out there; Dee and I spent 3 hours over a couple of days getting the newly revealed poops up before they also melt and turn into “Poop Soup”. It also greatly inhibits walking in the newly open back yard if there are poops everywhere. You need a spade to do the work because you often have to dig into the snow to get them or be very delicate to avoid tearing up the grass.
I don’t know how much more anyone could stand to read about this subject, but it did get me 10,000 steps this winter for sure.
Tom's Walks 