A Pause for a Tasty Snack

It was December about 2001, and I had taken my three Norwegian Elkhounds for a walk. We had a number of packed trails we could use so I did not need any snowshoes.

The dogs loved the trails through the deep snow because they could race up an down with ease.
When they got on the track of anything interesting they would jump into the deep snow and wade about pursuing some wild beast, be it a rabbit, coyote or mink.

The particular trail we were on led us east across a field and then through a narrow woods that contained a small creek. This area was also a delight to sharp noses, as it contained lots of tracks and smells of game.er The creek was well frozen as the temperature was ten below Fahrenheit and it had been colder for a number of days.

After crossing the creek, we then followed the trail over to the pond, which was another northern dog delight. All three dogs were full grown and weighed about fifty pounds each. When they reached the pond they were able to go anywhere they wished, as the snow on the ice was only a few inches thick.

I stood watching them explore the bulrushes around the edge of the pond, as that was where the most fresh tracks were. Eventually all three dogs were on the far side of the pond and I noticed that Ragna had found something interesting. I saw her pick up an object from the ice at the edge of the bull rushes. She then walked about ten feet out onto the ice and dropped whatever she had.

She proceeded to eat what she had found, before the other dogs could get to her. I was curious, so started to walk across the pond to where she was. In the meantime she had gone back to the original site and once again picked up something and took it off a distance, as she obviously did not wish to share it.

When I got closer I saw three or four minnow on the ice, and she was eating them one at a time. Some were flopping around so they were alive. Melsie and Signe by this time realized there was food to be had and they were following Ragna when she went back to her treasure location.

By then I was very curious as I could not understand how she was getting live minnows from a pond that had at least three inches of ice on it. As I came up behind the three dogs I saw that Ragna had grasped another mouthful of minnows and the other two dogs were trying to do so.

I pushed the dogs aside to get a better look and at that second, the ice below my feet broke and I went into the pond feet first. My feet hit the mucky bottom so I was left standing in water that was up to my chest. The water around me was alive with hundreds of churning minnows.

The ice around me in the bulrushes was very thin so I turned to face the middle of the pond and tried to get back up on the ice that was thicker. I noticed the water was very cold.

All three dogs thought this was great fun and all three stood on the firm ice and tried to lick my face. They were barking and jumping about, in an excited way, as I stood with not much more than my head showing.
It would have made an interesting photo, but fortunately there was no camera man present
　
When I made an attempt to climb up on the ice, my weight, along with the dogs, was too much and a large piece of ice broke away, and I fell back into the water. The dogs jumped back in time and did not get wet.
I was getting colder and a little mad at them so yelled to get them to back off.

I managed to get one leg up on the ice and after some difficulty I crawled out of the water. I stood there for a few moments as the water drained off my clothes. I was wearing tall rubber boots but I had them half folded down and they were full of water. I did not dare take them off as I would not be able to get them back on again.

There had been so many minnows in the small pond, they were starving for oxygen. They gathered by the bulrushes where the ice was thinnest and their activity of coming up to the surface to get air kept the water from freezing.

The first dog had learned to catch minnows in shallow creeks in the summer so she instantly realized what they were, and started feeding. Her weight was not heavy enough to break the ice.

I lifted each foot up high behind me and allow much of the water to drain out, then headed for home. I was soaked up to my armpits and my toque was the only thing left that was dry.

Before I had walked across the pond my clothes on the surface started to freeze. I was wearing long underwear and heavy pants and jacket, and they were all very heavy with water. I half walked and half jogged home to get there before everything froze worse. The dogs of course, were running ahead on the trail and thought it was all a great outing.

It took ten or fifteen minuets to get to the house, and I had to get around to the front where I could get into the kitchen porch and get the outer clothes off. Just as I jogged around the house I saw a car in the yard and my friend Bob was walking up to the house. The dogs rushed out to greet him and his attention was focused on them.

I stood on the snow covered sidewalk as Bob walked the rest of the way towards me. After a few greetings he asked me a couple of questions, but I no longer remember the topic. At some point, as he was talking, he started to notice my wet jacket. By this time more water was draining off me and I was standing in a small puddle that was growing in size around my feet.

Bob had a puzzled look as he stared down at the water that was beginning to freeze in the ten below temperature. “What happened to you?,” he stuttered in amazement.

“Fell into the pond through the ice” I replied rather frostily.

At that moment I felt something in my pocket, pulled off my mitts, and removed two flopping minnows.
Ragna rushed over to pick them up as I dropped them on the sidewalk. A quick check of the other pocket produced another minnow.

Bob took it all in and realized I had to get in the house, so he turned, and shaking his head from side to side, left and said he would check on me later.

Once in the porch I struggled to get out of the soaked jacket, rubber boot, and pants. By now, most of the excess water had drained away. I quickly and coolly stepped into the house, and once in the bathroom I stripped down and was soon in the hot shower.

It was not long before I was dry, clothed, and much warmer. Bob phoned later to get the full story and then remarked that he always found it interesting to stop by and visit.

The next day the dogs were very excited to head off on another fun filled hike.

We went a different trail.