From mud and standing water to ice

The little bit of snow we got a week or so ago is now gone, but we're still getting pretty cold nights, and the days have not been warm. The ground is freezing up nicely, and the mud is going away. This disgusting pond along our walking trail is now frozen on top:


The trail has long slicks of ice!


We humans wore ice cleats:


The dogs have amazing traction! I don't think their nails are hard enough to dig into ice the way our steel cleats do; I think their paw pads actually have some friction properties.


There is one place where the ice has frozen on top, but then the water level has dropped, forming a thin bridge. Roo checked it out and broke through:


I would have soaked a foot and perhaps sprained an ankle, but dogs are so much more robust!


Another thing that happens is that someone will break through the ice, and then the shattered pieces freeze into the new ice! These places are usually stronger:


Here is a photo of Starbuck-A-Roo after visiting her Friends at the Denali Center:


Roo loves her Friends! Yesterday, a Friend who had recently moved out of the dementia ward into general care, much to our delight, was telling us about his time on a navy destroyer during the Vietnam era. "They wanted me to join the army, but I said, 'no way', so I joined the Navy!" That must have been quite a different life than his life in Tanacross and Mentasta, where is is from. Mentasta is a big, beautiful lake, and he has a painting on his wall of his late dog gazing over its snow-covered surface in wintertime. He tells us about the many animals that came through--moose, caribou, black bear, brown bear. Yesterday, he told us about this one time that he saw a baby porcupine. "Its quills were only this long!" he held up his fingers. "The cutest thing I've ever seen!"

I wonder what I will remember when I am old. I hope I have a few lovely little things like baby porcupines in my head.

By the way, have I reminded y'all lately that the dogs' paws are teddy bears?