The Calm Before the Storm

Old Man Winter Cometh. Though it’s a bit early by historical averages, we are forecast to receive a foot of snow in the next couple of days. You read that right. Winter doesn’t mess around up north. But today is a beautiful day, so I figured to get one more walk in the woods with my buddy, our Great Pyrenees, Niko. He loves his walks in the woods. If the forecast lives up to the hype, it will be difficult for us to hike in the woods from here on out, until probably April or May. While it’s easy enough for me to don snow shoes, Niko is left slogging along chest deep. Not that he objects, mind you. He never objects to a walk in the woods in any way, shape or form. But his long hair collects snow, which turns into ice balls, which he has to stop to chew off, if he can get at them, which tends to become less time walking than chewing ice balls.

So off we go. It’s 40ish, and windless. The smell of autumn still hangs in places, but there is a thin covering of fresh snow on the ground which muffles sounds, making it sound like winter. Winter woods are so quiet, with the snow muffling everything. The trees still have a few rusty leaves, and the evergreens stand in stark contrast to the whites and grays of the rest of the woods. It’s a comfortable day for walking, and Niko is eating it up.

Walking with Niko is so relaxing. He is totally into his senses. He has to stop and smell every track and branch. Makes you wonder what he knows. He seems to catalog the scents of animals, as when he smells a track for the second or third time it gets scant attention compared to a first time scent. I tease him about deer as we walk, as we frequently see them, and he gets all excited whenever we do. Whenever I mention deer, his head goes up, he puffs up his front shoulders and chest, and scans the terrain like it’s suddenly serious business. Cracks me up every time. But walking with him always reminds me to take in the woods as best I can, rather than being busy in my head. He’s a buddy that way.

As we reached the most distant point of our walk, we kind of go in a 3 mile loop, we both hear a pack of coyotes off in the distance. Based on the sounds, they were probably 1/2 or 3/4 of a mile off in the woods, but we could clearly make out what sounded like a good sized pack. Niko was fascinating to watch. His head and ears went up, he faced the direction the noise was coming from, and he stood and listened. He didn’t seem particularly excited, he wasn’t defensive, and he wasn’t afraid. He just listened, intently. After a few minutes the calls stopped, and we walked on. He never looked back, though I have to admit I felt the need to look over my shoulder a few times. Makes me wonder however, does he know what those sounds were? He has these instincts, instinctual behaviors and actions, that suggest he knows more than he lets on. Makes for a great walking buddy. Til spring…..