Four legged figures
This happened before the temperature dropped.
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Right now Jay is on a solo ice fishing adventure.
The funny thing about living up here is that we're never really sure what is safe and what is stupid. I tend to air on the side of caution, Jay airs on adventure.
It's back up to -3 today and the lake has about 2 feet of ice covering it, so what could possibly go wrong?
He packed sandwiches, coffee, auger, rod and chair. He'll be fine I'm sure, but this doesn't stop me from running down to the lake with binoculars every half hour to make sure he's still visible.
After searching through the white of the lake and the white of the sky I finally found the dark horizon through the binoculars. Back and forth across the horizon a few times I find Jay. Still on his skis, pausing and looking behind him. Strange, but he's still visible and not splashing around in freezing water clinging to large chunks of ice.
What else could possibly go wrong? I think to myself. ANIMALS! WOLVES! We had after all just seen three cross the lake before our holiday. Just as I was about to laugh out loud at myself for being a completely paranoid FREAK, two moving four legged figures crossed infrount of the binoculars. I couldn't believe it. I tried to focus as my arms shook. I couldn't make out what they were!
I panned back to where Jay was paused. He was looking in the direction of the four legged figures. Oh God. What could I do? Go and get my skis on and try to help scare them away? I've heard that wolves don't like numbers of people. I could run to the neighbours and get them to shoot a few shots in the air. Why doesn't he have a gun!? Why? Why?
The four legged figures were moving closer and closer to him. My arms were shaking with fear and strain from holding the binoculars that refused to focus. Just as the four legged figures moved into the same frame as Jay a RAVEN FLEW INTO THE VIEW! Raven's are scavengers of death!
As the figures moved towards and then passed Jay I realised that they were actually quite far in the distance and that binoculars kill all depth perception. The stride of the four legged figures didn't break as they passed him. I could see Jay looking in their direction. One of the figures turned back to look at him. The way the figure's head moved did not look threatening, it looked like a caribou. I couldn't see what it was, the raven kept flying into the view.
As the figures continued along the lake and I deduced they were caribou. After all a sign went up on the highway warning of the Carcross caribou herd crossing.
I bundled up and skied out to where Jay sat on the lake fishing.
"Did you see those wolves?!" he said.
*Unlike we are lead to believe by popular fairy tales, wolves do not attack humans unless there are many wolves together, they are starving and the human is suffering deadly bleeding. I know this now.
*******************************************************
Right now Jay is on a solo ice fishing adventure.
The funny thing about living up here is that we're never really sure what is safe and what is stupid. I tend to air on the side of caution, Jay airs on adventure.
It's back up to -3 today and the lake has about 2 feet of ice covering it, so what could possibly go wrong?
He packed sandwiches, coffee, auger, rod and chair. He'll be fine I'm sure, but this doesn't stop me from running down to the lake with binoculars every half hour to make sure he's still visible.
After searching through the white of the lake and the white of the sky I finally found the dark horizon through the binoculars. Back and forth across the horizon a few times I find Jay. Still on his skis, pausing and looking behind him. Strange, but he's still visible and not splashing around in freezing water clinging to large chunks of ice.
What else could possibly go wrong? I think to myself. ANIMALS! WOLVES! We had after all just seen three cross the lake before our holiday. Just as I was about to laugh out loud at myself for being a completely paranoid FREAK, two moving four legged figures crossed infrount of the binoculars. I couldn't believe it. I tried to focus as my arms shook. I couldn't make out what they were!
I panned back to where Jay was paused. He was looking in the direction of the four legged figures. Oh God. What could I do? Go and get my skis on and try to help scare them away? I've heard that wolves don't like numbers of people. I could run to the neighbours and get them to shoot a few shots in the air. Why doesn't he have a gun!? Why? Why?
The four legged figures were moving closer and closer to him. My arms were shaking with fear and strain from holding the binoculars that refused to focus. Just as the four legged figures moved into the same frame as Jay a RAVEN FLEW INTO THE VIEW! Raven's are scavengers of death!
As the figures moved towards and then passed Jay I realised that they were actually quite far in the distance and that binoculars kill all depth perception. The stride of the four legged figures didn't break as they passed him. I could see Jay looking in their direction. One of the figures turned back to look at him. The way the figure's head moved did not look threatening, it looked like a caribou. I couldn't see what it was, the raven kept flying into the view.
As the figures continued along the lake and I deduced they were caribou. After all a sign went up on the highway warning of the Carcross caribou herd crossing.
I bundled up and skied out to where Jay sat on the lake fishing.
"Did you see those wolves?!" he said.
*Unlike we are lead to believe by popular fairy tales, wolves do not attack humans unless there are many wolves together, they are starving and the human is suffering deadly bleeding. I know this now.
posted by Kimnikinik at 1:47 p.m.
2 Comments:
Wonderful story, you write really well.
Oh my god, were they really wolves????? How close were they? I don't remember a certain someone telling his mother that story! Now, does she need to worry for the rest of the winter about wolves devouring you two and no one knowing it but the wolves??????
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