Since we have been rallied with tales of doing for ourselves, beating the system, making do, going retro, building our own surv stuff, here is a true tale of tails on the trail.
the snow, cold, and moon light conspired today. Here are some thots before i head off for my mid winter convention 6 hrs south in red deer. It is tuesday morning. Fairly chilly. OK OK that translate into true blue Anywherelse lingo as ascerbic arctic cold. The air is so clean and crisp. The full moon shining is reflected on the snow, giving the aura of a sureal landscape. When i had a dog team, i used to put a blanket and box in the sled and go out at 10 pm or so.....so the moon would be high. (The dog sled was home made, with tin tightened to the bottom.......it went like blazes. The dogs all hunting dogs raised in my living room. The harnesses etc I sewed on a treedle Singer circa 1900. ) About 1 km away was a undeveloped road cut. Small brush only a few feet high made for ideal habitat for rabbits and deer. On the way through this private park (no one else ever went through here) the dogs would get primed with all sorts of stories about the rabbits and deer - along with words like 'hunt' , 'go see' and 'let's go'. (in Dene - a northern tonal language related to Mandarin). Then i would sit on the box in the sled. Almost at ground level. Off we'd go in a mad dash. About 30 m on was a stream bed about 20 ft gradual drop. This was a snowy version of a roller coaster thingy in the winter. when the winds whipped up drifts, the north side of the valley became a cliff. The dogs would go pell mell as they were used to this part. Off they'd run down the hill. Off the sled would go, flying 20 feet through the air! Up the other side and snaking through the willows, the dogs went as fast as they could. The trail snaked in and around the willows. As bunnies would sneak out and run away, the dogs would run even faster. The ideal time was a light powdery snowfall. The dogs and sled would go slithering through the bright moon lite bush with hardly a sound. Only later was it realized what a treat I had been given. How many people nowadays have had the chance to go riding through the bush in total silence, by moon, all alone? Paul Pavlik Computer/Education Consultant To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
