Back field before tracking begins.
I promised the dogs that I would head outside after breakfast to make tracks for them with my snowshoes. I need to go out a few minutes ahead of the pack to get things started. Giving them a place to stand once they’re out the door.
Starting out…
After I stomp around at the doorway creating a wide threshold for the dogs to stand, out they come and The Snowshoe Game begins! The dogs love to follow right behind me as I trudge through the snow. Every so often one of the dogs would follow so closely that they’d stand on my snowshoes causing me to fall down in the soft fluffy white stuff, camera in hand being held high to avoid getting buried 2 feet under.
While Lily, Annie, and James followed behind, Violet bounced out on her own, helping to create additional pathways for her less adventurous English Setter pals. It was pretty rough going. What I always like about creating pathways for the dogs this way is the amount of exercise I get in the process. I feel it’s a great, and safe, cardi0-vascular workout. It feels wonderful and the dogs have a blast while I’m doing it. 
The dogs and I were outside for about one hour. The snow was so deep that I only got about a quarter of their territory tracked for them. I did make an effort to create a pathway up into the wooded area on their hillside they love to hang out on. While Violet continued to bounce kangaroo-style around the yard, Lily slowly worked her way around the tracks I had already created and
Annie, the scout, in the distance.
Annie raced to the outer limits of the tracks in her scout-like fashion always making a beeline out to the back checking for wild things.
It didn’t take James long to head back to the door where he hung out patiently for the girls to finish up The Snowshoe Game. More tracks tomorrow. More fun out in the snow with the dogs!