words, “Hike!”… or “Mush!”, to command the dogs to “run”! And “run” they do! These sled-dogs were bred to “run” and they love to do it! We bounce a little on the bed to signify the movements of our sleds. Our imaginations rule the rest of our sled adventure. We see moose sometimes crossing our trail ahead. We see rabbits scampering across the snow, leaving their foot prints. Sometimes a large branch falls from a fir tree along our trail, because of the heaviness of the snow on its branches. The sub-zero temperature is quite biting and cold, but, we are “dressed” for such severe weather, with our pretend “Mustang Suits”, which protects our bodies from freezing! Sometimes we have to “make trail”! That means mushing through freshly fallen, and deep snow where other dog-sled teams have not passed by and packed down the trail of snow! That is harder work for the dogs, so many times a musher will step one foot off the rung of the sled and help to push the sled to save the energy of the dogs. We are reaching the bay area about now, so we search for a sheltered place to protect us from the rising winds. We find one against the snow and ice embankment. It is time for food and a short rest for the dogs. Staying in their traces, we feed our dogs, a small meal for now. Their big meal will come at the end of our trip for the day. As we feed the dogs, we pat each one. They then hunker down in the snow for
“This makes learning fun Mama Magina”, said Leah! Often, we decide to take food with us, on the sled, to throw out on the snow for animals in a really harsh winter… Hay for a moose and protein pellets for the rabbits, and more. Now and then, we take meat for a stray wolf lost from its pack. Suddenly, Mommy opens the bedroom door and sings out, “Bedtime”…And, we respond, “Five minutes”! “We are on our way to camp”! So we head toward camp with a “Gee” (to the right) and, when we come to another turn, on our trail, we shout, “Haw” (to the left), and, the dogs know now we are headed home…When we arrive at camp, we say, “Whoa”, and put down our anchor-stake into the ground. Then, we unharness our dogs, talking to and petting each one, giving them their nightly meal, and taking them to their kennel which is Leah’s old crib, when she was a baby! We’ve had a really good day “mushing”! In bed, we say our prayers, and “hugs”, and turn off the light with a “where was Moses when the lights went out”? Leah shouts out, “in the dark”! (That said “in fun” helps children to be unafraid of the dark. Said every night, children feel the “dark” is friendly for sleep…) We’ve had a really good adventurous day, “Mushing”! And, so can you! Good Night, and sweet “Mushing” dreams, from Mama Magina, and Leah. EC
warmth and take a short nap. We quickly provide our own provisions. Protein is most important! We brought two small steaks and make a fire with our camp oven… Eating our meat as soon it is thawed, otherwise it would rapidly freeze. Dogs and mushers have a very special relationship: So we talk to our dogs, praise and encourage them, and sometimes, Sing to them. And, sometimes we just enjoy the silence in our surroundings, with only the small sounds of the sled sliding through the ice and snow. Sometimes, we pretend to hear wolves howling in the distance… (Of course, we have studied maps and the animals that we might actually see on a real sled dog run.) to signify the movements of our sleds. Our imaginations rule the rest of our sled adventure.” “We bounce a little on the bed
A row of stuffed animal toys waiting to be harnessed up to start the pretend sled trip.
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EC Magazines | Christmas Edition 2021
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