After the excitement of Christmas, my life slows down. Lucy allows me to sleep under the blankets with her again, and the cold wind and short days keep us inside. The white stuff covers the backyard, and I don’t smell any signs of life outside. Peach and I play with tennis balls or my new dragon to have a little fun, but we hope winter will go away soon.
When the sunlight shines into the house one morning, I beg to go outside. Hannah lets us out into the backyard. The snow is everywhere, but the cold is bearable. Maybe I can go for a walk today. I need to find something fun to do.
When Hannah lets us inside, I run to the front door. I sprawl across the front of the door so nobody can go out the front without me. But nobody tries to leave during the morning, and I accidentally fall asleep. When I awaken, Ben is sitting on the couch in the living room. I bark at him.
“What do you want, Zelda?” he asks. I bark and paw at the front door. “Want to go for a walk?” When he says the word, a spark ignites inside me. I sprint circles around the room. My antics cause Peach to rise from her slumber. She barks at me.
“What’s going on in here?” Nate asks, walking into the living room from the kitchen.
“Zelda wants to go for a walk,” Ben says. “Can we take them?”
“Sure. It’s not too cold today, and I could use some exercise,” Nate says.
We are going on a walk!
I run in circles until I make myself dizzy. When I stop to pant, Peach sits beside me with her tongue hanging out.
Ben and Nate put on our harnesses. When we march onto the porch, the cold wind whips through my fur. I shiver, but I keep walking. Peach and Nate stand on the porch. Peach doesn’t want to move. I bark at her, and she slowly trots down the steps.
We walk on the sidewalk between snow piles. The snow blocks the wind, and I don’t feel cold anymore. I try to find interesting smells, but the snow covers everything. I don’t mind the lack of smells. I’m just happy to be out on a walk.
When we reach the end of our street, I catch a faint whiff of the first live scent on the walk. The scent of another animals is drifting from the direction of the pond. I lead us on a path in that direction.
“Zelda wants to take the path to the pond,” Ben says.
“Okay, we can do that,” Nate says.
With Nate’s affirmation, I sprint forward. Ben runs beside me to the pond. Peach and Nate catch up to us a few minutes later. I look across the wide expanse of the pond. A group of ducks are walking across the water.
Wait a minute? How are the ducks walking on the water?
I stare at the ducks. Their paws move one step forward and then another step. They walk slowly across the pond.
How do they do that?
I turn to Peach for answers, but it is too late. She is in duck-hunt mode. With her body low to the ground, she slithers through the snow toward the ducks on the water. Nate trails behind her, leash in hand. I follow them. Peach stands close to the edge of the water. Nate reaches for Peach’s neck. He unhooks her leash.
“You can let Zelda go, too. They won’t go anywhere, not in this snow,” Nate says.
“What about the pond?” Ben asks.
“This pond is frozen solid,” Nate says.
“Are you sure?” Ben asks. Nate nods, so Ben unhooks my leash. My first instinct is to run like a crazy pug, but I realize Nate is right. In this snow, it’s hard to run anywhere. I look to the ducks. I want to figure out this duck-walking-on-water phenomenon.
I walk to the edge of the pond. Peach’s attention is focused on the ducks, but she is hesitant to step forward. She isn’t sure about the water. I am not sure either, but the ducks can do it. If the ducks can walk on the water, we can do it too.
I take a step forward. The water is cold and hard. I step with my other front paw so both of my front paws are on the water. Nothing happens. I walk a few more steps so all four paws are on the water. I don’t sink or even get wet. It’s strange.
“Dad,” Ben says.
“She’s fine,” Nate says.
Following my lead, Peach takes a few steps on the water. We stand together. Peach looks at me with a glint in her eye.
Uh oh.
Then she goes for it. She takes off for the ducks at a full duck hunt sprint.
“Dad!” Ben yells.
“Peach!” Nate screams.
I take off after Peach to stop her, but she falls to her side before she reaches the ducks. She slides across the water. I catch her quickly, and I try to stop myself next to her. I can’t get any traction. As I slide past her, the ducks scatter into the air out of our reach.
Peach rolls over and stands. Ben and Nate are calling for us to return. The ducks are gone, so we trek toward Ben and Nate. When we are a few steps away from them, I hear the flutter of wings. I turn to see a few ducks land nearby. Peach turns and sees them. She drops down into sneak mode. After a few careful steps in the ducks’ direction, she propels herself at full speed toward them, but she doesn’t get enough traction. She loses her footing and falls on her belly. The ducks don’t even flinch.
“Time to go home,” Nate says. I know those words. I better turn around. I bark for Peach. We trot carefully and slowly back to the snow. The ducks follow a few pug lengths behind us on the water. When we reach Ben and Nate, they leash us.
“QUACK. QUACK.”
Ben and Nate pull us back to the path, but we steal a glance at the ducks. They quack at us, urging us to come back and play another day. Or I think that is what they are saying. I don’t speak duck!