Attribution: Photo by Prazanthy Ramesh on Unsplash
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, assist the keeper in celebrating the keeper’s uncanny foresight in buying a pair of snowshoes on the hottest day of this erratic season.
It happened when Phyllis left the keeper unattended at St. Vinny’s and he spotted these beautiful Iverson snowshoes, brand new and replicating a pair that once figured in one of the more exciting events in the keeper’s misspent life.
He had spent the night in a sleeping bag in a remote deer yard on the Bad River reservation and had not bargained for the 30 below zero temperature. In the sleeping bag he was fine and enjoyed a most fascinating night with the deer in their restrictive winter haunts.
But when he struggled out of the bag in the morning his fingers were suddenly so cold he could not buckle on the snowshoes that were essential to his navigating the three miles of deep snow to the road.
After a brief blend of consternation and vigorous arm beating, the snowshoe fasteners were finally in place and the edge of panic subsided.
Having long ago exchanged his “deeryard” nights for “dearyard” days and nights with Phyllis, the keeper nonetheless feels greatly comforted in once again having a pair of essential snowshoes.
Sometimes he just sits and stares at them, and Phyllis seems to understand that.
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