A Beacon photo expedition–with a Lion Dog

On Sunday, January 26th, the Beacon staff was in a quandary: where would we get a cover shot? We had been waiting for the snow , but there was only a sprinkle. At least the temperature had dropped to near zero, so there was plenty of ice, and ice always creates such jagged, startling images when it heaves up into craggy peaks. All we needed for an ice shot was some sunshine.

Unfortunately, day after day it was overcast and gray. Finally on Sunday, with half the February issue already printed, the sun came out and the staff gathered its equipment and prepared to scour the Island for memorable scenes. Only one problem: Chloe, the Beacon cub reporter, a one-year-old Shi Tzu, was also tired of sitting in a gray house and insisted on coming along. What could we say? No one likes to break a puppy's heart.

So along she came--out onto Barney's Lake, then the ice at Wicklow Beach, and then more ice at Cable's Bay. When the heavy-footed human contingent broke through in a few places, she merely passed them by with another supreme demonstration of the art of being light on one's feet. She's a natural bounder, lacking only traction: several times she spun her wheels when trying to change direction or simply get going. She ran this way and that, sniffing to see who had been there before.

We were careful not to let her get too near open water--none of us wanted to have to jump in after her.

We shot and shot, getting many interesting pictures but none cover-worthy—until we reached Beaver Head Light. Starting down the wooden stairs, we saw something in front of us that made us freeze: a mature coyote out on the ice. But he was too skittish to wait up, and trotted westward around the point so we continued onto the ice, Chloe never breaking stride. Still, we kept her close as we sighted in on our cover.

Feeling it was a day well spent, we hurried home to catch the last of the basketball game. Except for Chloe, who was so worn out she slept until it was time for the Super Bowl. Good job, little girl.