I have two wonderful but very different border collies.

Red would no sooner walk out on ice than try to fly.

Fate walks out onto the ice every time she passes it, she has mastered the pond. This is a shallow pond, I have been encouraged to mention, about six to eight inches deep at it’s deepest and Fate explores it adroitly and carefully, with her paws, her ears and her nose.

She walks slowly, carefully, feeling the ice, alert to cracks, quick to dart back to ground.

This morning, at the end of February, it was nearly 60 degrees and the pond was melting quickly, it was only frozen in the center. I was mesmerized by Fate, she paused at the edge – she loves to skate on the pond and slide on her butt – and then stepped slowly into the melted water and waded (up to her ankles) out to the center, she climbed up on the ice, as if she knew this was the last time, and stood for a while, surveying the woods around her.

Then she climbed off, as if savoring the memory and waded back to the shore. My guess is she is done with the pond.

I have to say I have never had a dog like Fate, she is a joy to be with, her love of life is infectious. As might be expected in our world, the ice pond had become somewhat controversial and the subject of a major social media discussion about the boundaries between the users of the social media and people like me, who share their lives as openly as is possible.

Some people criticized me for letting Fate out on the ice, many others were worried about her and expressed their concerns to me. Others were upset for my even mentioning it.

As is always the case, many people struggle with the idea of having discussions about things, there is much drama and arguing, but around that, a good and important discussion emerging about the new boundaries of the social media world.

I was, of course, reminded several hundred times that dogs drown, fall through the ice, perish from exposure, are bitten by turtles. But I do not walk in the woods in fear. Life happens to all of us, and to all of our animals. We do the best we can. It is my responsibility to worry about my dogs and other animals, and I never need reminding to do it.

It is my belief that I ought to worry about my dogs and other people can worry about theirs, I am still committed to minding my own business, although that idea is under siege. Many people on social media believe if people like me post stories about their lives, then our lives are their business. This issue will not be resolved in the near future, perhaps not ever in my lifetime.

But it is an important discussion to have, and I will keep raising it. My identity feels at stake in many ways. Lots of people offer the “you are asking it” argument. Because I share my life, I am asking people to help me run it. I don’t share that view. My blog writing is just like a book, only it is online.

I don’t write to gather other people’s ideas or advice and worries, I write because it is what I do. I am sorry if your dogs have suffered misfortune, I love dogs dearly. But it is not necessarily my misfortune. And mine is not yours. That is what they mean by boundaries.

I look forward to more discussions about it, this was  a good one.

In the meantime, I was sorry to see the ice pond melt, especially so early in the year. This is a beautiful scene, in many ways, but unnatural and disturbing. This is the beautiful winter that wasn’t.  It is a big deal up here to have skipped winter almost completely, the natural order seems to be bleeding.

I might be projecting, but I think Fate seemed a bit pensive and uneasy also. Perhaps they know more than we think. Who better than this instinctive animal to sense that the ice pond is leaving well before it’s time.