What Kept Us Cozy Inside Our Houses...

Temperatures plummeted into the -40's last weekend and so time stood still as we all complained about the cold and made sure our block heater cords were readily available for plugging in. Vehicles complained about being started and sled dogs got extra food and bedding. No matter how cold it is the dogs still need fed and the yard needs cleaned so we get bundled up and the dog food gets made in the house with hot water so that by the time it's carried outside and poured into a frozen, metal bowl it is still luke warm, maybe. Lucy has gotten into a bad habit of spilling her water in the morning and to her surprise when you try to lick little meat chunks off your chain in -40....well.... your tongue gets stuck. Lesson Learned. Needless to say I am a much happier musher now that I have gotten to run the dogs again after a 9 day break and it's much nicer not having to look like this.....

when you are out in the dog yard for 10 minutes.

.....See You On The Trail.....

Introducing

We have added a new additon to the team this week. Cha Cha is the fourth girl in the Dancing Puppies litter that were born last July at my "other" dog yard. The kids and I walked these puppies from August to December and helped name them all. There were 7 puppies altogether the boys: Two Step, Tango and Hip Hop, the girls: Jitterbug, Jazz, Fox Trot and Cha Cha. If the girls names seem familiear that is because I own all of them. We are very excited to welcome Cha Cha to the group she is a happy and lovely girl. Like her sisters she is very easy going and well mannered...she was great to get booties on today and pulled like a mad woman the whole run. Mother is Mari who's pedigree goes back to mostly Buser/Wright lines, Dad is Simon who's pedigree goes back to Wanamaker/Swingley/Saunderson lines.

Cha Cha as a puppy last fall

Cha Cha at her old Dog Yard

On our run today....she looks happy =)

My team today..Looking good just need one new red harness from Cold Spot ..that's Cha Cha on the right third from the back right in front of Fox Trot who's wearing the orange harness
.....See You On The Trail.....

Bring Out The Cold Weather Gear

Yup, it's that time again. We have been blessed with a rather warm fall but the temeratures have dropped now and we are even looking at a low of -40 this coming weekend. The dogs are loving the cooler weather on our runs but being on the quad is a rather cold experience. Most mushers will attest to the fact that the quad is way colder to ride on than the sled because you are fairly stationary the whole run therefore cold weather gear takes on a new meaning at -20 on a 12 mile run which takes the team and I about 2 hours, not including the harnessing and booting. Here you are seeing me in my North 49 Parka bought at Costco last spring for $50 (regular price $180) what Northern Outfitters calls a "Severe Hood" this is a neck warmer hood combination with an extra detachable polar fleece piece in front....I am also wearing lined Helly Hansen Bib overalls, and -60 Sorel boots (that still don't keep my feet warm) and the hot ticket Northern Outfitters Artic Mittens..so warm...can't hardly move but I sure am warm.

Great Day for a run but look at the big hole in my team...it's time to make my gang line shorter or add more dogs...

Ohocco..right there that's the spot..now a little to the left..PERFECT

Run #33 was a quick 6 mile run to show off our skills to my friend Jill who came up form Calgary...I think Lucy made a BIG impression on her and we even let her mush home..hopefully she'll join us for a sled ride later in the year.

.....See You On The Trail.....

A Surprise Visit

The View Outside My Window This Morning

What a beautiful morning for a run with my friends...a gorgeous sunrise greeted me as I walked out to the dog yard to soup the dogs and a comfortable -15 Celsius with no wind, perfect weather for the dogs. Harnessed and all back feet bootied we headed out and as we approached the next range road, which we would usually cross to access our trails, I had this crazy idea to go visit my mom at work but to do this I have to first cross a 4 lane highway. Just before we got to the road I stopped the team and changed out my leaders. Jazz and Fox Trot were leading but I didn't want them taking us across the highway and so my faithful veterans Ochocco and Thunder made the switch and were quite happy to lead us across this new and unusual trail. We waited until the traffic cleared and I called out to the leaders and we were off and completely committed now. We crossed without incident and carried on down the road 1/2 mile to mom's office. Boy was she surprised to see us. She had me run the team around the field in front of her office so she could watch and we visited for a few minutes and then I was off again.

Surprise....visiting my mom at work..that's my mom and her boss on the deck

Once we were back on our regular trails I switched leaders back to Jazz and Fox Trot and we were having a very beautiful, quiet run. In fact I was getting sleepy and not really paying attention as we rolled along through a hay field when all of a sudden 2 very big Rottweilers were challenging the team..just perfect when you have two babies in lead....Thunder and Ochocco were trying their best from swing and team to get us back on the trail but the other half of our front end were saying "Bring It On". I got off and yelled at the Rottweilers to "Git Home" and they retreated and I pulled the team back onto the trail this brought their focus back to the task at hand and we were off down the trail once more. I was so warm and cozy in all my cold weather gear, winter boots, insulated Helly Hansen bib overalls, my parka, a toque underneath a "Severe Hood", this is a toque neck warmer combination from Northern Outfitters and I looooove it, polar fleece gloves inside my "BIG" Northern Outfitters mitts...so warm. The problem is with this much clothing is you don't move as well and you don't have much for peripheral vision. Basically if you want to look anywhere but straight ahead you have to turn your whole upper body...needless to say you get a little sleepy watching only your dogs butts for 11.5 miles. I had my MP3 player in my pocket but it was a job in itself to get everything out of the way to listen to it...so I went without. Soon enough we were back at our road crossing and I can see real well one way but not the other so I got off to check for traffic and to take a couple pictures of my Yearling leaders......

Jazz

As I am shuffling around trying to get a good shot of both leaders I caught my boot on a twig and being overloaded with clothes down I went, but while I was there I got this shot

Pretty sure they are laughing at me..Hmm.

After the run I had an "After Party" in the house with guests Ochocco and Thunder.

They are saying "More of that YUMMY side pork please"

After a little snack we layed down for a little relax time and watched an episode of "Toughest Race On Earth - Iditarod" As you can see Ochocco was quite enthralled and I wonder if she remembers being there that same year.

Ochocco decided the couch looked way more comfy but notice she is still watching the Iditarod. We actually watched her run under the burled arches with her former owner and when asked where she was she replied "In lead of course."

.....See You On The Trail.....

Odds and Ends

Here are a few pictures that were on my good camera that I forgot about..Enjoy =)

Even on free run day Ochocco is the leader

Me and my girl Jazz...these girls are just the sweetest.

Okay who called this meeting....is everyone here and accounted for ?!

The Sisters Three( Fox Trot, Jitterbug and Jazz)enjoying playing together like when they were puppies

Ole Prophet still giving his best.

Before he went missing.. Shadow enjoying a lazy Sautrday morning of cartoons with my daughters...we miss you my big funny dog =(

.....See You On The Trail.....

First Night Run

Yesterday I was tied up all day in town and it was supposed to running day for the team...so me in my wisdom decided it was time to go out of the box and run during the night with a full moon shining from above. First let me say that it was absolutely beautiful out there..it was like daylight I could see for miles and the dogs seemed really excited although my 3 little girls did quite a bit of barking at shadows for the first mile. That being said our temperatures have dropped significantly in the last couple days and it was a very cool -20 Celsius as we left the dog yard. As many of you that mush know the quad is a VERY COLD place to be at -20...whereas -20 on sled runners isn't as bad because you are standing and moving more. My daughter decided to brave the cold as well and kept me company we dressed warm; me in my parka and cold weather Northern Outfitters mitts and Aimee in all her outdoor gear. I grabbed my little headlight and we started to bootie dogs and harness..we were soon hooked up and off we went with all intentions of running our full 11 mile trail..well plans changed within the first mile..I was already struggling with cold fingers and I knew Aimee wouldn't make it for 2 full hours so we changed the game plan and decided on a fun trail and to play it by ear. Soon I heard "Mom I have to go" I thought oh boy this is going to be fun. I made her wait till we did our road crossing and then we stopped. She did her business while I added more layers to the both of us and then we were off again. We took all the little bush trails I loved this fall and it was neat running through the bush and then breaking out into an open field with the moonlight guiding our way. The dogs were just rearing to go, every time we stopped they were screamin' and bouncing on the gang line...just a lovely sight. We managed to run just over 7 miles only 4 miles short of the normal run and we sure enjoyed the warm house and hot chocolate after and the dogs sure enjoyed the warm soup for supper.

Aimee with the team ....Spooky Eyes...

I am excited to do it again but hopefully by the next full moon the quad will have been put away for the winter and I'll be on the sled.

......See You On The Trail......

It's Our 30th Run Together

Favorite Trail - Everybody has their new harness

Our New Team Member

8 Red Harnesses Shipped From Alaska - $160.00

Gas for the Quad - $200.00

Meat For The Dogs - $300.00

230 miles in 30 runs with 8 very happy, strong dogs......

PRICELESS

.....See You On The Trail.....

A weeks Worth

Run # 27, 28 and 29 are reveiwed in today's blog.....We have had some pretty great runs as of late and I have had the pleasure of having company on 2 out of the three. Things are rolling along nicely and we have now covered 219 miles or approximatly 352 kms. The dogs are doing just awesome and are losing some of their lazy summer weight now and eating like wolves..no more picking at their food and they are always happy to see me with the food bucket in the evening, especially if we have gone for a run that day. I am trying to really get the younger dogs their chance in lead now as I would rather experiment with the weight of the quad on my side. I have more control with this big heavy training tool and I know they are not going to drag it away at an inoppurtune time. Of course Ococco and Thunder still get their days as well otherwise I get those eyes that say "Why can't we be in lead for once". Lucy and Jazz stutted their stuff during run #27 and impressed my good friend. Run #28 I went out of the box putting two yearlings in lead. Jazz has run in lead a few times last spring and I have had her in lead a bit this fall. I always thought she showed more interest in being up there but I am learning fast that both her sisters also like to run up front and Fox Trot has surprised me with her knowledge of Gee already. On this run however I decided to pair up Jazz and Jitterbug - from the quad you can barely tell these two apart..Jazz's ears fold is about the only difference and once you really get to know them Jitterbug is darker black (if that is possible). I couldn't beleive my run..it was Amazing. We geed and hawed with no problems in fact I don't think I even had to step off the quad to show them the way once. I did have to put a neck line on them about 3/4 of the way through the run though..Jazz does a pretty decent job of staying "lined out" already but Jitterbug is not so confident and lost her ability to stay out but once she had a neck line on she was great. Unfortunatly this day ended on a sour note as later in the day our pet dog Shadow went missing and still hasn't been located..we are trying our best to find him but so far to no avail so run #29 was a great run but was mixed with sadness as we had an empty spot on the team. On this day Ochocco and Thunder lead us on a new 18km (11mile) trail and it's amazing to me how these dogs with all this experience will go over anything. Our new trail led us right over a spot where a hunter had killed and cut up something. With blood all over the ground you would think the brakes would come on and the whole team would come to a halt..but not with these two in lead....I said alright just before crossing the bloody snow and these guys just kept on truckin'....never even hesitated...that just blows me away. My daughter and her friend joined me on this most beautiful, sunny November day and it was a spectacular run which ended with alot of hugs and cuddles and a few tears for seeing no sign of my missing pooch.

My good friend having a moment with leaders Lucy and Jazz

Prophet and Shadow after run #27

Run # 28 with Jazz and Jitterbug in lead also Shadows last run with us

Me and the team during a pit stop on run #29 with my faithfuls Ochocco and Thunder

My daughter and her friend showing some love to the team

Run #27...Getting louder and stronger

In between runs I took the team out for a free run...we had a great time and it was good for them to just have a "FUN" run.

Run #29 - Almost Home With The Two Yearlings, Jazz and Jitterbug Leading Us Right Into The DOg Yard.

.....See You On The Trail.....

Dreaming Of A White Christmas

Ahhhh fresh snow, cooler weather and a bright morning sun our 26th run was a beautiful one. After my excitment filled morning the other day I decided to have a nice easy run with Ochocco and Thunder in lead. The weather was great and our 17 km (10.5) mile run in fresh snow was just gorgeous. On this day I took along my MP3 player and rocked out to some good ole tunes. I think the dogs were pretty curious as to what the heck the two legged person was doing as I sang along to Poker Face.

Introducing the Leaps and Bounds Team

With our recent snowfall and coooler weather my thoughts have turned toward getting prepared for the winter and so I started the task of shopping for a sled that would suit my needs. I am planning to have some amount of company with me over the winter months so it needed to be big enough to hold passengers and yet I wanted the tobaggan style and of course I wanted it to look good. My search led me to Jack Beckstrom of Adanac Sleds and Supplies in Montana. I had found the sled I liked on his website and after consulting with a friend as to if it would be ok for me I phoned Jack up and ordered it. I am expecting it to be ready between Chirstmas and New Years and now I only have to figure out how to get it here. But in the meant time I have this picture as my screensaver. It's so pretty
I can't wait to try it out and hopefully I will get a few runs on it before I head to Elkford for the Wilderness Classic. This is the only race I think I would like to attend this year. From what my friends say it is a fun race on an old logging road .... sounds good to this gal.

.....See You On The Trail......

Dog Day..Oh Boy

Today was terrific day....It's been a long time since I had a total dog day and I sure have missed it. This morning was run #25 for my team. I harnessed everyone and then decided to hook them up to bootie them all because it's easier with some of mine that don't yet like to be bootied. Happy as a clam I am in my own little world wondering how Jazz and Fox Trot will do in lead together when all of a sudden 6 of my 9 dogs are loose and getting tangled up at my feet...WHAT THE....???? It seems that my smiley Siboon (who I have never seen chew) decided I was taking to long and chewed through his neck line and then through the gang line. "Okay" I say to myself "Now What?" Well as a friend of mine said Crisis Management. I unhook everyone and start trying to figure out how I am going to tie my gang line back together when I notice I have a few less dogs in the yard than before...now they have escaped out of the dog yard and down the trail they went. At this point I am thinking "Ohhh Forget It" but I already have harnesses and booties on everyone. I quikly fix the gang line, call the dogs back, start hooking up, make sure the gang line will hold, find the last 2 missing dogs (Lucy and Siboon, he was soo not in my good books) and away we went fianally. We had quite a little blizzard happening here yesterday morning with pretty high winds with wet snow and freezing rain. There were a few times the snow was blowing so hard into my face I had to put my head down and couldn't watch the team. I looked like a snow man on the back of the quad with all that snow sticking to me. My 2 little girls did really well for the most part but it's obvious they both need some more training. We broke some new trail yesterday and it ended up being 16.7 km or 10.3 miles and after our crazy morning we had a really great run and the dogs were loving all the new fluffy snow. After a little luch I headed down to my "other" dog yard to finish the photo shoot I started and was pleasantly surprised to be able to help hook up two teams. One team is all older dogs who have been to many races, what we call proven dogs or dogs with a resume. They are all in contention to run the Iditarod this year...so easy to harness and bootie just a nice team. The other was a team of CRAZY yearlings. Fun? Yes! But some of them are a real challenge to harness and ear splittingly loud. All in all it was a great day with dogs and good friends..can't wait to do it again soon. Here are a few pictures from the doggie photo shoot.

.....See You On The Trail.....

Saturday

A lovely run through a hay field in the fall....is there anything better
We had a very fun run Saturday. As per usual my daughter joined me and we ran about 8.5 miles, which was a little shorter than usual because my hubby just grubbed out a new out going trail with the power saw so I don't have to run down the road anymore to access my trails. YAY The dogs were a little confused with this new development but once they found the trail they were great. I tried to go without booties as most of the snow has meited away but the snow we do have is still very hard and sharp so about half way through our run I ended up booting all back feet and all four of Prophets and Siboons. I decided to try Lucy in lead with young Fox Trot and they did very well together I was surprised that Fox Trot does a better job at staying "lined out" than Lucy. It was a great day for a run and I can't wait to go again tomorrow.

My leaders on run #24 Lucy and Fox Trot

A little video..sorry about the wiggles my daughter dropped the camera

at least she kept it from falling on the ground. Look how good my leaders did.
.....See You On The Trail.....

Two Runs

Two Runs and One Post
Busy, Busy,Busy..that's how it has been lately but the dogs have still been training. On Sunday both my daughters and my nephew came along with me and while it was very squishy we had a good time. We put booties on all the dogs because the snow is still so crusty and sharp and after the run unfortunatley no bootie made it back in one piece. It is still fairly warm with the temperature not dropping below -10 c at night and most days we are on the plus side though not by much. I have recently cut back the amount of food I am feeding at night because alot of the dogs were not drinking their water in the morning and some started not eating at night as well and it seems to have worked for the most part. Jitterbug has decided that spilling her breakfast and taking her bowl into her house is the best solution to the pesky problem of water on top of her food. Hopefully soon the musher will outsmart the dog with some new bowl holders.

My Company and Me

My Daughter sitting on the front fender

because there wasn't room for her anywhere else.

On the team this day we had Thunder and Lucy Leading, Fox Trot and Ochocco in swing, Jazz and Jitterbug and Prophet and Siboon in Team and Shadow in Single Wheel (this was not planned but I had to move Siboon up as the neck line seems to short for him in the back) It was a good 9.5 mile run and the kids enjoyed it especially when we saw 3 white tail deer run across our trail.

Today's Run

Today I did something a little different....because the snow is very hard on booties right now I decided to go road running and visit my good friend. I also got my new red harnesses this morning and so badly wanted to try them out. So I hooked up the team (all but one of the harnessed fit) and away we went to the neighbours. I was planning on having a hot chocolate once I got there but everyone was busy. The dogs did well Ochocco and Thunder were absolute SUPERSTARS with commands today and with the the pet dog that so badly wanted to join our team once we reached our destination. I tied off the team and visited for about 15 minutes and then we were off again. Just for fun I stopped in at my in laws on the way home too. They live just across the creek from us and the dogs are already looking forward to getting home by their driveway so they were shocked when I asked them to "GEE" but Gee they did without hesitation and up onto the lawn where we pulled off the perfect "HAW" u turn. I stopped them and had a little visit with my father in law , who would so love a team of his own to take out to his trap line, and then we were off again, to home this time. It was a great little 8 mile run and the dogs did so good they all received a milkbone for their efforts. I forgot to take pictures when we stopped to visit but here is a little video I took while I had the team stopped for a drink.

The Team Stopped for a drink

Road Runners...showing off their Pretty New Red Harnesses

.....See You On The Trail.....

Lana with the team.

Training Run #21 - +2 and clear this morning. It was an exciting morning here as we had a our first guest coming to ride on the quad with me. I watered the dogs and then woke Aimee up as she wanted to help hook up even if she couln't ride with me today. The dogs were noisy and excited because they have once again had 2 days off due to the poor trail conditions here. But thanks to my musher friend I now have booties for all the dogs. It was nice to have Lana join me today and I enjoyed teaching her how to harness and hook up the dogs and great to have somone to talk to about the dogs and mushing in general. The trails are a nasty mix of hard crunchy snow and frozen gravel on the roads..not a nice mixture..I only had to bootie one dog near the end of the run but will be putting booties on everyone on Sunday..better to have feet and dogs than no feet and no dogs. Our team today: Thunder and Ochocco in lead, Fox Trot and Lucy in swing, Jazz and Jitterbug and Siboon (by himself) in team and of course Shadow and Prophet in wheel. All in all it was a great day to be out on the trail with good friends and great company.

.....See You On The Trail.......

Stopped for a break to check feet.

Run # 20

Today - Training run #20 - 9.5 miles.

I had some company on my run today as I kept two of the three munchkins home from school. Of course they acted real sick until it was time for me to go then everyone wanted to come. My oldest has never really been that interested in coming with me but she did today and now says she wants to come every time. Our 9.5 mile loop consisted of new and old trail which is nice because it keeps the dogs from getting bored (and me too) and they have to learn to listen to my commands instead of just following the same ole trail.

In the team today: Thunder and Fox Trot in lead. This was Fox Trot's first time in lead and she seemed extremely happy to be up there. She seemed to follow commands a little and didn't do alot of sight seeing although she did end up in the bushes a couple times trying to follow some new smell. She is not a great match with Thunder though as she lopes constantly I would really like to try her with Lucy but I am not sure if Lucy is ready to train a puppy....maybe we'll give it a go next time. I put Lucy and Ochocco is swing together..these two seriously dislike each other but I am sick of their arguing so I told them both to suck it up and be nice to each other and they had an awesome run together. Jazz and Jitterbug ran team..awwwe sisterly love...Sibbon ran by himself and Shadow and Prophet brought up wheel...they are a really good match because they are close in size and Prophet likes to run on the right hand side while Shadow prefers the left hand side.

I had a videographer on board today so I had her run up the trail and take some video hence the heavy breathing you hear.

Almost Home Now...Rounding the bend about 1/2 mile to go.

It was very mild today, only about -1 and the snow was wet and sticky..but I checked eveyones feet and watched them as they ran free in the dog yard after the run and nobody seems sore...hopefully it stays that way. That's it for today, next run is Wednesday

.....See You On The Trail.....