Quick Update

I havent wanted to post here for a while, I was hoping when I did it would be something exciting but life has been very slooow lately. The cold weather hit us very early and we were quickly in -40 temps before we knew it. The regular temperatures for this time of year hover around zero... we were certainly taken by surprise!

So even though this year started off early with wonderful snow we have only been out on the trail a handful of times. It can get rather depressing if we stop to think about it... our main excitement is seeing the road ahead to the new property and the promise of no severe weather breaks like these. Its just too depressing when temperatures way up at the arctic circle are warmer than we are...

But there may be good fortune coming back on the wind, a nice warm spell that will take the temps well above zero. We dont like anything above freezing but at this point we are quite willing to take ANYTHING that is not -40 so we can get back out on the trail.

Even though we are not out there as much as we should be this time of year we are still VERY busy catching up on a lot of things behind the scenes. Its not as fun as being out there with the wind in our hair, or fluffing up our parka ruffs, but it is progress. Every day in the office or out on the trail gets us closer to our goal of expansion. Its only a matter of time now before we can solidly push some dirt, set our feet and plant new roots at our new location...

Life on the Trail!!

Thani and Boreas, our hard working buffalo brothers!

Its true!! The clouds parted, the sun's rays glinted on the snow and we were blessed with a wonderful run in the woods on the sled!! After this run we could tell our dogs are already off on a fantastic start and heading back through another snow storm was a great sign we were on the right track!! 

James and I took turns driving the team of seven while two of the pups, Orion and Ymir, came along for the fun. And boy did they have FUN!! Ymir was a bit cautious, as he has always been, about where to run with the team but he showed a lot more confidence than I thought he would. I think those many walks with them when they were so tiny really paid off.

Ymir checks on the sled while Griffin follows behind

Orion however may just end up being a leader in the future! He preferred to stay out front of the team while giving Juno, Ichabod and Hermes kisses all the way. Both pups stayed close to the sled and when Orion ventured off the trail he came back quickly when called. It was very nice to see how responsive he was and it gives us more confidence to take the other pups out since we kind of know what to expect. My mommy jitters are almost all gone at this point. :)

Ichabod led us out but when the trail was cut differently by fourwheelers over the summer we had to put Hermes back up front so he could show the way. He is our wonder dog who never forgets a step taken in winter. No matter how long the summer he must be dreaming of the trail cause he never misses a beat. Ichabod is solid also but follows the command of the dog next to him. When matched up those two make the best lead pair!!

Juno follows Orion's lead

Our run was about ten miles, one sled two passengers and seven dogs on the line. A few breaks here and there were all they needed. These guys are super charged and ready to tackle the winter season!! On our next run we will take a few more pups and few more adults, still one sled and two passengers since the snow conditions are not right for setting hooks yet but we are out there and we are VERY happy to be so!!

For now our day will consist of more construction on the dog houses for James L while I plug away here in the office getting caught up on the weeks work. We had a minor set back this week with health issues of various kinds but everything seems to be on the mend now and our one major health concern is doing much better.

Her name is Lady and she is our new foster dachshund. While she is definitely not a sled dog we could not turn her away after finding out that her teeth were so bad that she had 22 pulled. She also had some sort of infection set in after the dental procedure but with a few vet check ups and some additional meds she is resting much better and healing well.

Foster dog Lady