Ready For Winter

Happy Thanksgiving Day to those who celebrate this holiday. It is my favorite holiday due to the lack of presents and shopping involved. Good food, friends and family; the important things in life.

As we near the end of November I am in that waiting for winter mode and once again done with my fall to do list. Now that is something to be thankful for!

This winters dog food is in.



The freezer is full of meat for the dogs.




The dog sleds are refinished and ready to run.




And the snow blower and snow plow are on the tractor and ready roll.




And that's just the list from the past two weeks! It seems like I've been preparing for winter for the past three months when we began fall training with the dogs. It amazes me how much time and energy this takes every year. For now it's done and we can sit back and enjoy our nice warm home and with a little bit of luck a nice snowy winter.

As we enter yet another holiday season I try to pause to be thankful for the good fortune I have had in my life. I may not have a lot of money but on this day I have my health, a roof over my head, food on my table and loving family and friends. If only there was a way for everyone to have the good fortune that I have had the world would surely be a better place.

Fall Training Begins Again

Once again the leaves are turning and we're dusting off the dog carts, scooters and ourselves! It's amazing how it seems as though everyone including me forgets so much over the three months of summer vacation. This fall has been especially challenging for me due to the fact that we have a total of eight new dogs in the kennel. I have never had such a large number of newbies at one time. Five of the dogs just arrived here two weeks ago and I really have no idea how much training they have had in the past. They were given to me by someone wanting to place them as a group. They do seem to enjoy running but are pretty out of shape. We'll see how they come along as we begin to run more. I also have two young dogs with us this fall who have never run in a team before. They are; shall we say a "little" crazy. They do seem to be figuring it out though and their energy will be appreciated once they learn to point it in the right direction! These two pictures are of Thunder and Prescott. They are the two young dogs from Ontario. They're actually from the same kennel as our puppy Pacem who is not as much of a puppy any more at eight months old. I'll attempt to get more pictures of the rest of the new gang if I can ever get them to sit still long enough for the camera to capture them.

Vacation Summer 09

This year we decided to do a "staycation" and stick close to home. Generally I plan a grand adventure somewhere in New England whether it's a motorcycle tour to Cape Brenton or a week long canoe in northern Maine we usually head out for an adventure for my one week off.

This summer we only drove 70 miles to Burton Island State Park on Lake Champlain. Burton Island is a wonderful state park near St.Albans, Vermont. They offer ferry service to reach the island as well as docking and mooring if you have your own boat. We bought a 1969 Chrysler Lone Star sail boat this summer. It's a small 13 foot sloop rigged sail boat with a 600 pound; four passenger rating. We loaded it up with a weeks worth of camping gear, two adults and one puppy and set "sail" across the bay to the island. It's only about a half mile from the boat launch to the dock at the island. There was no wind at all the day we headed out so we had to rely on the electric trolling motor I had rigged up on the back. I wish I had taken a picture of the boat loaded. There was barely enough space for us to get in after we put in all of our gear for the week. Good thing it was a calm day!

Once on the island we began to relax. We had a lean too for the week and brought our tent as well. The only complaint I had was that the mosquitoes where brutal! We couldn't really relax at the lean to site even with bug dope on. If you sat still for more than two minutes you were being chewed alive. We spend a lot of time at the public use area near the docks which was open and usually had a good breeze. If we weren't there we were walking on the island trails or out sailing on our boat. Having our boat right there made for some fantastic sailing days. We were able to go when ever the wind blew and got out every day we were there.



Our youngest dog Pacem spent the week camping with us. She makes a great first (second?) mate and seemed to enjoy hanging out on the water. It was great socialization for her and a good bonding experience for us. She's really turning out to be a wonderful dog. I can't wait for winter to arrive so I can get her out for some sled runs and see how she does with that.



After six days we packed it all up and headed back home again. All was well on the home front. Our house sitter didn't have any problems with the rest of the gang which is always a relief. We were well rested and it was great to get away without having to do a ton of driving. We're already debating whether to do the same thing again next summer. I have mixed feelings about that; while it was nice to not drive a lot and spend more time relaxing it is also fun to see new places and have new experiences.

Cruising

Ah, am I glad to be home! June is probably not the best month of the year to visit Florida and take a cruise to the Bahamas but I had a family gathering which I felt obligated to attend. My parent's who now live in Florida were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary (congratulations Mom and Dad!) and they wanted our family and several of their friends to join them on a cruise. I am not a big fan of heat and even find summers in Vermont too hot. Along with my Siberians winter is my favorite time of the year. My first day in Florida it was 110 degrees and the next morning before the sun even came up it was already 90.

I had never been on a cruise ship before so it was a big learning experience for me. I have to admit it's not really my cup-O-Tea and it was likely a once in a life time trip for me. I'm much more comfortable with one or two people in the back woods of New England paddling my canoe than on a ship with 3,000 people on board.

This is a shot from the Nassau Harbor when we were coming back from our snorkel outing. There were four to five ships docked while we were there making for some very crowded streets.



Other than the heat, crowds and noise the cruise wasn't all bad. It was really nice to spend some quality time with my family who I don't get to see very often. The food was good with many choices at each meal. We spent one afternoon at a quiet beach in Freeport and went snorkeling one afternoon in Nassau. I enjoyed snorkeling other than the crowd and leaky snorkel mask. I had never seen a live coral reef and tropical fish in person before and it really was beautiful. I could have stayed there all afternoon watching the fish. I did get flippered in the head several times since there were so many people in the water. With five or six boats at the same location and each boat having forty or so people on it there wasn't a lot of room to move.



I really missed the dogs, especially our puppy Pacem. They were all very happy to see me when I got home but were well cared for by Lise while I was away. I did get some small doggy fixes at my brothers. He has a Black Labrador who loves to have her ears rubbed and I was happy to oblige.

Now I am back at home and working on my page long to do list as we count down the days to fall training. It was 55 degrees yesterday morning and I'm loving it. I'd be happy if it didn't get above 70 all summer but I don't say that too loud around here. Often coming home is the best part of going away; it really makes me appreciate how wonderful life here in Vermont is.

Spring Scooter Fun

It's almost summer now but we have had very nice cool spring weather for most of May which has allowed us to do a lot of scootering with the dogs. Lise often goes with me on Sunday or Monday mornings and we are able to get most of the 14 dogs we currently have out for a run. We haven't been doing a lot for distance; generally only two to four miles max. It really is a amazing way to learn more about each individual dog. When we run them in teams of eight or ten it is hard to tell exactly what each dog is doing. You can see the obvious like if one of them is not pulling at all but there are a lot of subtle things going on there that are very hard to detect. Running single dogs with the scooters leaves nothing hidden. You can tell right away if a dog is confused about what to do or exactly how much they are pulling and how fast they are comfortable running. Some of the dogs have really surprised me. Orion in particular. I have always run him in wheel (position at back of team directly in front of the sled or cart) and judging by his behavior in the dog yard thought that he wasn't all that bright. When I took him out with the scooter he responded to commands like a true lead dog! He is also showing me that he is one of the fastest dogs in the dog yard. I would have never found this out if it wasn't for running him with the scooter. He likely just earned himself some time in lead when we begin regular cart runs this coming fall.



The biggest benefit of running with the scooters is that it allows us to keep playing with the dogs long after the snow is gone. Typically we would have packed things up and been in summer vacation mode by now. This year we have been running at least twice a week. It is very relaxing working with the dogs on scooters. It's rare for me to be able to spend one on one time with each dog. Usually as I stated above they are working as a team and when I'm with them in the dog yard they are all together as a group. Having just one dog out at a time allows me to focus on their individual personality.





I have found the scooters to work well in a wide range of conditions. I've been running on everything from class three dirt roads to single track trails through the woods with stream bed like surfaces. It is amazing how much control you have with the scooters. Some of the trails I have been on I have mountain bike on in the past and I have found it to be more stable running these trails with a dog and the scooter than riding them with my mountain bike. The lower center of gravity with your weight being below the wheel axles makes a huge difference. It is also much easier to step off with one foot and give a kick to hop over a rough spot on the trail. All of the scooters I have been using have disk brakes which work very well. My newest mountain bike it about five years old and still have V brakes so this is my first experience with disk brakes. In a word, fantastic! Especially with running dogs where you have the brakes on 90% of the time. It only take a couple of fingers to keep things under control.




I hope we can continue to work the dogs with the scooters right through the summer. They do fine with two mile runs at temperatures in the low 60s so I expect most weeks I can find a morning or two here that are in that temperature range. No matter what the scooters have already allowed our season to expand greatly and provided all of us with a great dry land activity!

Spring Flowers

The snow is completely gone except for a few spots high up on the mountains. The mud has gone away due to a pretty dry April. It's the time of year where every new day brings a fresh batch of green to the landscape. I believe if you sat for the day and watched a tree or a fern you could actually see it growing. It is a short growing season here in northern Vermont so everything seems to be in a hurry. Our early spring flowers have been blooming here, crocuses and daffodils for cultivated plants and trillium, trout lillies and colts foot for the wild ones. Despite my love of winter and the onset of black fly season it is hard not to appreciate the beauty in everything coming to life around us.



Our not so little any more puppy Pacem is doing very well. She weighed in at 21 pounds a week ago. Just like the spring plants it amazes me how much she grows every day. I jump out of bed each morning to be greeted by her at the bedroom door and marvel at how much she grew overnight. She has been a real blessing this spring as I have been dealing with much loss and sadness. It really is impossible not be smile when she comes bounding across the yard so happy and full of life. It certainly feels like she came into my life at this point in time for a reason. As most proud parents will say; she is the smartest little dog I have ever known. She truly seems to be able to pick things up very quickly and has been a pleasure to work with.



Until next time take care and enjoy the new life and spring flowers in your neck of the woods.

Early Spring in Lake Elmore

We have had a early end to the winter here in Lake Elmore this year. March is often the snowiest month of the year for us but this year we didn't have any. What we did have were a lot of forty degree sunny days. Admittedly nice for us human types to be out but a little warm for Siberian Huskies to be pulling sleds through the snow. It's a double whammy for them, not only is it much warmer than they have been used to all winter but the snow is also slushy and soft making it much harder to move the sleds. We packed it all up after the third weekend of March. Now we wait for the rest of the snow to melt and for the mud to dry up.

We have been getting out with the dog scooters a lot. I've been trying to run at least three times a week. No trail runs yet but we have been able to go on the back roads around the area. This is my first year running with the Pawtrekker scooters and I am having a blast with them. I can't wait until the woods dry out enough to do some single track trail running with them.



The other big news this month is that we have a new little one who has come into our lives. We bought a female puppy from Nduring Peace from Ontario, Canada. She has been here just over two weeks now and is really keeping me busy. We are keeping her in the house and crate training her. I hope to have this create a stronger bond between us which will hopefully help to make her more responsive for training. I need a few more good lead dogs to help keep our teams strong. It is very hard to buy lead dogs so this is my attempt at creating one from scratch. So far she is showing a lot of promise. At eleven weeks old she already loves to run, has learned to sit and is 90% house trained. She seems to be a very smart little pup. We have named her Pacem.

I will close for now. Need to get out to the dog yard to start preparing for another scooter run this morning.

Empty Space in the Dog Yard, Empty Space in My Heart.

Tuesday, March 3rd 2009 will be a day I will never forget. My dear friend Dubois or Doobie Dog as he was more commonly known had to be put to sleep on that day. After two weeks of loose stools which we tried everything to curb that he was off to our veterinarian for going over. We could feel something solid in his stomach so x-rays were taken. There was definitely some sort of mass in his intestines. I brought him in for surgery Tuesday morning with the hope of removing a glove or other foreign object and a week long recovery. We had no such luck. Doobie had a massive cancer growth which had spread through out his intestines.



My dog yard will never be the same again. Doobie was a very special dog. He is one of four pups from the only litter we have ever whelped here. The mother did not care for the puppies so we bottle fed four of them with a 100% survival rate. Not an easy thing to accomplish. Doobie had pneumonia from the bottle feeding when he was two weeks old. He was on antibiotics for a week and after four days of feeding him drops of milk with a spoon his lungs cleared and he began to drink from the bottle again.
Dubois means out of the woods in French so we thought this was a very appropriate name for the little guy.

Doobie wasn’t the prettiest dog in the yard nor did he have the best gait or build. He was rather plan in his markings but he had a certain way about him that made him stand out. He was the most driven running dog I have ever had in our kennel. Whenever we were on a run if we stopped for more than a minute or two he was always the first one to start snapping his jaws and yipping to go. He was my main lead dog for the past year. His desire to run kept the rest of the team in motion. He was energetic and enthusiastic right to the very end. He did his last run this past Sunday and you would have hardly known he was sick. When I sat in the dog yard you could always find Doobie right at my side. He seemed more content to spend time sitting next to me than running around with the other dogs.

I suppose I will get over this with time but it is hard to believe right now as tears roll down my face every time I picture his big brown eyes gazing into mine. I know no other dog will ever replace him and at the moment my desire to run dogs at all just doesn’t exist. Our team just doesn’t seem right with out Doobie out in lead. Doobie would have been five years old on Saint Patrick’s Day next week. I love you Doobie and you will always remain in my heart.

Retirement Isn't So Bad

Here is a photo I shot this morning of Aiko our 13+ Siberian. Aiko just retired from running tours this season and seems to be adjusting quite well to the retired life. Here he is hanging out by the wood stove with his buddy Charles the cat. It's a rough life!



Actually Aiko isn't completely retired just yet. He and I are a certified pet therapy team and we do bi monthly visits to a adult day center in Morrisville just down the road. I call it his retirement job. He really seems to look forward to the trip to town and all of the attention he receives from the people there. Sometimes he even scores a few biscuits.

Aiko is still in great health but we did some extended walks with him this past fall and found that he was getting tired much more quickly than the fall before. On one long hike we did he was became shaky and a little unsteady on his feet (I'll probably be a bit unsteady at 90+ myself). That was when I decided he probably wasn't going to be up for our tours this winter. Hopefully he will have many more years of relaxing next to the wood stove.

We are all enjoying a little down time this week after being crazy busy last week. This past weekend was the last weekend of President's Vacation week which is the busiest week of the winter for us here. The dogs did a amazing job of getting everyone out for rides. Well done; extra chicken for one and all!

Moonlight in Vermont

The dogs, I and a few lucky guests had a perfect evening for dogsledding last night. We had two tours scheduled at Stowe Mountain Resort. With temperatures hovering around 3 below zero and crystal clear skies the ¾ moon lit things up very nicely. It is hard to describe the peacefulness of the experience. Running through the woods the only sound is that of the dog’s feet hitting the snow; their breathing and the runners of the sled sliding through the snow. The moonlight has a very different quality than sunlight; more subtle and soft but with the snow reflecting its glow you can see almost as well as in the daylight. The dogs stride smoothly in and out of the long shadows of the moon. Running in this setting you can’t help but feel privileged to be able to share the experience with the dog team.

There are not many evenings that the timing of the moon rise coincides with our running schedule and even fewer that it happens to be clear and cold as well. Being able to share the moment with others only makes it that much more enjoyable for me.

It’s hard to believe we are almost to the end of the first week of February already. Where does the winter go? It flies by way to quickly and soon I’ll be counting the days to fall training again. Time is a fleeting and seems to slip by more quickly with each passing day. I must remind myself each day to appreciate each and every moment. Running through the woods of Vermont with a team of enthusiastic dogs doing what they love to do is one of the best ways I have found to do this.

Good old fashion winter!

What a great season this has been so far. Thinking back to our first season of tours in 2007 I remember getting in one of our first sled runs of the season around January 10th. Even that was marginal and we were running on about three inches of snow. This winter has been the best one in recent memory. We have had great trail conditions since the first week in December. Between that and the new; used Tidd Tech groomer I purchased this past fall the dogsled trail has been just about perfect. We haven’t seen a day above freezing here since Christmas. Seeing that in writing doesn’t sound like such a big deal. It’s only been four weeks but it seems a lot longer than that. I’ve become accustomed to the big temperature swings of past seasons where we have had temperatures in the 50s above zero. I guess we have had similar swings this winter but they have been more in the range of -40 to +20. Same amount of swing just a lot colder.

We have been doing well with sticking to our plan of skiing every Monday and haven't missed one yet. I've already broken my record from last season. As usual the biggest challenge is to get my butt in motion on Mondays after working with the dogs all weekend. I'm often ready for a break by Monday but getting out for a ski is a great mental break if not a physical one. Craftsbury does an amazing job of keeping their trails in top form and they are always great for skate skiing.

On other fronts all has been going well. No major break downs of equipment. The tractor has been running great so keeping our road open has been easy. We haven’t had any huge snow storms; just a few inches here and there adding up to a few feet which is much easier to keep up with. We haven’t even had any frozen water pipes in our cabin despite the record cold. Just maybe after seven years of living here we are finally getting things figured out.

No complaints from the frosty woods of north central Vermont!

We Survived The Holidays!

This week has been one of rest and refueling for all of us. As usual the two weeks around Christmas and New Years are extremely busy for me and the pups. We "only" run three tours a day but six days in a row of that takes it's toll. Sometimes I suspect it is harder on me than the dogs. I figure I do about a four to one ratio of work compared to the dogs; meaning for every hour they run I do four hours of work to keep things flowing. All of the dogs have been more amazing than ever this season. I believe it is a combination of the new food we are feeding and the fact that we have two teams of honest working dogs this year.



The snow conditions this winter have been fantastic here in Lake Elmore. Apparently you don't have to drop too far into the valleys to find very thin snow cover but our trails have been well covered since early December. In fact for the past two weeks they have been as good as I have ever seen them with a nice solid base covered by a inch or two of packed powder. The nice consistent cold has kept things from becoming icy even when we have gone for five or six days without fresh snow. This week I have once again been busy shoveling, snow blowing and packing trails as we received another six to eight inches of fresh snow.

I have been enjoying cross country skiing this year with my partner Lise. I don't think we got out together more than twice all of last winter. I tend to become so wrapped up in the business of working with the dogs that in the blink of an eye the winter is gone. This year we purchased a season pass for the Craftsbury Outdoor Center and our goal is to ski every Monday. It is my one day off each week and often times last year I just felt too tired to go out again and preferred to hang out at home and rest. So far this season we have gone skiing the past two Mondays and I have really been enjoying it. I had forgotten how much fun it is to glide through the woods on beautifully groomed trails. I have also found that it does my head a world of good to get away even if it is only for a few hours. Even if things are amazing where you are it never hurts to have a little change of perspective now and again!

I wish you all a Happy New Year. There seems to be a sense of renewal and hope in the air for 2009. Let's hope things do move in a positive direction and do our part to see that they do.