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.