Where Does Time Go?

I'm not sure where this summer went but it's clearly past. With leaves beginning to turn and many even falling to the ground already it's sure looking a lot like fall here in Lake Elmore. Not to mention the frost warnings in the forecast for the next two nights!



Summer Gardens


Summer really did fly by this year. I kept busy with the garden and working on single track mountain bike trails in the back yard. The garden has done quite well again this year despite a very wet spring. Things always seem to even out in the long run and a very sunny July allowed most things to catch up. I was able to ride more than I have any summer in the past ten years and so far have logged around 1,200 miles this season. This helps keep me slim and makes it easier for the dogs to pull me up the hills; not to mention keeping me healthier. We didn't have any extreme heat this summer which is always a bonus for me. I think we had a total of three days that approached the ninety degree mark. Otherwise it was a lot of mid-eighties and many days in the seventies. Now that's my kind of summer!

We've started running the dogs again and our run yesterday brought a huge smile to my face. We have the same dogs on our teams this season that we had all of last year and most of the year before that. They all seem very well adjusted to working with each other (finally!) and with yesterday only being our second run of the year they blew me away. Granted they have a lot of strength building to do yet but what a nice straight gang line! Both leads stayed to the right of the road perfectly, everyone had a tight tug meaning that they were all contributing and it was a beautiful afternoon. All of which left me smiling and once again reminded me of why I do this.



Puppy Pax


We've had one new addition this fall. I bought another puppy from my friends at Husky Works in southern Vermont. His name is Pax and he is now about three and a half months old. He has brought a lot of joy into my life and I enjoy every minute I get to spend with him. Puppy hood goes by almost as fast as this past summer did! We have enjoyed morning walks every single day rain or shine which has gotten me out into the woods much more than I typically would and it's a great way to start the day. As a bonus this year Pax and I have found several nice patches of Chanterelle Mushrooms on our walking trail. Not only are we getting in nice walks but we're bringing home treats for dinner. Pax won't be running with the team for a while yet but he will be riding shotgun and going along on all of our winter outings so if you come to visit this fall or winter you'll be sure to meet him.

Officially Spring

It is truly spring here now. The snow finally did melt off of the flower bed as it always does and now the spring flowers are in full bloom. I may even have to fire up the lawn mower soon! luckily I don't have to do much mowing here; we have a "real" Vermont lawn which mostly consist of dandelions, wild strawberry, clover and a little bit of grass. We've made a big effort to expand the flower beds and vegetable garden to decrease the lawn area. I figure if it takes more than a half hour to mow it's too big. There are so many other thinks I would rather be doing than mowing the lawn.

I'm having a lot more interest in the bicycle tours this summer and we're up and running now. I purchased a van which works great for hauling bikes and customers and I've got a fleet of brand new Diamond Back bikes from Chuck's Bike Shop located just down the road in Morrisville. The riding has been great with nice temperatures in the mid sixties. This week the lilacs, apple trees and dogwood are all flowering so the air is very fragrant as you ride along. With the new cross style bikes I bought this year I have been getting out and finding some amazing roads that I had never ridden before. I have always ridden either on the pavement or in the woods and never spent much time riding the dirt back roads of the area. I now see what I was missing out on. Not only is there way less traffic but the views are much nicer as well. Of course some of those old roads have some pretty steep grades on them but at least there aren't dozens of cars whizzing by you as you grind your way up.

I built a pair of lean too structures for the dog yard last week as prototypes and they seem to be working well. Now all I have to do is build twelve more! I don't have roofing on them yet but I did find a great deal on a load of used roofing. All I have to do is pick it up this week. The pups got a new swimming pool this week too. They've been upgraded from a four foot kiddie pool to a six foot. I'm really excited about the improvements that I'm making this summer. It will really polish things up.



That's about all the news that's fit to print from here in Lake Elmore today. Until next time!