It is warmer today .... barley, but it is above zero today. Every day that is not 40 below is a good winter day in my book!! We are only 19 days away from the shortest day of the year where we will only have about 4 hours of daylight. But, the good news is that we start gaining daylight again!!
It was another crazy busy day at work but busy is good. We got home and after dinner we went out to clean pens. After the second set of dogs were let out and we had cleaned their pens, I bent over to pick up a pile o' poo and my back screamed in pain. I screamed in pain too! Ouch! It was like someone stuck a knife in the middle of my back and the pain radiated out to the side. Damn. That hurt! It happened again when we were feeding dogs. I am now safely tucked into the couch with a dog beside me and I am waiting for the pain pills to kick in. This couldn't have worse timing as I am going to be alone to do doggy chores tomorrow since Tom will be out of town for work. Ugh. Oh well. Just gotta get 'er done.
Have a great day!
Cathy and Tom and the Gang
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Another day of -25F
Started the day by sleeping in a bit!! Whoo hoo .... that hardly ever happens because one of the old dogs that sleep inside usually has to go out to pee way before 8:00 am!! Felt good to sleep a few hours longer except my body was so stiff and sore when I went to move that I wasn't sure I was going to be getting up today!! I made it and we are now finished with breakfast and enjoying a 1st of many cups of coffee this morning!!
Dogs got breakfast and then we covered the 4-wheeler and sno-go with a tarp to then put the heater under there to warm them up. It was 25 below when we got up and hasn't warmed up much at all today. After lunch, we got the 4-wheeler started and took off to get a sled load of wood!! Mind you, we have about 5 cord of wood all split and stacked and ready to burn, but Tom wants to get more so that is saved for another year and then next year we can get that much more ahead again! We spent about 2 hours getting a load of wood. It would have been less time if we had remembered to pick up the chain saw wrench before we left ... I had to run back to get it after Tom sat there waiting for me to get back from packing trails! But, we got a load of wood and got it home and in the house! Yay for big stacks of wood in the house for temps in the -20's and -30's!!
It's now 3:13 pm and our temp has made it up to -21F which will likely be the high for the day. I have again discovered my love hate relationship with carhartt bibs!! They are so much warmer on days like this than most anything else I have, but it's a bitch when I gotta pee out there!! So many layers to get through and then the whole top layer is gone so I can undo the bibs!! Urg!! Be warm or be able to pee?? That is the question of the day.
I hope this finds all of you staying warm and enjoying the Sunday in your very own way!
Happy Trails.
C and T and the Gang
Wow ... what an evening ... I started the rearranging/swapping of the tool room and the pantry ... I will officially have a walk in pantry when I am done with this project tonight. I am so excited but the work of getting it done tonight has been exhausting!!
Dogs got breakfast and then we covered the 4-wheeler and sno-go with a tarp to then put the heater under there to warm them up. It was 25 below when we got up and hasn't warmed up much at all today. After lunch, we got the 4-wheeler started and took off to get a sled load of wood!! Mind you, we have about 5 cord of wood all split and stacked and ready to burn, but Tom wants to get more so that is saved for another year and then next year we can get that much more ahead again! We spent about 2 hours getting a load of wood. It would have been less time if we had remembered to pick up the chain saw wrench before we left ... I had to run back to get it after Tom sat there waiting for me to get back from packing trails! But, we got a load of wood and got it home and in the house! Yay for big stacks of wood in the house for temps in the -20's and -30's!!
It's now 3:13 pm and our temp has made it up to -21F which will likely be the high for the day. I have again discovered my love hate relationship with carhartt bibs!! They are so much warmer on days like this than most anything else I have, but it's a bitch when I gotta pee out there!! So many layers to get through and then the whole top layer is gone so I can undo the bibs!! Urg!! Be warm or be able to pee?? That is the question of the day.
I hope this finds all of you staying warm and enjoying the Sunday in your very own way!
Happy Trails.
C and T and the Gang
Wow ... what an evening ... I started the rearranging/swapping of the tool room and the pantry ... I will officially have a walk in pantry when I am done with this project tonight. I am so excited but the work of getting it done tonight has been exhausting!!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Busy Saturday even at -25F
We woke up to -16F. After breakfast, I took Shammu to the vet for a urinalysis to make sure there isn't an underlying infection as the reason for her leaking pee when she is laying down. No infection but the tumor is still in the bladder. Shammu is on meds that should help. While I was gone, Tom fed the other dogs their breakfast.
The afternoon schedule had us going out to get some wood. The sno-go didn't want to stay running so we decided to walk out to the woodlot and pull a small load of wood home with human power. Sure, we could use the dogs, but we didn't do that today. We got a couple of trees down and a load hauled back to the house.
Next, it was time to clean the pens. Even at -25F the dogs were running around playing and having fun! Now that we have snow, I have been keeping a few trails through the open area of the dog yard shoveled out for easier walking for the humans! What's really funny is to watch the dogs run around and they prefer the trail too! Go figure!! :) But, the other thing we figured out is that it is about 330 feet around the outside trail. So, we would have to make 16 trips around the trail to make an extra mile of walking while we are out there. Tonight, I challenged myself to do 4 laps while each set of dogs was out of their pens. I get exercise and the dogs get extra time out of their pens!! They followed me!! It was so funny. I might have to have Tom record it one night!!
We had plans to run at least one of the three teams tonight but with the temps continuing to fall, we decided the humans didn't really want to go out!! The dogs would have been okay and would have enjoyed it but it would have been hard for me to stay warm while riding in the sled!! So, no running tonight!
Since we didn't run, we decided it would be a good time to go get some fuel oil so we don't run out. That meant that I would need to go to the dump to empty the back of the truck to get the fuel containers in there too! So, off I went at 10 pm!! All is finally done and we are inside for the night with the four inside dogs relaxing here with us until we head to bed!!
Happy Trails!
C & T
The afternoon schedule had us going out to get some wood. The sno-go didn't want to stay running so we decided to walk out to the woodlot and pull a small load of wood home with human power. Sure, we could use the dogs, but we didn't do that today. We got a couple of trees down and a load hauled back to the house.
Next, it was time to clean the pens. Even at -25F the dogs were running around playing and having fun! Now that we have snow, I have been keeping a few trails through the open area of the dog yard shoveled out for easier walking for the humans! What's really funny is to watch the dogs run around and they prefer the trail too! Go figure!! :) But, the other thing we figured out is that it is about 330 feet around the outside trail. So, we would have to make 16 trips around the trail to make an extra mile of walking while we are out there. Tonight, I challenged myself to do 4 laps while each set of dogs was out of their pens. I get exercise and the dogs get extra time out of their pens!! They followed me!! It was so funny. I might have to have Tom record it one night!!
We had plans to run at least one of the three teams tonight but with the temps continuing to fall, we decided the humans didn't really want to go out!! The dogs would have been okay and would have enjoyed it but it would have been hard for me to stay warm while riding in the sled!! So, no running tonight!
Since we didn't run, we decided it would be a good time to go get some fuel oil so we don't run out. That meant that I would need to go to the dump to empty the back of the truck to get the fuel containers in there too! So, off I went at 10 pm!! All is finally done and we are inside for the night with the four inside dogs relaxing here with us until we head to bed!!
Happy Trails!
C & T
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Running the teams ...
We FINALLY found time to run the teams today!!
Team 1
Baleen & Sherman - Lead
Dude & Kivek - Swing
Tanner & Rufus - Team
Kako - Team
Zena & Marco - Wheel
Tom had planned to run the team with the 4-wheeler for the added safety of having a 700 pound machine at the back end of a team that hasn't been run at all this year!! But, neither of the wheelers would start. Plan B ... use the dog sled!! The trails were awesome and the sled was the right way to go!! Tom drove the sled while I rode in the sled. This team did a GREAT job. We only took them about 3 miles for this first run but they looked great. The weak link we have right now is weak leaders but these two actually did a great job. Kept the line out tight and followed most directions!! They did the 3 miles in 20 minutes!
Team 2
Shasta & Jasper - Lead
Bolio & Stubby - Swing
Rallie - Team
Gus - Team
Yeti & Shelby - Wheel
Got the change out accomplished pretty quickly and we were on the trail with this team in no time. We took off from the house with Tom driving again and me riding. Got about a half mile into the run and as we came around the corner there was something in the trail. My heartbeat took off because at first I thought it was a moose in the trail. Turns out it was just our neighbor, Oliver, coming home with his team hauling a load of fire wood. We stopped our team and I went up to the spot between the leaders and the swing dogs. Tom got in the middle of the wheel and team dogs. Tom also turned the sled on it's side to help slow it down if things got out of hand. Oliver was running a very inexperienced team to so we held our team off to the side while he led his team past ours. Yup, we all need to work on the passing thing! Oliver got past and took off toward home while we went on our way to the turn around. This was a good experience for all dogs involved!! After that, we made it around the trail without any trouble at all.
Team 3
Muktuk (11) & Kia (13.5) - Lead
Patton (9) & Panzer (9) - Swing
Hannah (7) - Team
Sioux (13.5) - Team
Shammu (11) - Wheel
This is the "old dog" team (ages beside their names). They did the 3 miles loop without any hesitation, though, much slower than the other teams!! :)
All in all, it was a good day of running the teams. Now that we have the first run of the season out of the way, I will try to remember to take a camera next time and get some pictures or video.
Happy Trails!
Team 1
Baleen & Sherman - Lead
Dude & Kivek - Swing
Tanner & Rufus - Team
Kako - Team
Zena & Marco - Wheel
Tom had planned to run the team with the 4-wheeler for the added safety of having a 700 pound machine at the back end of a team that hasn't been run at all this year!! But, neither of the wheelers would start. Plan B ... use the dog sled!! The trails were awesome and the sled was the right way to go!! Tom drove the sled while I rode in the sled. This team did a GREAT job. We only took them about 3 miles for this first run but they looked great. The weak link we have right now is weak leaders but these two actually did a great job. Kept the line out tight and followed most directions!! They did the 3 miles in 20 minutes!
Team 2
Shasta & Jasper - Lead
Bolio & Stubby - Swing
Rallie - Team
Gus - Team
Yeti & Shelby - Wheel
Got the change out accomplished pretty quickly and we were on the trail with this team in no time. We took off from the house with Tom driving again and me riding. Got about a half mile into the run and as we came around the corner there was something in the trail. My heartbeat took off because at first I thought it was a moose in the trail. Turns out it was just our neighbor, Oliver, coming home with his team hauling a load of fire wood. We stopped our team and I went up to the spot between the leaders and the swing dogs. Tom got in the middle of the wheel and team dogs. Tom also turned the sled on it's side to help slow it down if things got out of hand. Oliver was running a very inexperienced team to so we held our team off to the side while he led his team past ours. Yup, we all need to work on the passing thing! Oliver got past and took off toward home while we went on our way to the turn around. This was a good experience for all dogs involved!! After that, we made it around the trail without any trouble at all.
Team 3
Muktuk (11) & Kia (13.5) - Lead
Patton (9) & Panzer (9) - Swing
Hannah (7) - Team
Sioux (13.5) - Team
Shammu (11) - Wheel
This is the "old dog" team (ages beside their names). They did the 3 miles loop without any hesitation, though, much slower than the other teams!! :)
All in all, it was a good day of running the teams. Now that we have the first run of the season out of the way, I will try to remember to take a camera next time and get some pictures or video.
Happy Trails!
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Snow!! We have snow!!!
We finally have some significant snow on the ground!! After a warmer than normal October and what looked like it was going to be a strange November we actually had a significant snowfall this weekend!! I think the official amount for North Pole is 5.9" ... I was saying 6" so I think I was close!!
With the warmer than normal weather we have had we have been able to get some things done that we thought were going to be hold-over projects for next summer. We also started the process of getting some wood from the back "40". We are trying to get a couple of loads to get us through the week so we do not have to take any off the stacks that we have put up. The stuff that is stacked up is dry and ready to go, we just like seeing it stacked there since we have plenty of wood to get out back.
The area that we have fallen behind is in training the dogs. We haven't taken a team out at all this year. I really can't tell you why. We are tired, it's more than we want to do in an evening, too many projects and not enough time. We just need to get out there and get the going. We have pretty much everything ready and we will have no excuse next week.
Hopefully, this snow will be the kick in the pants that we need to get the dogs out!!
Happy Trails.
With the warmer than normal weather we have had we have been able to get some things done that we thought were going to be hold-over projects for next summer. We also started the process of getting some wood from the back "40". We are trying to get a couple of loads to get us through the week so we do not have to take any off the stacks that we have put up. The stuff that is stacked up is dry and ready to go, we just like seeing it stacked there since we have plenty of wood to get out back.
The area that we have fallen behind is in training the dogs. We haven't taken a team out at all this year. I really can't tell you why. We are tired, it's more than we want to do in an evening, too many projects and not enough time. We just need to get out there and get the going. We have pretty much everything ready and we will have no excuse next week.
Hopefully, this snow will be the kick in the pants that we need to get the dogs out!!
Happy Trails.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Bucket List Trip Fall 2013
On Friday, September 27, 2013, my parents picked me up from a conference in Baltimore, Maryland to start a 10 day cross country trip in their RV!! I took a taxi to the airport which we thought would be the best meeting place so they were not taking a 27' RV into downtown Baltimore. We got out of the airport and headed west on route 70/40. We drove an hour or so and when we couldn't find a campground, we stopped at a gas station to see what they could give us for information on a campground. We ended up buying gas and parking in their lot for the night. It was getting dark and late enough that we were ready to sleep anyway. We parked and had dinner and then slept the night away!!
Saturday, September 28 ... We traveled from the gas station outside of Baltimore to Louisville, Kentucky (~548 miles). This was my first day of being behind the wheel of the RV! Wow! It wasn't nearly as bad as I was envisioning before this trip. I only drove for around 50 or so miles to get my "wheels" under me. Traveling the interstates was helping us eat up the miles pretty quickly!! We stopped at a really nice campground tonight to get a shower, dinner and a good night of sleep!
Sunday, September 29 ... Today was our first 600+ mile day!! We left Louisville KY around 8 am and traveled to Alma, Arkansas (~657 miles). I got to put many, many more miles under my driving belt today. We got into a routine. Dad started the day with the first shift. Mom would take second shift and I would take the third morning shift. Then, Dad started us our after lunch and I would take the next shift with Mom bringing us in for the night! We were traveling with two dogs, Pahoo and Macy! What wonderful little travelers they were. They would get in the lap of whoever was riding shotgun and snooze!!! Another night in a campground!!
Monday, September 30 ... Another long 600+ mile day!! We went from Alma, AR to Moriarty, New Mexico (~660 miles) where we just parked the parking lot at a truck stop. We went over 170 miles on the interstate in Oklahoma with NO rest areas!!! We just wanted to get some sleep and get moving again the next morning! This meant we didn't have power to run the air conditioner and it was sweltering hot until we figured out if we moved to the other end of the parking lot and opened the windows we would get some nice cool air moving through!
Tuesday, October 1 ... GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN!!! Our first stop was going to be the Petrified Forest but since that is a National Park, it was "closed due to lack of budget". That was a huge disappointment!! But, we were not to be deterred!! We drove on to get to the Hoover Dam!! As we got closer and closer to the Hoover Dam ... what a drive that was from Kingman, Arizona to the dam ... we did not see a single campground!! Yikes! We found the entrance to the dam and decided to take a look. We drove back in (across the dam) and parked. We took the dogs with us and walked back to the dam. There were alot of signs that said, DO NOT LEAVE DOGS IN VEHICLES and then the next sign said DO NOT TAKE DOGS OUT ON THE DAM ... nothing like making it easy to see this damn dam!! So, Mom stayed at one side of the dam with the dogs while Dad and I went out onto the dam. Honestly, it wasn't nearly as big or I should say as wide, as I thought it would be. It was impressive, but not exactly what I had in my minds eye. We were too late for the tour down in the heart of the dam, so maybe that would have made it feel more sizable. Oh well. It was starting to get dark so we took off toward Las Vegas and programmed the GPS for the Oasis Campground. The freaking GPS took us all over the residential areas of Vegas before dumping us out on the south end of the strip. I could have thrown that freaking thing out the window!! After arriving at the campground and getting set up, we had dinner, showered and called a cab to go down to the Bellagio!! If this was going to be their only trip to Vegas, they had to see at least one hotel and part of the strip!! We had fun!! Saw the fountains go off. Went inside and saw the conservatory all decorated for fall and even did a little bit of gambling to support the local economy!!
Wednesday, October 2 ... The government was still shutdown so after talking with Tom about our options (thank God for cell phones and internet access) we decided to go to the Grand Canyon West that is run by the Hualapi Indians. We did not travel this far to not see this great sight!! After a morning of travel, we arrived at the reservation right around lunch time. The guy at the parking area told us that it is illegal to leave dogs in any vehicle for any amount of time. We we had to decide to either break up to go see the Grand Canyon or we could go down to the "ranch" they had kennels for dogs to stay in. We decided to stay together and kennel the dogs for the few hours we would be sightseeing! The dogs were not very happy with us but they survived!! We had a great time and the canyon was beautiful. Federal Government be damned!! We saw almost all of what we came to see!! We traveled back to Kingman, Arizona and found a Safeway grocery store to get restocked. We found a really nice campground once again and got showers and sleep!!
Thursday, October 3 ... on our way to Albuquerque, New Mexico to see Uncle David and Tracy!! But, we didn't make it!! We all ran out of steam about a hundred miles out. We found a campground that had a casino right next door!! Whoot whoot!! We got all settled in and Mom and I left Dad with the dogs and took off for the casino!! We didn't make any money but we sure had fun leaving them an additional $40!
Friday, October 4 ... We were able to take a morning off from driving!! We didn't leave the campground until around noon!! We made it to Albuquerque with time to spare so we found a truck/RV wash and got the RV all spiffy!! Then, we needed to get an oil change! We spend over an hour trying to find a place that could do an oil change on an RV. Jiffy Lube wouldn't touch it so we ended up at a local shop to get it done. Awesome! All set for more miles!! We were then ready to meet up with Uncle Dave and Tracy for dinner and an evening of visiting!! We even got a chance to hear Uncle Dave play on the piano!!
Saturday, October 5 ... got up and had a great homemade breakfast thanks to Tracy!! We had a great time visiting and they even escorted us to the right highway!! We were on our way toward Denver!! While stopped for lunch at a rest area, Mom found a brochure for Pikes Peak Cog Railway!! Yeah, one more thing to mark off the bucket list!! We drove into Colorado Springs and stayed at a nice little campground there and we were only a few miles from the depot!!
Sunday, October 6 ... up early to get to the depot for our ride up the mountain!! We were on the first train and had a beautiful day for going up. It was clear and cold but we had great views from the top!! Didn't get many pictures because the altitude rise in such a short time really made all of us dizzy. After we were back down, we had lunch and then took off for Denver. The campgrounds that Tom found online were nasty in reality so we went to the Cherry Creek State Park and had a lovely evening. Even met a new friend while doing laundry! :-)
Monday, October 7 ... sad day ... it was finally time for my adventures with Mom & Pop to come to an end. We were up early to get to the airport for my flight back to Alaska and they took off for Uncle Paul's and then will end up back home this weekend. I made it back home and have been trying to get back into the swing of things again.
What a GREAT vacation! Looking forward to the next trip!!
Saturday, September 28 ... We traveled from the gas station outside of Baltimore to Louisville, Kentucky (~548 miles). This was my first day of being behind the wheel of the RV! Wow! It wasn't nearly as bad as I was envisioning before this trip. I only drove for around 50 or so miles to get my "wheels" under me. Traveling the interstates was helping us eat up the miles pretty quickly!! We stopped at a really nice campground tonight to get a shower, dinner and a good night of sleep!
Sunday, September 29 ... Today was our first 600+ mile day!! We left Louisville KY around 8 am and traveled to Alma, Arkansas (~657 miles). I got to put many, many more miles under my driving belt today. We got into a routine. Dad started the day with the first shift. Mom would take second shift and I would take the third morning shift. Then, Dad started us our after lunch and I would take the next shift with Mom bringing us in for the night! We were traveling with two dogs, Pahoo and Macy! What wonderful little travelers they were. They would get in the lap of whoever was riding shotgun and snooze!!! Another night in a campground!!
Monday, September 30 ... Another long 600+ mile day!! We went from Alma, AR to Moriarty, New Mexico (~660 miles) where we just parked the parking lot at a truck stop. We went over 170 miles on the interstate in Oklahoma with NO rest areas!!! We just wanted to get some sleep and get moving again the next morning! This meant we didn't have power to run the air conditioner and it was sweltering hot until we figured out if we moved to the other end of the parking lot and opened the windows we would get some nice cool air moving through!
Tuesday, October 1 ... GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN!!! Our first stop was going to be the Petrified Forest but since that is a National Park, it was "closed due to lack of budget". That was a huge disappointment!! But, we were not to be deterred!! We drove on to get to the Hoover Dam!! As we got closer and closer to the Hoover Dam ... what a drive that was from Kingman, Arizona to the dam ... we did not see a single campground!! Yikes! We found the entrance to the dam and decided to take a look. We drove back in (across the dam) and parked. We took the dogs with us and walked back to the dam. There were alot of signs that said, DO NOT LEAVE DOGS IN VEHICLES and then the next sign said DO NOT TAKE DOGS OUT ON THE DAM ... nothing like making it easy to see this damn dam!! So, Mom stayed at one side of the dam with the dogs while Dad and I went out onto the dam. Honestly, it wasn't nearly as big or I should say as wide, as I thought it would be. It was impressive, but not exactly what I had in my minds eye. We were too late for the tour down in the heart of the dam, so maybe that would have made it feel more sizable. Oh well. It was starting to get dark so we took off toward Las Vegas and programmed the GPS for the Oasis Campground. The freaking GPS took us all over the residential areas of Vegas before dumping us out on the south end of the strip. I could have thrown that freaking thing out the window!! After arriving at the campground and getting set up, we had dinner, showered and called a cab to go down to the Bellagio!! If this was going to be their only trip to Vegas, they had to see at least one hotel and part of the strip!! We had fun!! Saw the fountains go off. Went inside and saw the conservatory all decorated for fall and even did a little bit of gambling to support the local economy!!
Wednesday, October 2 ... The government was still shutdown so after talking with Tom about our options (thank God for cell phones and internet access) we decided to go to the Grand Canyon West that is run by the Hualapi Indians. We did not travel this far to not see this great sight!! After a morning of travel, we arrived at the reservation right around lunch time. The guy at the parking area told us that it is illegal to leave dogs in any vehicle for any amount of time. We we had to decide to either break up to go see the Grand Canyon or we could go down to the "ranch" they had kennels for dogs to stay in. We decided to stay together and kennel the dogs for the few hours we would be sightseeing! The dogs were not very happy with us but they survived!! We had a great time and the canyon was beautiful. Federal Government be damned!! We saw almost all of what we came to see!! We traveled back to Kingman, Arizona and found a Safeway grocery store to get restocked. We found a really nice campground once again and got showers and sleep!!
Thursday, October 3 ... on our way to Albuquerque, New Mexico to see Uncle David and Tracy!! But, we didn't make it!! We all ran out of steam about a hundred miles out. We found a campground that had a casino right next door!! Whoot whoot!! We got all settled in and Mom and I left Dad with the dogs and took off for the casino!! We didn't make any money but we sure had fun leaving them an additional $40!
Friday, October 4 ... We were able to take a morning off from driving!! We didn't leave the campground until around noon!! We made it to Albuquerque with time to spare so we found a truck/RV wash and got the RV all spiffy!! Then, we needed to get an oil change! We spend over an hour trying to find a place that could do an oil change on an RV. Jiffy Lube wouldn't touch it so we ended up at a local shop to get it done. Awesome! All set for more miles!! We were then ready to meet up with Uncle Dave and Tracy for dinner and an evening of visiting!! We even got a chance to hear Uncle Dave play on the piano!!
Saturday, October 5 ... got up and had a great homemade breakfast thanks to Tracy!! We had a great time visiting and they even escorted us to the right highway!! We were on our way toward Denver!! While stopped for lunch at a rest area, Mom found a brochure for Pikes Peak Cog Railway!! Yeah, one more thing to mark off the bucket list!! We drove into Colorado Springs and stayed at a nice little campground there and we were only a few miles from the depot!!
Sunday, October 6 ... up early to get to the depot for our ride up the mountain!! We were on the first train and had a beautiful day for going up. It was clear and cold but we had great views from the top!! Didn't get many pictures because the altitude rise in such a short time really made all of us dizzy. After we were back down, we had lunch and then took off for Denver. The campgrounds that Tom found online were nasty in reality so we went to the Cherry Creek State Park and had a lovely evening. Even met a new friend while doing laundry! :-)
Monday, October 7 ... sad day ... it was finally time for my adventures with Mom & Pop to come to an end. We were up early to get to the airport for my flight back to Alaska and they took off for Uncle Paul's and then will end up back home this weekend. I made it back home and have been trying to get back into the swing of things again.
What a GREAT vacation! Looking forward to the next trip!!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Rest in Peace Gateway ....
On Friday night, June 21, 2013, we discovered that Gateway was bloating about an hour after feeding them. I immediately took off for the emergency vet. He didn't make it ... here is what I sent out by e-mail on Saturday ...
Gateway was born to a litter of 7 or 8 puppies in October of 2000. When he was born, he was almost culled by the breeder because he was SPOTTED!! I have thanked God every day for 12 and a half years that she didn't do that and I am also thankful that I had pick of the litter and was able to bring this boy home with us!! He has been the light of my life for as long as I have known him. Last night, about an hour or so after dinner, he was in lots of pain and his stomach was as hard as a drum. Off to the emergency vet clinic we went. X-rays were done and the stomach was full of gas and completely twisted. The only treatment for this is abdominal surgery to right the stomach and then tack it to the sides of the abdominal wall. This is a very invasive surgery and I just couldn't do that to a 12.5 year old dog. I made the decision to euthanize him before he was in even more pain. This was one of the hardest decisions of my life. He will be missed but the memories of him will live on forever in so many people that met him and loved him. After he was euthanized, I brought him home and this morning I took him to the vet clinic in North Pole to get a paw print in clay and then I brought him back home and shaved some of his fur that I am going to send to my friend in New Jersey to have her spin it into yarn. Not sure what I will make or if it will just sit on the shelf with his remains from the cremation. Just before he was euthanized, I gave him strict orders to go look up Em, Balou, Red Fred, Butternut, Polar Bear and so many others that left us before him. I am looking forward to the day I get to join them at the Rainbow Bridge and cross over into doggy heaven. Rest in Peace Gateway (10/10/2000 to 6/22/2013) ... I love you with all my heart and will miss you greatly.
He was home again on Monday. He sits proudly on a shelf in the living room. I am so much more at peace with him home again. I constantly talk to him and still occasionally call to him as though he is going to be there beside me again.
Love you G-man.
Gateway was born to a litter of 7 or 8 puppies in October of 2000. When he was born, he was almost culled by the breeder because he was SPOTTED!! I have thanked God every day for 12 and a half years that she didn't do that and I am also thankful that I had pick of the litter and was able to bring this boy home with us!! He has been the light of my life for as long as I have known him. Last night, about an hour or so after dinner, he was in lots of pain and his stomach was as hard as a drum. Off to the emergency vet clinic we went. X-rays were done and the stomach was full of gas and completely twisted. The only treatment for this is abdominal surgery to right the stomach and then tack it to the sides of the abdominal wall. This is a very invasive surgery and I just couldn't do that to a 12.5 year old dog. I made the decision to euthanize him before he was in even more pain. This was one of the hardest decisions of my life. He will be missed but the memories of him will live on forever in so many people that met him and loved him. After he was euthanized, I brought him home and this morning I took him to the vet clinic in North Pole to get a paw print in clay and then I brought him back home and shaved some of his fur that I am going to send to my friend in New Jersey to have her spin it into yarn. Not sure what I will make or if it will just sit on the shelf with his remains from the cremation. Just before he was euthanized, I gave him strict orders to go look up Em, Balou, Red Fred, Butternut, Polar Bear and so many others that left us before him. I am looking forward to the day I get to join them at the Rainbow Bridge and cross over into doggy heaven. Rest in Peace Gateway (10/10/2000 to 6/22/2013) ... I love you with all my heart and will miss you greatly.
He was home again on Monday. He sits proudly on a shelf in the living room. I am so much more at peace with him home again. I constantly talk to him and still occasionally call to him as though he is going to be there beside me again.
Love you G-man.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Is spring here?
Yes!!! Spring is finally here! At least it's about time for it to be here!!! The majority of our snow is gone. The moose are moving in and looking for a good meal on the new grass on the top of the leach field. The lawn is covered in two to three feet of water and I swatted at the first Mosquito today!!! There are only about 30 days until we start losing daylight and the countdown to winter begins once again!! Best spring ever!!
Things are good here. The dog pens are firming up after a few weeks of nothing but mud. There are so many dogs that just don't care that it's all muddy out there that they just continue to run through it and end up so stinking covered in mud!! But, they are doing fine, so I am going to just not worry about it!
Patton was at the vet today for the yukky looking anal glands. The right side ruptured on its own and the left side was expressed by the vet. He is on antibiotics for two weeks. The vet also found a small tumor on the base of the tail. She is thinking it's hormonal and getting him neutered will help. While he is under getting neutered she will take off the tumor.
Things are good here. The dog pens are firming up after a few weeks of nothing but mud. There are so many dogs that just don't care that it's all muddy out there that they just continue to run through it and end up so stinking covered in mud!! But, they are doing fine, so I am going to just not worry about it!
Patton was at the vet today for the yukky looking anal glands. The right side ruptured on its own and the left side was expressed by the vet. He is on antibiotics for two weeks. The vet also found a small tumor on the base of the tail. She is thinking it's hormonal and getting him neutered will help. While he is under getting neutered she will take off the tumor.
Saturday, May 04, 2013
Is it really May???
Wow! I can't believe that we are already in May of 2013!!! It seems like time is moving faster as I age!! I remember the months taking forever to get over when I was younger and now it seems like I blink and the month is over!!
This spring has been interesting. We had alot of snow in April and the temps stayed colder than normal so we have lots of snow left still in the first week of May. The weatherman is telling us the colder than normal temps are going to continue for another few weeks. We could have snow cover through the month of May! How awesome is that! It's very awesome! If you haven't figured it out yet, we are much bigger fans of winter than we are of summer and to have winter hang around this far into what should be "spring" is awesome! The dogs are loving it because it's nice and cool over night and yet they get lots of warmth from the sun during the day!
In other news (to catch up because i have been bad about posting) ... Back in April, I took 5 dogs to the Mush for Kids event. The line up included Gateway, Rufus, Shammu, Jasper and Yeti. They were awesome! It always amazes me how good these dogs do with small children when they have not been raised around kids.
This spring has been interesting. We had alot of snow in April and the temps stayed colder than normal so we have lots of snow left still in the first week of May. The weatherman is telling us the colder than normal temps are going to continue for another few weeks. We could have snow cover through the month of May! How awesome is that! It's very awesome! If you haven't figured it out yet, we are much bigger fans of winter than we are of summer and to have winter hang around this far into what should be "spring" is awesome! The dogs are loving it because it's nice and cool over night and yet they get lots of warmth from the sun during the day!
In other news (to catch up because i have been bad about posting) ... Back in April, I took 5 dogs to the Mush for Kids event. The line up included Gateway, Rufus, Shammu, Jasper and Yeti. They were awesome! It always amazes me how good these dogs do with small children when they have not been raised around kids.
Monday, April 01, 2013
Love Hate Relationship with Spring in Alaska
Things I love about spring ...
- Bright Sun
- Warm Temps
- Warmth coming from the Sun
- No need for 20 pounds of gear to stay warm while cleaning pen
- Less wood and fuel oil used to heat the house
- Making "rivers" of flowing water in the pens
- Daylight hours getting long enough that I never see darkness!!
Things I hate about spring ...
- Wet, muddy dogs
- Lakes in the front yard
- Lakes in the dog yard
- Leaking ceilings
- Buckets all over to collect water that is dripping from ceilings
- Bright Sun
- Warm Temps
- Warmth coming from the Sun
- No need for 20 pounds of gear to stay warm while cleaning pen
- Less wood and fuel oil used to heat the house
- Making "rivers" of flowing water in the pens
- Daylight hours getting long enough that I never see darkness!!
Things I hate about spring ...
- Wet, muddy dogs
- Lakes in the front yard
- Lakes in the dog yard
- Leaking ceilings
- Buckets all over to collect water that is dripping from ceilings
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Happy Easter!?!
If it wasn't for a delightful meal with friends, this holiday would have been just another day for us. As usual, there was way more food than there were people to eat it. And, it was all really, really good, as usual!
Things were not quite as good on the home front this weekend. With the warm weather moving in we have had some serious melting of the snow happening. And this year, we now have a leaking ceiling! The house is OLD and has likely lost most of the insulation in the roof so the woodstove heat and air leaks everywhere make for a great place for condensation and ice to build up. And, now that is melting and coming though the sheetrock ceiling!!! Ugh! It's going to be a mess to get it all cleaned up and a huge expense to get it all fixed!! We did not need this.
The dogs are doing good and we are starting the "spring" chores of clearing out the trench and chipping out the doors and pens. Soon, we will be pumping the water out of the pens to try to keep the mud down.
Happy Easter!
C & T & the Gang
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Dog sled rides ....
We haven't done much running of the teams lately let alone given many rides. I schedule for us to take two foreign exchange students from the Rotary club I am a part of for a ride! They arrived right on time and we got them dressed with some additional warm gear before heading out to the pens. Tom had set up the sled for a 10 dog team and we even set it up with a second sled on the team so one would be riding and one would be on the second sled.
The team was:
Sherman & Jasper
Raller & Shelby
Kivek & Dude
Kako & Gus
Marco & Zena
They left the kennel and I took off on the sno-go to meet them at the turn around. That's when disaster struck!! Tom stopped the team with the sled on an angle and when he attempted to move the team forward to let the girls switch position, the very strong 10 dog team decided to put all their power into moving forward! I jumped on the second sled and stepped on the brake! Just as I look up, the front sled with Lidia in it is on its side and poor Lidia has disappeared into the deep snow! We got the team stopped and got Lidia dug out. She said her shoulder was hurting but she was okay. She rode the second sled back to the house and was feeling better by the time we were back here.
Jen had stayed at the house and finished cleaning the pens Tom hadn't gotten to and was ready to help us get dogs unharnessed and put up after the run!
After the ride, we had hot cocoa and cookies and had a chance to visit before it was time to head out. All in all, it was a good day!
The team was:
Sherman & Jasper
Raller & Shelby
Kivek & Dude
Kako & Gus
Marco & Zena
They left the kennel and I took off on the sno-go to meet them at the turn around. That's when disaster struck!! Tom stopped the team with the sled on an angle and when he attempted to move the team forward to let the girls switch position, the very strong 10 dog team decided to put all their power into moving forward! I jumped on the second sled and stepped on the brake! Just as I look up, the front sled with Lidia in it is on its side and poor Lidia has disappeared into the deep snow! We got the team stopped and got Lidia dug out. She said her shoulder was hurting but she was okay. She rode the second sled back to the house and was feeling better by the time we were back here.
Jen had stayed at the house and finished cleaning the pens Tom hadn't gotten to and was ready to help us get dogs unharnessed and put up after the run!
After the ride, we had hot cocoa and cookies and had a chance to visit before it was time to head out. All in all, it was a good day!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Finally ... dog mushing!!!
It's been a very busy few months and I just haven't had anything good to report so I haven't done any updates!
However, we took three teams out this afternoon so I thought I would post a report!
Team 1
Sherman & Jasper
Rallie & Shelby
Kako
Gus
Zena & Marco
This was a great team. I rode in the sled since we are giving a ride tomorrow we wanted to figure out which team would haul a load the best!! And I am quite a load to haul!! HA HA!!! This team took just under 20 minutes to go about 4 miles. We don't make good time but we have fun!!!
Team 2
Baleen & Shasta
Stubby & Bolio
Kivek
Dude
Rufus & Tanner
This team seemed a bit slower right off the get go. The leaders weren't keeping the team lined out and we had to slow them down some! Then, when we got to the turn around Shasta decided to go the back way around the loop. Then they missed the turn into the turn around loop ... I hopped out of the sled and ran down the trail a bit to get them going the right way. To let them by, I stepped off the trail just a bit. The snow is deep just off the trail and I fell down. I figured I would just stay down until the sled was next to me to pick me up... well, as the sled was coming up to me the runner caught and the sled ended up running into my shin and then running over my leg!! Shit! That hurt! It took this team just over 20 minutes to do the 4 miles.
Team 3
Panzer & Patton
Shammu
Muktuk
Hannah
Yeti
This was figured to be the slow team but they were just as fast as the other teams. The key was I was not sitting in the sled this time!! Tom ran the team alone while I started the cleaning of the pens! He said they looked really good. He took Panzer out of lead at the turn around and Patton ran the team home as a strong single leader!!
I am sore tonight, but I am hoping I am NOT too sore tomorrow!! I can feel the stiffness settling in because I also fell in the dog yard this morning while feeding the dogs breakfast!!
Happy Trails!!
C & T & the Gang
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Very BUSY day today ....
... very busy day & evening too ...
... after feeding the dogs this morning we got to work trying to get the sno-go's running. We needed gas for them so I headed out to take trash to the dump, get gas and while I was out I got us 30 gallons of fuel oil too! After I got back, we got both of the sno-go's running and were very hopeful that the big one would now work as well as it did last year!! No luck. After just a few trips around the driveway it died again! The little one started running better though! So, I took it out and around the 3.5 mile loop! It was still running good so we hooked up a pallet behind it to drag the trails. It worked like a charm! Yay!
Then, just as I was getting dinner ready, Lynn Orbison showed up to groom some doggy tails ... We ate dinner and then Zena was the first grooming table victim. She was completed in no time flat. Then, Shammu came in .... she was finished just as we were getting ready to head out to run two teams!! So, Lynn went with us on the run! Front team was run by Tom & Lynn with double sleds. I followed with a 4 dog team!
Front team:
Jasper & Sherman
Shelby & Rallie
Kako
Gus
Hannah & Muktuk
Follow team:
Panzer & Patton
Shammu & Yeti
What a great night for a run! It was 18 degrees and the trails were nice! The teams did great and we had very few issues. Still need lots of leader work done but they are actually moving down the trail again without stopping for every little thing!
After we got back, we cleaned pens and Lynn took a Stubby girl in for some much needed grooming!
It's coming up on 11 pm and I am exhausted. But, I should get dishes done so I am not faced with the project of doing dishes before leaving on "Operation Puppy" super early tomorrow morning! I am hopeful that I will actually be able to move tomorrow and be able to ride along!
Happy Trails!
... after feeding the dogs this morning we got to work trying to get the sno-go's running. We needed gas for them so I headed out to take trash to the dump, get gas and while I was out I got us 30 gallons of fuel oil too! After I got back, we got both of the sno-go's running and were very hopeful that the big one would now work as well as it did last year!! No luck. After just a few trips around the driveway it died again! The little one started running better though! So, I took it out and around the 3.5 mile loop! It was still running good so we hooked up a pallet behind it to drag the trails. It worked like a charm! Yay!
Then, just as I was getting dinner ready, Lynn Orbison showed up to groom some doggy tails ... We ate dinner and then Zena was the first grooming table victim. She was completed in no time flat. Then, Shammu came in .... she was finished just as we were getting ready to head out to run two teams!! So, Lynn went with us on the run! Front team was run by Tom & Lynn with double sleds. I followed with a 4 dog team!
Front team:
Jasper & Sherman
Shelby & Rallie
Kako
Gus
Hannah & Muktuk
Follow team:
Panzer & Patton
Shammu & Yeti
What a great night for a run! It was 18 degrees and the trails were nice! The teams did great and we had very few issues. Still need lots of leader work done but they are actually moving down the trail again without stopping for every little thing!
After we got back, we cleaned pens and Lynn took a Stubby girl in for some much needed grooming!
It's coming up on 11 pm and I am exhausted. But, I should get dishes done so I am not faced with the project of doing dishes before leaving on "Operation Puppy" super early tomorrow morning! I am hopeful that I will actually be able to move tomorrow and be able to ride along!
Happy Trails!
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Two teams tonight ....
What a blast!! We ran two teams this afternoon and it was awesome!! Tom & Tammy took an 8-dog lead team with double sleds while I followed with a 4 dog team!!
Lead team was:
Baleen & Shasta
Tanner & Rufus
Dude
Kivek
Muktuk & Hannah
Follow team was:
Bolio & Stubby
Zena & Marco
The trails are looking good and the teams are looking much, much better!! We took off one team behind the other and actually made it the whole way without switching out leaders!! The lead team looked good all stretched out and cruising along ... Okay, we only went a whopping 3 miles, but it's better than nothing!!
When I would stop the follow team to let the lead team get a bit ahead of us, Marco would flop over and wiggle like a flopping fish!!
Had help cleaning pens tonight after the run and now we just need to feed the fuzzy critters before I am off to dreamland ... I am exhausted tonight!!
Lead team was:
Baleen & Shasta
Tanner & Rufus
Dude
Kivek
Muktuk & Hannah
Follow team was:
Bolio & Stubby
Zena & Marco
The trails are looking good and the teams are looking much, much better!! We took off one team behind the other and actually made it the whole way without switching out leaders!! The lead team looked good all stretched out and cruising along ... Okay, we only went a whopping 3 miles, but it's better than nothing!!
When I would stop the follow team to let the lead team get a bit ahead of us, Marco would flop over and wiggle like a flopping fish!!
Had help cleaning pens tonight after the run and now we just need to feed the fuzzy critters before I am off to dreamland ... I am exhausted tonight!!
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Happy New Year!!!
First, let me wish you a Happy New Year! Here at the kennel, we have again survived the fireworks that were going on for hours!! We have two dogs that are frantic and scared when the fireworks are going off. We had those two in the house last night (one of them is a regular house dogs, Gateway, and he was joined by Kako). The other house dogs were also in last night just because they are always in over night. The other outside dogs would run around and bark at the booms and loud fireworks, but they weren't trying frantically to dig out of their pens.
However, before all of that began, we took a team out for a run. This was the last of the 8 dog teams that we are going to be running. This gave this set of dogs a chance to get out and run before we change things up and run smaller teams two at a time to get all of the dogs out on runs in two run, rather than the three it has been taking.
Anyway, here is the team as it was starting out:
Shasta & Dude
Baleen
Tanner
Stubby & Bolio
Rufus & Kivek
That lasted a few hundred yards before Dude decided he didn't care to be a leader today. So, we stopped the team and pulled Dude back with Tanner to let Shasta run a single lead. That worked for another hundred yards or so and then she decided to stop and turn around to see who was in the team behind her! By the time I got up to the front to line her out, she was growling at Stubby!! Whoa boy, not what we needed out there... a bitch fight!! Got her lined back out and moved Baleen up to lead with Shasta. Ah ha! That was the magic move! We moved right along after that. Got through the turn around and made it home in pretty good shape.
We got pens cleaned and came inside just in time to have Tammy show up with pizza and movies! We got the pizzas cooked and decided to feed the dogs before settling in for a movie! After feeding dogs, we re-loaded our plates with pizza and settled in for a movie, The Expendables 2. Not the best movie I have ever seen, but it was funny!! Those action heroes that we grew up with sure are getting old!!
Today, January 1, 2013, is a brand new start and I am hopeful this will be a GREAT year. My new years resolution is to reduce my "dependence" on technology and get more constructed stuff completed this year. On the list is actually getting my baking business started, a few remodel/changes to the interior of the house, a dog barn (to keep the fuzzy ones warm next winter when the temps plummet), and getting enough wood up for the next two years use! With all of that on the agenda, I am hoping it will keep me from sitting in front of this silly computer. I find myself just scrolling though Facebook waiting for the latest post/update from friends. This has to stop! I am giving myself the "okay" to check in, even daily, to see what is happening in the lives of those I have become friends with on Facebook, but I am not going to let myself sit here for hours just scrolling through the same thing over and over again. They say the first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have a problem. There you go, I admit I am addicted to Facebook. I am going to try to do more blog posts to keep friends and family updated on what is happening in our life. So check back frequently for new posts with updates on what is happening here. I wish you all a very Happy New Year! Each day of the year is a new chapter in this book we call life and I need to get my life in order. Love and hugs to all my family and friends. I wish you the best in the coming year!
Happy Trails!
Cathy, Tom, Rallie, Gus, Gateway, Cheyanne, Sioux, Kivek, Dude, Kako, Sherman, Muktuk, Hannah, Rufus, Shasta, Shelby, Jasper, Baleen, Tanner, Patton, Panzer, Bolio, Stubby, Shammu, Yeti, Zena, Marco, Pal & Spirit
Dimon Freight Dogs
North Pole, Alaska
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