Hard Days Work

Sorry I missed yesterday! The weather is changing and there is a lot to do around here. So we've all been busy. So I'll start off with yesterday:

It had rained all Thursday night, and I was nervous that we would wake up to rain on Friday morning. But thank goodness, it was just a little misty. The temperature wasn't bad either. Mark, Rob, and I were going to run the Varsity and C teams. So we did our dog chores, ate breakfast, and got ready for our run. We hooked up the C team first. Remember how crazy it was hooking up the Varsity team?? The B team wasn't half that crazy. The Varsity team is just so much stronger than the other two teams. But the C team! That is another kind of crazy. They are a mix of the youngest dogs, and a couple of the older dogs. So most of the team is just so excited, and still not quite sure what to do. They jump all over you, some squirm when you put their harnesses on. And a couple of them will knock you on your ass if you're not prepared for their jumping. One of the dogs on the C team is Ophir, named after an Iditarod check point. He is one of the oldest dogs in the dog yard. He has been a champion before, and as Mark says "They've logged a lot of miles together". Ophir also ran the Iditarod with Mark. He's bigger than most of the dogs, and softer all around. While the rest of the C team was exploding with excitement, Ophir was waiting patiently in his house for someone to harness him. When I came to him, he got out of the house and sat perfectly. He lifted his first paw, then the second, right on cue. When I was done, I pet and loved on him. He licked my face and sat back in his house, waiting to be hooked up. He's a little slower than the rest. But he's their teacher. He teaches them to follow directions. Just when I think I may have a favorite, I'll write about one, and they become the favorite. Ophir is for sure my favorite:) So back to the hook up. It was Rob's turn to ride. Mark called out "Are you ready?!?", and they barked and whined with anticipation. And they were off.

While they were gone, I got around to cleaning out the cob webs in the outhouse, and took Tubbs for a walk. When they were back , it was Varsity team hook up time! I keep thinking of all the words to use to describe how this all goes down. But it really is impossible. These dogs are fine tuned machines. They live for running. And their sheer power is unexplainable. We harnessed everyone and started bringing them to the gang line. It happens so fast! We were putting the final few in, and I had P.J.. If you saw P.J. in someones backyard, you wouldn't think, "WHOA, there's a dog that could dislocate my shoulder while I try to hold him by his collar". But he very easily could. I held him and struggled to hook him up. Let me be clear here too, they are pulling. They aren't trying to get lose in order to avoid running. If I let go of P.J., he will take off, and run for the love of running. So I finally got him hooked up, and the we were ready. I hopped on the back of the four wheeler, and we were off! This was the first time I'd run for a full distance with the Varsity team. They are impressive. A few squirly ones in the bunch, but that is most teams. Look at the NFL. Anyhow..... The run was beautiful It was great watching Mark, and his attentiveness to the dogs. He tries to give pointers on each individual dog. Denali can sometimes run a little crooked, so if you switch sides, he'll straighten out. Matty can be kind of jerky to his neighbor. Little Devil is loud! But that can be good for the team when they are feeling down. It's sometimes a lot, but I want to know more. These dogs are so much more than pets, or a hobby to Mark and Mary. And they will be entrusting Rob and I to take good care of them.

It started to drizzle last night, and today we woke up to snow!! Woo hoo!! And cooler temps! Not a lot of snow. And not that much cooler. But every bit counts. Mary is home for the weekend and Mark was out hunting this morning. We had coffee with Mary and started our chores. The plan was to take the B and the C team out today. AND it was our day to drive, while Mary rode. Yikes, but exciting too. We hooked the B team up first. I feel more confident hooking the B team up, because I feel like I know them better than the Varsity team. I can feel that they are learning to trust me and becoming more familiar with me. The hook up went smooth and Mary and Rob were off! While they were gone, I picked giant rocks out of the dog yard. Ahh, the glamour of a sled dog camp. Then Mark came home with a giant deer in his truck. He was successful on opening day. Congratulations Mark. And that means Venison for the winter, and bones for the dogs. We all win. I have a picture of that, but I'm not sure any of you really want to see it. I'm shaking the deers hoof. It's actually hilarious. Anyhow.... I'm really getting off track today. Just after Mark came home, we had some visitors. Good friends of Mark and Mary's stopped by on their four wheelers. John, Sandy, and their daughter Lindsay. Just after they arrived, Mary and Rob came back from their run. The dogs, the gang, and neck lines were covered in ice/sleet. We had to use wrenches to knock the ice off the neck and tug line clips. We got the dogs all unhooked and back to their houses. Our visitors are "adoptive" parents of Rose and Lily, and their daughter is the "adoptive" mom of Monz and Murphy. So Mary let the puppies run loose. They were everywhere. It was awesome!! We let Tubbs out to see if he might like the puppies. Tubbs looks so different than any dog here. Calvin, one of the puppies, was not a fan. As soon as Tubbs came running at him to play, Calvin high tailed it out of there. He took cover in the screen tent on a lawn chair. It was hilarious. Tubbs made a quick friend with Spock, the biggest of the puppies. I think Tubbs thought he was at a dog park. The puppies went back to their kennel and our visitors left. We broke down the screen tent, had more visitors, moved the straw shed, and changed the straw in the puppies houses. Our last set of visitors were Mark and Lisa. They are also good friends of Mark and Mary. Lisa brought an apple pie that I'm hoping to snag a piece of after dinner:) We were back at our cabin for less than an hour and it was dog chore time again. It's dark by five now too, so it makes nigh time chores a little different. We also filled most of our water buckets after dog chores. Then it was sauna time! We should be heading over for dinner right about now too. It will probably be an early night. I think we are all tired, especially Mark. Pulling a 180 lb buck out of the woods all by yourself, takes a lot out of you. Stay tuned for tomorrow. It will be my first time driving the team!! Wish me luck!!

I'll try and get more info on Denali and P.J. at dinner tonight. Also, I posted a pic of Ophir, he's the lead dog. I won't be posting pics for a bit. I just got back from dinner, and Tubbs has chewed through the wire of my picture transfer thingy. Lame O!!!!