Christmas in June

Today was the day: Gwennie finally arrived all the way from Montana! It was like Christmas in June for me, I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. She has been living with Dr. Tim Hunt in Marquette, Michigan for the last three weeks since Jason Barron dropped her off there at the end of May. And I had been trying to figure out a way to get all the way up to Marquette in a weekend without killing myself.

After some plans falling through, Tim wrote to me a week ago saying we had a definite plan. His wife, Mary, was coming down to Lansing to pick up a stove and could meet me there with Gwennie!


Gwennie says goodbye to surrogate mom, Mary, in Lansing

After a quick 15 minute chat and exchange of paperwork, Gwennie nervously got into my truck and we headed back down south.



She is very shy and nervous, but adjusting and eating well. I have super high hopes for her, and know she is going to be an excellent addition to this upcoming season.

Jason Barron talks about mushing, life, and what it takes to be successful

In an interview with Jason Barron for Mushing magazine for my series on the Best Places to Live and Mush in the U.S., Jason spoke frankly about what it means to be a successful musher, and the sacrifices necessary to be called such. So poignant, I thought it worth uploading. Enjoy!

Click below to hear portions of the interview.


For information about the Best Places to Live and Mush in the West, check out Mushing magazine in the upcoming issue.

Big Brown, bonfires, and tie dye t-shirts

Sophie is 10, and loves tie dye t-shirts. She also loves dogs. She will have her first sled this coming season and will be training with me, along with running my Siberian, Jack, in her first race.


Jack

May seems to be birthday month for our family and friends. We had another birthday party to attend this weekend. Kids' birthday parties in our circle mean small get-togethers for adults as well: bonfires and beer.



The kids play, and adults relax.



We followed up with a first-time trip to the park for one of our yearlings, Big Brown.



She's never been out of the yard, aside from the dog box when I brought her home in April. She was a little scared, but she did awesome on the leash!



Even on the dock!



I feel lucky that we are small enough to do daily enrichment activities with our dogs and give them one-on-one attention. Yesterday, I spent time with each dog doing "sit" training, and today Big Brown got to leave the dog yard for a walk in the park. Socialization activities like these help create sled dogs who are well-rounded companions as well hard working dogs. This helps also to develop the bond between the dogs and me, which means they will work harder to give me their all this next season and (hopefully) won't freak at new situations like checkpoints and bridges.

Then we did some child enrichment activities!

Me preparing our t-shirts for tie dying


Elise shows how well her t-shirt is tied!


Let the dying begin!



It's 9:45 on Sunday night now. The sun is down, the dogs are sleeping in the yard; all is quiet. I prepare myself for a new week, dreaming all the while of the dogs. I had a long conversation today with Jason Barron who was on his way back to Montana about why we do what we do. Jason and I agree, we do it because of our love for our dogs, and being outside in the elements with them.

Dreaming of fall...