“New York is appalling, fantastically charmless and elaborately dire”

Henry James said the above quote. And while I wouldn't be quite so hard on upstate New York (it does have its charms: large old dairy farms, rolling Adirondack mountains...) I was not a fan of New York this past weekend. Here's why:



That's my new dog trailer at Meyer's Towing in Camillus, New York this past Saturday. To make a long story short, we had a tire blow out Friday evening before we even made it out of Ohio. Then early Saturday morning, about 7:30 a.m., the very same tire blew again!

Because of the weird way the wheels were bolted to the axle, it was impossible to change a tire. The very good folks at Meyer's helped to get my trailer in tip top shape and welcomed us all. They greeted every dog as I took everyone outside for breaks.


The girls, Tak (left) and Ruffian (right) stand ready to go at Tug Hill

In the end, I missed my start time for Tug Hill in the 8 dog pro class. I was not about to go through what I went through to get that far and NOT run dogs! So I hooked up seven dogs (my eighth dog was in heat), grabbed a trail map and headed out for a run on the gorgeous Adirondack trails.


My team running along the trails in Winona State Forest, NY

My dogs were so amped after being in the dog trailer and all we'd gone through to get there, they tore around the first corner of the "Pussycat Trail" out of the parking area, knocking over my handlers and throwing me face-first into a hard snow bank. Subsequently, I received my first black eye from dog mushing!


The beginnings of a black eye - my right one


My dogs hooked down and smiling

The best part of the weekend was that Sophie made her first race!


Sophie in her race bib

Sophie was very nervous before starting her first race - so much so that she almost didn't start because she felt sick to her stomach. Like a trooper, however, she rode up to the starting chute with my leaders, Yeti and Ruffian.


Sophie at the race start chute listens to Mark Broughton, Race Marshall, offer words of encouragement

She confessed when she came in from her run that she had thrown up along the race trail! And she kept on going! She made me so proud!



My very good friend, Amanda, raced in the four dog open class with on of our puppies from our litter last year, Bolt - who is now known as Tempo.


Tempo, aka "Bolt" from Gwennie's litter last year did spectacularly in her first race of the 2011 season at Tug Hill. Here she is in wheel (driver's left). Look at her go!

Overall, the take-home lesson from the weekend was this: buck up and don't give up. All of the obstacles we encountered on the road to New York gave me a chance to talk to Sophie about an important life lesson, that of resilience and determination.


My yearling, Aspen, at Tug Hill

There will always be obstacles. But to be successful, we must never give up.

New job, new logo, first race, and other updates

Check out our new kennel logo, created by my amazingly talented artist best friend and fellow musher, Amanda Stanoszek! Click on her name if you have a need for an awesome graphic designer!

Yay for snow! We're back on sleds, and the lake by the ranch is beautiful. Sophie is doing fabulous, and we are finally looking forward to our first race this coming weekend in New York state, the Tug Hill Challenge. This will be Sophie's very first race, and we can't wait to kick off the racing season finally.


Sophie running dogs

Our puppies are nearly ten weeks old now, and two of them recently went to a new home of fellow musher, Tammi Benson, and her family.


Tammi holds Parker, who she instantly fell in love with

Tammi formerly lived in mushing mecca, Two Rivers, Alaska and has run parts of the Yukon Quest. She had to get out of dogs several years ago due to some family issues, but is back and has started building her kennel again with Parker and Coltrane as her first Alaskan huskies since leaving Alaska! Welcome back, Tammi!


Tammi's husband, Freddy, holding Coltrane

We still have four pups, but things are far less chaotic with these four.


Brubeck (left) and his brother Miles (right) decided to cuddle up on a pizza box for a long winter's nap

Brubeck has developed the same pneumonia as his sister, Etta, did at four weeks. Shortly after having chest x-rays done and getting him on medication, Thelonious developed the same pneumonia. Interestingly enough, it's been only the pale-faced puppies with blue in their eyes that have come down with this pneumonia, which has led both my vet and me to consider a possible genetic component to this illness. We'll see.

In other, happier news, I started working at a new job on Monday! I am very happy to report that I am now the Community Educator at Northeast Ohio Colleges of Medicine's BeST Center in Psychiatry. The BeST center specializes in best practices for schizophrenia treatment and is one of the only centers of its kind in the U.S. I am very excited to have been selected for the position!

Here are some photo I shot recently of the lake by the Ranch.

Wind kicking up snow across the frozen lake makes a beautiful, blustery scene that I so love


"Danger: boating hazardous due to unusually low water" - Yea, I'll say!


And my truck stops for weird bumper stickers, like this one

Until next time...

Tug Hill Challenge 17th out of 27 teams

I left the warmth of the whelping room to venture to my second race this last weekend, the Tug Hill Challenge in upstate New York.


My little team at the start of the 4-dog pro class

My friend Amanda joined me for the seven hour journey north. Upstate New York reminds me of the Victorian era. The clean, pillared Victorian homes and red barns line the winding roads through the state to Winona State Forest - the site of the Tug Hill Challenge.

At the race, we had time to wander around and visit with the dogs and new friends. Like Jenn and her 10 year old up-and-coming musher son, Shea.


Jenn and her son Shea, who I predict will be working on the glacier by the time he's 18!

We met them first at the Punderson Sled Dog Classic the second weekend in January. From Pennsylvania, Jenn and her son are traveling some of the same race circuits we are. New to mushing, but not to a life with animals, Jenn and her family have a small farm and are always a big help.

We also had the chance to make new friends, like Roy and his sweet leader, who reminded me of my Yeti.



Seeing the different types of dogs is always a treat, especially at sprint races, which Tug Hill is. Sprint races are like the drag races of the mushing world. They're quick, short, challenging courses of usually only one mile per dog; for example, my four dog team ran a 4.9 mile course. The idea is to let the dogs go as fast as they can and get to the finish in a blaze. Sprint races are dominated by the sleek, super fast hound crosses.


A hound cross

My dogs are traditional Alaskan huskies, which are typically used in mid-distance and distance racing.


A traditional looking Alaskan husky peeks out of the hole in her dog box

What I learned this weekend is I can't really hold a candle to the hound crosses that dominate the sprint racing scene. The winning team finished the 4.9 mile course in about 15 minutes.

I finished in 17th place out of 27 teams, which for an Alaskan husky team made of two yearlings is good. I am proud of my fur kids and proud of my middle of the pack standing! Our overall time for two heats of 4.9 miles was 53 minutes.


Look at the joy on my fur kids' faces as they rocket out of the starting chute!

This week is bitter sweet for me.


The puppies resting in their first home, the whelping crate. They can barely all fit in it now

Several of the pups will begin adventures in new mushing homes this coming weekend. Annie and Two Star will begin their new life at Avalanche Kennel, the home of Jane Schramm in Indian River, Michigan.

Bolt will begin her new life with Amanda and her little recreational mushing team.

Maggie will begin her new life in Iowa with Tim and Angie Looney, joining Alice and Nick on their recreational mushing team.

And Ginsberg, sweet boy, will begin his new life with Kathleen Kimball-Baker in Minnesota.

It is truly bittersweet. The puppies have discovered two beautiful things this last week: the wonders of snow, and what a joy it is to run full throttle through it!


Annie at six weeks running through the snow

They have begun going outside to go potty and have vigorous play sessions in the snow with their mom. Then they all waddle back inside the whelping room and bed down together for a long winter's nap.


Gwennie sharing a cozy winter nap with her puppies

I will miss them dearly. They have brought such joy to my life, and watching them grow has been awesome. But I know they are all going to wonderful homes where they will do what they were born to do: run.


Bolt at six weeks

Stay tuned as I head back on the road, this time to my final race of the season in beautiful Marquette, Michigan to the Jack Pine 30!

"A Baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." Carl Sandburg

It's so hard to believe: the puppies are now five weeks old. Before you know it, they'll be pulling sleds like their beautiful father Yeti...


Papa Yeti stopped along the trail yesterday

In just two short weeks, some will leave the safety and warmth of their mother and the whelping room and begin new adventures. Elise, my five year old, explained to Bolt tonight,

"You will go live with Amanda, and you will love it! She has lots of space for you to run around, and chickens and wolves for you to play with!"


Elise and Bolt

My good friend and fellow musher, Amanda, will take our beloved Bolt to join her pack. Amanda and I have become quite close ever since the Punderson race a month or so ago where she officially went from "recreational" musher to "racing" musher.


Amanda and me at the Punderson Sled Dog Classic


Amanda and her little team at the starting chute at the recent Punderson Sled Dog Classic

Amanda has three recreational sled dogs who are all rescues from area animal shelters just days away from euthanization.


Sled dogs Willow (left) and Bandit (right) were just hours away from euthanization before Amanda rescued them from animal shelters

In addition to lots of space, Amanda has some fun critters on her property. Some funky-looking free range chickens provide yummy eggs.


Amanda's funky chickens

And she also has a wolfdog, Jasper, who is 50% wolf. He was also pulled from a shelter.


Wolfdog Jasper gets some lovin' from Amanda

Unlike many wolfdogs, Jasper loves attention and seeks it out, even from children.


Elise is the first child Jasper has met, and they adored each other

Big ones or little ones, Jasper doesn't mind:


Sophie and Elise get love from Jasper

I am so happy Bolt will go to such a loving home with lots of space and friends. Stay tuned for the stories of some of the puppies who will travel to their new homes, including Maggie, who will go to the home of Iowa friend and musher Tim Looney, who definitely lives up to his name!


Miss Maggie at 4 1/2 weeks, who will go to the Looney bin!

I have a busy next few weeks at the season culminates with two long-awaited races: the Tug Hill Challenge in Lorraine, New York on the banks of Lake Ontario and totally the other direction, the Jack Pine 30 in Marquette, Michigan on the banks of Lake Superior. Then, finally, the season's presentations kick off with our first presentation at the Ellet Library!



Posts could get spotty over the next few weeks as I'm on the road, but STAY TUNED and HAPPY TRAILS!