Puppy update and 400th post!

The house is filled with what sounds like tiny horses galloping ta tump, ta tump, ta tump

Kerouac and Lucy have been coming inside more frequently now that all the other puppies are gone, and they are learning how to acclimate and socialize with the house dogs.


Kerouac and Lucy trying to understand our strange cattle dog rescue, Karma. "What is it?" Kerouac asks Lucy. "I don't know," says Lucy. "Let's attack it!"


Ambush!

They enjoy some of the luxuries of the house, like sleeping on warm people.



Yesterday evening, I loaded up six dogs, two sleds and three kids and headed out for the snowmobile trail to make the most of the rest of our fabulous snow. The days are beginning to warm up. It won't be long before everything melts and spring will be upon us.

Sophie took her friend Drew in her sled basket and I hooked up two dogs to her sled. Elise rode in my sled basket with four dogs, and we went for a fun run. Elise giggled as we bobbed up and down moguls made by snow machines on the trail. Gwennie seemed so happy to be back in harness and doing what she loves to do: run!

As we came back to the truck, the beam of my headlamp shined bright in the night. The trail, which had warmed in the sun during the day, now froze over, and my sled runners slid effortlessly over the bright white snow. "This is contentment," I thought. It's like nothing else on earth to me. I will be sad to see winter fade this year.

But, big changes are in the wind for the Lazy Husky Ranch soon.

And I'm already so pleased with the way my pups are turning out and looking so forward to harness breaking them in the fall.


Miss Lucy the Luck Dragon at 8 weeks and 2 days, turning into quite the little beauty

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In other news, this is my 400th post on this blog. I started this blog nearly four years ago as an effort to communicate with family and friends about the goings-on in our hectic life. I never dreamed it would turn into something I am so committed to and look forward to so much. I have made so many very good friends from my blog. Like Cici Birnberg in Illinois, who mushes with her Golden Retrievers. Like Ginsberg's human mommy, Kathleen Kimball-Baker, who is always so positive in her outlook on life. Like Bolt's human mommy, Amanda Stanoszek, with her small kennel and chicken house in Hinkley, Ohio.

People come into and out of each other's lives at certain times for definite reasons, in my opinion. Every person who has come into my life has taught me something. I am so thankful for true friends - those who take me for who I am and accept me completely. Thank you, guys! And thanks for reading.

Across the miles: friends in far away places

We live in an amazing time.

I've been down lately. It seems like life has presented 101 obstacles to my dog training: sudden flat tires on the training rig; weather; my health. And, after a not-so-great report card about my health today (more on that later), I was feeling pretty down.

I'm ashamed to admit, this week, I've been struggling to give thanks. Feeling pretty negative, I turned to a friend who lives 3632.88 miles away from me, almost quite literally halfway around the globe in Chatanika, Alaska.

Meet Jodi Bailey. I've written about her before.


Jodi and her dog, Jake, after winning the Gin-Gin 200 Sled Dog Race

I first met Jodi via the Internet, on Myspace. You can view her Myspace page here

At first, our conversations were mostly about dogs. Gradually, Jodi and I shared more and more. We began to realize we had many, many things in common.

I happen to love camels and once held the dubious title of "camel handler" at a local zoo. Imagine my surprise when Jodi posted this picture of herself on an Internet social networking site:


A small photo, I realize, but if you can't see it, it is a picture of Jodi receiving kisses from a camel

Not only does Jodi run dogs, she also runs, bikes, loves Bob Dylan, works in a University and claims the Grateful Dead is the "soundtrack to a large part of her life."


She says she runs by herself when the weather is too warm to run dogs. And run she does: she completed her first marathon in '08

It was during my hospital stay last summer that Jodi and I really started becoming close. She reached out to me during a time of darkness and isolation.

Tonight, when I was down, she reached out to me again. From almost 4,000 miles away.

Isn't it funny how the world works, bringing two people who would be very unlikely to find each other together from across the globe?

I was struggling with finding something to be thankful for on this night when I felt so frustrated and alone. But the universe intervened in an email, out of the blue, from Jodi.

It also intervened as I tucked my two kiddos in bed. I was scribbling negative vibes into a notebook, and stumbled on a happy little drawing done by my five year old.



It reminded me to be thankful for my two girls.

It's funny how the world works, isn't it? It keeps us in check, reminds us to not just survive, but live, to not just look, but see.

As Jodi said tonight, "yup sometimes things just, well, click."

Indeed. As the Buddha said, “When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky” Thank you, Jodi.