Christmas Mush 2011

My lovely Honey.  Here we are for another Christmas Mush.  A gathering of a few local mushers and their teams as we head down the trail wearing something red or jingly, dogs 'n' all.  Team Uktousa had red Christmas bandannas, the ATV was decked in ribbons and tinsel and Richard and I both wore Santa hats.  There was a lot of activity on the trail this year from hunters, loose dogs and a group of horses.  I have to say how proud I was of my leaders, Rosie and Cookqiz when they made two great passes past the half dozen horses who were walking the trail. It was quite a confidence builder to mush a team past so many horses and have every dog on the team behave well and mind their own business.  We had some great passes with other teams, but for the most part, we hung out with our buddies, Kim, Kelly and their lovely dogs, oh and... the lovely Nancy too.  Nancy is our Mushing groupie!  It was nice to see all our friends and their dogs and enjoy a few hours together on the trail and off the trail.  All the teams were just great and I think it was one of the best Christmas Mushing yet!! Merry Christmas!!

Getting hooked up!

A great pass!

Kim, Kelly and my team setting up for a some sandwich passes

Wishbone, gives everything 100%

Daisy and her big puppy, Honey.  Honey LOVES loves loves water, she is a bit of a water hog!

Nellie tempts TJ to dip his toes in some cool water and chill out for a few minutes

Heading back across the fields

2011 Waterville Valley Santa Run

Cookqiz - Hana sandwich with Peg!  Once again it was time for our annual charity Santa run and what a blast with town folk, friends and dogs we had.   This year we added a second team of dogs, driven by Kelly Berg from Kelim Siberians. Together we brought in Santa and his elves to Town Square for over 200 children cheering and ready to sit on Santa's lap.  As always, the dogs were a huge hit with hundreds of people gathered around us for well over 2 hours.  Kim and Kelly brought along their 11 week old puppies and we watched on as these pups were cuddled and kissed by almost every onlooker. What a super job the girls did as did Peg and Vladi. So grateful for your contribution and help.  It was all for a good cause as we helped raise close to $1000 for the Whole Village in Plymouth, NH.  Each year the event gets better and better. We can't wait for next year's !!

After so many years of working in Waterville Valley as a ski instructor, store manager and Personal Trainer, it is a delight to be bringing Santa into Town Square each year as well as finally being able to celebrate my new business venture ....Valley Snow Dogz, Waterville's very own Sled Dogs!!

Putting bandanas on Santa's furry reindeers

Two Elves

Santa's elves and helpers -
Me, Kim, Kelly and Vladi

The lovely Peg!  My dogs just love her.  She remembered the routine well from last season when Peg was at my side pretty much all season long. We miss you Peg!  Here we are hooking up our team alongside Kim and Kelly's team.  What a very fun time it was with so many supporters, friends and well wishers.

Here comes Santa and his elves!

Here comes Santa!

Bringing Santa into Town Square.  Hundreds of people gathered for Santa but also to welcome the sled dogs into Waterville Valley. Right behind my team were the wonderful Siberians of Kim and Kelly Berg who will be joining me this winter in offering sled dog excursions In Waterville Valley, New Hampshire!

Peg does an outstanding job telling onlookers about Yahboo and her heritage.  As you can see, Yahboo loves Peg and tucks her head into Peg's side.  Good job Peg!

Oh, the lovely Vladi.  He was such a great sport volunteering to wear tights!  Thanks for all your help, you were awesome!  Vladi is going to help us a little this winter during our Waterville Valley Sled Dog excursions.  Can't wait!

Nellie and Daisy getting lots of attention

Celebrating 1 Year Since The Birth Of My Thanksgiving Babies

Daisy and Tumac produced some wonderful pups who have all turned 1 year old and all seem to be thriving.  My four are in harness and are proving to be wonderful in harness, eager to learn, insane pullers with a lot of hardyness to keep moving down the trail no matter what the conditions.  I'm seeing some signs of early leaders and the making of some good distance dogs.  Besides the excitement of how they are in harness, first and foremost, they are beautiful dogs who are as happy in harness as they are on the sofa next to us. Raised in the house, they tend to come in the house most evenings which allows us to really bond as we snuggle and cuddle together in the evenings.  Happy Birthday Beautiful Doggies!

Aise and Illy

Illy and Aise live with my good friend Linda Newman in Minnesota.  Linda has some amazing dogs and these two seem to fit right in.  Illy looks like her mom Daisy and her brother Wishbone and Aise looks a lot like Honey but is more slender and leggier.
Lovely girlies.

Rigel

Rigel... ever so sweet, not to mention adorable.  Rigel has a smashing life with Caroline and Andy in Maine. I'm so grateful to them for their good care and nurturing of this special boy who has had a few special needs along the way.
Happy Birthday Rigel.

Pretty Pear

One of my most favorite photos of Pear.  She radiates such joy! Love her to little pieces.  Her coat is unusual, her eye color is unique and so is she.  She is slowly making her way to the front of the team and I have no doubt that's where she'll stay!

Turkey Jim!

TJ, my lovely gentle boy.  Here he is, lean and leggy.  This isn't a recent photo, he's filled out a little now but is so like his papa, Tumac.  He's amazing in harness, he is all business and is going to be a great distance dog.  Very hardy and recovers quickly.  He's such a love.

Honey and Wishbone

Honey in the background and Wishbone infront.  In true Uktousa style, all pups MUST be bed dogs before they can become sled dogs !
Honey is a stocky, self assured, mild mannered dog. She's become and instant mom for Sofie, always centered, always present.  To think we almost lost her at birth, I couldn't image a moment without her.  Wishbone, oh my lovely boy.... a little shy, so gentle and yet such a dedicated hard worker in harness.  His lovely blue eyes..... both are cuddlers, lovely doggies to snuggle with at bedtime.

Welcome Sofiel "The Nature Angel"

Here she is, another little angel.  Named Sofiel after the Nature Angel. She fits in so remarkably well with my Angels In Fur Coats.  Sofiel arrived on November 3rd all the way from Fairbanks though born on Calico Buff. Sofie comes from a great kennel of working dogs on the Yukon River. She was bred by Andy Bassich and Kate Rorke .  She is totally remarkable.  Besides her human eyes, her savvy nature, self assured disposition, natural ability to be in with the adults after a mere few days, her instant willingness to listen and learn......she's the cutest, cuddliest puppy and I love her! She has become a natural companion to me and is loved by all the dogs in the kennel. She feels like an incarnated soul, there is just something so familiar about her. Sofiel might not have made it here had it not been for two wonderful friends, Linda Newman and Nita Fowler

She's Stunning My Little Sofie

Sofie Likes To Howl

Thank Goodness For Good Dogs!

TJ has been running so well and making his way up the gangline.  I had 11 dogs hooked up and was just about to pull the quick release when I saw dogs out of line... hmmmm what the heck I thought!  I then quickly realized that TJ had chewed 3 tugs and 2 necklines in his impatience to get moving down the trail.  Rosie, Cookqiz and Yahboo were released from the positions on the gangline but being the amazing dogs that they are, they didn't go anywhere... well, Rosie trotted ahead for a few feet and then looked back wondering why we weren't attached to her.  She came right back when asked to.  What good doggies!

Boy, have I got some catching up to do!

Where does the time go?  I know, work, work and more work and then running dogs at night and oh, back to work :)   Despite the busyness of our days, the dogs are getting out and doing really well.  Somehow we have more miles on us this year than last year and I'm not so sure how that has happened other than we have had more hook-ups perhaps, though sometimes shorter distances than planned due to temperature and conditions. 

The pups are 1 year old now and in harness and boy... are they wonderful!  Each one brings something a little different to the team and to our lives. All are great pullers and I'm pretty confident that all will be taking their turn in lead quite soon. Training 4 pups at the same time is not so easy as they feed off each other's energy when in harness.  In the meantime, my stunning and most loyal leader Yahboo, is still out infront of these youngsters, unwilling to give her up place as my main leader and what an amazing job she is doing once again this year.

Mother Nature Takes Over...

We're taking a little break from running as Mother Nature has given us more warm, humid days to endure. A good time to work on the ATV and Trailer and finish off some jobs in the dogyard.  As soon as the temps become tolerable, we'll be back out there with a vengeance, doing what we live to do.  Richard is onboard once again and will no doubt be running his own team from time-to-time.  He's a gread daddy to the dogs and he'll be a big help as I start hooking up and training the puppies.  I'm going to have my hands full with 4 of them! 

Beautiful Wishbone

The photo doesn't show the softness in his eyes and his look of absolutely devotion when he sees me near him.  An old soul who reminds me a lot of Rosie.  He comes from a place where he and I have traveled together before, many times over.  I can't wait to see what he brings to my life and to my life on the trails.  He's not as rangy as TJ nor is he as big, but he makes up for that with his power and heart.

He's All Legs TJ!

He's such a lean, muscular leggy pup. So like his papa in every way. A loving, nurturing soul. So gentle and loving.  He's going to be a great mover down the trail with that body and those legs. 

The Girls Are Growing!

Illy and Aise. 8 months old and looking good! Illy looks substantial and I see a lot of Tumac in her, but she has her mamma's eyes.  Aise looks a lot like Honey, such a striking face with a pretty coat.  Two happy girls!  Thanks Linda for loving my puppies so much!

It's August Already!

Just seems like yesterday that I put our mushing gear away, well, I guess it wasn't that long ago as we ran dogs to the end of April. Sometimes we squeeze a few runs out in May but not this year. It was time to pay attention to the wee ones.  Hard to believe that the wee ones will be in harness soon. Where does the time go!  They are getting lots of exercise and have some good muscle on them already.  If the mornings continue to stay cool, I guess we'll start training before the end of the month and begin getting the pups used to the activity, the truck and the gear.  In the meantime, I'm holding on to their puppyness as it passes way too quickly !!

Wishbone

My beautiful blue eyed boy! Gentle doesn't even discribe him... he snuggles up with me at night and doesn't move until morning breaks. Always by my side, always touching me.  He's a special boy!  A little timid of new things but I know he's going to grow up to be quite a sled dog.

Turkey Jim

Gosh, I don't know who is cuter.... TJ or Richard!  Here he is dancing with Richard. Such a happy, lean and loving boy.  A gentle soul like his papa Tumac.

Pear

The lovely, lovely Pear! Such a happy girl.  She's already very devoted to me and I have a really good sense that she's going to be one heck of a lead dog.

Honey Nee-Nee!!!

Love love LOVE this puppy!  Honey.... what can I say.  She oozes naughtyness, lovliness, cuteness, honeyness..... here she is after planting a wet kiss on her dadda.

Oh, he's so handsome!  Rigel lives with Caroline and Andy in Maine, what a lovely home for this equally lovely boy!  Richard just had chance to visit with him and Caroline and Andy.  Lots of hugging all round!  He is the prettiest boy!  Thank you Caroline and Andy for taking such good care of 'his most handsome', Rigel.

Wishbone, aka "Mr Dishy Wishy" (named by Kim and Kelly as they caught him licking the dishes in the dishwasher.. he's also their favorite)....... but here he is, loving his mamma.

TJ

He's such an old soul, like his papa

"The Boys!"

"I'm sure I saw a bird up there?"

TJ takes after his auntie Cookqiz.. there's a picture of the blog of her doing the exact same thing.  He's getting nice and leggy!  He's 6 months old in this photo.  Just can't wait for Fall training to start!!

Over The Rainbow Bridge

Lovely Moose!  We lost Moose on Thursday June 23rd 2011.  The last few weeks were hard for him and us.  He went from being a very healthy and strong dog all of his life, to finally revealing his age to us as he slowly started to weaken.  We feel lucky that his aging didn't impact him too much. Always a hardy soul, very single minded and much more a people dog than a pack dog.  He only cared for a small number of furry buddies, never really needing to be overly social. He enjoyed more time with us, walks every day and lots of special treatment like having the  play areas to himself each and every night.  Moose had been in our lives for little over 14 years. Remarkable for a big dog, a fine looking, well coated Alaskan Malamute.  He was with me at the beginning of my mushing journey, a part of my first 2-dog team and then part of a bigger team.  He was a great skijor partner, he held the line tight infront of my mountain bike and did many demonstrations in our earlier days of running "All Terrain Dog"... the one-stop place for mushing gear. 

Moose was a huge part of my learning curve and I will be forever grateful for his patience with me (us) and all that we were able to learn and master through him and because of him.  Moose was buried in our special rainbow garden alongside his friends - Sasquatch, Opechee, Keeper, Tisha and Biffa.  The dogs broke out into a group howl as we brought Moose over to his resting place, I know they were fully aware of our sad loss.  Right at that moment, 3 crows flew overhead making their skricky noise as if sharing messages from the spirit world with Moose, reassuring him  that his spirit is being taken care of and that all is okay.  I looked up as if to thank them, that they were here, for him.

We miss your peacefulness Moose!  Love ya.

Wishbone

Wish upon a star and one day, you might be blessed to have a dog like Wishbone.  Nothing short of a beautiful manifestation of a sweet, gentle and devoted furry being.  Steel blue eyes that look deeply and lovingly back at you.  He's my boy!

Another Old Soul

TJ... a beautiful, gentle soul.  An old soul for sure. He's like his papa, Tumac.  He just oozes lovliness.  He will always remind me of how thankful I am to my dearest friend, Linda, for her gift of Tumac.  Our union has been solidified greatly over the years as we have shared in each others gifts of furry angels.
Thank you Linda!

Incase you haven't already gathered,  I LOVE this puppy!  She's nothing short of a gift.  A life that almost wasn't but thanks, once again (and we will be forever grateful) to Kim and Kelly for helping to save her life.  I think Honey and I have a deep bond with Kim and Kelly after working together to save this little life.  Isn't she cute?,

My Girl Pups!

My beautiful girls... Honey and Pear

Robert and Uncle Ricky

Sneaking a quick photo opportunity before we hook up the dogs.  Geez, this was just over a month or so ago, seems like just the other day!  There have been a few cold mornings since and typically, we'd be out there running but sometimes life takes over and you simply have to let go and get on with other things.  Anyway, just as we did just that, 5 girls came into heat so it was a good thing anyway.  Oh, but Robert and Gaby... we miss you both!  I know Robert will be back this winter so he can train with us.

Catching A Few Last Runs Of The Season

The Family!

Kim and Kelly's dogs.   Kim shows Robert how to harness her dogs.

Robert jumps right in and helps Kim and Kelly hook up their team

Hooking up our teams side by side.  Gaby stands with my leaders and Robert helps Kim and Kelly hook up.

Robert Drives A 16 Dog Team !

Off they go!  I couldn't believe how trusting Kim and Kelly were of Robert's capabilities to master the skill of handling and driving a 16 dog team!  Look at the smile on his face.  Gaby hitched a ride with them and was loving every minute of it.  I don't think Robert's facial expression changed the entire time... one 'big' smile.  My family are mushers!