When we saw the state of the trees for a good length of I95, I was grateful we decided to stay in Fort Kent and not drive home in what could have been another series situation. It was spectacular to look at though.
Live Free And MUSH!
Valley Snow Dogz Kidz Event at Loon Mountain Resort
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Puppies are 3.5 Months Old Already!!
Lovely boy TJ, just the spitting image of his papa, Tumac. Hard to believe that so much time has passed already, but I'm really trying so much to be with them as much as I possibly can. Raising 4 pups is no easy task but I have to say, it's all coming together, the routine, the training, the together time.... Daisy has been a good mom and Rosie has been a very good surrogate mom. Daisy is finally back in harness and loving it! She's been pulling like a crazy sled dog the last few nights. I'm so happy for her and happy for me as I've missed her all season. I really wanted her on my Can-am team but it wasn't going to be. She needed the time to recover, heal and get her strength back. She was pretty lame after giving birth and was sore for a long time.
We've had updates from Linda on Illy and Aise who are settling in just great and Linda and Neil are just loving their two pups. Updates and photos can be accessed via Linda's blog -
We've also had some lovely photos of Rigel (aka Pepper or Mr Pepito as we used to call him). He's settling in nicely to with Caroline and Andy in Maine. He now has his own page on their website - http://www.sledpets.com/
Auntie Nellie and Honey
Honey is so like her Auntie Nellie, just as robust, just as funny and no doubt... will be just as strong!
Sandwich Notch 20 Miler, Feb 2011
This was a last minute decision, literally. I sent my entry just a day or two prior to the closing date. The dogs were in good shape, but I was still recovering from a very long bout of Bronchitis and not feeling 100% at all. But we had invested all we could in our training and the dogs deserved to race and I so wanted Hana and Tumac to have this race experience prior to going to the Can-am which was the main event of the season.
Peg said she would come along and help me and keep me fed! She's such a wonderful, nurturing soul. So it was good to have her company and of course, her help getting the gear together and the dogs dropped as I spent much of my time coughing and clearing my chest and lungs. Ick!
Here we are, waiting to race. Well, a little extra snow would have been great. It seemed pretty hard and icy out there at the beginning of the course. With the road crossing right at the beginning too, a few of us remained a tad concerned and wondered how the rest of the course might be. We had strong winds and very fast conditions. A little bit of everything actually which always makes this race an adrenalin run. There's something about the SN race that just gets into your blood, but then, that's how I feel about Sandwich Notch, period. It was fast, twisty, turny, scary, fun, crazy and extremely gnarly. A lot of 'bang' for your 'buck' hey!
This was going to be Cookqiz's first race in lead. She's been leading a lot all season alongside either Yahboo or Rosie so I knew she was ready. Her passes are good, she takes commands well and is turning out to be a great trustworthy leader. The plan was to keep Yahboo infront for the most technical part which is at the start and then switch Yahboo for Cookqiz half way through the race. We stopped just after the checkpoint, after battling through the strong wind and I switched the girls. Yahboo took it well and co-lead from the rear anyway. She's gotten used to training Cookqiz and switching places, I think it was harder for me than her as she almost always been upfront. I checked feet, bootied those who needed them and off we went. Cookqiz has an efficient gate which hides just how fast she is traveling. Such a graceful and elegant dog to watch with a gate that covers a lot of ground. We were moving well.
I couldn't believe the wind. At times as we traveled across the open fields, it was a battle to stay on the runners, the whole team was being blown off the trail. I could barely see infront of me as I battled to keep my cap and hood on. It really was crazy.
The head on passes were excellent and the dogs were clearly enjoying the race and fully aware that we were racing. It always warms my heart when I see that they 'get it' and it's as much fun for them as it is for me. When this happens, it just feels right. We've come together as one, as a team and it really doesn't get much better!
My Fab Six-Dog Team
Yahboo and Rosie lead on the way out and then I switched and placed Cookqiz infront with Rosie for the return journey. Tumac and Hana were at wheel and then there was Nellie of course who has earned her way to the front of the team next season, actually, starting this spring when the ATV comes out. She has been a driving force and a gas pedal from within the team.
I had no idea just how fast we were going but, clearly, much faster than I had anticipated. I had told Richard to get to the race around 12:15'ish anticipating coming in around then or later...... when I crossed the finish line, Richard was nowhere to be seen. He was bringing a puppy with him so I wondered if he had gone for a hike instead with Pear. I asked Peg if she had seen Richard !!! She said "No" .... "You told him to get her after midday". She then said "Do you know what time it is" (as I crossed the finish line and came to a halt for a bag check). I said "No, I have no idea what time it is" Peg said " It's only 11:30" "You are over 40 minutes faster than you thought you would be". "Oh" I said. Feeling a little surprised but knowing we had experienced some pretty decent training runs, we placed 8th overall which was an astonishing finish. Richard arrived on time and was quite bummed to have missed us crossing over the finish, oh well.... Pear was with him. She is so gorgeous. We had a fun day with friends, Caroline and Andy were there and so were Hugh and Judy from Scotland, always a treat to be in their company. Kim, Kelly and Rob and Louise. Such a great day. We stayed all afternoon to support the other racers who had yet to finish and of course, the 45 milers who came in after the 20 milers. Then off to the awards ceremony with Kim and Kelly. We had a fun time sitting in the front of their truck waiting for the doors to open, chatting about the trail, the course and of course, the dogs.
OH !! And the biggest joy was receiving my gorgeous custom made and gifted sled bag from Andy Bartleet and Caroline Blair-Smith. Wow, is it gorgeous. I can tell ya... that bag turns a few heads!!!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Uncle Biffa
Biffa, my dear beautiful boy. Miss you terribly. Always happy, always sweet, always giving... never a mean moment. Biffa left the physical world on February 2nd 2011 at age 11. He gave life 100%, loved all the dogs in his furry family, helped raise puppies, was always happy, joyful. He would be the first to howl, always knew when I was awake in the morning..... he would look up at my bedroom window waiting for me to look back at him and then the morning howl would begin. I miss him. Love you Biffy!
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