Wow, it’s COLD! NOW we know what everyone is talking about when they say it’s cold in Alaska. We’ve experienced our first -20 degrees (F) weather, though the sun was shining brightly and it looked deceptively warm outside. Wes put on his cold weather gear and with Ryne, braved the elements and took the dogs on their 25 mile runs. He survived, and is looking forward to more cold weather dog runs.
We have had just enough snow to make us think about getting the sleds out of storage for a tune-up. Neither of us knows how to use a sled and we are eager to learn how they work. We are not too concerned; Santa makes it look easy. He has never gotten tangled or had his team leave him behind; he does not even need a snow hook.
In the meantime, we are keeping busy in the dog yard. Another round of bedding straw has gone out for the dogs, 3 tons of salmon arrived, the Latino litter had their first romp in the snow behind the ATV 4-wheeler, and the Outlaw litter has ventured out from their dog house to explore their world. We’ve enjoyed watching the Outlaw and Latino litters “talking” through the fence at each other. Izzy is quite bossy, and has decided to inform all the puppies just how things should be in their world. Nelson has decided to ignore her lectures and entertain himself on the exercise wheel. The Outlaw puppies are curious and confused by the whole thing. Especially when they were carried out to the field to play in the snow in a stock pot. All in all, it’s an adventure growing up, and they seem to be doing it very well.
Wes and I are learning how to cook salmon for the dogs. They were a good deal--left over research fish from the season. Once we learned how to cut off their extra head and third eye, the rest was easy. Our recipe includes delicately seasoning it with kibble. The dogs LOVE their new dish! The next dish we’ll learn is cubed beef snacks—can’t wait!
To top off our week, we enjoyed a great neighborhood potluck and bonfire. We were finally able to put names and faces to the parkas and 4-wheelers we see every day on training runs. It’ll be awhile before we recognize a musher by their dog teams though. We’re still working to learn the SP Kennel dogs. Who knew that Boondocks and Kipper looked so much alike; or that Scruggs, Honda, and Olivia are identical…aren’t they? Uh well, we’ll keep working on it, and hope to get it right soon!
