Spring in upon us in Two Rivers. The trails are mushy, the fields are muddy and the south facing slopes are dirt.
More than anything this means…
Spring clean up is here!
The first few days of snow melt always brings us grand surprises: finding treasures that were buried in the very first snow on October 4th. We try our best to deal with these surprises quickly or at least before the final spring melt. We find it is best to feed the 50 pounds of hidden turkey skins or 30 strips of beef snacks before they thaw completely. The dog dishes, feed buckets and coolers that had leftover frozen meals need to be cleaned before the thaw as well. Nothing like washing several hundred dishes at once. Anyone have a very large, commercial grade dishwasher in Two Rivers? No… that means we need to stretch the water hose out again. ('Tis the season.)
Tidbits that seem to appear out of the thawing snow pack are dog booties, hidden dog toys and chew bones. The booties need to be dried and sorted along with the 2,000 used booties that came back from the Yukon Quest and Iditarod. (That will be an ongoing summer project!) But, the dog toys and bones are happily uncovered and thoroughly enjoyed by the pooches. We hope to resupply all the dogs with fresh bones later in the spring.
Each dog house was packed full of straw throughout the winter months. This straw has since been dragged around the yard and now adds to the muck and yuck. So a full day must be put aside to rake straw and clean out houses. Dog bowls need to be checked for any winter puncture holes. It will soon be the season when water can actually be left outside and not become an instant ice cube.
(L - R) Treasures in the melting snow; Wasn't that straw supposed to be INSIDE Mac's house?; a little late in the season to use a sled for clean up.
The winter dog gear needs washing and sorting. Our dog coats, wind jackets, leggings and blankets were used a lot during the two very cold 1,000 mile races this season. A long day at the laundromat is imperative. Why not wash the musher's gear as well? Perhaps we'll even be invited back to the races next if we don't smell like an end of the season dog musher.
It is the time of the year when a dog musher wonders… is it the end of this season or the beginning of the next? Hummmmm.
The exit trail from the kennel and across the field looks different but gorgeous in the Spring.
