Frequent readers of this blog know that I live two distanctly different lives. In my "real life" I'm a dog musher, outdoorsman and rural gentleman. In my working life, I am employed in a dual rule, as a security officer & paramedic at a remote industrial site. I joke that my job is to protect this particular asset from the ravages of crime, terrorism and disease, but the reality behind the joke is that my job really is to protect the asset from those things.
My work schedule is usually two weeks on duty / two off, with big chunks of my "off" time spent in work related training. That's a whole 'nother story for a whole 'nother time, though.
The Monday before I return to my place of employment is always pretty darned busy as I run errands, pack for the trip, and try to tidy up the house a bit so I don't come home to total disarray. Since I board my dogs at two different kennels, those trips are also part of the mayhem.
Cleaning out the refrigerator is a very important part of the Monday mayhem. I forgot to do that once. Only once, and a long, long time ago. I'm actually surprised the resulting stench didn't prompt a borough haz-mat response in which the appliance was declared a biological disaster area.
The dogs seem to cope with the routine very well. Most of the team boards with Mike and Kim Green in their sled dog kennel. They really seem to enjoy hanging out with their canine buddies at "Kimik Kennel". Torus was so excited about going to Mike's that he actually bent his most enough to pull the spinner out and escape into the free run yard. One more good reason for building and maintaining a perimeter fence around the kennel. Mike and Kim say they always know when I'm coming to visit if I'm driving the truck, as their dogs can apparently hear and react to the unique sound of my diesel dog truck as soon as I pull off the highway and onto their side road.
This tour of duty, Amazing Grace, Seamus and Lucky and the puppies are all staying with Lynn Orbison at Daisy Acres. We've been planning for many months for the puppies to board with Lynn, and she's done a wonderful job in preparing a great space for them. I wish I'd taken my camera when I dropped them off this morning.
Their "puppy pen" is about 30 X 15 feet, and contains two whelping houses and a big "A" frame. They have tunnels to crawl through, things to climb on, dangly toys to hang from, plenty of fresh straw for bedding - all of the luxuries of puppy life. It's a wonderful space, and Lynn is a wonderful friend for providing it, and providing so much support in breeding, whelping and raising this litter.
Packing for work is easy enough. It should be, I've been doing this for the past 16 stinkin' years. The only problem is that each and every time I seem to forget something. Don't tell anyone, but once I even forgot to load my gun belt and had to call a friend and ask him to fetch it up to me. That was very embarrassing, but it was a long time ago. Usually it is something trivial such as a book I intended to read or bill I intended to pay. The really scary times are like tonight, when I know I have forgotten something, but I can't remember what it was.
In any event, I'm now back at my place of employment doing what I must to pay for my most enjoyable lifestyle. Much of my money pays for good beer and better dogs, and all the rest is wasted on the mortgage, heating oil, utilities and so forth.
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