The major accomplishment of the R&R was to build an equipment shed to house the tractor, four-wheeler and other motorized equipment. Though not a serious issue this time of year, during winter anything left out in the open disappears, becomes completely buried in snow. Digging it out for use is at best inconvenient. It's an inconvenience I no longer have to endure.
Yesterday was very restful as I enjoyed the company of house guests. Kim Fitzgerald, founder of the
Hedlund Huskie Preservation Project brought her friend Marcie Heckler up to Two Rivers from their homes in the MatSu valley to meet some dogs, meet some people and enjoy the weekend. It was a certainly a delightful weekend for me.
Marcie and Kim are very close friends and have shared many adventures over the years, particularly adventures associated with sled dogs. They have run sled dog tours together, worked out in the bush together, and Marcie has an especially rich history handing for Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race founder Joe Redington Sr. While handling for Joe she spent a lot of time in the company of long distance dog mushing pioneers such as Joe Runyon, Joe Garney and Susan Butcher. Listening to her stories was an education in many different regards.
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| Marcie Heckler describes life in Joe Redinton Sr.'s kennel while Kim Fitzgerald looks on. |
Yesterday evening we made the hour-long drive out to Nita and Josh and their
Sirius Sled Dogs kennel near the top of Murphy Dome. Nita and Josh are awash with puppies, including a new little Hedlund Husky female from Lidia and Richard Dale-Mesaros'
Valley Snow Dogz kennel in Waterville, New Hampshire. Richard escorted baby Lidia (the puppy) to Alaska, and it was our opportunity meet the gentleman and enjoy the company of some other Hedlund Husky fanciers.
Nita and Josh threw a potluck party that attracted a nice crowd of dog people. The food was excellent, and conversation stimulating and in general it was just a great evening out and about.
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| Richard Dale-Mesaros (center) shares photos of his Alaska adventure with sled builder Cody Strathe while Kristen Eckwright looks on. |
This morning I headed into town to do all of my normal "pre-work tour" errands. When I returned home a light rain was falling, and I captured a very unusual photograph. My big buddy Innoko is, for all intents and purposes, a Canadian Eskimo Dog. He has the typical size, build, coat and attitude of that breed. Today is only the 2nd time in his entire life, including during temperatures well less than 50-below, that I've ever seen him engage in this particular behavior.
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| Innoko captured INSIDE his house - very rare for this dog. |
As I've noted before, once I return to work tomorrow I won't have access to high speed Internet service to keep my blog up to date. I won't disappear forever, but it will likely be a couple of weeks before you hear or read from me again. Don't worry, I WILL return.
Swanny
Innoko is a snow dog, not a rain dog :-)
ReplyDeleteThere is ALWAYS a reason for the curve balls, even if we can't conceive (no pun intended) of it! All that is ever expected of us is to show up, give it our best, and when nature has her way, find it in our heart to show the same compassion to ourselves as we would to others. We are, after all, human, which, by the way, is plenty for our canine loved ones.
ReplyDeleteHVAC Training Schools in Alaska