Home Routine

I got off-duty at 6 am, and headed down the road straightaway.  Before heading to the house I needed to stop in town at the grocery store, stocking up for the first of two weeks at home.  I turned up the thermostat and then unloaded the car and unpacked all my stuff right off.  I don't necessarily like living out of a suitcase and I've found that if I unpack the moment I arrive home I don't even have to fret over it.  I guess it's part of the ritual of returning home.

By the time I finished unpacking the house was up to 'living' temperature, and I was in need of sleep.  I grabbed a four-hour nap, then fired up the truck to warm while I dressed.  Two trips over the Mike's place got all of my dogs at home, where they belong.  I put Darling Daisy and Torus in the pen that is attached to the garage so I can bring them in at night.  They are both older dogs and Daisy has not been doing well with the cold this winter.  Torus doesn't mind the cold at all, in fact he never even goes into his dog house even with temperatures of minus-50 or colder.  It doesn't seem to bother him, but it does bother me so I set things up so I can bring him in if the forecast holds true.

With the dogs home, the next errand was to go to the post office and collect my mail.  A two week accumulation usually leaves my post office box overflowing and today was no exception.  Of course much of it was hard-copy spam and was easily dealt with by a simple toss into the waste basket.  I see no reason why I should haul that crap to the dumpster station.  I'll let the postal clerks do it instead. 

Back to the house, and it was time to feed.  While feeding I realized that Capella was on a short chain.  Most of my tie-out chains are 6 feet.  Mounted on a central swivel giving the dog a 360 degree circle gives the dog slightly more than 100 square feet of space.  The shorter chain gives her less space, but equally important makes it impossible for her to touch her kennel mates.  My tie out yard is set up so the dogs can just touch noses and play with each other without tangling their chains.  This makes for a much more stimulating and psychologically rewarding confinement system of the dogs.

In any event, the short chain and swivel is one I keep handy for a spare while repairing broken gear, so I simply switched it out with a longer one.  As I was leaving Capella's circle she decided to test the new limits of her area and went dashing about in a wide circle.  (Do you see it coming, yet?).  Yep, she clotheslined me with her chain right at knee level and dumped my flat on my back.  Of course she saw that as the perfect opportunity to wash my face.   Although I was startled, I didn't get upset.  It is just one of those accidents than can happen in a sled dog kennel, and it certainly wasn't malicious.  In fact, I hung out with Capella for a bit, playing with her and loving her up just to be sure that she also wasn't upset or worried.   

So, at this point I've done all those things I have to do to resume my "at home" lifestyle and get back into the routine of daily living.  Of course, there are things that are not particularly routine happening.  The Yukon Quest start banquet is tomorrow evening.  I won my auction bid to spend the banquet at musher Josh Cadzow's table, and I'm very much looking forward to it.  I'm planning to spend most of the day tomorrow with the dogs, but we probably won't be running.  Instead I'll bring them into the house one by one for some personal time and to do some husbandry.  Some need their coats brushed out (especially fuzzy Ol' Chinook, the St. Bernard mix), most need their claws clipped, and we all need some time together to just be together.