I've Been Remiss

OK, I'll admit it.  I've been poor about updating my blog lately.  After a truly brutal 2 week tour at work all I wanted to do was come home, hang out with the dogs and accomplish some stuff here at home.  Heck, I even turned off all the telephones for several days, just to ensure some peace and quiet. 

But, I'm all better now so it's time to get caught up a wee bit.  

First, some very good news.  Melanie Gould has been found, alive and safe.  She hasn't released many details about how and why she disappeared, but you can read what is available HERE. 

Here at home, I've been focusing on my annual kennel improvement project.  There is ALWAYS something that can be done to make a sled dog kennel more comfortable for the team or more convenient for the caretakers.  This year I added two additional pens.  I like pens more than tethers mostly because they require less space.  The scientific evidence finds no significant difference in the behavior of sled dogs housed in pens versus on tethers, but it is easier for a dog to play with a companion if they aren't restrained by chains. 

In any event, here are two views of the kennel before I added the new pens:

Before addition, from my perch on the deck.

View from ground level, before additions

Now, here are photos shot from the same vantage points after the new pens were installed:

From my perch on the deck.

From ground level

Once the pens were installed I started filling in holes.  This required the purchase of 10 square yards of top soil from a local quarry, followed by hours and hours and hours of shovel work.  I just finished that job this morning.

I still have more projects to do, but this was the big one for this summer.  Now I have 12 of the 15 Stardancer dogs living in pens, and plenty of space to accommodate some puppies I hope to acquire this fall and winter.

Meanwhile, the newcomers to the kennel are doing very well indeed.  Selene is being just a sweetheart.  She's met several new people and I'm pretty sure she never met a human she didn't just adore.  Innoko is all puppy, even though he is clearly the largest dog in the yard.  His antics provide constant entertainment.  Midnight's Son seems to be having the time of his life hanging out and playing with his siblings and new friends.