Meeting George & Ginger

The highly anticipated Mia x Cruz pups are here!

Grampa knows how to get their attention!

Welcoming our newest team members!

Happy Hazel

Hazel was beyond excited for the opportunity to run with the team today! She even tried to clamber into a box on the trailer by herself. :-D She isn't fit enough for the whole 3 miles to be easy, but she never gave up!! I am very proud of her.

A Walk in the Woods

This afternoon we took Amber & Goose out with us. Look at how excited Goose was to be there!

Peanut Posing for a Portrait

Meeting in the Middle

Day 2 at Valcartier!!

She flew around the course with our 6 Dog Class entry: Shark & Sparkles, Bull & Dara, and Ice & Spice. Go team!

They're off!!

This weekend we are racing in Valcartier, Quebec. This morning he's headed out with our Open Class entry which consists of: Cenz & Frank, Sugar & Lucky, Clover & Abby, Dunkin & Donut, Chloe & Honey, and Stretch & Rupp.

Family Portrait

Bull with his mom - Gotham, and dad - Shark.

Youthful Exuberance

I was walking back to the atv after visiting the team while they were taking a break. Apparently Abby was really anxious to get going again!!

Trottinette (or kick sled race)

She hooked up Bull & Cenz and they flew!!

Reassurance from a Friend

Amber is helping Hazel to learn that there is no reason to be so afraid of the world outside the kennel.

Blue Mountain 30 Mile Sled Dog Race

It was actually 34 miles of difficult trails, but they did well considering poor Peanut had to be put in the bag after injuring her shoulder. (she's recovering well now)

They're not speaking to each other this morning...

(Mis) Adventures in Mushing

Yesterday we ran the dogs on the rail trail from Boscawen to Franklin and vice versa. It's a unique trail because it parallels the road, so there are lots of opportunities for pictures and videos. The weather was mild, and there were so many friendly people (on snowmobiles and in cars) who were enjoying watching the dogs! They all got in a solid 10 mile workout, and it was definitely a learning experience for me! 
The first thing I learned is that Asa is a really lucky guy. Both runs that he went on behind Nova were clean and mostly uneventful. Mine was not.
The second thing I learned was not to hook a female dog in season right behind male leaders. It turned every little issue that normally would be simple into a tangle that I had to run up and fix! Poor Mia - she couldn't help it, and I suppose Cenz and Rupp couldn't either, but it meant a lot of stress for me trying to catch that whip sled as I could never get back to it fast enough, and it would end up flying by me! I did catch it though! Except for that one time...good thing I'm a runner!
The third thing I learned was that when being dragged - get a knee on a runner. It hurts, but from there you can pull yourself up. 
The fourth thing is that although she will laugh first, Nova will then do everything she can to drag the team to a pause when you start to roll because although you did get a grip on the sled as it flew by, you didn't get a knee on and lost your balance altogether! 
The fifth thing is to not let the rope between sleds have any slack in it before take off. The force that a team of 10 dogs can throw into those harnesses is awesome. But painful when it jolts your whole body once that slack is gone. Wow though. So awesome to feel it!  (Not gonna do that again.)
These misadventures are what I need in order to learn this sport. I might be a bit crazy, but I loved it. Even if I was silently cursing our support crew for not coming to my rescue!  But, if he had, that would have meant I had failed. I didn't. We didn't.
Nova was exhausted from running 30 dogs, constantly monitoring them, and making all the decisions, so we both were thrilled when Ed drove to our favorite pizza shop. It has never tasted so good.

Where are we goin'?

Moonlight

Full moon/blue moon/super moon with a lunar eclipse tomorrow morning. It made for a beautiful late night walk with the dogs!

Time to trim nails!

When it's time to trim the teams' nails, the job doesn't end just because the sun's gone down before you finish all 437. And she didn't forget Amber! Abby made darn sure they were done right too. ;-) Good job girls!