ABAKAN journal
March 27: Freddie (Ch. Snowhook’s Freddie Sings Again of Seaview) went to the Alaska KC shows in Anchorage this past weekend. Nothing on Saturday, but Freddie won Best Opposite Sex on Sunday, earning a 5 point major toward his Grand Championship. Freddie is handled by Kaitlyn Glidden, owned and bred by Lynn Hornbein(Snowhook Samoyeds). Freddie’s mom is Hushe, litter sister to Aia, Plume, and Turq.
March 27: I think at this point I am going to try for a breeding between two of my own dogs this year…and I also will look at the possibility of using a different girl with an outside stud. Will see who comes in heat when and proceed accordingly. Will post any news here.
March 22: I received a note and some pictures from Jacob in the Netherlands of Justice. Jacob writes that Justice likes to hunt things, or find animals, anyway. They were at a local park and Justice rustled up a deer from a bush. Slideshow below. Thanks to Jacob for the news and the pictures.
Mar 17: It was 77 degrees here two days ago and then yesterday it snowed and temps got colder again. I am glad because I am not ready for it to be hot yet. Too early. I have plenty of firewood, so we had a wood fire yesterday, last night, and again this morning the wood stove is operating.
I am giving some thought now to repeating the breeding between Jet and Zuli to see if “maybe” this time it might be right. Maybe the timing would be right this time. I have an outside stud as a possibility, but maybe he would be a better match for a different girl. At any rate…we are progressing forward toward seeing what might happen this year.
Mar 12: Friday Bridger went with me to the meat packing plant to pick up a new bag of bones. Sat I ran Bridger and Turq in the morning and then in the aft I groomed Deacon and took him out for a good exercise and walk and got some new pictures of him. He especially liked going on the road where the trees are because there were so many interesting smells and he got to pee on everything. 😀 New pictures of Samba and Deacon on the front page.
Mar 3: Bridger and Turq and I got out this morning for a good run. See slideshow below.
Feb 27: On Sat the 25th I got out with Bridger and Turq and had a really good run. We got in more mileage than we had been getting and did a section of bushwhacking to get from the dirt road back to the truck. I wanted both the dogs to have a really good workout, and I think we all had that!
I am working out the details with a person with a male dog who we are going to try a breeding with. No more details at this point will be offered. Will post if anything develops worth reporting.
Feb 15: This has been a busy week as I have tried to get a number of the dogs out either with the bike or on the flexi to work out before the winter storm which is on us now, today. Not sure exactly what day it was, but I did get Miles out with Bridger for a good run. I had been trying to decide if I wanted to get Miles out again or not. All went well. He had a very good time. Will probably try to run him again, if he so chooses. He will be 14 years and 5 months on on the 20th. Bridger (left), Miles (right).
Feb 10: After a very cold and extremely windy day yesterday I decided today to get out with a couple of the boys who had not been out in a while. Get them out for a good workout with the flexi lead. Logan went first and then Zuli went. It was about 26 degrees, but nicely sunny. Zuli pics are on the front page.
Feb 3: FINALLY got out with Bridger and Turq this morning. Ground was frozen and there was still crusted snow at our turn off the main road, but not too bad. We did not run the last leg going down the gravel road in the shade today. That adds a little more mileage, but it was also frosted. Maybe it will get better in the days ahead. At any rate…run was at about 15 degrees. Both Bridger and Turq did very well. Run was enjoyed by all. Slideshow below.
Jan 24: More snow and having to move around dogs and dog poop and firewood is keeping me busy. Not getting out is no fun, but it is what it is. Camilla was finally able to get out and she sent me a few pictures of Eagle with the team. Two here. He’s the one circled in red.
Jan 15: I injured my back during our really cold spell doing a lot of lifting and carrying. I have improved enough that I want to get out with at least a single dog now. Bridger and I got out with the bike yesterday and today Turq and I got out. Slideshow below:
The western view yesterday looked like this (Click on the picture for a larger – and better – view):
Jan 11: I came across this photo recently of 5 generations of ABAKAN dogs and thought it would be nice to post here, since I don’t think it appears anywhere else on this site. Left to right: Mir(14), Mir’s son, Teak(9), Teak’s daughter, Kiva(5), Kiva’s daughter, Mouka(almost 3), and Mouka’s son, Zuli (5 months). Mir, Teak and Kiva are all gone now. Mouka is 11. Zuli will be 9 in April. As the John Prine tune goes: “No matter how hard I try…the years just keep rollin’ by…like a broken down dam.”
Jan 4: As this is my 49th year to run the dogs with a bicycle…I have updated the “Bikejoring” page today, adding a few new pictures and some additional info.
Jan 3: I was able to get out with Bridger and the bike on New Year’s Day. I went to see what our trail might be like. It worked out just fine…and then we had snow again the next day. ha So kinda back to square one. If I can go when the ground is frozen, we should be OK. See my write up and pictures of the run on the front page.
Dec 30: Bikejoring does not seem to be able to get going in December very much. We had the BIG snow, then everything started melting and I was “thinking” that maybe we might be able to get out this week before the NEXT storm comes – which looks like it’s going to be Monday. But it is cold now and everything is frozen and ICY. HA Not good conditions for two wheels. So…we are just hanging out. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and Sunday will be New Years. Best wishes to all for a very good NEW YEAR!
Dec 21: I have received some nice pictures from Jacob, Camilla, and Christine and I would like to share them here. Michael and Christine went for a hike and Michael asked Christine if she would marry him and Wally. 🙂 He had a tag made for Wally’s collar that Christine had to read first. Such a special moment and a BIG congratulations to them. Jacob and Camilla sent special holiday pictures of Justice(l) and Eagle(r). All below.
Dec 16: I have separated the page for Elsa and Katch and each dog has her/his own page. The pages were getting heavy with photos and it seemed better to separate so viewing would be easier for all.
We had quite a bit of snow a few nights ago and it has gotten quite cold now. Doesn’t look like we will be doing any bikejoring for a while. My sleds are not really operational now and the first part of our normal run would be on a gravel road, which would tear up the sled runners, so we are sidelined until further notice. Here are a couple of snow pictures. (You won’t see the Moon in the cornice picture because the program crops it out. 😦 )
Dec 1: The Denver Samoyed Association put on their 2-day specialty show this past weekend, Nov 26-27. On Saturday there was a Veteran Sweepstakes(for dogs over 7 years old), and also a Best Veteran award was given for best veteran a the show(by a different judge than the sweepstakes judge). Winner of both awards (Best Veteran in Sweepstakes and Best Veteran in Specialty) was Bridger’s litter sister, Queen City’s Dance Hall Girl o’Abakan…Dani. At 8 years of age, Dani is still moving out very well and handled by her owner, Pam Buhl, she apparently won the praise of both the judges for these classes. Pictured below are Dani and Pam moving around the show ring.
New pictures are posted of Elsa(pictured at home) and Katch(with Nicholas handling at the DSA Specialty) on their page.
Nov 29: It was 12 degrees yesterday morning and I got out with Miles and Bridger for a good bike run. Miles is 14 now and I let him decide if he wants to get in the truck and go. He jumped in the truck and got in the crate behind the seat, Bridger was in the crate in the back of the truck and we were off. Miles mostly just ran along, but it was a good workout for him and I got to work my thighs. Bicycling is one activity where you don’t have to pound your joints. Pictures below, slideshow.
Nov 26: I’ve been doing a little work with webbing. Making some leashes. I have made harnesses for the dogs, but hadn’t done anything on the sewing machine. I sewed the harnesses with a Speedy Stitcher. I wanted to see if my machine would do webbing, and it did just fine. Here’s a leash I made recently. I’ll put a link for supplies below pics. Slideshow of leash pics.
1″ tubular webbing at: https://strapworks.com/shop-by-product-type/webbing/tubular
5/8″ Italian brass snap at: https://alpineoutfitters.net/collections/accessories/products/5-8-italian-bronze-snap-cl013
Nov 23: Jet had no puppies. I am disappointed, but life goes on. Now I have to reboot into some new daily pattern. Maybe we will start running again. I am working on organizing one of the rooms in the house, so that will keep me busy for a while. The dogs are really enjoying the cold weather. They come alive and run around and do things in the cold. The holidays are upon us.
Nov 2: I received the SCA 2022 Pedigree Guide in the mail yesterday(Thanks to Lynn for sending it). This is a booklet that has been put together for a number of years now by the SCA Natl host giving organization. There is a pedigree section where you can post a picture of your dog with a three-generation pedigree. In the 2022 book, Noona is the first Samoyed represented in the pedigree section. Here’s the picture that accompanies her pedigree. She was: Abakan Nunatak o’Elmfield WSX. You can see more of Noona in the In Memory section. I feel extremely fortunate that Noona is behind the dogs now.
I wanted to get a bike run in today as we are due for some weather changes. Out with Bridger and Turq today. Slideshow below.
Nov 1: Jacob sent some new pictures of Justice from the Netherlands. Justice has now completed the first level of obedience. He is also shown watching the deer at the local deer park and listening to Animal Planet and the vet from Denver CO. Slideshow below.
Jet is now just two weeks away from her longest due date, so we will begin to get serious and start taking her temperature. I have already started feeding her more and we will begin the final push tomorrow with added protein and a daily cup of raspberry leaf tea.
Oct 28: Michael and Christine and Wally participated in a doggy Halloween event at a brewery in Longmont last weekend. Michael and Christine dressed as condiments and Wally wore his first Halloween costume as a pickle. His costume says “I’m kind of a big dill.” They also went on a lovely hike near Glenwood Springs. Slideshow follows.
Eagle – in Sweden with Camilla – got out for a first run with the four-wheeler and the full team. Camilla had been having trouble getting the 4-wheeler to start, but she got help and is now running the dogs. Eagle is in the third duo back from the front, on the left, with his mouth open and his paws stretched out in front of him.
Oct 21: Today I wanted to get Miles out with Turq for a run with the bike. Miles had not been out for a little while and Turq had not been out for a couple of months. Weather, also, looks like it is going to be changing and will quite a bit cooler next week. Makes a lot of difference when you are riding a bike!
Miles is 14. Turq is his daughter. She will be 7 in a couple of weeks.
We got out before the sun came up today. Beginning pictures of the first part of our run are even blurred due to the low light. Here’s a bit from today’s run.
Oct 16: MORE. Had another GREAT run with Bridger and Logan today. A bit different day. 43 degrees and a bit cloudy. We were on our way before the sun cracked the horizon. Sunrise slideshow.
I don’t try to get pictures when the dog are galloping(running as fast as they can), which is what they do when we start out. When I take pictures I am holding on to the left bicycle handlebar while taking a picture with my right hand. While being pulled along on a bike by two strong dogs. Safety first is my motto. We have four sections on a training course. Here’s another slideshow of part of today’s run.
On the dirt road east we did a gallop section. Both boys were running very strong, so we picked up the pace. The driver command is “Pick it up” and the dogs know to run faster. It generally means they change gait. Here they changed from a trot to a gallop.
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For our running course: We run west down a gravel road, then turn off left onto a dirt berm and head south, then turn right onto a dirt road and head west. We run down that road, then stop and turn around, go back east on the dirt road, turn back onto the berm going north…and today we ran the berm back to the gravel road, but turned and instead of heading east back to the truck we turned(that’s a haw turn) left and headed west on the gravel road. Slideshow of the last legs of today’s run – plus a bonus at the end. 🙂
Oct 16: I went out yesterday morning with Bridger and Logan and the bike. We have not made it down to the 30s at night, so Bridger and Logan were running at about 48 degrees. There was a cold breeze, though, so my bare hands and ears got cold by the time we finished our run. It was a gorgeous cloudless blue sky day with lower dewpoint. Getting to be my type of weather! Of course…I took a WHOLE bunch of pictures, but had failed to put the memory card in my camera. Sigh. I had this camera for 10 years, used a photo program with the Mac, and never had to use a memory card. But now I am using a Chromebook, so…new routine.
Logan, though, is showing himself to be a very good runner. He runs very well WITH Bridger. Bridger is now 8 and they are a very good matched team. Will enjoy this while I can. Logan is presented in the SCA 2022 Pedigree Guide and I will post his guide picture here.
Oct 8: Today was the Best of Breed judging for the Samoyed Club of America Natl Specialty in Gridley CA. Beth Riley was breed judge. Lynn Hornbein’s Ch. Snowhook’s Freddie Sings Again of Seview received an Award of Merit. A big congratulations to Lynn, to Freddie’s handler, Kaitlyn, and to Freddie.
Also at this National…a young male with Abakan lines behind his sire was awarded Reserve Winner’s Dog for a 3 point major, which finished his AKC championship. This dog is now new AKC Champion Firecloud’s Tears of the Prophets…”Sol.” His paternal great grandfather is Bravo, brother to my Kib. Both were by Abakan San-We-Tlah II…”Speaker”. You can see Speaker on the ABAKAN historic page(first 20 something years). He was born in 1978. This lineage was brought forward through a frozen semen breeding. BTW: Freddie is a grandson of Miles; his mom is litter sister to Aia and Plume and Turq, sister to Nilaq(in Germany), and sister to Bose and Sika.
Oct 4: We had rain yesterday evening here. Even though the forecast had no rain forecast…there it was pouring down. And last night my driveway and the yard looked like something out of one of the Florida hurricane videos. So…my plans for running the dogs this week may have to be postponed. Will see how the week continues to unfold.
Oct 2: One year ago with the gate greeters. Watermelon, on the left, is now Katch and with Nicholas and Erin in Colorado. Justice(on the right) is now with Jacob and his family in the Netherlands. Riba, in the middle, stayed here with her sister, Samba.
Last day at Tettau. The team of Carole Mikx and Andres de Vries, driver Andres, with Aedan(out of Nilaq) and his dad Olly running at wheel, Aedan on the left. This was after a 15k run with lots of hills.
Oct 1: Forecast calls for 70 degree days next week. I am planning to at least get out with Bridger to see what the course is looking like. Turq has been in heat but I plan to get her out with Miles soon. Then Logan will be running on the A team with Bridger. As I have posted on the front page…this season will be my 48th year to run the dogs with the bike.
The yearly gathering in Tettau(and I think this is in Germany) has been underway. Carole Mikx and Andres De Vries have attended with their six dog team and Samira and Timo were there with their dogs. Samira took a number of shots of Andres with their team and I will post them here as a slideshow. Aedan, out of Nilaq and one of Carole’s dogs(Olly) is running at lead on the right in the pictures. Bommel is the other dog at lead.
Sept 20: Jet has been bred to Zuli. Now all I can do is just wait. Won’t know anything until at least the middle of October, and if I don’t get an ultrasound then…won’t know much of anything until after the first of November. So that is the news today. I have put up a page for the combination, which you can access from the top menu bar.
We are still having days in the mid 90s here. Will be nice when things begin to cool down for good.
Sept 5: Yesterday morning I got out with Miles and Turq and did a bike run on our regular course. There was standing water in one low section of the dirt road and there was a trail around that. The farmer had been through with some kind of swather to cut down the big weeds. Today I see they have baled a section of the property. At any rate…it was a very wet morning with heavy dew, but we got in a good brisk run for both the dogs and Turq got to get out the first time this season. I am hoping to be able to try both Samba and Riba out with Turq. Below are pics of Miles and Turq on their run.
This weekend, too, was the Working Dog Club of Alaska’s show in Chugiak AK. Lynn Hornbein’s Freddie(Snowhook’s Freddie Sings Again Of Seaview) made his debut in the breed ring as he finished his championship and was now eligible to compete in the specials class. Saturday Freddie was awarded Best Opposite Sex over three other male specials. Sunday Freddie was awarded Best of Breed over 7 other Samoyed champions. He went on to receive a Group II win. I point this out here because Freddie was the only Samoyed entered who had actually done any of the “work” that Samoyeds are in the Working Group for being able to do. Freddie has actually run in harness on a sled team. His pedigree, too, includes Nordvikens Obraz Zima Kraziva, who was leader for Don Duncan’s 2007 Alaska Serum Run(an expedition of about 780 miles, much of what was accomplished at 50 below zero temps), and Ch. Abakan Frontiersman WSX HIC, who ran on a competitive sled dog team which won the SCA Top Sled Team award in 1999. I feel like there are fewer and fewer Samoyeds that are being worked in traditional working activities and it is notable when one surfaces that actually is. See Freddie pics below. Tom Henry is the driver for the 4-dog Samoyed team.
Sept 2: It was a pretty cool morning, but I wanted to get Miles out by himself today for a brisk walk on the flexi. He is just 18 days shy of being 14 years old. I have never had a dog this age to be this vital, so I want to give him every opportunity I can to get out and stretch out. Pictures from our walk this morning. The nicest thing about the flexi is that he can run out ahead or on the side; he can go as fast as he wants to.
Sept 1: So far this running season I have been able to get two two-dog teams out with the bike. First, Bridger with Miles, then Bridger with Logan. This is the first year in the 10 years I have been living at this location that I have been able to run dogs this early. Now, we are back up in the temps again, with 90+ degree days, so we will cool our jets for now and continue our life in the air conditioning. Even Idaho has had extremely hot temps at this time, so even a thought of moving somewhere where it might be cooler…leaves me wondering…just where that might be. So far…here…we still have our little training area where we can run. At least…there is that.
Aug 22: This past weekend was the Greeley(CO) KC show at Greeley. Nicholas and Katch made their debut in the show ring and my friend Lorrie McAllister(who attended the show as an observer) took these pictures of Nicholas and Katch on Saturday.
Our temps have been cooling off and I have started getting the dogs ready for fall. Today was Turq’s day to be groomed and have her toenails trimmed. I am hoping to be able to introduce Samba to harness running with Turq this season. Then, I can run Bridger with Miles or Logan.
Aug 13: Yesterday morning it was 57. I was surprised because I did not remember it being this cool at this time of year. Considering that days are still in the 90s. I thought if this morning was that cool…we might get out with the bike. And…this morning it was 56. So I loaded Miles in the truck in the crate behind the seat, got Bridger loaded in the crate in the back of the truck, got the bike loaded in, and we headed to our running area. There was a very nice cool breeze as well and the boys and I had a VERY NICE run for August 13! I didn’t take the camera today. Decided it would be a camera-free day. But here’s my favorite shot of Miles(left) and Bridger(right) on one of our bike runs. … Miles will be 14 on September 20.
Aug 9: I have received some pictures from Jacob in the Netherlands. He and his family went on holiday and visited the Vlieland island off the Netherlands. Slideshow below. Looks like everybody is having enjoyable visit.
Aug 3: Congratulations to breeder Lynn Hornbein and handler Kaitlyn Glidden on new AKC champion Snowhook’s Freddie Sings Again of Seaview. Freddie is by Seaview’s Yike and Abakan Hushe Norbu of Snowhook NAJ. Hushe, Freddie’s mom, is full sister to Deacon, Turq, Plume, Aia and older sister to Nilaq(with SaMira in Germany) and Bose and Sika. Yike, Freddie’s dad, also goes back to Abakan through Nordviken’s Obraz, grandson of Norw Ch. Abakan Komolungma.
July 28: Colleen sent some pictures of Bear. He is brother to Bose and Sika and is now 4 years old.
July 18: Ethan and Elsa were invited to what he said was his first ever dog birthday celebration. He’s friends with a family that have 5 girls ages 4-10. The girls have a dog born July 17 and they felt the two young dogs needed a birthday party. There were dog b-day cakes, gift baskets, and they played dress up. Ethan said there were a lot of princess outfits(he didn’t say whether there had been one for him…:-) ) You can see Elsa in her outfit and playing with the girls. For his own special Elsa treat Ethan said he gave Elsa fresh deer meat right out of the freezer. Her favorite. Slide show below.
July 17: Eagle, at home with Camilla in Sweden, enjoying a dogs life. 🙂 One year old.
July 17: Christine put together a collage of Wally growing up. They had a b-day party of sorts for him with toys and a b-day cake baked by a local dog bakery. You can see Wally with his cake and b-day hat.
Jully 16: This was the view at this time last year.
Now everybody is a year older! Ethan sent a picture of Elsa in her birthday suit. 🙂 She has lost all her puppy coat.
July 15: Today was the second Aia and Bridger litter’s first birthday. They are all over. Wyoming, Colorado, Sweden, and the Netherlands! We are having hot weather now, so I am not running the dogs, but doing my chores early in the cool of the morning. I have a plan now for a possible fall breeding. Will post more if there are any developments.
July 5: Looks like Christine and Michael are not taking no for an answer and Wally is learning to be around water. 😀 Riding in the kayak is the latest treat!
June 25: New pictures of Nadine posted to her page. Hopefully…Bose is going to be next!
June 20: Christine, Michael, and Wally went on a retreat to a mountain cabin this past weekend to get out of the heat. Wally had a big yard to run around in and also got to try swimming in a lake. Apparently the yard was fun for him, but the swimming…not so much. It has been my experience that not all dogs care for the water. Wally does have a life jacket now, though, so he will be prepared for further water experiences. See slide show for pictures.
Eagle went with two other (of Camilla’s) dogs to a Samoyed meeting in Sweden. There were a number of stations there where dogs could get experience with new things. See the tire station and the ball box station. Camilla also gave a lecture on Samoyed history at this meeting. See slide show for pictures. Eagle, middle dog in the dog group pictures.
New pictures have been added to Riba’s page, to Plume’s page, to Jet’s page, to Sali’s page and to Sika’s page.
June 13: I am thinking at this time that I want to try to see if I can get any puppies out of Zuli this year. I have a couple of options and I am trying to take everything into consideration. If we do get a breeding or breedings and if they do result in any pups…pups still would not be available until October at the earliest, possibly not until the end of 2022. If you are interested in filling out an ABAKAN puppy questionnaire, e-mail me at abakan1@yahoo.com and put “puppy questionnaire” in the subject field.
June 8: They made it! Here’s a shot of Jacob and two of his girls and his wife at the Frankfurt airport. Thumbs up! Justice is now getting settled in. Running around in the yard and learning about the birds and the trees and all the smells and sounds. He spent his first night in his crate in the bedroom. He also has his own rug in the living room. Best wishes to Justice and all in this new home!
June 7: Wally has had his first grooming appointment. Christine sent some before and after pictures.
(Left – before; Right – after) I think he looks pretty good in both pictures. 🙂
Katch and Erin and Nicholas have been on a trip to Arkansas.
June 6: Justice got off with Jacob today. I took my camera to take pictures, but forgot to put the memory card in. We got a few pictures with Jacob’s phone, so maybe I will get to post those in a few days. They will be flying in to Frankfurt…flying in to the future.
May 30: Check out Justice’s page for pictures taken yesterday after his bath and this morning in the early morning light out on the farm road.
Carole Mykx and Heart of Nature Aedan(out of Carol’s Olly and Nilaq – out of Mouka and Miles and with Samira Kippschull in Germany; Aedan bred by Samira) just won Best Male at the Dutch Samoyed Show.
May 19: Boy…I didn’t realize how long it had been since I had posted here.
Reservations have now been made for Justice to go to the Netherlands. If all goes well, he will be leaving on June 6. I will post pictures.
Christine sent some pictures of a fun run that she and Michael and Wally participated in. So nice to see them getting out and having fun!
May 6, 2022: We are still getting out! Miles and Bridger and I got out for a good run this morning. We had about half an inch of rain Wed night early from about 7PM until 8:30PM and everything was very wet this morning after a very heavy dew last night. But I varied our run and we rain on the gravel road and an alternate dirt road and we got some mileage in. Miles continues to amaze at 13.5 years old. Miles on the left in standing shots, on the right in running shots.
Saw a new bird yesterday in the air above the long stand of cottonwoods along the road where we run. The bird was definitely a hawk type bird and I spent some time yesterday with the bird ID books trying to see if I could figure out what bird it was. Got some input, too, from several other birders. It looks to me like this bird is most likely a juvenile Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Its tail is still quite short, but the markings otherwise look very much like a Sharp-Shinned. The bird was there in a tree today and I was able to get a better shot for marking ID.
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May 2, 2022: Bridger and Turq and I got out for another run with the bike on Saturday. Morning temp was about 37 degrees, so very pleasant for all. Bridger saw a rabbit and chased it for a while. New pictures of Elsa are now posted to her page from the weekend trip to Vermillion Canyon, Colorado, and Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah.
April 28: See new pictures of Elsa in her motorcycle riding gear on her Extended Family page…and new pictures of Riba on her page. All the pups have new pictures posted!
SaMira posted a recent pic and pointed out to me that Nilaq is looking back at her in this picture. You can see her on the right…third pair up toward the front.
April 26: If all goes well…Justice will be going to the Netherlands. He went in today to do the first step. Now we wait 21 days. See new Justice pics from this morning on his page.
New pictures of Samba on her page and a new picture of Katch on his page with Elsa.
April 12: SaMira, in Germany, is winding up her season. She wrote that the dogs have completed over 2300 km this year. Camilla, in Sweden, has sent pictures of Eagle with a stuffed duck. See both of them here.
April 10: After my last time out with Logan and Bridger I thought it might be helpful for me to just get Logan out by himself. Try to firm up a few of the procedural aspects of running with the bike and see how he did. He does listen very well and that is extremely helpful. And he seems to have a good feel for a trail. He is a strong male, with a beautiful gait. It is nice to work with him. Pics from our morning run:
April 7: Another very nice early morning run with Miles and Bridger. 31 degrees and calm out. We have been having LOTS of wind, so this was a break, and actually the wind started up almost as soon as we got home from our run. Pics from today:
April 3: I have gotten some new Eagle pics from Camilla, have gotten a new pic of Nilaq from Samira, and have gotten a picture of Lily from Leah. Lily and Nilaq are sisters, from the same litter.
Also: Nicholas sent new Katch pics. One has been added to his Extended Family page.
Eagle pics
Nilaq(left) and Lily(right)
April 3: Weather has been up and down, snow rain and then 80 degree days, so it has been kind of touch and go with getting any dogs out to do anything. Finally yesterday morning was nice enough to get out with a couple of dogs and the bike. Yesterday was Bridger and Logan’s turn. I had not been getting Logan out because I was running Miles, trying to get him out as much as I could, but it was time for Mr. Logan. Slideshow from April 2, Bridger and Logan. It was a fast and very strong run. You can see two of the legs here – one is through a field and one is on a dirt road.
March 22: New pics of Samba and Justice are posted to their pages. We’ve had snow and the pups have been having a great time running around in the cold, and then when the snow melts getting soaked!
March 17:
Lynn – in Alaska – sends this picture of Freddie (out of Hushe [Miles x Mouka] and Don Duncan’s Yike; Freddie bred by Lynn) with his new conformation handler. Freddie’s next show will be March 26-27 in Anchorage. I believe he picked up a 5 point major his last time out.
Wally (with Christine and Michael in Colorado) has been getting out for some hiking. Such interesting country! Photos by Christine.
March 16: I have gotten some very nice pictures of Eagle from Camilla in Sweden. Eagle has now been out in harness twice. He is running with one other dog. You can see him here in a slideshow running with Akila. Eagle is on the right in all the pictures. He is 8 months old now.
March 14: The visual display on my Chromebook died. I have been able to do a few things on the old Mac, but have used this time to regenerate. A much needed break after all the work the pups took through the summer and on into the fall. We have finally had a bit of winter here with 6 inches of snow just a few days ago, but last night it was 72 degrees at 7 PM. Today was cooler and windy. I suppose this is typical for this time of year in Colorado.
A picture of Aia and Justice. Mother and son.
Feb 22: I was finally able to get out with Samba yesterday and get some pictures of her. I have now created a separate page for Riba and Samba. You can see a slideshow of Samba on her new page.
Feb 18: New pictures of Riba on the Riba/Samba page.
Sa Mira Kippschull and her SO are on holiday in Sweden now and she is running a 6-dog Samoyed mixed team with a Husky. She sent me some team pictures today. At lead are Willow and Apache, who are half-sisters with different mothers, out of Abakan Kaneeli Red Canyon Clay, who was Miles’ litter brother, and who went to Germany as a pup. At point position(or team…in the middle) are Skadi and Nilaq. Skadi is by Mouka’s sister, Sky, who went to Germany as a pup. Nilaq is by Miles and Mouka, from their second litter. Nilaq’s son, Jokkmokk, is running at wheel with the Husky. Jokkmokk is brother to Aedan, who is shown below(Feb 13) running at lead on the Dutch team.
Feb 15: I finally got Miles groomed today(so much has been going on) and he is looking so nice I decided to get a few pictures of him. Today he is 13 years and 5 months old. Every day is a gift. Slideshow of Miles this evening.
Feb 13: There is a race going on(or has been going on) this weekend in Sweden. A Dutch Samoyed team has been participating. The dogs in the Dutch team belong to Carole Mikx and are being driven by Andres de Vries. This is a 6-dog Samoyed team and they are participating in the dp60, which is a 30 mile run for two consecutive days. This race is also used as a Swedish working dog test. The snow conditions appeared to have been very difficult in places because the snow was so deep. The trail looked fairly well packed, but you did not dare venture off. This has been taking place in Sulviken, Jamtlands Lan, Sweden. I post this because one of the lead dogs is out of Nilaq who was from Mouka’s second litter by Miles. The Abakan related lead dog driven by Andres is Aedan and he is on the right at lead and closest to the camera in the photo from the side. [Aedan is by Nilaq and Olly, who I believe is running in the middle of the team – in the second pair. Aedan was bred by Sa Mira Kippschull in Germany.]
Photos by Nicolien
Feb 9: I don’t want to forget the girls. So I got a few pictures of Riba and Samba late this afternoon. Just for an update. Riba on the left; Samba on the right. There are a couple more pictures on their page.
Feb 7: I have heard from Christine. She and Michael are with Wally in Denver. Christine sent a picture of them at Christmas time. They all had matching pajamas!
Feb 6: Katch has gone on to his new home with Nicholas and Erin in Denver. They have agreed to show him in AKC conformation shows and they will also work him in any working activity that they find they all enjoy. I will retain secondary co-ownership. Here’s a slideshow of Katch with Nicholas and Erin when they came to get him, and some pictures of him in his new home.
Feb 1: Eagle is in Sweden! Made the trip with no problems. Camilla has sent a number of pictures of him in his new home and I will post them here as a slide show.
Jan 26: New development: A couple in Denver are interested in Katch and he may go to them as a show prospect. We are getting together and working out the details and it looks like – if all goes well – this will be Katch’s new adventure. I will post more on this later.
Counting down now until Eagle’s departure. Maybe there will be clear sailing this time!
Jan 23: Everything is set for Eagle to fly out on the 30th. Hopefully, there will be no setbacks this time and he can make it all the way.
I have been taking a look at the overview of my involvement with the dogs. I will be 77 years old in just two months time. I have been running the dogs with the bicycle for 47 years. The running of the dogs with the bicycle is my zen time. It is something I enjoy almost more than anything else I do. I am thinking now that I am going to see if I can continue for 3 more seasons. Then take stock and see how I feel about it.
Jan 15: Eagle did not fly out. Leo tested positive for covid on Monday and was not allowed to fly. So…back to the drawing board. New plans are being looked at, with somebody else flying over. We will see.
I did get Bridger and Turq out for a good run this past week. Turq on the left.
Jan 5, 2022: Eagle is scheduled to fly from Denver to Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday, January 15, on his way to Sweden. Leo Kirgios will be flying from Stockholm to Denver, then he will fly on the plane with Eagle to Frankfurt. We can only do it this way; Eagle can’t be flown on to Stockholm because Delta Airlines flies the leg from Frankfurt to Stockholm and Delta has been flying no dogs in cargo since April of 2020. Due to covid. American Airlines has been flying no dogs in cargo since April of 2021. We are on the final leg of Eagle’s approach to leaving; the EU health certificate has been sent to USDA. If it is accepted and certified then I will get a copy and things will proceed on to the flight step. Hopefully the flight from Denver to Frankfurt will be a go and Eagle can be on his way to his new home. Will know more on Jan 15, I guess.
Dec 28: WordPress has notified me that the theme that my website was created with has been retired. So I no longer have the option to create categories and subcategories. Thus…the new pups can not be placed under “boys” and “girls”. At this point I am putting them in a page entry together by themselves. You will find the latest pictures of them on their page: Katch | Justice | Riba | Samba. You can access this page from the top menu or the left menu.
Dec. 24: I thought I might need to make some kind of comments as to when I thought there might be more puppies available here. At this point…I am going to have to see how 2022 unfolds. At this point…I am not really looking to do anything at all until possibly fall of 2022. I am thinking we may be moving and I want to be open to any and all options. If there is any news along these lines…I will post here and on the puppy page. Best wishes for the holidays and the New Year!
Dec. 19: Had a very good run with Miles and Bridger yesterday. Three of the girls are in heat and Bridger has been tense and whiny so I figured he could use the run and Miles went along as I am trying to get him out as many times as I can this season because he loves it so much. He groaned and whined on the way in the truck. He’s always so excited once we get going. As usual…we are doing it in the dirt. (Miles on the left in the standing shot, on the right in the running shots.) Bridger was faster and stronger, but Miles got a good workout(as did I).
Dec. 4: A gorgeous day here. Got Miles out with Turq for a very good morning run. (Miles on the right in the running shots; on the left in the standing shot.)
Later I was out on the west side of the house taking pictures of Eagle and I heard snow geese voices. I looked all over the sky, but saw nothing. I thought maybe they were somehow farther south and I just was not able to see them. But I kept hearing geese voices. Finally the voices got louder and I saw them coming from the west. And they kept coming and coming and coming and coming…There must have been 10,000 of them. I stood in the shade of the house, leaned up against the house, and took picture after picture. Here are just a couple.
Nov. 24: I’ve been working on the webspace here. Decided to re-do the Fifty years page and focus only on the first 27 from 1971-1998. I tried to make the page easier to follow than the earlier one with the pictures presented for individual dogs rather than groups of dogs. I like it much better now. Hope you will swing by and see what you think.
Still spending much time with the 5 pups. I sure never expected to have this many more dogs to care for. Am trying to fold everybody in and make it as pleasant for everybody as possible. BUT I am not getting dogs out on the bike. Will have to see if we can do more along these lines.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow and then on to Christmas. And another year almost over. Happy Holidays!
Nov. 19: I believe I may have a home for the Eagle boy. We have been working toward this for quite a while, but thus far it has not felt like it was going to come together. We will see what happens in the next month.
Again, another warm afternoon. It is about 70 here today. The pups are inside taking their afternoon naps, but no ice today. 🙂
Nov. 15: We are having unseasonably warm weather this year. I think it was 80 today. The puppies came in and took their afternoon naps on ice jugs. I never would have thought this would be happening now!
Last night we had a very nice sunset and I went in the house and got my camera. While I was out photographing the sunset I heard geese voices and here came many groups of Canada geese. I took a number of shots of them, but I think this one is the best. The birds are toward the top of the frame sort of toward the left, and if you look carefully…the little dot toward the top of the frame at the left is Venus.
Nov. 9: I am offering the Watermelon boy from the current Aia and Brider litter for sale. He will be 4 months old Nov 15. He is show quality, would be a good companion. He is intelligent and outgoing. For more information contact me at abakan1@yahoo.com
Oct 24: I am offering the Black boy, Justice, out of Aia’s current litter with Bridger, for sale to an active companion home. He will be 15 weeks old on Oct 28. He is a very pleasant male, walks well on leash, travels well, is athletic with good conformation. He has had the first two(of three) puppy shots. I am not doing any shipping of dogs right now, so someone would have to drive and meet me in the Denver/Colo Springs CO area. Contact me at abakan1@yahoo.com for more information.
Oct 23: I got Miles and Bridger out together this morning early for a bike run. Miles is 13 now but is looking very good and I want to try to get him out as much as I can because he enjoys getting out so much. In the standing shot, Miles is on the left. In the running shots, Miles is on the right.
Oct 14: Had a very nice run with Turq two mornings ago. Temperature was just perfect and the ground was dry. It was a lovely morning. Turq did really well, especially since she is not in condition at all. She always enjoys getting out and she always gives it just about all she has. She’s a good puller and she listens well.
Same day as out morning bike run the wind picked up with gusts up to about 50 mph and the wind blew the door off my small storage building. So yesterday I had to go in to town and pick up a new hinge. Managed to get the heavy door back on by myself. Never a dull moment. Now I am working with the pups, trying to get them a bit more independent of each other. I am grouping them in one group of two and one group of three with the two group in the west run and the three group in the east run. Then they get to all be together mid morning and they all come in at lunch and stay inside until about 3 in the afternoon. Pups were 13 weeks old today. I do have a few new pictures posted on the litter page.
Oct 10: I have had Bridger out with the bike just once thus far. And I don’t know at this point just how much I am going to be able to do with the big dogs and the bike. I had not planned to be adding a number of younger dogs at this time, but here we are. If Gray does get to go…we will still be adding 4 new creatures to the mix and that is four more that I have to work with and fold into some kind of routine. I am just going to have to see how it all goes. I am very happy with both the new girl puppies. I think they have much promise.
Sept 23: Pups are 10 weeks old today. Two new slideshows have been added to the litter page. Connect through the link at the top of the page for Litters 2021. I do have someone interested in the Gray boy. We will see if it all comes together.
Sept 14: The Gray boy (born July 15, 2021 out of Aia by Bridger) is available to a working home. He is sensitive, intelligent, agile, and athletic. He has good structure and movement. I am seeking a home for him where he can use his abilities. For more info, contact me at abakan1@yahoo.com You can see Gray from newborn to eight weeks at the litter page here: https://abakansams.wordpress.com/litters-2021-aia-and-bridger/ Gray is pictured here on Sept 13
Aug 18: I am not posting much here as I am spending most of my time taking pictures of the pups and putting slide shows together for the litter page. Make sure to stop by and see the latest. 5 week pictures(2 slide shows) and weights will be posted this evening. See the link to the page Litters 2021 in the top header.
Aug 8: The pups went outside for the first time this morning. It was quite a bit cooler outside than it was in the room where their box is so I took some blankets. We didn’t stay outside too long, but they got to feel what it was like and a few of them did a tiny bit of exploring. Mostly they just stayed on the blanket and went back to sleep. Here’s a group shot: Left to right: Gray boy, Black boy, White girl, and Brown boy.
Aug 6: So many things going on right now. And…hand feeding pups now with raw ground beef. They have eaten today two times. First time I did not have a great deal thawed. Second time, just a little while ago…I had gone over to my neighbor’s today and gotten some packaged ground beef from her. She and her husband had bought a couple of half cows last year and she had some ground beef she wanted to get rid of as it had been in her freezer for over a year. She gave me a very good price for it and it is wonderful to be able to ride my bike over and get something for the dogs that is grown locally. The pups were hungry(most of them) and they ate every single bit I had prepared. Begonia girl got in the pie pan with both front feet and chowed down! Pistachio wasn’t real hungry this time, but all the other pups ate well. We are moving along!
I am hoping to be able to get the pups outside soon. The weather and the temperature has been changing a lot so I have not been able to really make any decision about when. It will all happen soon enough.
Today was the day I changed the bedding in the puppy box. I had a little help from my assistants.
Aug 2: The pups are two weeks and four days old today. I decided to go ahead and start hand feeding them raw ground beef now as there appeared to be pups that were still hungry after Aia’s nursing periods. With eight pups…this is to be expected and this is what I have done with every litter I have had for some time. Hand feeding gives me an idea of who is hungry and who is not and also helps me be sure everybody is getting enough to eat. With today’s first feeding Black boy was very hungry, Gray ate a bit, Pistachio ate, and Begonia ate. Everybody else was sleeping. I may try more again tonight or may wait until tomorrow. We had a wonderfully cool night last night and Aia spent the entire night in the box sleeping with the pups. Now it is getting hotter again today, so things will probably not be as smooth again for a while. The pups are still congregating around the jugs of frozen water.
Watermelon boy, yesterday evening. Pups had a first active period where they sat and walked around and chewed on each other’s noses.
July 21: The Aia and Bridger pups will be 1 week old tomorrow. Surviving are 4 boys and 4 girls.
Due to a number of extenuating circumstances I will not be shipping any pups from this litter. I will be placing pups from this litter in homes in Colorado or Wyoming only. If you are an active outdoor person from Colorado or Wyoming and are looking for a Samoyed pup, you can contact me at abakan1@yahoo.com
There is a page now for the litter which you can access from the top menu bar. I will be posting weekly slideshows to this page.
July 16: Yesterday was a very long day. I am still not completely all here…but wanted to at least make a post. Aia now has 9 puppies – 5 boys and 4 girls – sired by Bridger. It is still very hot and horrid here, but we will try to do the very best we can. Here is the one-day old group photo.
July 9: It was 107 here today. The kingbirds have hatched a group of four and it looks like two of the babies have now flown on. Two were being fed tonight in the big dead elm. It has cooled down a bit this evening and there was a nice sunset.
May 26: Storms continue to come, about weekly. We just have passed through a rainy period where we must have gotten over one inch. There is still a standing puddle in one of the kennels. sigh. I still have tumbleweeds to burn and now I am having to MOW. Just mowed Tuesday evening and I will most likely mow again today. There looks to be too much for me to mow everything, so I am having to select which areas I will mow and which I will have to simply leave. Everything is incredibly GREEN. More rain expected this weekend!
May 13: We continue to have wave after wave of storms coming through. Every week it is something new. Tuesday morning(maybe it was…or maybe it was Monday) we had had rain much of the night, then the rain turned to snow and we had a couple of inches of snow that morning.
That is all the news I am going to share today.
May 4: We had a very light mist pretty much all day yesterday. Temp was around 45. This morning I took Mouka with me to the lake. Here are a couple of pictures.
April 30, 2021: ABAKAN will be celebrating 50 years in June. I decided to commemorate this milestone I would post a page with slide shows of pictures of most of the dogs from the very beginning. Lots of pictures and lots of memories. Mischa and Buck in Flagstaff in 1974 and 1975. Max and Maggie…Walker and Aja…running at Priest Lake in 1978. Teak and Betty…and much more. You can find this page at the Fifty years! link at the top of the home page or on the right in the menu bar just below About.
April 29. 2021: I ran Turq with Miles about a week ago, but Turq has since come in heat. This morning I wanted to run two dogs…as it looks to be warming up and I wanted to take advantage of a nice coolish morning, but still wanted to give Miles a chance to run, but Miles wanted to get a drink instead, so it was Jet with Bridger today. I had not run Jet and Bridger together yet, and did not know how it would go. It went very well, though. I was pleased with the way they worked together and how well matched they are. Pictures in slide show: Jet by herself at the truck at hookup; Bridger on the left, Jet on the right in moving shots; Jet on the left, Bridger on the right in standing shot(this is where we turn around).
April 13, 2021: I decided I wanted to get Jet out again with Turq. Run the two girls together today with the bike.
It was overcast and cold. Good enough for us to get out. We had a very good run today. The girls were much more focused and they stood when we stopped for our turnaround. Jet did really well and I am encouraged.
In standing shot: Jet left/Turq right. In running shots: Turq left/Jet right. Slide show.
Here’s a slideshow of the dogs at the lake. Bose. Logan. Sali. Sika. Jet.
April 5, 2021: I have taken Miles and Turq out again on the bike…not sure what day…maybe Saturday. I did not take any photos that day. I have been trying to get the younger dogs all to the lake for portrait type pictures to show something of them as they are looking now to put on their individual pages. Thus far I have everybody but Nadine up to date. Today was Jet’s turn and I did get a few good shots of her. I will post one below. We have been having very warm weather(days in the 80s) for April here. No idea what this might mean for the rest of the year.
March 30, 2021: Such a different year this year from last year. In almost all ways. Weather, the dogs, me. Yesterday morning I decided I wanted to take Bose to the lake. So we went there. And now…I can’t write anything BELOW the picture. So I have to write everything up here and you have to read it first before you see the picture. Have I mentioned before how much I dislike the way WordPress changes everything and makes it so difficult to do things here? 🙂
At any rate…Bose and I went to the lake yesterday and he had a good time. Day before that I ran Turq and Miles with the bike. Miles had not been out this season. I walked him the night before, though, and he seemed very strong, so I thought I would give running him a try. Turq runs really well with Miles. He is 12.5 now, though. I doubt he is going to have a whole lot more runs. I will have to add their picture here and then you will find Bose’s lake picture below theirs.
Mar 16, 2021: We are having storm front after storm front passing through. With rain or snow. And when the storm fronts are not passing through we have been having high winds. Like 20, 30, 40 mph winds. I think this is probably the most unsettled early spring I have experienced since I have been here. Last year was very very different.
I did manage to get out on March 11 with Turq. After a big wind day it was at least calm early morning and we got out for a good workout.
Mar 6, 2021: Bridger and I got out with the bike this morning to see what kind of condition our course is in. Middle part is very powdery. But…it was good to get out again.
Mar 4, 2021: I am finally feeling better after my reaction to the 2nd Moderna shot, but all of this has made me decide to take it easy for a while. Not push toward performance or getting much done right now. Just maintaining and working on small things. I am going to be 76 this month. I’ve decided to give running the dogs with the bike four more years – until 2025 – and then see how I feel. I’m not going to make any demands of myself or even set any goals – just see how it goes. I started running Buck with the bike in 1974…the fall of 74. Since then we have had peaks and valleys, times of great activity and times of not so much. I also believe we are going to be relocating, so will see how this year proceeds. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is now being distributed in my state. Two friends will be getting their shots this weekend. We are making progress.
Feb 26, 2021: I had a pretty severe reaction to the covid vaccine as it has turned out. This was my second shot and my area was using the Moderna vaccine. I had fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and mostly the worst part was the second day after I had the shot – the next day – I felt like I was going to pass out…most of the day. Last night I finally felt better and this morning I did a few household and yard chores, which I am feeling now was a bit too much. At any rate I survived, but I surely don’t want to go through it again.
A picture from last night of the Snow Moon and the Long Branch. Full Moon tonight.
Feb 22, 2021: We have had 14 below temp and I think the high that day might have been zero. We had about a week of very cold temps. The hot water line froze. I still had cold water running. It finally warmed up and I think it was yesterday the hot water line unthawed itself. No it was Saturday. We had snow and snow again and still have a bit on the ground. Today it was 63, so things have dried out a bit in places. We are due for more snow on Wednesday. It looks like we will be getting into an up and down and up and down temp pattern for a while. Maybe if things work out, I will be able to get out with somebody and the bike at some point.
I went and got my second covid shot today and I am already feeling a bit flu-ish and my arm is really sore. So I will hack around the house and take care of the dogs and the cat until I feel better.
Feb 12, 2021: We have had frost this week. Monday through Thurs. Each morning it got frostier because things did not thaw during the day and the frost continued on.
The trees looked like they had been flocked at the Christmas tree lot.
I have not gotten out with the dogs this week. I have been trying to get some work done on the place and have done a bit. Now we are due to get snow again…so it will be a while before we are able to get out again. Also…we are in the middle of an artic cold front with record cold temps. Will just enjoy the winter as we can.
Feb 7, 2021: 19 degrees and overcast for this morning’s run with Bridger and Plume. WP is going so slow today I am not going to try to type a whole lot. Pictures of run and of the view.
Plume(left) Bridger(right)
Bridger(left) Plume(right
looking to the north from where we hook up. This field was baled this past fall.
view to the west from the access road
Jan 30, 2021: After six inches of new snow…we are now in major melt. Slush and puddles. And mud. I just checked the weather and it does look like the front that was due to pass through on Wednesday with snow has dissipated. So we may be able to get out with the bike again soon! 🙂
Jan 26, 2021: I can’t believe it has been this long since I have posted here. I have been out…maybe several times with the dogs on the bike. Just got out a few days ago. I wanted to try Sika out to see what she might be like, so I took her out with Plume for a short run. Then I took Turq out. First picture is Plume and Sika.
Plume, left. Sika, right
Turq is usually a strong runner and I enjoy getting out with her. She is still jumping to the side at start up, so we continue to work together with her by herself.
Turq running on the berm
We now have snow, so it is going to be some time before we can get out with the bike again. We are on an entirely different running schedule from those who look forward to snow! 🙂
None of the breedings that I planned – or actually accomplished – have resulted in any pups. So I now change gears and reposition my thoughts and plans and will see what 2021 brings. All the people on my waiting list are still in position and are still waiting. I have nothing to offer to anybody who is not on my waiting list at this point.
Jan 8, 2021, evening: Snow was forecast for tomorrow so this morning I headed out with Turq for a bike run. We did a bit of the gravel road today, rather than the bushwhacking trail. She wasn’t as strong today as the previous run. She’s still really focused when she runs, but she still will not hold her line out and stand still when we stop. She will stand still as long as I am standing behind her, but when I go back to pick up the bike she always twirls around. I’ve never had a dog that did this and I am not finding anything I can do to stop it. I can run her at wheel with two other dogs at lead, if I go out with the cart, but we have not been running the cart much because I can’t really get enough miles in to make it worth loading it up. At any rate…here is a sky picture from this morning’s run, and a picture of Turq when we stopped.
Jan 6, 2021: Got out with Bridger and Plume for a good run with the bike a few days ago. We did the same alternate route that I have been doing, which is a sort of loop. We don’t have to go out and turnaround, at any rate. It was a good run with B and P. We are due to get snow(forecast shows, anyway) on Sat and I have been trying to get a few projects done around here, so we may not get out again for another run for a little while.
Jan 2, 2021: I got out with Turq a couple of days ago and got in a good run with the bike. The first section – the dirt road – still had quite a bit of frozen snow on it, but somebody had driven through with a truck and there was a bare track that we could run on. The berm section was bare frozen dirt. The bushwhacking section was OK. Turq is really good about going through sections. Then we got back on the gravel road and she kept anticipating where we turn to get back on the berm section. She’s only been on this trail twice and she already has it down.
starting out on the berm section. you can see our frozen tracks from the last time we were there.
Dec 27: I have done a breeding between Zuli and Jet. If this breeding is successful pups will be born toward the end of February. I already have people in line waiting for puppies. I will not be responding to any further inquiries. I do not have any further plans for breedings for 2021. If you have already contacted me and if we have already gone through the initial evaluation and acquaintance period I will keep in touch with you. Otherwise…you will not hear from me.
I took a look at part of my training area yesterday. Ugh. The long section with cottonwood trees is in the shade and the snow there has melted and thawed and melted and thawed, but it has never melted enough so that the ground is clear. So it is hard frozen snow. Not a good surface to try to run a bike on…or a cart on. Not even a good surface to run a sled on…I might be able to get a very short run in on the part of the road that is bare and exposed to the sun. I guess I will see if I can find this at all appealing. 🙂
A new year looms. Wonder what of great import will be in store for us in the coming year?
Dec 25: I have been running the dogs on this day for the past several years. But not this year. We had the big snow and it is slowly melting. Freezing and melting. I thought I would drive over to see what my running trails look like today…but the driveway did not look very promising. I would probably be able to get out, but the truck would wind up with mud all over it. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm again, so I may try to venture out early while the driveway is still mostly frozen.
I was able to do some nice snowshoeing on the property for several days a while back. Now my snowshoe trail is about 70% melted. It is a nice sunny day here today. I am not doing the holiday this year. Just enjoying that this year is almost over. Best wishes to all from the ABAKAN dogs.
Dec 9: OK. I’ll play. I scheduled my front page post to post immediately. Then I had to re-post the picture from another image selection area. WHY is it necessary for these things to become SO DIFFICULT? I have been working with this webspace for 10 YEARS now and I can’t say that it has become any easier to continue. At any rate! The HAPPY HOLIDAYS from ABAKAN image is NOW on the front page!
Bridger and I went for a bike run yesterday. We did the longer out and back run as I thought Bridger could use the stretching out and a good workout. We practiced a bit of him holding his line and standing and staying while I went off the road and did things to the side.
Dec 6 : It appears that WordPress has now instituted some new feature where a front page post must be “scheduled” in advance…and I can’t even figure out how to work the new configuration. Have I mentioned here before how much I HATE WordPress’ abundance of “new” features. And why can’t they just keep it simple. What is the point? Anyway…I am going to post here the picture I was going to post to the front page. Happy Holidays from ABAKAN.
Nov 29: We had big wind then rain was forecast. Only about 1/4 inch of r. ain was forecast but it was supposed to rain the whole day. Instead…we got about 4-5 inches of snow. It snowed the whole day. Let’s see…when was that? Might have been Monday. I don’t know. This time of year the snow doesn’t melt as quickly, even when it warms up during the day. We still have hard snow packed up against the house and frozen snow out in the kennel area. I haven’t been out with the dogs and the bike. Hopefully we will be able to get out this coming week again.
Nov 18: I have now been out on the bike with Plume and Bridger and with Logan and Bridger on the loop trail with the bushwhacking part. Everybody has done just fine. It is a bit shorter than the out and back run we have been doing with the turnaround, but it worked just fine with Logan on Monday. When we got off the bushwhacking section and got on the main road…Logan did look back at me a couple of time but I did not acknowledge him at all and we went on, made the turn onto the berm section and did the rest of the run just fine. I like the continuity of doing a loop run. It is smooth and seamless. It is going to be warm for a couple of days and I think I am going to try to get Plume out with Jet again…maybe tomorrow. After the big wind on Saturday there are LOTS and LOTS of tumbleweeds stacked up around the property. I usually rake them up in an open area and burn them, but we are under a burn ban now, so I don’t want to have a great big fire. But I did get a small batch burned this morning.
All for this morning. Dogs are enjoying the cooler night and morning temps now.
Nov 9: Turq and I went out with the bike this morning to check out my possible loop trail option. The middle section (which goes through the field at the edge of the road on a sort of uplifted berm)…has a bit of bushwhacking, but Turq just kept on going and we made it to the end of that part and turned back onto the main road. Then back to the trail through the field across the other berm and back to the dirt road and on back to the truck. Somebody had baled the first big section so all of that acreage is bare now. Also…somebody had graded the dirt road so it is all nice and smewthe. (smooth) Next, Bridger will go on this route and then I will try Plume and Jet. Then maybe I can run Bridger and Logan again and see how Logan does when he doesn’t think he is going to need to stop and turnaround at any point. Will see if he will just continue to run forward. If so…then the loop trail it will be! Turq did very well.
Nov 6: I spent some time with Sali and Nadine this afternoon. They are sort of like twins…like a duo. They always seem to do everything together. It just works out that way. They are quite different in personality. Sali is more obedient and more tuned in to me. She sat on the ground and skrunched up right next to me while I petted her. Nadine is more independent. Nadine always wants to know what is going on “over there”. They are both smaller bitches. Maybe 19 1/2 inches tall. Maybe 20 inches. I haven’t measured them. Guess I need to do this. Jet is a good deal taller than they are. Jet must be 21 inches, easy. Sali is very athletic and can jump over Nadine easily…sideways…forward…however. She’s like a gazelle. Boing and she is over. She has a really nice body with a short coat. Very strong forechest a deep heart shaped chest. Really nice well angled stifles and very well muscled rear. Nadine also has very nice muscling, very nice front movement. We will see what comes up for these two in the years ahead.
Nov 5: I have had this site here on wordpress for the dogs for 10 years now. Hard to think that that much time has gone by. But it has. In those 10 years dogs have come and gone. We did a lot when we were in Arkansas, and only three of the dogs who were in Arkansas are still here. This bike season is looking quite different than the one we had last year. It has been hot here again. 83 here yesterday. Yet snow is forecast for Monday. Can’t get any traction with training with this kind of weather. The dogs get all hyper with the cold weather, then we droop during the hot temperatures. So it is. Hope all is well wherever you are. Sending best wishes.
Oct 28: I think this bike season may be different than the ones we have had thus far. Just like about everything else in 2020…things are different. We just had 5 inches of snow and yesterday’s morning temp was -4. Today we are warming up and that will continue a warming trend, but there’s going to be snow on the ground and then melting…making for mud…for a while. Snow for most sled doggers is what you aim for. But that is in snow country, where when it snows, the snow stays and you develop some sort of a base. Here…the snow lasts for about a day, normally, and under it is dirt. The dirt here, too, has some composition that makes it cling like glue, so trying to run a sled on this…is basically foolish. So…will see what next week brings. All the dogs are enjoying the cold weather, though. 😀
Oct. 23: I have been out with Plume and Jet again on the bike. Took Bridger out by himself once, and took Sika out to check out a new trail possibility. I still want to try to see if I can come up with a loop we can do, so we don’t have to stop and turn around. I think I found a possibility, but I haven’t gotten back out to try it out yet. I was going to go out with Turq the other morning, but something else happened and we never got going. We are going to have a couple of really cold days, so I am going to do stuff in the house. I have been working on two books, have both finished now and now have to get them printed first. I am going to try to put one on Kindle, but it will have to be re-formatted. These two things I have been working on as well as doing my dog things.
It was 17 here this morning, was up to about 40 when I went in to town to do some printing today. I think we are definitely out of the hot weather and well on into fall.
Oct 7, 2020: I decided to try Plume out today to see how she might do. She had been looking like it might be worth a try. I took her out with Jet. We had a very good run and I am encouraged about Plume. I think I will get her out again soon.
Plume, left. Jet, right.
Oct 5, 2020: Today was pretty much a manic day. Ever have one of those? I got out with Bridger and Logan and we did a run. We do an out an back where we have a turnaround. I never had a problem with Bridger and Miles doing the turnaround, but today it looked like Logan was trying to anticipate when I was going to stop for the turnaround. He kept looking back at me. I find this very aggravating. Wish I had another option as far as where we could run. Would love to just have a simple trail where we could run out and maybe do a loop and wind up back at the truck. But that is not an option that I have been able to work out. At any rate…when we got turned around Logan did fine on the way back.
We went back home and I got Turq and Jet and ran both of them on the same trail. Turq has been having this issue where she twirls around at the hookup, so she is not facing forward. Sometimes we manage to get going anyway; sometimes I have to stop and untangle. Jet doesn’t have this issue and I don’t want her to get started with it, so I may try running somebody else. I may try Plume next with Jet.
And so it goes. Took Nadine to the sports fields for a brief walk today. There was another woman there with a barking dog and it was loose and I didn’t want to deal with that. Then walked Plume on our trail at home.
Here’s a picture of this morning’s sunrise. Temp was about 38 degrees. [I don’t know what happens to this picture when the page loads in. The width of picture is a column in the preview, but when the page loads in…the picture only shows the left quarter.]
Sept 28: Got out for our first bike run of the season with Bridger and son Logan today. Nicely cool. Good strong run from both boys. Logan does better on the way back. See running picture on the front page. Here the boys are at our turnaround.
Father and son. Logan(son) on left. Bridger(father) on right.
Sept 24: Made the long drive to the vet today to get Bose’s hips x-rayed. This clinic does the x-ray using no sedative and does a very good job of positioning in a very short time, so the drive is generally worth it. LOTS of traffic today on the way home and it was very hot, but it is over! Now we wait for the rating.
Sept 21: It has gotten warm again – 90s days, 50s nights – so we are just plugging along. Nothing new to report much…we do seem to be having less smoke now. Hopefully it will continue this way.
Sept 18: I got Bose groomed today. This was only his second time on the grooming table but he seemed to be much more comfortable with it today. He’s a funny dog and he makes me laff sometimes. We have an appointment to get his hips x-rayed next Thursday, so I wanted to get him all prettied up and ready to go.
We are having cool nights now. Mornings have been in the 44 and 45 degree range. I’m still not ready to get out with the bike yet. Bridger sure is, though. 😀
Sept 14: Sunday a week ago it was 104 degrees. Then Wednesday it snowed and got down to 30 degrees. For a couple of days it was 50, then 70, and then we got back up to 80s, but no higher. We’ve had fires and smoke, but after the snow that pretty well stopped the smoke for here. Now today there is smoke from the southeast, and I have no idea what might be burning in that area.
It was 44 degrees this morning and I got out with Nadine for a first test walk. Next we will try putting the harness on and see how that goes.
Sept. 4: WordPress is screwing around with the site again. So I have to navigate through how to post things. Again.
We are going to be having some unsettled weather for a few days, it looks like. Tomorrow 99 high, Sunday 103. Monday 96 with a low down to 44. Then Tuesday it looks like the weather train rolls through and we will have wind and some kind of showers. High Tuesday looks to be around in the 45 range, and down to 33 that night. Don’t know how long this will last, but it shows that we are there. Don’t know if I will be able to get out, but it should be happening soon! I did get Nadine out for a small amount of line work.
More later!
August 30: Zuli and I made the trip to Denver on Thursday and got his eyes checked. It is a long drive but he is a very good traveler.
I am thinking now that I may want to work with a few of the girls this coming bike season. Nadine is showing some promise. I may try to get her out with Sika and maybe Plume. This coming season might look somewhat different.
We have still had very hot days. Yesterday, though was cooler at 82 degrees and last night got down below 60. Today is supposed to be 95 again, but tomorrow forecast calls for 82 again. We are getting there!
August 23: It has been two months, only, since the dogs and I stopped running with the bike. It was an incredibly long season this year. Wonderfully long. Now, though, Colorado is burning down and there is smoke everywhere. Top that with 100 degree days here. Pretty miserable for arctic dogs and people who like cold weather. Not too much longer to go, hopefully, before the weather changes and we can get back to doing some activity. Don’t know what the fall this year might bring.
August 12: I haven’t posted anything in a while, so thought I would drop by and write just a little. It is very hot here now. 101 today, 101 tomorrow, 101 the next day. We still have rising covid cases in my county. Not a great deal, fortunately, and…fortunately again…at all the places I go in my county people either wear masks or do business with you from behind a plexiglass screen…or both. The neighboring county, that had a very low incidence of covid cases, has now caught up with us and passed us today, recording 6 cases since yesterday. The big county to the west is now about 700 recorded cases. So…I hang out at home and have no plans to attend any dogs shows this fall at all. When it begins to cool down and when the temps are cool enough, we will begin our fall training with the bike. Maybe only a couple of months more.
That is it for now. Hope you are staying safe and being well.
July 20: Just one more week of July and we will be into August! I am not a hot weather person so these hot days are not overly pleasant. Mornings are generally cool here, though, so there is that to be thankful for.
Don’t know what the rest of this summer and early fall might bring. Will just have to see how things go. If I have any news…I will post here.
July 9: After a long cool June and an extended running period this year…we are now into hot days. It looks like 100 degree days for as long as the forecast goes out. Maybe the entire month of July will be 100 degree days. That means keeping all the dogs well hydrated…and myself as well. On the up side: There are only two months until we get into September weather. So if we can make it until then, we should be ready for fall.
Hope everybody is safe and well. The covid crisis continues.
July 2: It does not look like the universe is going to support any pups here this year. I took Sika in for an eye exam and she has a minor eye disorder. It isn’t anything I have ever encountered in 49 years and 136 pups, but it means her eyes are not certifiable and since every pup that leaves here goes with a hip and eye guarantee I am not willing to go down the path of breeding her.
I tried this year with Aia. And I tried this year with Jet. Sika was my next thought and that does not appear to be leading anywhere. All I can do now is regroup and look to possibly attempt something next year. Will have to see how things are going by then.
If you are reading this and are on my puppy waiting list, I will be contacting you.
June 17: I was able to get out with Bridger and Miles for yet another run. Not sure now just what day it was. Then we had wind and heat. On Saturday we had winds up to 60-70 miles an hour and the large elm tree lost multiple limbs. I have been sawing limbs and making piles. The big center limb cracked and is now making a bower for the dog area. We’ve had wind four straight days and it is forecast again for today. Very hot dry conditions here, so not looking too good for the summer. I ran across this picture of Mouka and Zuli playing when Zuli was just a pup and thought I would share it. I have had a request for a litter from Zuli. Will see if that is in the cards for any time soon.
June 10: We had a cold front come through with rain and lots of wind. This morning was clear, though, and calm…and 42 degrees. So Bridger and Miles and I headed out for ONE MORE RUN! 😀 I had to alter the route slightly because the ground was still too wet in places, but we had a very nice run and a really good time!
Miles(l) and Bridger(r). Our first turnaround.
Running up on the berm. It was pretty dry up here. The guys just ZOOMED along.
June 7: I did not get a breeding with Jet and the male I had here. They were cordial enough with each other and were together a number of times but nothing ever came of it.
I am thinking now I will give one more try at having puppies this year. I am thinking I will try Sika and think of possibly matching her with Bridger. She is from the last Mouka and Miles breeding. She is a younger sister to Deacon, Turq, Aia, and Plume. They were born in 2015; she and Bose(her brother) were born in 2018. Sika and Bose will be 2 on the 22nd.
I have an appointment for an eye exam on the 25th. That will be a start. If you are on my puppy waiting list I will be contacting you.
May 30: It is now official: Jazmin is now Nadine. It took me a while to get it into my head consistently, but I like this much better.
Plans are underway for the stud dog for Jet to be here next week. Will see how this goes.
I think our running days are now over for this season. We were so very lucky this year to have 7 months(!!!) of running. I don’t think I have ever been able to run this long in one season. Bridger is still ready to go, but I think he is going to have to turn off his engine now. We are getting hot here. 90 degree days now with the dewpoint in the 40 degree range…so too hot and too moist. Adios 2020 season. We will look forward to see what happens come fall.
May 26: Aia did not become pregnant. She had no puppies.
I am now moving on. Jet is in heat and I have arranged for a stud dog to be here next week. We will see how this goes. Probably no more running the dogs with the bike now.
May 24: I lied. I said I wasn’t going to do any more running. But it was cold enough this morning I was not concerned about any varmints on the trail and Bridger and Logan and I had a good fast run. Nothing like riding along behind two fast dogs about 20 mph first thing in the morning! 🙂
Bridger (l) Logan (r)
May 21: Last year this time we had pups. Aia was the mom and Bridger was the dad. Here they were two weeks and four days old.
May 20: I think we have had our last run of the season. Finally. Why? Several reasons. Temperature has warmed up considerably. And the air is much much damper now. Dewpoint is in the high 30s to low 40s now…as opposed to as low as -2 this winter. Most of the winter dewpoint was in the single digits and low teens…so you can see how much the air has “heavied” up. Also, I uncovered a rattlesnake under the big storage building the other morning after we got home from our run. It was still cold and the snake was keeping warm I feel sure. But now with the warmer temps…I would just as soon not take a chance on meeting on the trail. This is the first rattler I have found on the property, and I will take that as my notice to keep an eye out.
Jet and I made the long drive to the eye vet today. Only to get there and them not having any record of an appointment for me. Not even having me in the system. At all. So I made the long trip back home, called the clinic I had been going to(who were not taking any appointments when I made the one for today due to covid) and made an appointment with them. Sigh.
Aia’s due date would be next week, the 26th. Again, I am not thinking she is pregnant, but will wait until then to make a final decision and report.
May 18: May 18…and we are STILL running! It was 50 degrees this morning, but we had a cold wind from the east. I even wore my down vest to keep my core warm. No gloves but the vest felt pretty good. I took Bridger and Miles out today for our course run and a good time was had by all.
Along the berm between the dirt road and the county road. Bridger(left). Miles(right)
Miles will be twelve years old in just four months.
Jet and I will go to the eye vet on Wednesday for eye certification. Aia would be due next week if she was pregnant, but I am definitely feeling she is not. Will wait until the 26th to make any final determination.
May 14: Pam took Dani, Bridger’s sister, and her daughter, Shimmer, to a fun run day at Zoiboyz Ranch out of Parker this past weekend. Zoiboyz is geared for coursing hounds, but they also accept other breeds. Pam had gotten a CA coursing title for Dani a while back and this past year Dani got her BCAT title as well. There are two different types of coursing activities that the Sams can participate in: One of them is chasing a white plastic bag which is on a wire track and pulled rapidly around a big course. The dog chases the bag through the course. The other activity is a straight line chase, where the bag is on a line but is pulled rapidly in a straight line and the dog chases it that way. One of Bridger’s sons, Tracker, has enjoyed the bag on the wire on the big looping course, and he has received his CA title as well. His brother, Cody, enjoys more the straight line run, and at this point he holds the Zoiboyz record for that activity for Samoyeds. Below is Dani participating in the fun run this past weekend. (I don’t have a SINGLE dog who will chase a white plastic bag on a line. Now, if there was a real CAT…Kiva would be all over this one! 😀 )
Queen City’s Dance Hall Girl o’Abakan CA RN BCAT…Dani
May 13: I am giving some thought to changing Jazmin’s name to Nadine. Nadine…or Nay-deen…or Na-deen…or Nadeen. 😀 Don’t know spelling, but I am giving this one a test drive. Jazmin is just not very strong as far as a word to call a working dog. And it doesn’t seem to fit her. I am going to work with it for a month and see how I feel then. Here she is looking over the fence at me watering the trees.
May 11: Bridger and Miles and I got in another bike run today. Hard to believe it is May 11 and we are still running with the bike! Cold enough this morning that I put my insulated bib overalls on and they felt pretty good. We are having a cold rain now, just a very slight rain…don’t know that it will amount to anything. Rain is usually the reason I have had to stop running the dogs; this year we have had little to no rain…thus we continue to train with the bike. This morning, with the new inner tube in, the bike rolled really well, but I must not have gotten the rear axle tight enough back on the frame yesterday, so after about the first 100 hundred yards of today’s run…the chain came off. Leaving me unable to pedal OR brake. So I just steered and when I had to stop…used my feet and dragged them on the ground. Bridger saw a jackrabbit at one point and we took off at warp speed, but I just steered and hung on. Life in the fast lane… 😀
Bridger, left. Miles, right.
May 10: Went in to La Junta today to Wal-Mart. I had been buying my dog food there, but with the whole COVID issues going on…I was buying elsewhere. Decided to try WM again, though. Actually, maybe I wanted to see what things were looking like there. I know WM has changed their hours…is now only open from 7AM to 8:30 PM. That allows the store workers to disinfect and re-stock and clean at night.
I wanted to get there early and got there probably by 7:30. I was pleasantly surprised to see that almost 100% of the customers were wearing masks. All the employees. I had all the things I wanted to get already in my mind and I knew where they were and I knew the route I wanted to go, so I was in and out of there in half an hour!
It was 29 degrees here this morning. I decided to go ahead and put the new inner tube in the little training bike. Got that done and checked the weather. Looks like we may have a couple more cooler mornings before it starts to get warmer again toward the end of this coming week.
Hope all goes well there with you, wherever you are. Best wishes!
How about a bunny picture? We have lots of jackrabbits here this year.
There he goes!
May 7: It was cool enough this morning that I thought I would get a bike run in with Bridger and Miles today, but when I got the bike out the back tire was flat and all my pumping with the tire pump did nothing. I have been working with this tube that I put in this past fall and have been fortunate that it has held thus far. Guess now I am going to have to put the new inner tube after all. So…no run today.
I have an eye check appointment for Jet now. Hopefully we will be able to make that and that will go OK. I am not real excited about venturing out into the covid world, frankly.
Aia is moving farther toward a possible due date, but at this point I am not real confident that she is pregnant at all. I would not place any bets on it.
Yesterday was beautifully cool all day long. Today is warmer. We are having a lot of wind this year and very little moisture.
April 29: It was a cool 35 degrees here this morning and I decided as long as we could get out…might as well go for a run with Bridger and Logan. No time like the present! We had a good run. See the front page for a picture. I did get the dog food delivery yesterday so we are set for a while. I also got Jet’s OFA report back today and she received an Excellent rating. Now I hope to be able to get her eyes checked. Aia is at Day 36 today and I still have no idea if she is pregnant or not.
April 28: This week looks to be warm, but mornings are still relatively cool, so I got out with Miles and Bridger today for our course run. Miles was a little slower today and I think if I go out again with Bridger I am going to take Logan. I ordered dog food online this time and I should be getting a dog food order delivered today.
April 26: I got out with Turq and Jet this morning for a good bike run. It has still been cool enough in the morning that we can get a run in before it gets too warm. Looks like it will be warming up considerably this coming week, though, so today may have been our last run for this season. I know I keep saying this…but this time it may be truly the end.
Turq(l) and Jet(r) on the middle section of our run
I took Aia in to the vet on Friday for an ultrasound, but the vet was busy trying to get two horses bred. With the virus and a long wait in the office I chose to leave rather than hang around for a long time. Thus…now I know no more than I knew when I went in. And I have no plan to go back again.
April 20: I have a good sized waiting list right now for puppies. If we do have a litter this year I am feeling the pups will already be spoken for. I have several names on a contact list, so if I plan anything else…there is already a waiting list for that as well. I write this here for information’s sake. I am not even taking any names right now.
April 19: When I looked through my running notes for this season it seems like we got started early October. If that is the case(and I’m not going to scroll back through)…then we have been running this season for over 6 months. Not every day, but steadily. I feel very good about the place the dogs and I are in right now. It seems hard for me to believe sometimes that I started out running two dogs – Mischa and her daughter Chata, in Claremont, California, in 1972 and 1973. That was – in some cases – at least 10 generations ago.
And here we are today: Turq(right) and Jet(left) going for a bike run.
left: Abakan Jezzine Tjarri…Jet (by Bridger and Mouka) right: Abakan Tsoodzil…Turq (by Miles and Mouka
It was a pretty strong run for the girls today. Neither one of them have many miles on them this season, but I wanted to give them a good workout today while we could still get out. It has been a dry winter and early spring, so we are not having to deal with mud.
Another week ahead. Will check back here with any news.
April 15: We are still under stay at home order and many more folk in my remote area are beginning to wear masks.
This morning was cold and I had decided if things looked good I would get Bridger and Miles out for another run. It was 17 degrees when we left the house. Both boys had a good time and really enjoyed getting out.
Morning bike run with Bridger(l) and Miles(r)
I have been thinking I might go ahead and have an ultrasound for Aia this time. The closest vet to me is still operating regularly so I may try to do this next week or week after. I will post here any news.
April 8: Governor Polis has extended the stay at home order through April 26. I went to the little local grocery today and everyone was wearing masks; the checker was also wearing rubber gloves. I wore my N95 mask and my gloves as well.
I did get Jet to the vet’s yesterday and she now has hips x-rayed. OFA is short staffed now so I don’t know when the rating will get to me, but at least we have the hip part taken care of. I may have found an eye vet last night. I will give them a call to see if they are taking any certification patients. If so…I may go on and get Jet’s eyes done now.
Sending best wishes to all who read this. Stay safe, keep in good spirits, and know we will get through this and come out on the other side.
April 5: I’ve been out with two sets of dogs. Wrote about going out with Bridger and Logan and having the flat tire. First time I forgot the camera. Second time out I took the camera, but failed to put the memory card back in. So…this year proceeds onward. Second run was with Miles and Turq. Yes, we did manage to get out. And the bike tire was just fine.
We here in Colorado are now under a stay at home order. Yesterday the governor asked everybody to begin to wear masks. So yesterday I made a homemade version.
my homemade CV-19 mask
I had been watching many youtube videos and reading the many many comments. One comment, made by someone with a PhD in Microbiology, with experience in pathology, said that a proper mask needs to have three layers. Outside and inside layers need to be of high thread count cotton. Inner liner is the most important. It should be non woven. The purpose of the third layer is to divert the particles from the virus. Divert so they do not travel in a straight line. Which is what happens with two layers of the same type fabric. So I used a Allergenic Filtration vacuum bag which I found in my laundry room.
mask making underway. vacuum bag attaches to top layer of fabric. I used a three-strip piece of garbage bag ties for the nose. The second layer of the cotton material will be sewed to the back of this setup.
I will use this mask when I go to the grocery store the next time. I already have a N95 mask which I will take with me on Tuesday to the vet’s when I take Jet to get her hips x-rayed. This vet is allowing no clients in the office. I will call them when I get there and they will come out to the parking lot and get Jet, take her in and do the x-ray and bring her back out to me. I will do all my paperwork in the truck. It is a brave new world we are encountering now. I am very fortunate that I live in an area which has very low confirmed case count.
I don’t know how the rest of this year will proceed. Even if we have pups, I don’t know how I might be able to get them to any prospective owners. I will keep posting here any news…one way or the other. Best wishes to you. Stay safe and be well.
March 31(eve): This season has been one of mechanical problems. First, I had to replace the inner tube on the back tire of the bike. Then…the inner tube had a hole in it and had to be patched. It still wouldn’t hold air and I dinked around with it for days. Then, mysteriously…all of a sudden it held air and I ran with it the whole season. Today, however…when I was on a run with Bridger and Logan…the back tire went flat. Sigh. And you know what? I rode on it anyway. The boys were strong enough to keep us going and I just kept pedaling. I aired the tire up this evening. Will see if it holds air through the night. I might try to get out again with Miles and Turq. We are starting to warm up, though.
The next mechanical problem was the computer. My Mac kept winding down. I could not access the Finder. Then I started getting “your start up disk is full” messages. I was able to make it for some time; now I can’t even get to my desk top. I have purchased a new hard drive which I hope to install myself. Now I need to get the necessary tools and make the time and space to do the install. I don’t know when this will be. I am now using a Lenovo Chromebook. It at least allows me to use the internet and post updates to this webspace.
Then…the Canon camera lens failed to extend just a few days ago. Now I have a replacement camera. Hopefully, that will take me until I want to get a new camera. I have been starting to look and like the looks of the Olympus PEN E series. There is a 10, but some reviews say the 9 is almost identical. I will just place this info and access it as I can.
We continue on with coronavirus in the US and around the world. I have been a very much self-contained person for many years, so I am not uncomfortable in this situation at all in that way. Best wishes to all in this difficult time.
March 30(eve): Lana got pictures of Cody’s win at the Heart of America Samoyed Specialty. He was Reserve Winner’s Dog under breeder-judge John Ronald. Let’s see if I can get a picture posted here. I’ll probably post this on the front page as well.
Abakan’s Frontier Showman HT by Abakan Mountain Man x Abakan Kiwanja Mouka Ming Reserve Winner’s Dog. Heart of America Samoyed Specialty 2020. Handled by Anne O’Neill. Judge John Ronald. Owned by Lana McLellan
March 30: I have been sleeping in the last few days. After doing a major house purge and throwing out and moving around and rearranging things I am at a standstill. Mornings are still cold, the past couple of days. 19 yesterday morning and I didn’t even look today. The peonies are starting to break through the ground, though. When you live somewhere where it is basically brown…or gray…much of the year…and when flowers with as bright a color as these peonies are start showing signs of getting ready…that is sort of exciting. These guys have done really well just about the last six or seven years.
I found a used camera online just like the one I have been using. It was offered at a very good price from a very highly recommended seller on ebay, so I ordered it and it came today. I did not want to get into learning a new camera right now, so maybe I will be able to continue on with this new camera(to me) for this year.
The county where I live is still showing only one case of covid19. My state has moved from 12th to 13th as far as number of cases. Sending best wishes to you wherever you are. Stay well and stay safe.
March 25, eve: I went through the journal here to see when we got our first bike run in this season. It was October 17. So we have been running for a little over 5 months. Don’t know if we will get out again or not. That’s not bad, though for a season’s work. And Logan has been out about 5 times. He should be well ready this fall.
March 25: I got out today with Bridger and Miles for a good run with the bike. I had hope to have at least one more run before the season was over and today was a very nice one. Miles was particularly excited about being out today. My camera lens would not extend today and I am afraid this may be the end of my little Canon. So…no picture of our last run of the season. I used the photo from the March 1st run on the front page. We will pretend that was from today. 😀 I haven’t gotten back into my run journal from this season, but if we started running at the end of September…this would make six full months we have been able to run this year. Whoop!
Guess now I will get to see if anything comes from the Bridger and Aia breeding yesterday. We will see how it goes. Best wishes to you in whatever circumstances our current health situation finds you in. If you are confined at home…try to get outdoors at least once a day to change your physical and mental state. Even if you only go and stand or walk around in your back yard.
March 24: New Moon. When it rains…it pours…
I had given up on Aia and Bridger, yet there they were in the dog runs this morning. The last male out and the last female out. And they seemed interested in each other and I went ahead and put them together. And we got a breeding. It is late in Aia’s cycle and I have no idea if this will result in anything, but…it is something today. It is something that after completely giving up…it still happened.
And…I did wind up finding a vet who can do hip x-rays. So I have an appointment with another girl and this vet coming up. Still working on this. Maybe something will happen here this year after all.
March 22, evening: I have a thought about possible direction. I am going to call vet’s offices tomorrow to find out if they are open and what their procedures are for providing safety for people. If I can get my girl’s hips and eyes done…I may still try for something this spring. I spoke with another possible stud owner this evening. Stay tuned.
March 22: I took the prospective stud dog back to his owner yesterday. No breeding with Aia this time.
To reiterate what I wrote in the post just below: With the current human health situation with coronavirus the way it is right now…it is very difficult to make any projections about the future. As far as dogs go: I have only one other girl left to cycle through a heat season this spring and she has not yet been certified for hips and eyes. I don’t even know if the vets that I see for these things have offices that are currently open. And even if the offices were open…there is the whole exposure thing to contend with…social distancing and that. And then I would have to go through yet again making the decision who to breed her with. Right now this is not something I want to contend with, frankly. I am just hoping that we, as humanity, can make it through this without too many casualties. My state(Colorado) is still not looking too bad as far as how many folks are infected, have died, are in serious condition, but who knows what things will look like the end of April?
I am going to pause and reflect and see if anything comes to me as far as what I should do with the dogs this year. If I have any revelations…I will post here.
March 19: I am posting news of Aia today. In case you are following the journal hoping for information along these lines.
I went and picked up the stud dog I wanted to try with Aia this heat on Saturday. I have tried them together Monday through this morning. With no success. Today I also tried Aia with Miles and Bridger. I am getting the feeling from the boys that – for whatever reason – Aia is not going to be breedable. Or…she is not breedable yet. I am tending to think it is going to be the former. From the signs I got from Bridger today…I don’t know if I am going to be pursuing trying to get a breeding with her any longer.
At any rate: That is the news today. If I try again tomorrow – with Aia and anybody – and I don’t get a breeding I will not pursue it any further.
With the current health situation world wide…it may be best not to pursue anything else right now, anyway. I will wait to see what human health conditions look like about the first of May to see if I want to pursue anything else this year.
Best wishes to you. Sending out thoughts for good health and wellbeing.
March 12: Bridger and Logan and I went out with the bike today. It was 47 degrees at about 6:30…so a pretty warm one, but we did have a cool wind and the air was not too bad. Logan is looking good, had a better run today than the previous time.
Bridger, left. Logan, right
At the turnaround: Logan, left. Bridger, right
This may be our last run of the season. Will have to see what the rest of the month brings.
March 10: Ran Miles with Turq this morning. Turq had been in heat so had not been running for several weeks. Miles is kenneled with Kiva, who is in heat now, so Miles is a bit scattered as far as concentration goes, but we had a very good run. Turq has been trying to start out before I get on the bike and we are having to work on that. Overall, though, I felt she did very well and Miles is still consistent. At 11.5 years old he is doing very well and I continue to try to get him out for as long as I can. Temp was quite a bit cooler this morning at 22 degrees. We are getting to a turning point in the temps, but will continue to run as long as we can get out at a reasonable temperature at a reasonable time of day. Probably not too much longer. Will just keep on for as long as we can.
March 8: Ran Bridger and Miles this morning. It was a warmer morning, but still cool enough to get a good fast run in. It was 43 at about 6:30.
March 6: Today the plan was to get Logan out with Bridger for the first time. And…we did it! It was 15 degrees when we left home and about 25 when we got back. Logan is still a bit puppy-ish and he wanted to play with Bridger on the way out. Logan was on the right side and Bridger on the left and Logan kept pushing Bridger over and over and over to the left so we were WAY over on the left side. When we got turned around, though, Logan ran well. He is going to be a pretty good sized boy, is already taller than his dad. Has big feet, too, so he is going to grow more. He may be 23 1/2 or even 24 inches tall when he matures. Deacon is 24, so I won’t be surprised.
I was very pleased with the way it turned out today. Did NOT get any pictures, though. Took the camera, but I failed to get the memory card off the computer and put it back in the camera. I have not used the memory card for over 8 years, so I have to get into the habit. You will just have to pretend to see them. 😀
March 1: Another run today with Bridger and Miles. It was about 23 when we started our run at about 7AM.
A good fast start on the first section of our trail. Bridger(left) Miles(right)
The run we are doing now has three segments. Dirt road(above) is first section. Then we do an across the field section where we run up on a sort of berm.
That part joins with a county gravel road which we go down and turn around on.
Usually by this section the boys are trotting, but not today. 🙂
Feb 28: Bridger and Miles and I had a fast brisk run about mid morning today. I had made a trip to town, had gotten back, and decided to get out. It was cool enough that we could run then.
Bike run with Bridger(left) and Miles(right), Feb 28
They both had a very good time.
I have heard from Sa Mira in Germany that Nilaq has been bred. Sa Mira is participating in the Nochberge Longtrail and I don’t know where Nilaq is, but Sa Mira wrote they were hoping Nilaq was pregnant. Don’t know who the stud dog is, perhaps one of Carol Mikx’s dogs in the Netherlands. The Nochberge looks to be a very taxing race due to very steep uphills and very steep downhills. Google this sled dog race and you can see all the many pictures. Sa Mira is running a mixed team of Samoyeds and Huskies.
Almost March…and this year is moving right along. Best wishes to you all!
Feb 25: I am still getting out with pairs of dogs and the bike. Miles and Bridger and I had a very good run on Saturday morning. Fast and concise. Turq has been in heat, but is probably finished(I will have to look at the calendar). She has been wanting to get out again, so I will most likely try to get her out this week. We have had snow and snow again, and then wind yesterday. Tomorrow and the next few days look good, though, so hopefully we can get out again. March has been different and is usually the last month I have been able to get out. We have had a really good season this year, though, and I’ve been able to get out many times. Logan, too, has gotten out a number of times and I look forward to being able to work with him more in the future. I got Jazmin out yesterday and she looks like she might be ready to try out.
I am now waiting for Aia to come in heat. I have some plans lined up. Will see how things go.
Feb 13: I have my photo program on my Mac and the Mac has been getting progressively more marginal for over a year now. It finally has gotten to the point where…last night…I could not get into my desktop at all. I have been unable to delete any files for over one year and the Mac has gotten filled with files and over burdened. My point is: If I can’t use the Mac…I can’t post any pictures…or that is the way it appears. I am going to look at my camera manual to see if I can offload pictures from a memory card. If I can do that…I might be able to still post pictures, but they will only be as they come off the card. More on this maybe later. It is another cold day here with still some snow and some not. I may try to get out today and see what the trail looks like. Cheers!
Feb 12: We’ve had snow and then a bit more snow. As I wrote on Feb 8: we don’t get enough snow to really get serious with getting the sled out and doing anything with that. I have gotten the sled out a couple of times when we had a pretty fair snowfall and it lasted for a couple of days, but that is not happening this year. I have thought to put metal on the bottom of the small sled to make a drag sled, but I much prefer running the dogs with wheels if there is not sufficient snowfall to make a good base to run a sled on. So…we do nothing now. March is usually the last month I am able to get out and do anything as far as running dogs here and March is fast approaching. Guess we will see if we get to get out again or not.
The girls are starting to cycle through heats. Turq and Sika are now both in heat. Aia is due toward the end of this month or early next month and then on we go.
Feb 8: We had a very nice snow all day yesterday. It is the just right snow…light and not too heavy with moisture. We don’t get much snow here, so it is kind of a treat to get to experience this. The dogs simply love it. Everybody has been out twice today and the inside girls have been playing in small groups out in the girl runs in the snow.
Sika has a new nickname. Bouncy McPhee.
She is so agile and light on her feet. Like a fox, but stronger.
At first she was all over everywhere mentally. When we walked she’d be here and there and over here and what’s this…Now when we walk she is much more focused…and stronger.
Feb 2: I’ve been out with Miles and Logan running together. These two had not run together before. We had a strong run and they did very well.
Beginning of our run. Miles(left), Logan(right)
At our turnaround. Logan(left), Miles(right)
Today I took Jet to the sports fields for a little exercise. It was quite warm today – about 73 degrees at noon – so we did not stay real long.
Jet February 2nd at 2 years of age
Jet’s two brothers, Tracker and Cody, with Lana McClellan, both now have received their CHIC certifications. Jet’s half sister(by Bridger and Champlain, Sali’s sister), Oletta, entered the show ring for the first time yesterday and earned a Reserve Winner’s Bitch. Oletta is with Valerie Dockter, her breeder.
Jan 28: I seem to have gotten my dates wrong. I don’t have a calendar handy, but I think today is actually the 28th. I checked out the links on the WORKING DOG RESOURCES page today and they all seem to be working. Welcome to computer-land.
Jan 28: I am finally able to get in and check out the site, do a little clean up work on a few of the pages. Tonight I see that the links on the WORKING DOG RESOURCES page do not connect to the websites they are linked to. I have no idea why this is. The site URL is there, and I have linked it, but none of the links actually WORK! Don’t know how helpful that will be!
Jan 27: I am finally able to get back in to my wordpress sites. Only with a new computer, though. So there is that.
I have been getting out with the dogs and the bike on a regular basis. Just got out with Bridger and Miles two days ago for a fast, strong run at about 26 degrees. My right hand got really cold this time and fortunately I am close enough to home that I did not have to be gone long enough to do any damage and was able to get warmed up quickly enough when we got home.
The new computer is a touch screen with a track pad, and I am not used to this so I am feeling my way along. I have new pictures I might be able to add, but will have to access them from the old computer and migrate them via flash drive. Stay tuned! 😀
I am thinking to try a breeding with Aia at her upcoming heat, but nothing is firmed up at this point. I have looked at a stud outside the kennel, but nothing has come together definitely re that. I do have a sizable waiting list already. There is a very good chance that…if we do get to have pups…all the pups would already be spoken for.
Jan 18, 2020: I have not been able to post to this site in several weeks due to some tech problem I am having with Word Press. For some reason…I am able to right now, so I will.
Dogs and I have been continuing to get out with the bike, have not gotten out with the cart again. If I have any more news I will try to post as the year progresses.
Happy 2020.
Jan 4, 2020: Bridger, Miles, Turq and I took the Risdon cart out for a first run in 2020 on New Year’s Day. It was quite warm; we finished up the very slow run at about 55 degrees. I can see we have a lot of work to do running with the cart. I think next time we go out we will start at another place. You can see a picture of the three dogs on the front page.
Today, Jan 4 Turq and Jet and I went for a quick run with the bike. We did our 2.5 mile course. 18 degrees when we left home and 31 when we got back, so still cool but it did warm up nicely. With the bike I get a good work out for my legs…from the hip area down the thighs. I do not get this with the cart.
The girls started out strong and fast. Jet, left. Turq, right. You can see the cart tracks coming and going with the three lines for the front tire and two back tires.
The girls at our turnaround. Turq standing, Jet sitting.
Dec 22: Miles and Bridger and I went for a run with the bike yesterday morning. I left here about 7AM; it was 16 degrees. My little course is relatively close to home, so I used the windshield washer to get the frosted windshield to the point where I could see well enough to drive. I have not been running when it is that cold, but for some reason yesterday did not feel so bad. In fact, my hands did not even get cold. My feet did, but not my hands, which is very unusual. The boys always love to get out and it was a good run. Steady. The county road was icy in the shady spots so I had to keep an eye out for a safe space to roll the bike, but we made it.
I took Aia to the sports fields today and got a few new pictures of her. You can also see her as a 3-month-old pup on the front page with her ball.
Aia, Dec 22
Dec 20: Today was Bose’s turn to go to the sports fields for a photo shoot. He loves to do this. He runs around and runs around on his flexi lead, then steps into a pose for a few seconds, then runs around some more. I have posted one picture of him on the front page. Will be posting more pictures to his individual page soon.
I have added a second page to the General whelping notes, General whelping notes II. This is my notes from Aia’s litter. My temperature notes and puppy birth time notes. I thought it might be nice to have this information available to show the contrast between Noona’s litter notes and Aia’s litter notes.
Dec 18: I have posted new pictures to Jazmin’s and Sali’s individual pages. Taken yesterday.
Dec 15: I took Logan in to the sports fields yesterday morning. It was clear and cold with a cold wind blowing. Logan enjoyed the wind and the cold. I did manage to get a few pictures of him. Will post one here.
Logan, Dec 14. 7 months old
I continue work on my two-dog box for the back of the truck. I decided tonight I am going to use two crate replacement doors for the ventilation for the front doors. Cut them to size to fit the door holes. Will have to see what kind of hardware will hold them best to the plywood. I used welded wire fencing for the dog boxes I built for my dog trailer, but I think the crate doors will work better. The spacing between the crosspieces is smaller and the metal is more rigid. What I have found is that the doors themselves need to have a couple of closure alternatives – different ways to close the door securely. Latches on the doors and maybe a wood piece that comes down over the top of the door for sealing as well. I’m getting there.
Dec 13: I have had Jazmin and Bose out to the sports fields but I did not take my camera so don’t have any pics of them. I did take Sika yesterday, though, and I did take my camera and got one good picture of her.
Sika Dec 12 at the sports fields.
This morning early I had decided to take Turq and Jet out with the bike. It was about 26 degrees, but there was no ice on the truck so we headed out. The course I am running now is down the dirt road, across the field on a little ATV trail, then down the gravel county road, turn around and retrace back to the truck. It was a good run today, not too cold. I still don’t have anybody, though, that will stand and hold the line out while other dogs are harnessed. Noona was so good at this and I never had to train her. We continue on!
Across the field, second leg of our run. Turq right, Jet left.
back across the field to the dirt road. fourth leg of our run. Turq right, Jet left.
Dec 10: I talked briefly with Donna Dannen at the DSA show about running dogs with a bike. Donna said she had tried running dogs with a bike early on, but as she was going along a deer ran across the road and her team took off after the deer and took her off a cliff! I didn’t ask her how many dogs she was running.
Gary Paulsen writes in one of his books – and it may be Woodsong in which he chronicles his early experiences training dogs in Minnesota – of running a team with a bike. If my memory serves me…he tried running a fairly large team with a bike. Maybe six or eight dogs, even. Or more. And the dogs hauled him at top speed all over everywhere…I am sure to places he had no intention of going.
I have never run more than three dogs with a bike. Those three dogs, too, were very well trained, generally. At least the two leaders were well trained. I ran Buck and Maggie and Rosa in the 70s with a bike. When I was living in W. Colorado I ran Bok and Walker and FIzz with the bike. This was a very fast and powerful team. In Arkansas I ran Pine and Tanni and Cash with a bike and I also ran Mir and Noona and Flare with the bike.
At this point I am preferring to run two-dog teams with the bike. I have looked at a small cart lately and I may see about this option. Otherwise if I run three or four dogs(or more) I will use the Risdon cart. The cart has a very solid braking system and it is hefty enough itself to prevent any unnecessary things happening. I have never used an ATV. This is not my style. I can see, though, how running dogs with an ATV would make training dogs much easier. You could just put the dogs in front that were already trained and add the dogs you wanted to introduce to the experience in the back.
Got all the boxes sent out today! Now I can get to work cleaning the house. I had been working on some of the things in those boxes since August. What a relief to finally get them sent.
Dec 8, evening: I did get Turq out today with Jet. We did the same course I ran yesterday with Bridger and Miles. It was somewhat warmer, but the dogs did not get hot. Turq is a really good worker and seems to enjoy getting out so much. She was good in harness from day one. She’s not as fast as Bridger, but is getting to be more solid and is becoming a good dog to help train other dogs. BTW: These girls started off very strong and fast. I do not attempt to get pictures when we are going along about 20mph. Too many things can happen and I am riding a bike being pulled by two dogs and I am hand holding a camera with one hand while I steer with another hand. I have never had an accident with the dogs and the bike and I do not intend to do so now. If I ever get a computer that is compatible with a GoPro…I will be glad to show you how fast these dogs can really go! 😀
Turq(left) and Jet(right). Both are Mouka daughters. Turq is by Miles and Jet is by Bridger.
Jet will be two years old in three more days, on Dec 11.
4th leg of our run today. Jet(left), Turq(right)
Next, I hope to get Logan out again.
Dec 8: As I have written, I want to get Miles out to run as many times as I can this season because he is now 11(end of September) and I have no idea what the fall of 2020 or next year’s running season will be like and if he will be able to run then or not.
I ran Bridger and Miles yesterday. They are a real joy to run together because they are well matched. Bridger has a lot more speed, but he and Miles manage.
Bridger(left), Miles(right) at the start of our run, first leg
Bridger(left) and Miles(right). You can see by their rear legs that they are moving in step. Third leg of our run.
Miles(left) and Bridger(right) stopped at our turnaround
We are all overcast this morning. Had thought to try running Turq with somebody today. Will see how that goes.
Dec 5: I have decided to built a two-dog box for the back of the pickup so I can carry more than one dog when I travel anywhere. I am getting the pieces together now. Building it out of half inch plywood which I will paint the same color as the truck.
Plume and I went for a walk at the sports fields this morning. Then on the way home from town we got into a little rain. I am trying to get everything together so I can get out with a couple of dogs and the bike again. Maybe tomorrow. We will see. I got the tires on the Risdon cart aired up now. Will see how that all goes.
Dec 2: DSA – the Denver Samoyed Association – put on a two-day dog show this past weekend. This is a show just for Samoyeds. People come mostly from Colorado to show their dogs, but occasionally there are people from other states attending.
I knew two of Bridger’s sons, owned by Lana McLellan, were entered and after Aia had no pups I thought maybe I would go to the show on Sunday and visit with a few friends and see what dogs were being shown.
Bridger’s son, Cody, who is being handled by Anne O’Neill, was shown in the Open Dog class.
Abakan’s Frontier Showman HT …”Cody”
Tracker, who is already a champion, was handled in Breed class by Lana.
Ch. Abakan’s Frontier Explorer CA HT … “Tracker”
Candice Chelestina drove down from Wisconsin and won the points with her bitch from Bred-by class on Sunday. It was a 5-point major for females, which finished this dog’s championship.
She also took Best of Winners, although I did not stay for the final outcome. It was about a two hour drive for me from home and staying for three hours meant I would be away from the dogs left at home for 7 hours. That was long enough.
Now we enter the holiday season and I finish up the things I will be sending to family and close friends. Three more boxes to get off probably next week.
Nov 29: I received some new pictures of Luna(formerly the Blossom girl from Aia’s litter with Bridger, born May of 2019) from Emily recently and wanted to share one. They are in Wyoming now and looks like they are doing very well. Thanks to Emily for the picture! I think Luna looks like a very nice blend of her parents.
Luna, by Bridger and Aia
Nov 28: I wanted to get Miles and Bridger out for a run with the bike today. Had no idea what the roads would look like but we headed out this morning. About 35 degrees. I parked on the gravel road and we went down that. In the shady spots there was still some snow on the road. There was enough hard ground that I – basically – could ride the bike.
Bridger(left), Miles(right) on the first leg of our run
I had not planned to but when we got to the first intersection I turned left and went down that road. And we ran on that to the dirt road through the fields. I didn’t know what the dirt would be like after our most recent snows, but here we are starting down that.
Miles(left), Bridger(right)
We run on this road for about half a mile then turn on an RV trail and go on that kind of up on a berm for about a quarter of a mile back to the main gravel road. The dogs enjoy this so much! And so do I! 😀
Nov 27: Aia did not become pregnant from her most recent breeding with Bridger. No pups for this fall. I don’t have any plans at this time for any pups any time soon. Jet will be 2 on December 11. I may think of trying a breeding with her in 2020. Will have to see how things progress. I will post any news here or on the puppy page.
Nov 21: I managed to get Bridger and Turq out for a morning run today before the moisture began. We had a tiny bit of snow and that has been about it so far. Forecast calls for it to snow today and tomorrow, so we will see. Of course a tiny bit of moisture turns the dirt here into muck. Sticks on your shoes and on the bottom of the dogs’ feet. Anyway…pictures of Bridger and Turq from today. It was somewhere in the low to mid 30s. We were able to get a bit more mileage in today as due to a home now becoming vacant(and the resident dog now no longer there) we were able to go on a new route.
Turq(left), Bridger(right)
Bridger(left), Turq(right), third leg of our run.
Nov 19 Evening: Aia update: I really don’t think that Aia is pregnant. I have gone over her and over her and over her. She has put on more coat after her last litter and she has been eating more as I have been feeding her more so she looks broader. However, we have one more week to go and I am going to go ahead and get into puppy mode. I have set up the whelping box and am taking Aia’s temperature. Again, I don’t think she is pregnant but I want to reserve my final assessment until after the 26th in one week which is her due date. I will post any further news to the website and will get back here with Aia news after the 26th.
Nov 19: Looks like we may have snow on Thursday, so I wanted to get a couple more dogs out for a run while the weather was still good. Today was Jet’s day. We went for a walk in town around the sports fields, then came home and I got Turq and loaded her in the truck with the bike(which back tire had gone flat so I aired it up hoping it would make it through a run and it did). We ran our most recent 2.5 mile course today at about 48 degrees. It looks like the house on the corner which had a big dog there is now vacant so I may be able to work in some variations on our course to get a few more miles in. We will see. These two are both Mouka daughters. Turq is by Miles, from the 1st Mouka and Miles litter; Jet is by Bridger. Turq is now 4; Jet is almost 2.
Turq(right), Jet(left)
Turq(left), Jet(right)
This is my 45th year to run Samoyeds with a bike!
Nov 18: I ran Miles and Bridger yesterday with the bike on our little course close to home. We have had some good weather lately and I want to take advantage of it. I want to get Sali out with Turq but today I have things to do in town. Will see what it looks like when I get back. Here’s Miles and Bridger yesterday. They are so well matched as far as gait and they are both such powerful runners it is always nice to get out with them.
Miles(left), Bridger(right). Miles is 11 this year and is still holding his own.
Bridger(left), Miles(right)
Nov 13: I have added a few short stories to the webspace now. These are true stories chronicling life with the ABAKAN Samoyeds through the years. You will find Mischa, my first purebred registered Samoyed, there, and two stories about my experiences with her. She was born in 1969 and was the rock that my dog foundation is built upon. There is also a trip story with Kib and a couple of stories giving some idea what life was like in Arkansas, running the Sams in harness on dirt and gravel roads outside town in the rice fields. These stories are taken from my memoir, which I continue to work on. They are the dog part. When you stop by the website here…select one of these stories to read and you will find out how we have made it to where we are now and things that happened to us along the way. You can find these stories under the Samoyed Stories category.
Nov 9: Had a very nice bike run yesterday with Miles and Bridger. It was one of those beautiful blue blue sky Colorado days. Bridger and Miles were very steady and seemed to really enjoy it. They run really well together. After that I took Logan to the sports fields complex for a photo shoot.
I heard from Lynn in Alaska that she and Yeli earned a 3-point major at the dog show yesterday. Freddie took a Reserve. Yeli and Freddie are Lynn’s pups out of Don Duncan’s male, Yike, and her Hushe, who is sister to Deacon, Turq, Plume, and Aia.
Aia’s due date is Nov 26. At this point I am thinking that she is not pregnant. Will wait to make a final announcement until after the 26th. I have been surprised before.
Nov 5: Turq and I got out yesterday with the bike. I wanted to check out the roads that we have been running on to the north. The gravel road was still moist in the shady parts, but the dirt roads were pretty well dry. Today I did not run but did get my cargo trailer dug out from some major weeds and got it back up on blocks. It had been blown off the blocks I had it on during one of our major winds here. Now at least I may be able to get to it to get it loaded on the back of the truck. I keep my Risdon training cart in the cargo trailer.
Jet is in heat now so she will be out of commission for running until the end of the month. Maybe we can get out tomorrow.
Nov 2: Actually, the low the night after the blizzard was -4. And that is definitely the coldest it has been this early in 7 years. I ordered a load of firewood and it came yesterday morning. Ralph and his associate unloaded it all in a big pile, so I now get to sort through all the firewood, stack it and cover it. Yesterday was the big town trip and after the firewood I got to unload all the dog food and groceries. Today the ground is well frozen and it’s 14 degrees at almost 8AM. Dogs are enjoying being out. Jet has gotten to run around with Turq and Sika today and they have all had a great romp.
I do not know how much dog running I am going to get in this year. Today my energy level is low. With Aia appearing to be most likely pregnant I may very well have my paws full with whelping and raising a litter.
How about a couple of icicle pictures? 🙂
Oct 30: Yesterday evening a cold front came through with wind. Power went out about 5:30 and was off until about 10:15. Since I am heating with electricity right now that became a bit of a concern. I fired up the woodstove with what small amount of paper and wood I had and that helped. Guess I will go ahead and get a load of firewood this year after all! Main problem is keeping the water lines from freezing when it gets cold. I keep the water running in all the faucets. Tonight low is supposed to be 5 degrees. This is the first time it has gotten this cold this soon in the 7+ years I have been living at this location.
Our first snow on the 24th was about 3 inches of wet heavy stuff. Last night it was about 3 inches of very dry powder. Still, not enough snow to really run on. Oh, I could crack out the sled and we could run one time, but there is no base and tomorrow’s high is supposed to be 44…so it is not a sled situation. But surely not a bicycle situation either. So we sit and spin our wheels for now. I have no idea what the rest of the fall and beginning of winter is going to become.
Aia has passed the half way point and we are still continuing on. She seemed quite hungry this morning so I fed her early. I kind of like not knowing yes or no whether she is pregnant or not. Not knowing makes you tune in to small nuances that you might not notice otherwise.
We head on into another month in just one more day. The year is almost over.
Oct 26: I was able to get three pairs out with the bike this past week – Miles and Turq(they are pictured below and I also posted a pic of them on the front page),Bridger and Miles, and Turq and Jet. Then I had a town day and then it snowed.
Now I have to wait for things to dry out before we dryland again. Snow does not last long enough here to use a sled. Well I have once or twice when I the property was clear, but you have no base and dry ground will tear up the runners on the sled if they just have plastic on the bottom. So I wait to run the bike again. I want to get a few miles on the dogs before I try running them with the cart. The cart right now, too, is buried in about 4 feet of weeds. I am very allergic to the weeds here so I am not inclined to wade in and deal with weeds right now.
I did look for a heated glove. I think I am going to try this this year. Found a pair I am going to order. I thought I would try something that could use heat packs inside. See if that might keep my hands warm.
Coyote howls this morning at 5:30. One was quite close. Probably in the field across the way. The other one was farther off. You can always tell you are out far enough in the boons when you hear coyote voices.
Aia is now past Day 30 but I can not tell a thing yet. Not getting an ultrasound so all remains a mystery. Playing it old school. 🙂
Oct 17: The patched tire on the bike was still firm today so I loaded Miles and Turq in the truck and we went for a first run. It was a bit warm at 64 degrees, but there was a cool morning breeze. Both the dogs really seemed to enjoy getting out. Finally. Pictured is Miles on the right and Turq on the left in both photos below.
2019 will be my 45th year to run Samoyeds with a bicycle. I started with Buck(Belaya Buccaneer) in Flagstaff, AZ in 1974 with a Schwinn bike I bought at the bike shop there. Miles is the 10th generation of ABAKAN Samoyeds descended from Buck, and Turq – depending on how you trace the pedigree – is either the 11th(Miles daughter) or the 12th(Kiva granddaughter) down from Buck. We have run the bike in many different places – Arkansas rice fields, fire breaks in Southern California – but the nice thing about running a wheeled rig is that you can go in just about any conditions. You do not need snow…and we have rarely run on snow. I have run 26 inch bikes and am now using a 20 inch Huffy Rock-It kids’ bike. I really like to run dogs with a bike because it is light and so maneuverable. Cheers!
Oct. 16: Bose and I did make it to the conformation handling class in Pueblo on Saturday. He did very well. I hope to be able to go back one more time before the middle of Nov.
I got out with Aia on Monday for a good walk and got a few pictures of her. Here’s one:
I also got a picture from Lana of a training run she did with her boys. At lead is the Yakukian Laika. At team is Cody(Bridger/Mouka). Wheel dogs are Taiga and Tracker(Bridger/Mouka).
I am working on Christmas presents now, getting everything ready in case I am busy after the end of November. I aired the bike tire up again last night, just to see what would happen overnight and it was still firm this afternoon. So I may try to get somebody out with the bike just to see how it goes. If the tire looks like it is going to hold air, then maybe we can get going. Weather is still varied.
Oct. 11: Miles was not happy today. He wanted to get OUT and do something. We have just had a major weather and temperature change with really cold temps and some snow flurries yesterday and the arctic dogs are very energized! So I got Miles out to the training road and we got ready to run. While I was setting up a whole flock of cranes circled overhead. They circled me for maybe 5 minutes. This is not the first time I have been circled by a flock of cranes. They have also circled my house. Maybe I have some sort of crane energy they are attracted to. Or maybe cranes bring good luck. 🙂
The bicycle tire, though, did not cooperate today and it lost air. Sigh. We got about a mile or slightly more in. It looks like I am going to have to deal with this again. Maybe the best solution will be to simply buy another tube. Maybe I can air this tube up and get another run or two in before I get to the store again.
Tomorrow I am going to try to get in to Pueblo with Bose and try out a handling class. Will see how that goes.
Oct. 5: I have now been out with Turq to try out the connecting road between the dirt road and the gravel road. It is workable but not great. Will probably do it anyway. It will be a bit of a slog. Turq standing heading into the connecting road from the gravel road:
I took Jet out this afternoon and we walked this section. I wanted to find out which branch to head on. The right section is the one we will run on.
Our temperatures have finally started to get fallish. Yesterday morning was the first below 40 degrees at 38 degrees. I had to get out the extra blanket the other night. Guess I will have to crack out my long johns soon. The dogs are enjoying the cooler weather.
Sept 29: I found a bicycle inner tube patch kit at the local grocery. I watched a video on youtube on how to patch an inner tube. I got the tube patched yesterday. This afternoon I got the tube put back in the tire and the tire back on the wheel, the wheel back on the frame, the chain tightened, the coaster brake attachment secured, and all the bike put back together. Thus far it looks OK. Will see if the tube is still inflated tomorrow. If it is then the dogs and I can probably begin some fall training soon.
Heard from Lana that Cody picked up his third point today. They are on their way, I guess. Now she will decide how to proceed from here, which shows to go to, who to handle him, etc.
Sept. 28: I have heard from Lana today that Cody has picked up his first two points toward his AKC championship this weekend. He shows tomorrow and he may very well get one more point then. Cody is Abakan’s Frontier Showman, brother to Ch. Abakan’s Frontier Explorer CA HT, Tracker, who just finished his AKC championship and whose picture appears on the main page. These two boys are brothers to Jet and are by Bridger and Mouka. They are not yet two years old.
I am considering beginning to show Bose in conformation. It has been a LONG time since I showed a dog and it is going to take a bit of thought on my part. To begin…a handling class is 50 miles away. That is 50 miles one way…so 100 miles round trip. There is a show in early November that I might aim for, but I don’t know if Bose would be ready by then. I guess I could give a couple handling classes a whirl and see how we did.
He’s getting his hair back, although it looks like he has started to chew on his pasterns now…Here’s Bose July 12 when he was in the middle of major hair loss. He has a very nice silhouette and can possibly be very showy. We will see. 🙂
Sept. 24: I have bred Aia to Bridger today. This is a repeat breeding. If the breeding is successful, pups will be due around Nov. 26. If you are interested in the possibility of having an ABAKAN Samoyed pup in your life, contact me at abakan1@yahoo.com and request a puppy questionnaire. See the menu bar for photos of the pups from the last Aia and Bridger litter. Logan and Jazmin were from that breeding.
I have gotten Sali out again and have started working her for sled work. We worked on “stay”, “out there”, and “let’s go.” She looks promising.
Sept. 19: Today’s power walkers were first Jaz and then Miles. Jaz got to ride in the truck for the first time and got to go somewhere she had never been. Miles loves to get out.
This was the first morning to crack below 50! It was 44 at the training road. Jaz and I got off to the side of the road for a big tractor pulling a large mowing attachment. Miles and I moved over for a big flatbed pickup. Other than that we had no traffic.
Tomorrow is Miles’ 11th birthday. He is in wonderful shape.
The last few weeks morning skies have shown these rays that come out from a central hub. Here’s what they look like. This was yesterday morning. We may not have any more of these rays if we are getting into a different weather pattern. i found out these are called “crepuscular” rays.
Sept. 16: This morning was Sali’s turn to go for a power walk. She needed to learn more about riding in the truck and getting in and out and I felt like it was a good chance to develop a bit more of a personal bond with her. She liked picking up sticks and pieces of bark as she went along. She has good focus and a good strong forward sense. I think it is going to be fun to see her grow.
It was a warm morning at 67 degrees today. We had a front come through last night with lots of clouds.
I have decided to try a breeding between Aia and Zuli. This is a close linebreeding. Aia is in heat now and I should know more about whether or not we might have any success by the end of this month.
Sept. 15: I have gotten a number of the dogs out individually this past week for power walks either at the sports fields or on the training road to the north. It has been a long hot summer this year and the dogs are happy, at least, to get out to do something different. Mornings have been cooler, but even at 94 degrees it is still nice to get out for a brisk walk. Two mornings thus far have been cool enough for sweatshirt and sweatpants, but tonight feels quite a bit warmer.
I put the inner tube in the little training bike last night but the new tube would not hold air. I took it out and on inspection it had two little holes in it. I am going to look at the inner tube selection when I go into the store again. I don’t think this was the best choice.
Next I am going to air up the cargo trailer tires and the cart tires and get the trailer ready to roll. I went out with Zuli to the new road I have been scoping out and I think I am going to try the cart out there.
Sept. 1: Mornings have cooled down, but we are still getting some very hot days. Today is supposed to be 100, tomorrow 102. Last couple of mornings have been in the 50s. That is almost 50 degrees difference between night and day.
I have not been terribly inclined to think of doing any further breeding this year thus far. I am going to give some thought to breeding Aia one more time with Bridger. I will have to see how I feel about this as time progresses.
My training bike has a flat inner tube and I am going to have to replace the tube. I have now gotten the tube and will have to get the tire off one edge of the rim and then put the tube in. I haven’t changed an inner tube in a long time. I am also going to have to defrost the freezer. Little fall chores…
August 17: It remains hot here. Things do cool down at night, thankfully, to somewhere in the low 60s. Yesterday’s temp was right around 100 and that is the forecasted high for about the next week. Then it looks like we are in the mid 90s for a while. Still having storm fronts come in every afternoon. Last night we had a bit of rain right around 6:30. I am certainly looking forward to some sort of a change in weather. Hopefully, fall will bring dryer and cooler weather.
I took a picture of the pups the other night. Jazmin on the left. Logan on the right. Sali is by herself.
Jazmin(left), Logan(right
Sali
August 3: I have found one possible road to run the dogs on where we can get a 5 mile run in. It is close to home. It does have a very large cattle guard, though. I have looked at possibly navigating across the guard with the dogs and the cart, but think I am going to go back out again to see if I can get individual dogs through the barbed wire fence next to the guard. If I can do that I could hook them up to the fence, get the cart across, then re-hook them up. More on this as fall approaches.
I have heard from Lana today that Tracker picked up his 14th point toward his AKC championship at the Bismarck KC show today. I assume she is entered in tomorrow’s show, so will wait to see if they finish tomorrow. Kind of exciting. I never ever thought this dog would be a show dog. Congrats to Lana for today’s news.
July 30: I have finally sort of recovered from all the puppy traveling. Got some house cleaning and rearranging done. Have managed to get Deacon groomed and today I got Miles groomed. It has been so hot here that doing very much is difficult. I just do not do well in the heat. Combined with the heat is humidity, so it is muggy and I am always soaked after I do anything. It has rained just about the entire month of July. Every evening about 6 PM here come the clouds from the west. Last night, even though the forecast was for only 30% rain…we had rain. Again. The puppies have a large uncovered run where they can stay mornings, evenings and at night…when it isn’t raining. When it rains then I must go out and gather them up and move them into the covered run on the west side of the house. They are staying outside now because the only alternative is coming inside and being in a crate. They do come in the house early afternoons for about 3-4 hours. They are very good about being in their crates. They sleep next to their jugs of frozen water.
I had decided not to do any further breedings this year, but am taking a look at Turq. The girls from the first Mouka and Miles breeding(Turq and Aia are two of them) will be 4 on November 6. I have attempted to breed Turq to outside males twice now. – with no success. Unlike Aia, who has had consecutive seasons like clockwork…Turq’s seasons have not been regular and some heats have been strong while others sort of fizzled out. I don’t like to breed bitches for a first litter much later than 3 years of age…and Turq will be due to come in season in the not-too-distant future. I will have to make a decision then, I suppose.
Puppies playing in the big run on Monday.
Jazmine(left), Logan(back right), Sali(on her back right)
July 14: I made the trip yesterday to Walsenburg and met Val. This was to pick up the new puppy from Val’s litter between her Champlain and Bridger. I decided to take a stud fee puppy from this litter. We both wanted females, however. Fortunately, Champlain had two girls – one for Val and one for me. The new puppy is getting settled in here now. I have a name for her, but will post more about this later. Pictured here are Val with our new puppy on the left and her brother(he was going to Denver) on the right).
July 10: Made the trip to Aurora and met Emily. Blossom was initially a bit shy with Emily and her friend. But then it was as if a lightbulb had gone off in Blossom’s head. It was like she realized all of a sudden that Emily was there for her! I have never seen a puppy make this association. But when Blossom realized this…she started barking and running around the yard. She was SO excited. Emily said she was excited too, so they were both excited. From that moment on…Blossom played with Emily and sat behind Emily’s friend in the shade. And then Emily and Blossom got in the car, Emily’s friend was driving, and Emily and Blossom were sitting in the passenger seat and off they went. Here’s Emily holding Blossom.
Emily and Blossom (at 9 weeks 5 days old)
July 9: I received a picture from Colleen and Bill of Ruby and Bear recently. Ruby is from the first Mir and Cash litter. She was born July 15, 2003. She will be 16 this year! To my knowledge…Ruby is the only surviving pup from either of the two Mir and Cash litters. Betty, who was the only remaining pup from her litter(the second Mir and Cash litter), just died July 3rd. Bear is brother to Bose and Sika. They are now just a year old. This picture might have been taken in April, so Bear would have been about 10 months old. Thanks to Colleen and Bill for taking such good care of Ruby these many years…and for sending the picture!
Ruby on the left, Bear on the right
July 8: I plan to drive to Aurora on Wednesday to meet Emily who will be flying in from Chicago to pick up Blossom. Thursday, then, I take my truck in to the shop to have some work done. Saturday I plan to drive to Walsenburg to meet Val and to pick up a new pup from the Bridger and Champlain litter. These pups are just a week younger than the Bridger and Aia pups. So…busy week ahead. Temps are still going to be warm. Looks like we have at least one day of at least 100 degrees. It is 65 here at 6:15 AM.
July 1: Scarlett has gone to her new home with musher Don Duncan in the Seattle area. Scarlett seems to be making the transition very well and is becoming part of Don’s dog group. She is the latest addition after Don added four pups from Lynn Hornbein’s litter out of his Yike and Lynn’s Hushe. Hushe is litter sister to Aia, who is Scarlett’s dam, so Don now will have a few dogs from the Abakan line to work with.
Don with Scarlett at the Denver Intl airport in the parking garage.
Yesterday the Silver boy went to his new home with David and Melissa, an active outdoor Colorado based couple. And Spruce went to his new home with Dillon, based in the Denver area but also very active in outdoor activities. I am sorry that I failed to get a picture of Dillon and Spruce, but here is a picture of Melissa with Silver and I have posted a picture of David and Melissa with Silver on the front page.
June 23: Pups are now 7 weeks old. Everybody is doing well. I tested all the pups with the Volhard Puppy Aptitude test on Friday and they all did very well. Nobody is very touch sensitive, nobody is personality dominant, they all test as being very trainable and should get along well with children. Pups are sweet and stable. I have posted head shots today of the pups at 7 weeks. This will be the last post of the group I will be doing. Pups will start to go to their new homes this coming weekend.
June 8: Pups were 5 weeks old yesterday! We have made it this far! Aia is nursing about three or four times a day now for a brief time each nursing. The pups are eating very well and starting to develop their individual personalities. This next week should be really fun. These pups are very good. Do very well as long as I keep to a certain schedule. They have an outdoor run where everybody poops, an indoor sleeping area where everybody nestles up against the jugs of frozen water, and an intermediate place on the concrete blocks where I put them when it gets too hot in the outdoor run but is still cool enough on the west side for them to be outside. Fortunately, we haven’t had any real hot weather. Yesterday was our hottest day in the low 90s and today was supposed to be hot as well, but tomorrow back to high 60s. Very nice when you are dealing with arctic dog puppies!
June 2: Pups are now 4 weeks old. They have slept outside in the puppy run for two nights now. They are eating out of the flying saucer now. They are eating soaked kibble with raw lean ground beef. Aia is now nursing standing up.
This morning the pups were congregated in the shade under the elm tree in the pen. One of the pups had figured out how to get out and was in the yard. This was Spruce boy. I think he maneuvered through a gap between the chain link fencing and the x-pen fencing. I closed that gap. Puppies always keep you on your toes! I moved them from outside – where it was starting to get too warm – into the whelping box area in the bedroom and they all crunched up by the frozen water jugs and went to sleep.
May 26: Pups are now 3 weeks old. We had cool temps for several days; now we are getting warm again. Last night it took 3 of the frozen water jugs to finally make everybody cool and happy. This morning one of the jugs was turned over and the icewater had make the towel wet and cold. Where were all the pups? Of course, they were all piled on top of the cold place! Where else would arctic puppies be?
May 21: Aia and the pups and I have made it this far. Aia had diarrhea for about a week and we had to deal with that, but we are all doing well now. I moved the whelping box out of the room where Aia whelped and now we are all in my bedroom. I am sleeping in the reclining lawn chair right next to the pups and Aia. The pups are just as round as little full water balloons and are happy and progressing nicely. We had a few hot days and they got kind of cranky during the late afternoon, but now things have cooled down again(44 degrees here today), so we are good. I just posted some new pics today.
May 21: Latest show news: Abakan Frontier Explorer CA – Tracker – at 17 months picked up two 4 point majors at the Durango shows this past weekend. Owned by Lana McClellan, he was handled by Anne O’Neill to these wins. He now needs only two single points to earn his AKC championship.
May 8: In April: Abakan Frontier Explorer – Tracker – at 16 months, owned by Lana McLellan, handled by Anne O’Neill, was awarded a 5 point major at the Terri-All AKC dog show. One week later Tracker earned his lure coursing CA title at the Zoiboyz Ranch coursing event. Congratulations to Lana and Anne!
May 2nd late and May 3rd morning early Aia delivered 6 pups – 3 boys and 3 girls. Everybody is doing well.
April 22: We are at Day 52 for Aia today. This past weekend I brushed her stomach with the slicker brush and all her stomach hair came out. So she just has a little fuzz on her stomach skin now, like baby hair. I guess some people shave their pregnant bitch’s stomach, but my girls lose their hair there before they whelp. I think with them this must be a natural thing. Started temperature taking and Aia is drinking her raspberry leaf tea. She is a very different dog from Mouka so I am having to adjust the way I deal with her to match her personality.
April 14: We have had more wind and cold weather. Wind not as bad as before, thankfully.
Aia is beginning to definitely look pregnant. We are now about 2/3 of the way. She is eating well and we are getting out and walking a lot. She is a sweetie.
Two of the pups from Bridger and Mouka went to Lana McLellan(Galadriel Samoyeds) last year. These boys are now 16 months old. Lana has been taking one of them, Tracker, to conformation handling class where he has been worked by Anne O’Neill(Whitestar Samoyeds). Lana has an older dog that she is handling and Anne is working with Tracker. Anne handled Tracker for the first time at the Denver Samoyed Assn show in Nov. Lana entered Tracker in the Terry-All shows which are this weekend and yesterday Anne and Tracker were awarded a 5–point major. Photo of Tracker here at the ZOIBOYZ FastCAT event in January.
March 24: We had high winds Wednesday the 13th and that blew until Thurs evening about 10PM. When I got out on Friday I found that the kennel bldg had been blown off its foundation and along the ground. It was moved 9.5 inches total. The cat was trapped under there and I got him dug out on Friday. I met a neighbor on Monday and borrowed a handyman jack from him and jacked the bldg up and moved the supports over and got the bldg all squared away again. The man I borrowed the jack from has a ranch out of town. They had a semi-truck and trailer parked there and the truck and trailer got completely totaled by a 97 mph wind. I heard on the news that 50 trees were blown down in a park in Pueblo which is 50 miles to the west. It seems this was a very broad front that affected a large area. I hope that will be all of this kind of weather for this year. We have had strong wind but nothing of this speed or duration in the 7 years I have been here.
I have bred Aia to Bridger. If the breeding is successful, pups will be due around May 4. I have a number of people on a waiting list, so I don’t know if any other pups will be available. Will have to wait and see if the breeding produces pups and if so what sex they are and what they are like. See the puppy page for contact info.
March 4: We have had more snow and more very cold temps. We don’t ever get enough snow and we never have a base…so running the dogs with a sled does not yield any great benefits, unfortunately. I used to have a course across the back of the property where I could run dogs with the bike or with a sled if I was really inspired, but I did not maintain the course the past two seasons and the back of the property is now not workable. I am, then, dependent on running dogs with the bike or with the cart on the course to the north. I don’t know if we will be getting out again or not. I hope to get Jet out, but will have to see what things are looking like.
I will be making an announcement about breedings for 2019 in the next couple of weeks.
March 1: Not a bad morning. Sunny and clear and about 23 degrees first I looked. Miles and Turq and I headed out with the bike. It was about 31 degrees by the time we got going. I wanted to try the long course today…going down the dirt road, then across the field to the gravel road. The long dirt road was mucky in spots, though, and there was a lot of crusted snow. This road is high on one side and low on the other as it is only a truck tire track. Miles kept wanting to run on the low side. I kept trying to get the pair to run on the high side. Miles finally slipped on the crusty snow and fell on his side. I changed positions for the two, moving Turq over to the right and we made it through that part. The track I have laid through the field was dry and we did well on that part.
We turn left off the field and go on the first gravel section.
We finished the run turning left again on the second gravel section and then running back to the truck. I usually turn around and go back but did not want to run the dogs on the crusted snow and in the mud again. Don’t know how many more of these runs we will be able to get in this year. Snow forecast for tomorrow night and that will make the dirt roads impassable again.
After Miles and Turq and I got back home from our run this morning two large groups of Snow Geese flew over. They are on their way back east.
Feb 25: I got a chance to get out with Miles and Turq today. Weather is unsettled and cool, but not a great deal of wind. The ground is still a bit wet in spots and I decided not to try the bare ground course. We ran on packed gravel. It was about 36 degrees. Nice to get out, if only briefly. In video Miles on the right, Turq on the left.
Feb 24: Yesterday we had about 4-6 inches of new snow and 30 mph wind. It was basically a blizzard. Snow got blown in drifts and ground was bare in other spots. I get the great pleasure of having to open my front door into this blizzard wind, which always comes from the north.
Fortunately, the storm did not last real long and by afternoon things had improved considerably. Much snow melted and other snow crusted over in drifts.
Today I had to go into town(25 miles) to get dog food. It was 7 degrees when I left. I was afraid at first that I was not going to be able to get the truck windows defrosted enough to see. My heater system does not work very well. Hardly at all, actually. Apparently this is a standard problem with trucks of the make and year of mine(says my son who is a mechanic and knows several others with trucks same age and make as mine). So I head out for my dog food trip in my long johns, sweat pants, long-sleeved t-shirt, sweat shirt, insulated bib overalls and winter insulated jacket. Along with my Nike winter boots. And Smartwool socks. And…I can stay warm in my truck on the trip to get dog food. 🙂
It was about 26-27 degrees on the way back home from the store and I think it actually may have made it all the way to about 46 this afternoon.
Long range forecast, though, calls for more snow the first of next week. Stay tuned!
Feb 21: We have had cold weather again. Yesterday morning it was -1 and I don’t think it ever got upward farther than about 20 degrees. Today was overcast, cold, and damp. 17 degrees when I checked about 7 AM. It was still only 27 at about noon, but the clouds dissipated and now it is about 40. I am tired of being cold, frankly. This year I am ready for some new weather. Maybe it won’t be so horribly hot, though. I would surely rather have it be cold than HOT!
I had thought to try to run dogs this week, but I am back to having swollen gums on the bottom in the front and I ache all over. So…I will address this issue and maybe by next week things will be a little better. This year seems to be teeth year.
All the dogs are doing well. Jet and Sika and Plume are playing in the covered run today. They seem to enjoy this.
Feb. 13: Monday was 8 degrees. Tuesday was 6 degrees. This morning it was 14 degrees about 5:45 AM. A little bit warmer and the stars in the dark sky were not quite as crisp as the previous days. The air was more damp. I woke up with my t-shirt that I sleep in a bit damp as well.
I have been thinking that Jet has entered into a new maturity phase so I have thought that I might try to get her out and start some one-on-one training. We went to the sports fields on Monday and I worked her on foot with “Lets Go” and beginning to run and she connected on a basic level. I want to do more with her but right now have a visiting dog here for breeding purposes so I need to focus on that this week. Maybe Jet and I will still be able to get to our training soon.
Feb 13 afternoon: It warmed up to 59 degrees by 11AM and I took some time and took Jet over to our training area and she ran with the bike in harness by herself for the first time. We ran about a mile. I think she shows promise and I hope to be able to work with her more. No pictures today. It was 73 when I just checked and it is supposed to be no colder than 40 degrees tonight, so a significant warm-up temporarily.
Feb 7: I got Bridger out by himself for a good run on the 1st and haven’t run anybody since then. I got the extra concrete for the small run I have been working on on Monday and got the concreting part finished. Now I can use that run for an extra boy. Bose or Zuli have been staying in there temporarily. I also got some new knuckle bones that they can chew on while they are in there and that seems to be a particularly favorable enticement!
It has gotten very cold again. Was 6 degrees this morning about about 6AM and only about 18 degrees at almost 1PM. This evening it was 18 degrees again when I looked about 6:30 PM. I doubt it reached freezing today. Tonight will probably be in the single digits again. I find when it is this cold I can’t run dogs with the bicycle. I tried doing this when in Arkansas…running a two- or three-dog team with the bike. I ran in snow and in very cold wind and wound up almost hypothermic at one point (my body temp went down to 96 degrees). After that I decided I really could not afford to put my health in jeopardy this way. Running on bare ground in cold temps is quite different from running on snow. Running with the bike is also quite different than running dogs with a sled. I do hope to be able to get out at least a few more times before the season changes.
Jan 31: Yesterday I put up another small run on the west side so I might have one more space for the adult inside males to be early in the morning. Today I put together the first part of another dog house for the east side runs. Then I got Betty partly groomed and got Kiva groomed. Betty really dislikes intensely being groomed and will only tolerate so much of it so I tried to get as much done as I could. At least we made some progress. I had hoped that she would live to be 13 and we are well past that so anything from this point is just a gift. She may very well make it to 14…only four more months to go. I hope to be able to run a couple more dogs. Maybe I will get to that tomorrow.
Jan 26: The weather has been very unsettled. This past week: Tuesday the wind blew ALL day long…hard. Wednesday was cold and I ran Bridger and Miles together for our longest run(3.5 miles) that I can get in on the neighborhood trail. Pictured: we are on the third leg of the first segment of our run.
Miles(left) Bridger(right)
Wednesday afternoon I took Turq to the baseball field complex and we did a couple of miles fast walking around the track and on the road. Then we had snow again…I don’t remember which day. It was 3 degrees yesterday morning at 6:30 AM and 13 this morning. I need to move some gravel into one of the runs so may try to get that done tomorrow. Only one more week until we are into Feb. This year is cruising right along.
Jan 14: I am trying to spend some individual time with a few of the older dogs. Also trying to do some walking so I have been taking single dogs on a flexi-lead to the baseball field complex behind the middle school and library here. Today was Deacon’s turn. The dogs ride in the crate behind the seat in the truck and then we walk for several miles around the three field complex. Deacon did very well and it was nice to get to spend some time with him.
Jan 10: I ran Bridger by himself this morning. I had thought at first I would just do an out and back on the main gravel road I run on, but when we got there I decided to head out across the dirt field then go down the dirt road. Had thought even then I would go to the end of the dirt road and turn around, but as we got there I decided I would go ahead and get on the big gravel road and run on that until we got to the secondary gravel road, then head on that back to the truck.
I am feeling like I need to work more with Bridger one-on-one to develop his lead skills and his command understanding a bit more. He needs to learn to hold his line out when we are stopped(he will turn and come back to me). We worked today on that just a bit and on “Over gee” which means he needs to move over to the right side of the road. He seemed to get that more today than previously.
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My gums around my front lower teeth are no longer swollen. I haven’t looked to see if they are still red. I don’t know what this has all been about. My swollen gums around my back tooth upper left and then the swollen gums around the base of my front teeth at the bottom. It is nice, though, that I have been able to pass through this and come out on the other side.
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I have not been out as many times this year running the dogs as last year or year before, even. After the eight puppy litter, though, last of June, and the extremely hot summer with over 100 degree temps for three months…and trying to get those puppies through that, then having three of them develop parvo and trying to get them through that with only one of them making it…I feel like I put out more than I had in reserve. I depleted my stores, using all I had and then some. Trying to climb back up out of that hole has been very difficult and I am still working on it. Now in my seventh decade I have to work harder and longer, I think, to become whole again. We will see what 2019 will bring!
Jan 4: A new year. We have had very cold weather for several days, then now today it is in the low 50s. I got over my first tooth issue; now I have another one with swollen gums by my lower front teeth and muscles in my chin under this area. Sigh. I have decided to begin an entirely new supplement regimen. I hope this will help boost my entire system.
I took Sika into town with me today. This was her third time to go with me by herself. The last time she was a little hesitant to get in the truck, but today she hopped right in and got right in the crate(which is behind the seat in the truck on the seat for the extended cab part). I had to do a few errands in town and then we went to the sports fields. This is a good walk for the dogs and for me and we get to be on actual grass. We have nothing where we live, just dirt. And gravel.
If the weather holds I may try to get out with Bridger and Miles and do a run. Will have to see how I am feeling.
I do have some thoughts as far as breeding this year goes. I will post more as the year proceeds.
Dec 12: This season looks to be very minimal. The long hot summer took its toll on me and now I have developed a problem from wearing my upper partial for too long. One MD says it may be due to metal sensitivity. I was concerned about this before I got it and the dentist did a sensitivity test, but the MD says a person can develop a sensitivity. Or it may very well be that in my less-than-100% physical state as it is…I am more inclined to be sensitive. At any rate I developed a very sore swollen mouth and my lymph glands are swollen and very sore, and my body aches all over. I just have to keep on trucking and maybe I will get through this and on into the next chapter soon enough. But there are a number of dogs that really would like to get out and put a few miles on. I am giving them as much attention and letting them have as much outdoor time as I can. Holidays loom and another year approaches! Best wishes.
Dec 8: I took Jet out with Turq for her first run. We did a loop, starting at the east end of the dirt road. Jet didn’t get the stopping part real well, but the going part she was pretty good at. She is a good sized girl with a powerful gait. I hope to be able to do a lot more with her. Here’s a picture of the two girls – Turq on the left, Jet on the right. And you can see one of our stopping experiences in the inset.
Nov 28: I got Bridger out with Miles yesterday and we did a nice little loop run. The run I had been doing that I like so much and that gives us a bit of mileage starts on the dirt road, then goes across a field to a gravel road. We run down the gravel road and turn around then go back. The field, though, was completely overrun with big sticker bushes last year. Toward the end of the season last year we were able to run through the field. This year the bush growth is not quite as dense, but still there was no trail and we had to do basic bushwhacking through this field. We had a HUGE wind, though, this past week, and there was a major tumbleweed exodus. Thousands and thousands of tumbleweeds were picked up and transported elsewhere. When I went yesterday to our parking spot on the gravel road…the field looked a great deal more bare. So I decided to start out through the field and head for the dirt road. It worked just fine, Bridger kind of figured out what I was doing and we headed for the road. Then we went down that road, turned on another gravel road, back to the gravel road that led us back to the truck. A nice little loop without the need to turn around and go back anywhere. It doesn’t give as much mileage though. But anyway…we got out and the two boys had a nice run. It was about 33 degrees, so not real cold and nice for my bike riding so my hands did not turn in to icicles.
Miles(left) and Bridger(right) head west on the dirt road after crossing the open field.
Nov 17: The day was calling for snow but when I got up it was completely overcast but there was no precip yet. I got out with Bridger and Turq and we had a very fast long run. We did gravel road, gravel road, dirt road and then turned around and went back the same way we had come. In about two hours after we got home we did have some very light misting rain and then just cold wind. I am running about a month behind this year and getting into cold weather now, so I don’t know how many more runs we will be getting. I will post when there is any news along these lines.
Nov 16: I started running Buck(Belaya Buccaneer) with a bicycle, started learning about how to train a dog to run in front of me on a bicycle, when I lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1974. I only had two dogs then – Buck and Mischa. The next year I bred Mischa to Vufka(Ch. Valadimir of Elmfield) and kept Max, Maggie, and Pips(for a while) from that breeding. I wound up running with Buck and Maggie and a daughter of Buck and Mischa, Rosa, in 1977. I trained those three dogs with the bike on the road into Loomis, Washington, after I moved to Conconully. At that time I was hoping to run a large team. I was working toward that end, and then my husband and I broke up and I had to get a job, downsize the dogs, and look at the reality of my situation. I moved with three Sams – Maggie, Havillah, and Speaker, to Wyoming with my son in 1981.
In Wyoming I still remained a single parent for a few years, still had to work a job and be away from home. In 1986 I had only two dogs again, Kib(Abakan T’an Kib o’Elmfield) and Havillah. I decided that I wanted to try yet again to put together a larger team. I leased both Precious and Piggy from Katie(Elmfield) and wound up keeping Precious, breeding her to Kib, and was fortunate in that I was able to keep a female from that breeding who became Nan(Abakan Nantucket Nan).
My point in writing this is to make note that I have been working with Sams in harness…off and on…for about 44 years. You can see, though, that there were high points and low points as far as dog numbers and my participation with them running them in harness.
I have never lived in a place where I could realistically have a dog team except maybe once. And in that case I lived quite frugally with no amenities whatsoever. That was when I ran my first 10-dog team with Walker(Abakan Time Traveller) and his daughter, Pine(Abakan Pinyon Pearl) running double lead.
When I moved to Arkansas in 1998 I spent a lot of time running small teams – 6 dogs and 4 dogs, and I wound up running, yet again, two-dog teams with the bicycle. I spent about 10 years running dogs there and put Samoyed Club of America working titles on 10 different dogs.
I have run dogs here where I am now in Colorado for several years now. I do not have a great area to run where I can get in a number of miles. And I have pushed myself very hard for the last 6 years – writing music, making jewelry, and having litters. This year I find I am needing some time to recharge after a very difficult and extremely hot summer.
So…I may not be posting many pictures of our runs this year or posting many pictures or videos of us running at all. The dogs are still very willing, but I don’t appear to be. And I have found, after these many years, that I have to listen to myself or pay the price.
I will post anything new.
Nov 11. I got out with Bridger and Miles and the bike on Friday. It was 17 when I took a look and got the windows on the truck all scraped off from the heavy frost we had. It was 19 on the way back from our run. We did loop a this time, going west down the county gravel road, then south on another county gravel road, then turning on the dirt road and going east. Then I decided to just go through the field of weeds and bushes back to the truck to see how well that worked. Last year this field was filled with sticker bushes but by the end of the season there was a tire track that we could run on. This year there are lots less bushes and they – at least – aren’t the sticker bushes. Still it is open bushwhacking which the dogs are not used to. I am going to try it again, though, and see if we can’t work on this concept.
I made a dog food run yesterday and got some groceries. I thought if today continued in the same weather pattern I would get out with Bridger and Turq. But when I went out this morning it was all overcast and cloudy and it felt like it was going to snow. And it did. And it is still snowing. Not much accumulation on the ground at this point, but I am not terribly inclined any more to run the dogs with the bike in the snow.
I am beginning to give some thought to what I want to do next year as far as any breeding plans. I am giving some thought to doing a breeding between Aia and Bridger at her next heat, which should be in March or April. I had thought of this just a little this past year, but I was not firm, did not give it a great deal of consideration. First on the list is to get through the holidays. Then after the new year I will begin some kind of deliberation, I guess.
Oct 30: The weather for October this year has been varied, but we have had more rain this month that in any previous this year. We are supposed to get and rain and snow tonight and tomorrow and while to most people snow would be a good thing…it does not last here, melts off, and we are left with wet dirt, which when it is cold takes a long time to dry out. You are still running with dryland equipment, just not on dry land. Maybe at some point I will be energized and the weather will cooperate. This may be a non-year, too. Oh…maybe we will get out some time in Dec. Or maybe January. I am doing other things. Going through a big purge. Cleaning out closets and chests of drawers and cabinets and throwing stuff away and organizing. Turq and I went to the lake this week. I took some pictures of her, posted one on the front page here.
Oct 23: I have finally been able to get first Bridger and then Bridger and Turq out with the bike. Mostly seeing how I would do. And I did OK but don’t know just how I will take it from here. Will have to see how the days unfold. We are due to get rain and then more rain in a few more days.
I have tried a couple of possibilities as far as any fall breeding went and nothing has amounted to anything. At this point I am probably going to need to look at doing something in the spring as I will have both Aia and Turq to consider next year. Will have to see how things are looking then.
Our US election is just about two weeks away. I will be very glad to see the outcome.
Oct 14: It is 29 degrees, overcast and windy as I write this. It was 74 yesterday and clear as a bell. Tomorrow forecast calls for sunny and 47. We are in a changeable weather time. I have now had two fires in the wood stove. Will probably have another one again tonight. The two pups from Mouka and Miles’ most recent litter are going to be Bose(the boy) and Sika(the girl). I will begin now to get individual pages up for them.
I should know by the end of October if I will be having any winter litter here this year or not. At this point I think it is debatable. If no further pups this year, then it will most likely be fall of 2019 before we have any more litters.
Sept 26: At this point I do not think I am going to try to have any more summer litters as long as I continue to live here. If I feel the same way as I do now when the girls cycle back through their heats in the spring of 2019…and it looks like I will still be living here next fall…then I will look to possibly try for another litter then. Will have to see what this next year brings.
We are finally having some cooler fall type weather here. I am involved right now cleaning out excess stuff, throwing away and rearranging in the house and clearing out a small storage building I have outside. I got one wall of this little building insulated with foam board yesterday. I plan to caulk and paint the outside and continue to insulate the inside, then I will re-do all the things that go inside, organize. This is where my training bike lives and where my mt. bike and cruiser bike live. I may try to get my mt. bike operational this fall and start to do some riding.
Sept 24: The breeding I was hoping to be able to do did not come off. I tried an alternate choice of breedings and had no success with that. At this point I don’t have any further plans for any breedings this year. I have thoughts to try to get the boy pup(whose name I have yet to settle on) from this last litter out to conformation class in a month or so. I am just going to have to wait and see how things proceed through the rest of this year. I also hope to get Jet out with Turq to begin her sled dog training. If I have any further puppy news I will post to the puppy page. Over and out.
Sept. 12: It still continues to be hot in the day here. Weather Underground listed the high yesterday as 107; my neighbor’s temp gage was 101, they said. That was after a low of 55, so mornings are cool. This morning was 53 at already about 7AM.
I have thoughts to possibly try for a fall litter this year. Having the pups this year in the summer and trying to make it through the heat was hard. Trying to keep the pups cool. It is so much easier to have a litter of Samoyeds in the winter. At any rate, I should know more re this at least by the first of October.
Aug 29: Saturday the five pups and I went to Denver to Pam’s where I was to meet Colleen and Bill for them to pick up their pup. They chose Mr. Grove and he went home with them to Chicago. They also have Ruby who is from Mir’s first litter with Cash. Ruby is now 15 years old. Colleen and Bill also had Quari who was from Ivory’s litter with Bok, born Feb of 1997. Quari was sister to Lily and Kai. You can see Kai in the Working Titled section.
Aia and I went yesterday to Denver and she got her OFA CARE eye certification. Tomorrow I go with Turq for her OFA hip x-ray in Brighton. Then…I think I am not going to do any more driving for a little while. I need to de-compress.
I do not know if I want to attempt a fall breeding this year or not. I am going to have to give it some more thought.
Aug 23: Twi got off to her new home on Tuesday. Cream and Flame got off to their new homes yesterday. One more pup will be leaving on Saturday. Will see which pup that may be and then will go from there. Yesterday was a long day with a 3 hour drive to and a 3 hour drive from from my friend’s house where I met the folks getting pups. I am extremely happy with the people who have chosen to get pups from this litter. I don’t think I could ask for any better homes. It is immensely satisfying to know there are people out in the world who can offer love and security for a purebred dog such as the Samoyed is. THANKS to those of you who have stepped forward.
Another breeding may be in the wings. Will have to see what the next week or so brings, then I will post more.
Aug 10: Pups were 7 weeks old today. You can see their pictures posted to the new weekly page. Only one more week’s pictures will be posted of the whole group and probably that is going to be it. I am thinking of another possible breeding between two other dogs and if that looks to be a definite possibility then I will have to quickly change gears and move in that direction.
I did puppy testing today. The Wendy Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test is what I use. I tested all 8 of the pups today. It is always interesting to see what comes up with each pup. Sometimes I am surprised! We are having rainy weather off and on now which makes for some very heavy damp air. Cooler than June and part of July with the 100 degree temps, but still not real encouraging weather for getting much done. I will be very glad when we get into fall and hopefully some dryer weather. People in Europe have already started training their sled teams.
Aug 5: Not a whole lot new to post today. I did get some pictures from Val Docter today of Widget trying her paw at herding. Will post one:
Widget tries her paw at herding. Val said that Stu felt she looked very promising!
Widget is in the Flagstaff AZ area now. You can tell by the evergreen trees and the very blue sky. I am so glad that Widget has an opportunity to do some new things and to use her mind and her working ability.
It continues to be hot here. Friday night was nice because we had a bit of rain and things cooled down wonderfully. But last night it was awful. The clouds came in but nothing happened and the heavy air and heat just hung here. The pups were outside and were really miserable so I brought them in until it got a bit cooler. I am not a great fan of having summer litters, but this summer, especially, has been a hard one for me and the pups. I will not plan to have any more summer litters as long as I remain here. Hopefully…that will not be too much longer.
Aug 1: The puppies have now had a couple of days to run around in the enlarged covered run and the outside open run. They really do enjoy it. It is fun to see them run along full speed. I love to watch their movement at this age and see them interact.
The puppies are in their fluffy termite stage now. Chewing on everything. On each other. Biting on each other, pulling each other’s tails. Pulling the sheet up out of the whelping box. When I sit down with them they chew on my shoes, bite on my shorts, chew on my socks. When it is cool enough with puppies at this stage I put a blanket over my legs, but it is too hot now so we just manage.
Orm’s ears look to be coming up. The pups are changing in a number of ways now. Six weeks old on Friday. After a couple of wonderfully cool days…we are back to hot weather again. I will be SO GLAD when this summer is over.
July 29: Got Mouka’s hole filled in today and got the whole covered run graveled and ready for the puppies to use tomorrow morning! We will see what they think of it! It will give them over twice as much room to move around in. They will have new adventures!
Here are some little head shots from today.
Mauve
Flame
Grove
Foam
July 28: Another day. Now we move on toward 6 weeks. This morning the pups went from the living room and their indoor run to the concrete block area outside about 5AM. It was a COOL morning today. Mouka wanted to be with the puppies. I gave the puppies their morning water and then brought Mouka out. She nursed and then played with the puppies and then lay down and they nursed some more. She enjoys the puppies so much and is such a good mother. I think the heat was too much for her. Now that it is cooler she is enjoying the pups again.
The puppies played for a while and now they are all asleep on the blanket again. Some of the ears are starting to come up now. Twi and Smoke I noticed this morning. The puppies didn’t poop in the whelping box this time. Everybody appears to be pooping out on the addition floor. Will see if that continues. Easier to clean that way for me.
It is a fun group. Everybody has their own little personality.
Now that the pups can be outside I am going to repair the big hole Mouka dug – fill it in with gravel and cover it with more concrete blocks. Then I can open up the whole covered area and the pups can have twice as much space to run around in. I will try to get on that this coming week. Now that the bathtub faucet is fixed I can move on to the next project! 😀
July 26: New pictures posted today 4-5 week. Two pictures, at least, of each puppy. The pups continue to change almost daily.
They are so funny. Yesterday afternoon I gave them a big bowl of water. They all gather around but everybody is not able to get around the edge so some come across the top. When they were finished drinking Flame’s head and another girl’s head were soaked! They just have so much fun with it. It is like being around a group of pre-schoolers always. Except these children have four legs, are very small, and white and fuzzy. HA!
Mornings have been a bit cooler the past few days, so I have been putting the puppies out on the concrete blocks and they have really enjoyed it. They run around and then fall asleep on the blanket. So glad this is finally an option. Now we move on toward week 6.
July 23: We had a little rain last night. Absolutely poured for a while. It is so dry here, though, that today as much as it did rain there is little to show for it. The air is also very wet and heavy again this afternoon. The puppies are the ones that are the most affected by this. I keep their ice jugs well rotated so they can all gather around the coolness. Just gave them water and they played for a while and then the Smoke girl jumped back in the box next to the ice jugs and after a while I started putting individual pups back in the box next to the jugs and now they are all asleep gathered around, keeping cool.
I picked up the bathtub faucet on Friday afternoon and got it in in a relatively short time. It is SO NICE to have running water again. I am getting things done that were backing up.
I think that making a decision about which pup is going to go where is going to be somewhat of a balancing act. Matching the qualities of the pup with the life style, environment, and desired qualities of the people wanting a pup. I am now watching all the pups – looking to see how they interact with each other, how they interact with me…what sort of personality does each pup have – more outgoing, more adventuresome…those sorts of things.
Here is the Orm boy calling in the new week. Aroooo to you.
July 19: We had two days of cooler, dryer temps. Had a nice rain which dried up very quickly. Then yesterday we were back to the same old same old – 105 with drippy heat and evening wind. We just keep on keepin’ on here. The ice jugs are a real life saver and the pups do so well with that…at least.
I have started putting the pups in a little fenced off area on the west side of the house in the morning. Today was our second day there. You can see the pups outside on the 3-4 week OUTSIDE page which I just published today. There is also an accompanying INDOOR page. This little run has large gravel and some bushes in it. The pups have been checking a few things out. Today everybody went out and promptly pooped, so I had some picking up to do there. Good, though, that this was done outside. Then today we went back inside and the pups had breakfast in the new addition I made to the whelping box – a 4×8 section with a bumpy surface washable shelf liner as flooring.
I think I am going to try the pups next on the concrete blocks outside. I can x-pen it off and they can explore there. Mouka has dug a big hole in the one space that isn’t covered by concrete blocks. If I can get that fixed again then the pups can have the run of the whole area to the north of the concrete blocks. We will give it a try, anyway, and see how that goes.
Now we will begin – tomorrow – the journey from week 4 to week 5. Stop by and see all the pictures from this week!
July 15: Another week goes by and the pups are now 3 weeks old! And moving on toward week 4. And it is STILL hot hot hot and horribly muggy here. I can not believe how wet the air is.
Top it all off with the fact that I have yet another plumbing issue to deal with. Now the right handle on the bathtub faucet has broken. I have to have the water shut off so that I can do the repair. This means at this point that I turn off the water to the house and go out and turn off the water at the street…then if I want to fill up all the dog water jugs I turn on the house water and turn on the water at the street and get everything done. The washing machine plumbing was the last to go and I don’t have that fixed yet so have been washing all the puppy sheets and towels in the bathtub. So you can see how important having the bathtub working is! HA! I am having to cut a hole in my bedroom closet wall in order to access the pipes behind the bathtub faucet. Found out this morning I could cut the wall with my utility knife. I am working with a friend in N. California who is advising me on the plumbing issue. I send him pictures and he can see what is going on and he tells me what to do next. Thank god for the internet, eh?
I did need to get some more water jugs for the puppies, though. I needed to have more to rotate in and out of the whelping box. With the heat the jugs don’t stay frozen very long and I have to rotate the melted ones out and replace with frozen ones. I didn’t have enough to let the ones I put in the freezer freeze before I had to use them. So…that issue is now taken care of as I got water yesterday.
Mouka is weaning big time now. She only stays in the box for a couple of minutes and she is OUT. The pups are now eating in the big metal feeding ring so we have MADE IT this far! The pups are eating soaked dry kibble and I am adding some lean ground beef. They are still round as little butterball turkeys so I figure they are getting enough to eat.
This week – between 3 weeks and 4 weeks – ears start to stand out just a bit more and aren’t mashed into the head quite as much and the pups start to get really cute. I don’t know if we are going to be able to get outside or not. The run I have built on the east side has red ants crossing it and the blanket I put down the other day had ants crawling on it. 😦 I did find some shelf liner at Wal-Mart yesterday that has a bumpy surface and looks like it would offer enough for little feet to get a grip. I am going to try to put it on some 4×8 surface and see if I can’t make an addition to the whelping area so the pups can have more room indoors to move around.
Today’s picture:
I am going to bite your nose!
July 12: Had a brief weather break here yesterday afternoon and evening. Had a large rain front come through. I had no rain at the house here, but the checker at the grocery store today said she had rain where she lives. Not a lot, but a little. I was glad just for the cooler temps, even if only for a while. Today we were back to 101. Sigh. Still keeping the puppies cool with the iced gallon jugs. They just congregate around them.
Offered the pups water again this morning and they did better today. Orm boy even drank a bit. Will keep working on that. Pups are getting much more mobile. Now I must enlarge the indoor area. Will make a trip into town to see what might be possible. Would love to put a piece of vinyl flooring down over some plywood, but don’t know if that will be an option.
Here is the Smoke girl. She ate all she could and this is as far as she made it afterward. 🙂 (She was eating lean ground beef which you can still see a few little pieces of.)
July 10, evening: Yesterday we had a brief respite in the temps. It was “only” 98 degrees. Today, back to 106. The puppies were actually panting this evening, and I introduced them to some water. Nobody really got the hang of it, but everybody got to try, anyway. They ate a half a pound of lean ground beef for breakfast and another half a pound this evening. They are surely growing.
Everybody’s ears and eyes are opening now. It is fun to see them take notice of sounds. Here are Smoke(left) and Mauve(right) listening to me make weird noises.
Smoke(left), Mauve(right)
I am going to try to get some individual pictures for this week, but it grows increasingly more difficult to get good pictures of the pups once they become active and are still indoors. My camera just does not do well in low light situations. I am lucky to get anything decent to look at at all!
I usually try putting the pups outdoors when they are 3 weeks old, but I don’t know this year. Nights take so long to cool down. Will just have to see how it feels. I am going to expand the puppy area inside and will see how things go, how they all do. I really like to start giving them more room to move around. Maybe we can get outside in the mornings.
July 8: Another very hot day today. This afternoon it was 107 about 3:30PM. The puppies were definitely hot this afternoon, so I put a second jug of frozen water in the box and they all finally got comfortable. Foam(on the right) cools off both her head and her feet!
We did a ground beef feeding again and everybody ate well today. Still, most pups don’t have their eyes open and they are just going by smell. Grove boy ate well today. Flame girl just got her whole body in the dish and lay down in there and ate. I didn’t move her. I could get the meat from around the sides for the other pups and we all did just fine. Will just progress through this coming week as well as we can in this heat.
July 7: One of the problems I have with new puppies is lack of sleep(for me). Last night, for example, Mouka nursed about 9:30 PM, then again at about 12:15, then we were up again about 3:15AM. And I was up at 5:20 with all the adult dogs. Now it is 6:40AM and Mouka has nursed and I have done a few chores and am thinking of going back to bed! Top it off with the fact that the house never really cooled down last night, even though it FINALLY got cool outside at some point. And I don’t know what “cool” might be as far as temp goes. It may be that we are looking at no lower than 70 degrees at night, or maybe somewhere in the mid 60s.
The pups, though, appear to be well on their way to eating solid food. This morning before Mouka nursed I fed the pups some ground beef. Everybody pretty much got a little bit and they got it ALL OVER the whelping box. They were into the plate and they carried it off the plate… I figure I am going to need to start them on soaked dry food pretty soon. Mix that in with the ground meat, put it in a bowl or two and let them go at it. Kind of like a little child in his high chair getting his cereal all in his hair. HA! And they still don’t even have their eyes open!
Jet is going through a little growth spurt now and is a bit high in the rear. She has legs that just won’t quit. Here she is last night.
Jet at 7 months old, July 6 evening
July 6: Puppies are 2 weeks old today. This afternoon I started them out with some lean ground beef. Warmed to room temp and given to them in tiny pieces. Everybody got to try it out. Some of the pups were VERY hungry and managed to eat a little bit. Grove boy didn’t quite get the hang of it, but I think he still managed to eat a little. I weighed the pups today(they were weighed 5 days ago) and everybody had gained except Twilight, so I wanted to make sure that she got to eat a bit and she did. I actually used two small sections of meat. I had the meat in a ball that was flattened on a plate. Some of the pups actually stood and ate the meat on the plate. These guys can’t even SEE yet. Their eyes are not open and their ears aren’t open. They are getting much more active, though.
I think now we have at least begun with eating solid food. That really takes a great weight off Mouka having to nurse them for all their nourishment. Once I can get the pups eating something supplemental I feel like I can take a deep breath and feel like we are pretty much home free. Anyway, we will continue on for this next week, working with the pups and getting them to eat ground beef.
July 5: The temperature yesterday here was – yet again – 109. It is now over a month with over 100 degree temperatures. I am doing the best I can to stay upbeat and focused, but it is difficult. I can’t imagine that July is going to look any different, frankly. And then there is August to follow. The most difficult part is that the little pups get hot so I have to keep them cool, and Mouka is too hot to spend a great deal of time in the box nursing them. We are now approaching the 2 week mark with the pups, so things are going to be changing with them. This next week will be the big switch. Will see how it all goes. I don’t know if I had known the weather would be like this if I would have attempted this litter. We have made it THIS far, though, and everybody is still vital and hanging in there! We will champion on and see what the future holds. I will be posting 1-2 week pictures to a new puppy page soon.
July 4: Yesterday was Jet’s turn to be groomed and then we took some morning pictures of her. Then it was Bridger’s turn to be groomed. If I do my grooming about 5AM then it is still cool enough to be pleasant. It was 109 here yesterday and today it was 105 by 11:30AM. The heat this year is non-stop, with only a few cool days to break up the scorchers. Here’s a picture of Jet I took in the evening last night. There was considerable wind, as there has been almost every evening lately.
Jet at 7 months, July 3, 2018
This morning it was Deacon’s turn to be groomed and we spent quite a bit of time on him. He did very well on the grooming table.
The pups are starting to sort of lumber around like drunken bears now. It is funny to watch them. They are all chubby little things. I think we will be starting them on some ground beef next week. Will see how things go. Mouka is awfully hot, though, and not always inclined to stay in the whelping box for any length of time, so will give it a try.
The pups have had some loose stools lately and I am thinking that Mouka’s diet is a bit rich, so I have modified it. Maybe that will help. We will get it all together at some point! I will be glad when the pups can go outside. They won’t be able to be outside during the middle of the day as it looks like it will continue to be too hot, but early mornings and early evenings should be OK. I am still working on my puppy shelter, have the base finished now. Picture of Mr. Grove puppy below.
Grove boy, July 3, 2018
July 2: Plume and Miles both got groomed today. Plume was on the tail end of losing all her hair so we did just a little combing here and there and a bit around her head and ruff. Miles is on the very beginning of blowing everything and Miles has a LOT of hair, so we got his stifles and his pants and his chest and his sides, then went on to his ruff and forechest hair. About the only part he isn’t blowing is his back along his spine, so will have to get back to that. But I got four grocery bags full of hair. Miles’ coat is soft and the fiber is wonderfully long. It is great for spinning. I save his hair separate in marked bags. Maybe some day I will be reunited with my spinning wheel and can get something of substance done. I have a drop spindle here and my carders, but that is pretty slow going.
Jet got her first bath today! She was a little apprehensive going into the bathroom and getting into the bathtub, but she did GREAT and seemed just fine with it. Now she is drying in her crate on a sheet. I hope to be able to get some new 7 month pictures of her in her clean stage.
Here’s today’s puppy pile picture. We head into another week of hundred degree temps.
July 1: In the past few years with the litters I have had in Colorado with Mouka I have started using bath towels as a sort of tool with the small puppies. I place the towels in the whelping box along the edge and in circular formations to give the pups some variety in height, texture, and form.
Sometimes a pup will use a towel as a pillow.
Sometimes the towel will be more of a bed.
Sometimes the pups will get under the towels and use them like a blanket.
And sometimes they will use the towel as a nest.
June 30: The house finally cooled down about 1AM and the pups got to settle down.
June 29: Pups are one week old today. I have updated the Birth-1 week page with individual photos of the pups. Now we move on toward week 2 at which point the pups’ ears and eyes should be opening. They will be able to begin to hear the noise at feeding time(ha) and will begin to see light and movement. Their whole world will begin to open up.
With eight pups nursing time is an interesting sort of event. For some reason, with this group, one puppy seems to be left out. The puppy goes around seeking a nipple and can’t find one. Mouka has a tendency to want to clean the pups when she gets into the box to nurse, so I have to encourage her to lie flat down rather than sitting up. When she lies all the way down then all her nipples are exposed and the pups just have to find one. At least there are eight nipples for eight puppies, but everybody has to be just in the right position to have access. When Mouka lies down, obviously there will be four nipples up and four nipples down. The bottom nipples are not as easily accessible and the pups have to dive under to get to nurse from them. How these little guys can even FIND a nipple to nurse from when they can’t hear or see and can only smell and feel…is always such a marvel to me.
EVENING NOTES: Another hot one. About 104 today, but the kicker today was that it was SO MUGGY. The puppies just could not get comfortable this afternoon. Finally tonight they are all settled down again around the water jug and everybody appears to be calm.
We have a big fire to the SW of us and today there was smoke. This evening’s sunset showed the sort of smoky haze. Sure hope we can make it until fall.
June 28, evening: Another hot one today. Not quite as hot as yesterday. 105 at 4:30 PM today, after a high of 106. I put the jug of frozen water in with the puppies this afternoon and they grouped around. Actually, it is 8:30 PM now and they are still grouped around. Thank goodness for a freezer and ice! Picture of them this afternoon is below.
June 27: It was a very warm one here yesterday. 102 when I went in to town to the hardware store and when I checked the weather early in the evening it was 109. The pups got a bit warm toward the afternoon, so I put a gallon jug of frozen water in the whelping box, wrapped it in a towel. They sort of grouped around at the edge of the towel. The jug seemed to radiate coolness and I think it helped a great deal. Little tiny puppies don’t have the ability to regulate their own body temperatures, so you need to watch that they don’t get too hot or too cold. It is much easier, in my mind, to keep puppies warm than it is to keep them cool, but such it is during this very strange summer that we are having. Looks like next week is also going to be in the 100s. We will just have to do the best we can.
I am working on a new puppy run so these little guys will have a place outside to stretch out. I am putting gravel down and got all the fence posts in last night. Next is building a wood shelter. I have a plan that I have been using for years and years. Will get that implemented soon.
EVENING NOTES: If it was hot yesterday…it was even hotter today. 111 degrees at 4:30 PM.
June 25: I have decided to keep posting here in regard to the status of the pups in the latest Mouka and Miles litter. Today both males and two of the females are spoken for.
We had a wonderfully cool night last night and I even turned off all the fans. Pups were huddled in a little group over by the edge of the whelping box this morning. hee They are such a fun little group. Like a small wave of energy. More pictures posted on the puppy picture page. More will be coming.
June 23: Yesterday Mouka whelped 6 puppies by 10AM. Then last night she whelped two more at about 8PM, making eight pups total – 6 girls and 2 boys. The two boys and one of the girls are already spoken for. Now…we work toward keeping all the puppies fed and happy. I usually start feeding solid food at around 3 weeks of age. Mouka has a good supply of milk at this point, so I will aim for that date. See the Litters 2018, Mouka and Miles section, accessed from the right menu bar and click on the week for current pictures. Just posted Birth – 1 week.
June 21: Mouka’s temp is dropping now. 100 this morning and at 3PM has dropped to 99.9. I will probably be sleeping on the couch next to the whelping box tonight. She may not be ready just yet, but we are getting there! I have now brushed her stomach, put a sheet down and towels down in the whelping box, and she is pushing them around a bit with her nose pulling them with her foot. She isn’t wanting to stay in the whelping box just yet, so we will just go with the flow.
June 19: Mouka is definitely pregnant. No doubt about this at all. I have started taking her temperature and she jumps into the whelping box and stands for me to do this. We have to wait until the rectal thermometer “beeps” and then she jumps out and goes elsewhere. She is still eating well and her temp is still about regular, so I feel quite sure we will not have pups on the 20th – tomorrow. Now we just wait and watch and see how things proceed.
June 15: Very hot day yesterday. This makes it hard for me to have a regular sleep cycle as I can’t really get anything done when it is so hot. I either have to do things early in the morning or late at night. But…we are still continuing on. Today is supposed to very hot again and…maybe…with any luck things are supposed to cool down tomorrow, with a rainy period coming up.
Mouka is still eating well. I have been supplementing her dry food with cottage cheese, steamed green beans and some salmon. We walk at least three times each day, usually more. Tomorrow we will begin taking temperature. I have my notebook all ready and will get the whelping box lined with something – a sheet probably for now. If it gets cooler that will be much better for all concerned.
Widget has gone on to her new home with the Snowvale Crew in Parks AZ. I was looking for a working home for Widget, and Val was looking to add a working dog to her group. Widget will get the chance to run in harness with a team, to participate in herding and weight pull. Val is also working a dog in therapy and in barn dog AKC trials, so Widget should have plenty of opportunity to exercise her skills!
June 11: We are at about Day 54 for Mouka today, possibly Day 52, depending on which breeding resulted in pups. It is possible both did. I think the earliest day she might be due, if she sticks to a 63-day pregnancy is June 20. She has not been regular to whelp on time, so I will just start hovering and begin to take her temp this Saturday, the 16th. It has been very hot here. I am glad I bought a new airconditioner this year. It is right in the room where the whelping box is, so at least we have that in our favor.
June 5: It is looking more like Mouka is pregnant. She is going through all the regular motions and is looking a bit broader in the beam. Now we just do all the things we do in order to get ready. We will have to see how it all goes.
June 1: We are at day 44 with Mouka as the progressed date from the first breeding with Miles(as there were two). I would not make any definite predictions at this point…but “maybe” she is pregnant. I am proceeding onward “as if” and we will just have to see how things go. I have been having to deal with other issues – plumbing and such – and have to put energy there.
May 23: We continue on with Mouka toward a possible due date of June 20. She is eating well and we are exercising daily.
I am giving some thought to possibly trying to breed Aia at her next heat. I have contacted a stud owner and Aia and I went on Monday and got her hips done. Now we wait for the OFA rating. I think I want to see what happens with Mouka before getting any more serious.
May 14: It’s the end of the day today and I feel quite sure that Widget will be having no pups. We gave it a try yet again and…came up empty handed. Ah well. Sometimes you have to just try. I will be getting in touch with anyone who has expressed interest in this breeding and then we will move on.
Now I shift gears and switch to working with Mouka. Today I added steamed green beans, cooked chicken and a small amount of cottage cheese to her food. Mouka is still not far enough along to even get an idea about whether or not she may be pregnant, and I am not going to be as obsessive about this. I hadn’t planned to breed Mouka again, so if anything comes from this…we will just have to wait to see what it might be.
We are having weird weather now. Overcast in the morning, cooler temps and windy in the evening. Two nights wind blew from the east. Tonight it blows from the north. We have had little to no moisture this year.
May 12, 2018: Widget went with me on Thursday to Wal-Mart where I get the dog food. She likes to ride in the truck(she rides in the crate behind the seat in the extended cab) and there is a large grassy section on the side of the parking lot where we walk when we get there. She really like to smell things, so she gets to sniff many different scents here.
Yesterday morning Mouka and I walked along the road where Aia and I had walked on Wednesday. There are very few trees here where we live and this little section of road has tall elm trees on either side so it is a real treat to walk there. There were birds flying all over in the trees. Saw a magpie. Picked up some aluminum cans to add to the collection. Will take that in to the recycling center at some point.
This morning Widget feels no different than she has this past week. I go over her, feeling at her waist and her stomach to see if I can notice any difference. She has gotten so now she stops in a certain spot on our yard walk for me to go over her. It is like an obedience exercise. ha And she has added some coat and gotten hairier, which is deceiving as she looks heavier but when I go over her…she is still just the same.
The suspense should be over soon, though. I should be able to make some sort of decision by the end of this coming week. I am really thinking that she is not going to have any pups. Again.
May 9, 2018: Another day goes by and I am no more confident that Widget is pregnant than I was yesterday. If she is not pregnant she will be the first female Sam in 47 years to never have any pups after being bred. I guess that is a milestone of sorts. We will know soon.
Aia and I went for a walk early this morning along the deep ditch to the north with big elm and cottonwood trees growing along it. This is where I run the dogs in the winter. Many warblers were out flying around and we flushed the big owl out of its cottonwood tree and it flew over us. Aia is such a wonderful dog to walk with. I use the long flexi line with her. She doesn’t pull on the leash, is so intuitive. She knows just where the end of the line will be and she goes that far and backs off. The sun is very bright here in the morning now, so it was nice to be able to walk in the shade.
Here’s Aia at the sports field. Just to give an idea what she looks like.
May 8, 2018: This is the last week before Widget might be due. I am still not very optimistic that she is pregnant. You can say, I suppose, that I could have taken her in for an ultrasound to find out more. I am a believer in the mystery of life, though. Just because we can “know” things doesn’t always mean we have to. I think we lose our ability to intuit if we always rely on something else to make our decisions for us. At any rate…we continue to progress forward here. Widget is eating three times a day, but not a great deal, just small amounts. We have been down this road before; Widget is always very good about eating what I put down for her, so it is hard to determine much by how wide she is getting or any other physical type markers. I am going to wait until the end of next week, or Friday May 18 before making any final judgements. I will continue to post here any news there may be regarding that situation.
Mouka is now at day 20 since the first breeding with Miles. I am going to wait to see what happens with Widget before getting in gear with Mouka.
Turq and I went for a bike run this morning. We saw a couple of rabbits. Then we went to the big lake and walked around there. She had never been there and seemed to enjoy doing something different for a change. It was a very nice morning, calm and cool.
May 3, 2018: Widget has been bred to Zuli and if she is pregnant she is due around May 14…or just a little less than two weeks away. I am proceeding “as if” she is pregnant, but, generally, I find that I am not real optimistic that this is going to be so. We will find out soon enough. Yesterday I went ahead and thoroughly cleaned the whelping area – vacuuming the rug, cleaning and airing the drop cloth and the tarp and taking off the litter box annex and replacing the one whelping box edge. I am not going to use the annex again. The Mouka and Bridger pups just hated the litter and only used the annex for sleeping purposes after I took out all the litter and put a towel down. I will use the annex again for that reason, but probably not this time. Widget is now getting raspberry tea to drink (after it came in yesterday’s mail via USPS). One cup per day which she is drinking in her bucket. I have increased her food somewhat, adding a bit of stew meat and canned food.
We will have to see whether or not Widget has any pups. Mouka has been bred to Miles and if SHE is pregnant then she would be due around June 20.
I have moved Bridger out to the outside kennel with Betty, Kiva, and Aia. I am thinking that this is going to be a good thing for now. It spreads the dogs out a bit more and allows me to focus more energy on individual dogs. And it is a lot quieter inside the house! 😀
April 1, 2018: We have completed our bikejor and cart training season. I was able to get a small team out with our new cart several times and did manage to get out once with a four-dog team, which was my season goal. I have pretty well decided…if we are only going to be able to run about 3.5 miles…I am not going to bother trying to hitch up the cart. I am hoping that some sort of move is going to be on the horizon at some point in the not-too-distant future. I would really like to be able to get at least 5 miles on a flat surface for us to run on. I have looked over and over where we are now and there is just nothing close. We did get to run just about everybody this season, though. I especially was glad to be able to get Deacon out and get a few more miles on him. Miles will be 10 in September, so we will see how he is holding up for this upcoming season, 2018-2019. He has been a valuable aid to helping train all the younger dogs.
I bred Widget to Zuli a few weeks ago. I decided I was going to try one more time to see if I could get any pups from Widget. It is too early to tell anything at this point.
Jet is becoming part of the group and getting used to our routine. She is a very intelligent pup and I look forward to doing much more with her.
Dec 17, 2017: I am going to wait until after the new year to post any further news. Happy Holidays!
Nov. 30, evening: Mouka was very hungry again tonight and I fed her another portion with cooked chicken, stew meat, chicken broth and dry food. She ate it hungrily, then we went out and she pooped. I am starting to think that she may very well be pregnant. With just one week to go we will now look to getting in gear! Tomorrow I put the corner brackets on the whelping box and put the base plastic tarp down. Won’t put a final sheet down until next week some time. We just may be having puppies!!! 😀
Nov. 30: There was no change in Mouka for several days. Then yesterday I noticed that her nipples seemed to be much larger and very warm and soft. Then last night when I sat down on the couch with a bowl of cereal and she was standing in the whelping box next to me, she was VERY interested in what I was eating. I got up and got her food bowl and went in to the kitchen. She followed me in. I put a couple of cups of dry food in her bowl and added some raw beef stew meat, which is what I had fed her for lunch. She ate it all, wolfing it down. Then we sat in the whelping box and I laid her down and rubbed her stomach and talked to her. I still think I am going to wait to see what happens and not make any further comments about this until we have definite news. Only a week to go!
Turq does not like the stud dog I chose for her. We are looking at working with an alternative. More on this as it progresses.
Nov 26, 2017: Now we are at Day 52 for Mouka and I still would not bet on her being pregnant. 11 more days to go. A strange feeling not to know one way or the other. Or not to feel any more sure than I do. Oh well. I spoke to a person yesterday who told me a bitch she knew that was expecting a litter showed a relatively large litter in an ultrasound early on, then went on to only deliver two pups. Maybe nothing is ever sure.
I do have another stud here for possible use with Turq this coming week. Will have to see how that all goes.
Nov 20, 2017: I am thinking that Mouka is looking more pregnant. We are not yet to Day 49, which will be Thursday, but I think if she continues to grow somewhat larger I am going to go ahead and put up the whelping box. We still have a bit more than 2 weeks to go. If things still progress along these lines I will begin to take her temperature next week and log her daily temps.
Nov 17, 2017: Day 43 for Mouka and I still would not bet on her being pregnant. I’d say it’s a definite maybe. She does seem wider around the waist than she was 43 days ago. Now, it looks like Turq is coming in heat. I went ahead and contacted Kent Dannen about using his Light with Turq; we already have been discussing this for about a year. We made plans to meet at the DSA Specialty shows over Thanksgiving weekend. Will see how this all goes!
It was warm(50 degrees) and kind of windy this morning. I decided I just wanted to take Bridger by himself today. Do something fast and simple. Let him set the speed. We did a fast 2 miler with him pretty much keeping it in overdrive the whole way, with little trotting. Bridger doesn’t have the focus Miles has when he runs; he’s always ready to get something on the side of the road if there is anything there. Bridger is only three though; we have a few more years to work on this. 🙂
Nov. 9, 2017: We are now at Day 35 for Mouka and I do not know whether she is pregnant or not. I am not planning to have a progesterone test done and not having an ultrasound. We only have less than a month before we should know, anyway.
We had a bit of snow yesterday morning. Only about a half inch, really, but with the temps the way they are and with it being overcast much of the day yesterday and so far today…the ground will not be drying out much. I am looking to possibly run a team on Sunday. Will have to see what things look like on Saturday.
If Mouka isn’t pregnant, then I suppose I will want to make some sort of decision about whether or not I will breed Turq(or Plume). I am just going to wait and see how things unfold.
Another year almost over.
Oct 27, 2017: Ran Turq and Plume this morning. It was a very good run. Both girls are strong runners; Plume has very good focus, and Turq is a good listener. When we go down the dirt road, Turq wants to chase the birds, though. Noona was always interested in birds flying alongside the trail, but she never made any attempts to go after them. Turq, if allowed, would run right off the trail and into the field after the birds! Plume just keeps her head forward and GOES.
Very cold today. 24 degrees when we began our run and 27 degrees when we finished, about a half hour later. I think I am going to try to run Bridger and Miles again tomorrow; they haven’t been out since Lana M. was here and we did not get a full run in then.
Here’s this morning’s sky scene. Venus in the eastern sky. Can you see it??? 😀 Right in the middle of the frame.
Oct. 26, 2017: Today I don’t know whether my all boy 4-dog team is realistic for this season. It may be trying to push things too hard too fast. Miles is 9 now, though.
Zuli(left), Miles(right)
Ran Zuli with Miles today. Part of the run was very good. Other parts not so much. Zuli is very “hormonal” right now. I guess that is what you could call it. Everything is something that is possibly something to breed. Both girl and boy dogs. So this makes for a much harder time getting him to stand still and hold his position in the line. Sniffing Miles’ butt while you are stopped is not acceptable. But Zuli ran, when we got going, quite well. His training is not something I want to try to rush through, then. I know my first lead dog, Buck, took a full three seasons of working with him before he understood the concept of holding the line out. I could see when this concept “clicked” with him. It was like he said: “Oh, THAT’S what you want me to do.” And he did it.
Also…both Turq and Plume still have to come in heat and Bridger, Miles, and Zuli are quite “up” about it. I might be able to run a 3-dog boy team on the cart with Bridger and Miles at lead and Deacon at wheel. Don’t know at this point. Don’t know how strong Deacon would be at wheel.
If Mouka is pregnant, too, then she is due around December 7 and that will mean everything will stop. We have about another month, slightly more. Thus far the weather has been nice. Clouds came in today, but I don’t know how serious they are.
Thoughts today. Will see what tomorrow brings.
Oct. 25, 2017: Yesterday I ran Bridger and Deacon. Deacon’s first time to run with another dog. He only went out a couple of times last season and this was his first time out this year. I was encouraged by his run.
Today I decided to try Zuli again. I ran him only once with the bike last year and he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Today I hooked him on the line and he started running out front the very first thing and continued to do that for the entire run. What a difference! He did not seem like the same dog as last year. Another very encouraging run.
Now I think my new goal for this season is to run the four boys – Miles, Bridger, Deacon, and Zuli as a 4-dog team with the cart. Next I will probably try running Zuli with Miles. We look to be getting into an unstable weather pattern, so will have to see how that goes.
Oct 23, 2017. I ran Miles and Bridger on Saturday when Lana McClellan came down from the Denver area with her dog to see how he might do in harness. Her dog, Taiga, ran with Widget. Then yesterday, Sunday, I wanted to try Plume with Turq to see how she might do. I was encouraged by Plume’s run with Widget earlier. Yesterday’s run with Plume and Turq went very well.
My goal for this season(if you will see in the following post from Oct 16) was to run a 4-dog team. Since both Plume and Turq have yet to come in season, and since this will be imminent and upcoming…I thought I wanted to see if today we could not put all the dogs that have been running and Plume together and run a 4-dog team. So we did.
It was warm(about 39 degrees when we left and 54 degrees when we finished our run) and the air was damper than usual. So our run was not totally 100% the best we might do, but we did it!!! I tried to remember when the last time was I ran a 4-dog team. It was January 1, 2002. That is almost 16 years ago. Unbelievable, in a way, that I could get the chance to do this again in my lifetime. Now, though…we can only go forward from here! 😀 I think I am going to start working Deacon with Widget now. See how that goes…
Oct. 16, 2017: We have now been out with the cart once. Miles, Bridger, and Turq did that run. I want to get out again, but am working with the bike right now. Ran Widget with Plume yesterday morning at 24 degrees. We didn’t do much mileage, just did an out and back on the main road, but Plume did very well and I am encouraged. That was only her third time out and only the second time with another dog. Now I want to get her out a couple more times, then will try her with one of the three other dogs that I have been running. I very much want to see if I can’t run four dogs this season. That is sort of a goal. If I get to do that…then we will see where we might go from there.
Oct. 5, 2017: Mouka has been bred to Bridger. I will be posting more re this on the front page in the next several days. I have updated photos on Mouka’s page. See Litters 2017 and under that category, find Mouka and Bridger. This is where I will be posting.
Oct. 3, 2017: Was able to get out with Miles and Turq today to try out the new running course. I think it will work out fine, assuming we have any expanse of dry days. Forecast is calling for rain, possibly tonight and it looks like maybe more later in the week. There was only one section of the dirt road today that was muddy, so that wasn’t too bad. But if rain tonight, then we are back to square one again and have to wait for dry air. Will just keep doing what we can do as we can do it.
Miles(left, and Turq(right) starting our run.
Turq(left) and Miles(right) at the end of our run. We did about 3.5 miles total.
Oct. 1, 2017: We have had rain, rain, and more rain. The ground has been wet. Since about half the course I have been running on with the dogs is dirt, and since the dirt here is very horrid when wet…we now wait until the ground dries a bit. Today was our FIRST day in almost a month that had a clear sky in the morning. There was wind all day, as well, so the ground did dry quite a bit. Still puddles, though, in spots. I have been trying to catch up with things I needed to do and could not with the weather. May try to get a couple of dogs out tomorrow to see what the trail is like. Will have to see how I feel in the morning. I am very tired tonight, so it may have to wait. It appears we are due to have possibly more rain by Wednesday. Not a promising start to the 2017-2018 training season.
Mouka is now in heat. I have decided to forego attempting a breeding with Widget and am going to focus on Mouka. This time I believe I am going to try a breeding between Mouka and Bridger. Bridger is certainly excited about it, anyway! 😀 We should know by the end of this week if we have any success with those two.
Sept 22, 2017: We have gotten out with the bike for our first run. Bridger and Turq ran this time. We tried out our same run from last season, me thinking this would be what we would work on for this year…but the entire connecting field between our dirt road and the gravel road is now overgrown with these horrid bushes that are literally EVERYWHERE this year. We did bushwhack through the field this time, but I am not going to do that again! These bushes are like nettles. Now I am trying to come up with some alternate route that will work. At any rate…we have been out for our first run! We have gotten back into warmer weather, so I am waiting until morning temps are in the 40s again.
Widget is in heat now. I am going to give a try breeding Widget and Bridger. Will see if we have any luck.
September 12, 2017: I am regrouping and reconsidering after two breedings with no pups in July. I believe at this point I am going to try to get a breeding between Mouka and Bridger in October. Mouka is looking very good right now, is getting much more back in shape. Also, she and Bridger appear to really like each other. Will see how things feel toward the end of October, but this is my feeling at this point. Also, I am going to try to do more running with the cart this season. I really want to get a different trailer to haul it in, but for now I may try to work with the trailer I have. I feel like I need to get more dogs out, so this may be my only option. Again, will have to see how things proceed. Best wishes for fall!
July 5, 2017: Mouka has had no pups from her breeding with Niko. She is still getting in the whelping box, though. So I get in there with her and just sit and talk with her. Should we try another breeding with another stud on her next heat? And if so…who do we want the dad to be? She seems to be listening, but whoever knows these things. It is just funny. I have never had a dog behave this way.
Very hot here now. Day after day. Mornings, fortunately, are cool enough. The air is very damp, though. Not my favorite at all. I don’t like it when my hair and scalp and all my clothes, including my socks and underwear, get drenched daily. I thought I had left this kind of weather behind when I left Arkansas. Guess I will have to keep looking!
March 3, 2017: I took Deacon out this morning for a bike run by himself. This involved him riding in the crate behind the seat in the truck, him getting out and being on a line and getting his harness on and him standing out in front of the bike(or something sort of resembling this) and our running out along our dirt road. This was Deacon’s third time out. I think he was more comfortable with the harness part and being on a line. He ran pretty well for a short time, then stopped to shake himself and the line wrapped around the front tire of the bike and he was stopped abruptly. After that he wouldn’t run out front but would only run next to me.
I think he would do well enough if he was running in the back of a 4-dog team. Or even behind two dogs that were well trained. As it is…we have to work with what we have. Bridger and Turq are probably my two best runners, but are still very un-trained as far as commands. I hope to be able to do more work with them, but how much more this year…don’t know.
I am hoping to be able to make some sort of gear changes in the not-too-distant future. I think I need a different trailer with a loading gate for the cart. I don’t know exactly how I want to transport the dogs. I can’t do it now in the small truck very well. I have thought about a van. Again, I will have to see what this next year brings, if anything. I have all these young dogs now. I want to see if I can work anything up so that they can all get out.
March 2, 2017: Light (see the photo below) has sustained a rear leg injury playing in his yard. He will not be available for breeding for several months, so he is out for Plume’s upcoming heat. I have lined up another stud for Plume; we will have to see how it goes. I am thinking at this point that I will try a breeding between Turq and Light at some point, probably this year, but don’t know whether it will be spring or fall. I will post more regarding all of this when I know anything.
Feb 7, 2017: A lot has happened since I last posted. But now we are in February, in a new year. I have plans at this point to breed Plume at her next heat, which should be some time mid-March. She has had her OFA eye check(normal eyes), and has had her OFA Hip Preliminary and received a Good rating. Plan is to get Plume and Kent Dannen’s Light(Ch. Hymn Singer’s Light by Night) together to see if these two will be interested in each other. I got to see Light at the Denver Samoyed Club specialty in November. Here is a picture of him:
Nov 20, 2016: Widget had no pups. I don’t know at this point if I want to try to breed her yet again one more time or if I want to move on.
I am working toward putting together a strong 4-dog team so that I can run them with the cart. Right now I am running two dogs with the bike, trying to get an idea of which dogs will be the best matched. Bridger and Turq and Kiva, I believe will be three dogs I am going to plan to work with, but I have yet to decide which the fourth dog is going to be. Will be taking pairs of dogs out this coming week again. Turq and Widget had a good run this past week. Turq is looking very good for a yearling.
Sept. 11, 2016: Widget has been bred to Miles. If this breeding is successful, Widget would be due to whelp around Nov. 10. I have tried, now, two previous times, with outside studs, to have Widget pups. First time, we had a breeding, but no pups. Second time, the stud was not experienced and we had no breeding at all. This time I decided to see if I might be more successful pairing a dog from my own kennel with Widget. She will be 5 in October and I feel this is the last chance I have to be successful in having any Widget pups. We will see if we have any luck this time. I will post more regarding this around the middle of October, when, and if, Widget shows any signs of being pregnant…or not.
Sept. 11, 2016: The USDA in Denver did not approve the paperwork for the flight. So we will try again this coming week to see if we can’t get it the way USDA wants it. Plans are to try again to fly out on the 22nd! KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED!
August 28, 2016: Mouka has had her second litter of pups out of Miles and only three girls remain. A flight is booked for them first week in Sept. They should be going to their new homes in Germany and Austria at that time. I am very glad that they will be getting the chance to work as sled dogs. I hope to be able to post pictures of them in their new homes as they get older.
I also hope to be able to begin to train the younger dogs that I have this winter. I am looking at possible training areas, have found something that may work. I am in the beginning stages now of getting it all planned out. Hope to be able to get a new training cart as well.
It has been a long, humid summer here. Hot and humid temps are not the times when I can function very well, so I am very much looking forward to a cooler fall. So far…we still have humid. 😦
March 3, 2016: I have gone to a library to post pictures. This library is about 14 miles from where I live, so I have to get everything organized in order to make sure I have what I need. At least I CAN add pictures to the site this way. This library is on the way to where I buy dog food, so I just swing by the library. YAY!
The Mouka and Miles pups are now 4 months old. They are looking very nice. I am very pleased with the overall quality of this litter. We will see how they do as they mature.
Feb 2, 2016: I have been extremely involved in the Mouka and Miles litter since the beginning of November. Mouka whelped 8 puppies and I was with them every feeding. In the whelping box. These pups were very special to me as they most likely will be the only pups Miles will ever have and he is such a special dog. The pups are now 12 weeks old and four of them at this point are going to be staying here: Deacon, the only boy; Aia and Turq and Plume, three of the girls. My long term goal is to put together a small sled team again and these pups look very promising.
Today we have the first snow of the year that looks like it might be usable to do something in. Will have to see if I get out. If temps stay cold enough for long enough…good chance we might do something. I would add pictures from today, but I can’t seem to add pictures now after upgrading my computer equipment recently. Maybe I will be able to figure out how, or I will just WRITE. I feel that 2016 is going to be a year of change for me.
April 7, 2015: Boy, it has been a while since I posted to the journal. A brief winter synopsis: We had enough snow here that I was able to get a small team out twice. Noona, Widget and Flare ran the first time, and Noona, Widget, Miles, and Tree went the second time. Tree was also able to get out pulling the sled twice in snow. Snow doesn’t last very long here, so I have to get out and get it done while we can!
Bridger went out with Rachel Paulson and Pam Buhl to the February Colorado shows and they came home with a Best in Puppy Sweepstakes, Best Opposite in Sweeps and a couple of nice class placements. Then in March Bridger also went with Rachel and Pam to the Kansas shows. There Rachel and Bridger earned a Best Opposite in Sweeps and a Reserve Dog from 6-9 puppy class. I think they did very well for their time out.
Now we are entering warmer weather complete with high wind. It is pretty much just hanging in there until fall now, trying to keep the dogs all hydrated. Don’t know what the future will bring. I still do not plan to stay here, so we will keep our eyes and ears open for a new place to live.
Best wishes to you for 2015!
Oct. 9: I decided I needed to get away, needed a change of venue, so Betty and I went to the big lake. I hadn’t been there in a while. Last year when I took Mir the lake was closed for migratory birds. But this year it was open. We were the only ones there. It was so calm and peaceful.
There aren’t a whole lot of trees here, but a few grow around the edges of the lake.
Betty ate some leaves off some of the plants and we walked along the shore until we came to a bend. There were a number of water birds there and as we came closer a very large white bird with black wing tips lifted off.
The other birds that looked like some kind of gull stayed in the water.
Then Betty and I turned around and went back. She waded in the lake.
Sept 28. Kiva’s pups have now gone to their new homes. WONDERFUL homes for these puppies, for which I am very grateful. And…moving right along…Widget has been bred to Niko(same stud for Kiva’s pups…Ch. LOL Saratoga’s Racing the Bullet, CA). If Widget is pregnant she will be due November 8. I probably won’t know any more until about the middle of October.
July 28: Back again. Kiva has now had her pups – 2 girls and 2 boys. They were one week old this past Friday and will be 2 weeks old this coming Friday. These pups look very nice, are very vigorous. The quality is good throughout. I will be very interested to see these guys develop, to see what their personalities are like and how the movement is. I am pleased with the quality. Thanks to Pam Buhl and Rachel Paulson for their part in helping to make this all happen!
July 3: Boy. I haven’t gotten here in quite a while. Mouka has had her pups, a boy and a girl, and the girl has gone home with Lynn to Alaska, and I have bred Kiva and she is due to whelp in a couple of weeks. What a whirlwind year! If you haven’t taken a look, our new boy is Zuli, and his pictures are now posted in the Boys section. I will be posting more info regarding Kiva as things progress.
March 19: I am going to go ahead and post photos and info for Mouka and Stikeen. Will post more info next week.
March 16: Mouka is looking more like she may be pregnant. I am proceeding “as if” she may be. Feeding her twice a day now, her regular kibble in the evening and some raw meat and cottage cheese at noon. Put down the large whelping box and we sat in it yesterday. Might as well be prepared…just in case. Her tits are looking more pendulous and she does look somewhat wider in the middle. Again…will make a pronouncement(or not) when it appears she is or is not pregnant. Maybe by March 25 things will become more obvious.
March 11: Got Tree out for a longer bikejor run on Saturday. Beautiful day with large puffy clouds and blue blue sky. I wanted Tree to get to stretch out some. We did about a mile and a half on the road closest to the place. Then yesterday I ran both Mouka and Widget on the little home course. Our weather is changing, so hard to know what it is going to be like from one day to the next. Was quite warm as the day progressed yesterday, but there was frost on the ground in the morning. Today is very windy.
I am not going to make any pronouncement in regard to Mouka’s pregnancy or not until I feel quite sure she either is or isn’t pregnant. After all the attempts last year I am just going to wait to see what unfolds.
Feb. 23, 2014: I am still not up to par physically. Some days are better than others. I had been coughing so much at night especially, so I brought the big Hunter air purifier into my bedroom, cleaned the filters and have had it running the last two nights. I think it is making a difference; at least I am sleeping well. I did get to run Widget on our little home course on the bike on Friday, so maybe that is an improvement.
February 10, 2014: Stikeen has been here. I have had a chance to run him on the bike and he was EXCELLENT! A very strong and focused runner and puller. Good speed. I had hoped to pair him with Noona after a couple of runs by himself, but we got very cold weather and snow and then I moved on to breeding Stikeen with Mouka, so we never got back to running in harness again. Stiks left on Sunday with Tom to make the trip back to Eagle River. Here are a few photos of Stikeen bikejoring.
If the Stikeen and Mouka breeding is successful…pups will be due around April 7th. I will be preparing a page for the combination and will be posting more info here later.
January 27, 2014: Have been dealing with a plumbing issue with one of the toilets which has pretty well taken all my time the past couple of weeks. I think the major issue is now FINALLY fixed and we have running water again.
Still haven’t been running any dogs. Have been focusing on many other things right now. Plans are to breed Mouka to Stikeen, who is scheduled to fly down from Alaska on Wednesday. Will post more details about this when there is anything to post.
January 20, 2014: I came down with a sort of sore throat Dec 16 and that moved right on into a respiratory illness. Which took pretty much all the life out of me for running dogs. Even sick I still need to feed and exercise the dogs daily, and I was able to continue to do this, but had no extra energy to do the other things I might have wanted to do. I kind of came back into the world of the living on Jan. 7 and have been slowly coming back to life since then. So far I haven’t run anybody again, but started walking the dogs on the trail on the property again yesterday. Weather has been very very nice the past week, with days in the high 50s and low 60s and nights in the 20s. Today is windy again, and there is a forecast for a change in weather by Thurs., so I am enjoying it while I can.
Dec. 1: We have had a week of really beautiful weather here. I can’t say that very often. Blue blue skies with very little wind and temps just right – not too warm and not too cold. I gathered firewood on Thanksgiving day and did a bit of wood cutting on Friday. Kiva was looking very strong on Friday and I thought maybe I would give her a try running with the bike. We tried the bikejor course on the property and she looked very strong, so I decided to try running her with Noona Sat morn. The morning dawned very nice at 22 degrees and Noona and Kiva and I went over to the road just north of us and Kiva got to try running on the bike with Noona.
Kiva did a little sightseeing on the way out. We turned off the main road onto a little dirt road on the side and did a little bit of that, then turned around and went back on the main road back toward the truck.
Kiva did very well on the way back, keeping her line tight and having her mind much more on the task at hand. Noona continues to be a real force. I plan to make a page for Bikejoring with Noona next, showing all the Sams she has run with. A large flock of Snow Geese flew over us just as we finished our run. Great day!
Nov. 24: Kiva is not pregnant, so we will be having no puppies this year. We have had a cold front come through with a small amount of snow. I got out on my snowshoes yesterday and walked the property. First time on snowshoes since 1998. A real treat.
Here are a couple of tracks: One of the neighbor dog, a big Black Lab cross. You can see he has a very nice single tracking gait. He places a foot exactly in the same track that the opposite foot went in before.
Here is his companion, a very old dog. You can see by this track the old dog doesn’t pick up his rear feet very well, so they drag in the snow.
Here is a track I saw at the back of the property. This animal, and I assume it was a dog, was moving faster, and this looks like a canter foot-fall pattern. You can see a four print pattern repeated.
Nov. 18: Had a very good time yesterday with Pam Buhl and Rachael Paulson, who had come down from Denver to learn a bit about bikejoring. We got to run Noona and Widget on the road close to the place; the dogs had a great time and the people did too, I think. Both Pam and Rachael got to try running Noona and Widget on the bike, then we worked Mir, Tree, and Miles on foot back at the place. We had a beautiful, cool, sunny day with very little wind. Don’t think it could have been any nicer. Below you can see Rachael with Widget and Noona.
Nov. 15: May have some visitors coming this weekend, so will post any news about this next post. All the dogs are now groomed with toenail trim.
Nov. 12: Jewelry making is now OVER. And I have switched to dog. Made a second whelping box or “containment field.” 🙂 I think if we have pups they will be in the living room until they are old enough to moderate their own body temp and then I will move them into the kitchen. Maybe the first couple of weeks they can be in the living room. This is, of course, assuming Kiva is pregnant. Still waiting for the 28th to see for sure. I am getting all the dogs groomed and ready for winter now, getting the kennel area cleaned, that sort of thing. Have had one longer run with Noona and Mouka, look forward to getting out for more longer runs as soon as possible. I had thought to get out yesterday, but I was feeling a need to get a bit more rest, so went back to bed and got some zzz time in.
Nov. 1: I’ve been pushing hard to get new necklaces finished and loaded into the shop for the holidays. Also have been cleaning the kennel area and kennel. I got it pretty much all done yesterday evening. Yay for me!
Widget and Miles make a single loop of the bikejor course yesterday.
Oct 18: Yesterday was a beautiful, dry, non-windy, cool, sunny day. It was one of my “manic” days, where I start off and get going and keep going until I can’t go any more. Ever have days like this? 🙂 I got the trail(finally) cleared and ran a number of the dogs. I have started a special section under the journal heading just for my BIKEJORING notes. See yesterday’s photos and bikejoring notes for more on this. [ Bikejoring Fall 2013.]
Flare got a grooming yesterday afternoon, got her toenails trimmed and some special one-on-one time. She is such a sweet girl. 
Oct 13, 2013: We have had unsettled weather here this past week.
I have developed a problem with my right ankle. Don’t know what it is; it may be simple overuse. I have stopped walking most of the dogs at present. I think I can still ride the bike, and Tree and I made a good loop today. He is not as consistent as Widget and I will hope to be getting her out again. I really like Tree, though. He is an interesting blend of strength and mildness of temperament. See Tree’s page for more photos.
In an effort to deal with the plumbing issue, and to generate more income, I have applied for and have been accepted for a substitute position in four different areas with the school district here. It may be that I will have to schedule my dog running on my days off or on Saturdays.
Here is a picture of the earth’s shadow viewed from the yard. This is in the western sky as the sun comes up. Same thing happens when the sun is setting in the west – there is the earth’s shadow in the east. I thought this shot had particularly nice colors.
Best wishes to you for a pleasant October!
Oct. 6, 2013: I think I can make a trail through the tumbleweeds work. I ran Tree on the bike a couple of days ago and he did just fine. I may have to just dig out a couple of plants here and there to make a clear path. Took Miles and Tree on the long path yesterday. Those two are just about too much for me to walk together. But I can run them together on the bike, I think. They are very well matched. I may try Noona and Widget next. Noona is raring to go. I may even try running them on one of the gravel roads close to home, so I can get some mileage on Noona. Will see how the rest of the season shapes up.
I do have one plumbing problem which has popped up. One of the outdoor faucets(they aren’t really faucets, but things on a pipe with a pump type handle) has started leaking. I can’t afford to pay for the extra water it is going to use(we are on a county water system here, a water association), so I may wind up having the water shut off and hauling water until I can get the pipe dug up and either capped off or replaced. NEVER A DULL MOMENT! But…not the first time I will have hauled water for me, the dogs, and the cat(s).
Sept. 29, 2013: FINALLY. It is getting dry enough and cool enough that I can get to dog grooming and get some new photos. July and August we were basically trying to stay above water. Now, although we had rain this past week, it is dry and mornings are now in the high 30s here. Dogs, of course, are beginning to perk up and I am letting them stay out in the kennel for periods of time as it is cool enough now.
I don’t know what I am going to do about my trails around the place. The rains pretty much obliterated what I had set up. And beyond that…there are green tumbleweeds covering the complete back area. I have a little walking trail through the weeds, and “maybe” I might be able to establish something. I did get with the man who I thought might have baled it all up, but he had several larger properties that he had even yet to get to, and he said my place was too small for him to get to at all. He suggested that I mow it with a Bush or Brush-hog. Said it would only take about an hour. But this piece of equipment is pulled by a tractor. I don’t have a tractor, so…I might approach a neighbor who appears to have this…or I may not.
See new photos of Tree and Mouka. I hope to be able to add Widget photos soon.
Sept. 27, 2013: After many starts and stops and breeding attempts, Kiva has been bred to Tree. See 2013 Fall Breeding page in right menu bar under Puppies.
Sept. 15, 2013: More rain to the front range today. Fortunately, out here on the plains we aren’t getting any right now. However…the dog I had lined up as a stud for Kiva is currently unavailable due to flooding. So, may be making yet another change of plans. Never a dull moment.
Sept. 5, 2013: Looks like I “MAY” have made a connection with somebody who will mow all the weeds and bale them up. That would SURE help this year. I’ll post more later.
August 30, 2013: All the rain has brought acres of knapweed plants, which have pretty much obliterated the signs of my trail. Sigh. At some point, though, these plants are going to dry up, and may be removable at that time. There are going to be many many many of them, though. So…will see what fall looks like. I did find a road back of the property which if we can get to will give us a couple more miles to run on. Again, will see what the fall brings.
Breeding plans are progressing forward. I have changed studs. Will post more re this when things are firmed up and we get something definite to report. Kiva is due in heat in the next couple of weeks.
August 2, 2013: I’m tired of rain. It rains and the kennel runs turn into small lakes or mudholes and all the dogs have to be tethered or walked. Yes, the rain keeps the temperature down, pretty much. But it keeps the humidity up. Sigh. And we apparently aren’t even into the “monsoon” season yet. I will be glad when we see the 1st of October or so and the end of this weather pattern. At least the nights still cool down.
July 21, 2013: We are into a rainy period now. Must have gotten an inch of rain in half an hour on Friday evening. This leaves the kennel runs as lakes, so I have to adjust my dog movement. Had an interesting lightning storm last night. Here’s one photo:
July 18, 2013: We have had wonderfully cool dry temps for several days(today it is humid and hot again). Cool enough Tues. to run dogs in the morning, but I have not been feeling well, so walking was all I did this week. So nice, though, to have drier air. It was windy, though. Here is Wed. afternoon sky.
And here are a few photos of the dogs. 2 of Betty in the elms.
One of Miles(left) and Teak(right), son and father, playing in the dog yard. (They look dirty, but aren’t as bad as this shows them.)
July 3, 2013: Several wonderfully cool days here!!! I have been able to run the dogs on the bike Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Have run Miles, Mouka, Widget, and this morning I ran Teak and Mir together. Don’t know if I have ever been able to run dogs with the bike in July anywhere else I have lived. Surely not here last year.
Have had just a slight bit of rain. Here was the evening sky on Monday.
Kiva is now CERFd current. The stud dog I have looked at for her is also CERFd and has had his hips x-rayed. Now we just wait for the rating. Then…we have to wait for Kiva to come in heat. Maybe late July or early August. We will see.
Day temps have gotten pretty hot now. We are hitting the low 100s. Thank God it cools down at night. One thing I particularly enjoy about the west – the cool nights.
June 17, 2013
After one horribly hot(107) day it has been much nicer with highs only in the 90s. We also have been getting late afternoon thunderstorms, which actually dropped a little rain on us last night. Black Forest fire is stated to be 75% contained as of today. Last night after a fast moving cold front came through(with the clouds and rain) I took some shots of the western sky. Smoke still hung low. 
In this shot you can see Pike’s Peak. It is the triangular peak at the middle of the shot right at horizon line.
Dogs are not running now, although this morning it was surely cool enough. I am walking Widget and Kiva together four times a day and Mir and Teak morning, Noona and Betty mid day and Flare and Mir evenings. I rotate Miles in. Will have to get Mr. Tree out again soon, too. They get to be in the large runs.
June 9, 2013
High winds yesterday. Storm came through and we got a bit of rain late evening. Later there was a rainbow. 
Cool morning today. I am involved in an art project now. Had to cut tin this morning while there was no wind.
June 7, 2013
Friday morning. Kiva got a walk around the middle loop, then Teak and Mir walked the long loop, then Tree ran with the bike the long loop, the driveway, and we ran back through the middle loop. He had a good strong run.
Thurs. morn woke to low-lying fog. Don’t see too much fog here.
June 2, 2013
The wind. It blows and blows and blows. Has blown now for 10-12 days. First from the east, then the south, then the north(that’s the COLD wind), then from the west. Today it is not as it has been, more breezy thus far. Up until now, though, along about 10AM it has been like somebody has turned the fan switch on and the wind has blown for 10 hours straight. The constant wind gets OLD. You can’t do anything outside, and anything not nailed down or weighted blows away. At least the wind is cool and mornings have been nice and cool as well(low 40s). I am grateful for this. Probably as soon as the wind stops it is going to get hotter.
Kiva got a bath on Thursday and has been inside since then. It’s quiet inside for her and she is a good inside dog. I was hoping to take her on Sat to a dog show where there was a CERF clinic, but I have been having problems with my truck and was not able to go. Will need to have her re-CERFd before any breeding plans.
Sat eve I ran Tree, Widget, and Noona individually on the bike. Tree’s run was sort of mild on his part. He did OK but nothing exceptional. Widget did very well, with a strong solid run. Noona’s run we didn’t even finish as she just wasn’t into it. It’s funny how Noona will run full bore in the large outside run and on a gravel road, but around the place here…maybe she doesn’t see any point in it…or maybe there is nothing to chase. She will be 10 in October, she has put in plenty of miles, so I just let her do her thing without any judgment on my part. She is still in very good physical and mental shape.
May 24, 2013
Woke up energized this morning about 5:30. I have been SO TIRED, so this was nice. It was a cool morning and after Teak and I made the large loop walk I stopped by the little shed and got the bike and Teak and I bikejored the middle loop, around the driveway, and then did the big loop and back to the kennel. The dog next door was out making his morning rounds and Teak was a bit distracted by this dog as we made the final lap into the kennel, but overall is was a very good run. Teak does real well running by himself, has good focus, pulls well.
As we started out walk…the sun was just coming up and there was a line of clouds right at the horizon, but there was a thinning and the sun was sort of glowing through. I ran inside to get my camera, but by the time I got back out…the sun was almost obscured. I did get a shot off before it disappeared. Here it is:
Looks like we will be having hot Mem Day temps as it is already 87 here now.
May 22, 2013
It got hot, then it got cool again. I had put away my down bag; then I had to get it out again as nights were getting so cool. It has been cool enough to run the dogs in the morning, but I have been putting in the midnight oil trying to build up my song catalog, so have been doing a lot of songwriting and have put running the dogs over to the side. I was hoping this morning that I might be able to get a cart here by this fall so I can begin to run small groups of dogs for the coming winter.
I am regrouping and looking to possibly breed Kiva at her next heat. Will post more here and on several pages on this site as I decide more and as time progresses.
Here’s a picture of the rain clouds that have been coming through.
May 13, 2013
Yesterday was the first HOT day so far this year. And…it was 81 this morning at 10AM. However…it was still cool enough at 6:30 AM for Tree to get a short bikejor run in. This guy is looking VERY nice. Strong as a horse, with a wonderful ground covering gait. Not the kind of show gait I see, but powerful and hard driving. And he doesn’t trot, he gallops. It is a particularly nice experience for me to have a dog this nice at this point in my dog experience. Now, we will have to work on commands such as holding the line out and standing still before takeoff. He hasn’t been running too long(I wanted to wait until he filled out just a bit more), so we will take it gradually.
Dogs got ice cubes as a before bed treat last night. Everybody seemed to enjoy.
May 10, 2013
No Mouka and Teak puppies. Sigh. Now I have to shift gears and try to figure out what to do next. I am thinking I may look to breed Kiva. Will have to see which “door” may open up in the next couple of months.
I have had some interest in a bikejoring class. I may give this idea some thought and post back here later. I am just now getting the larger loop to set in in the training area, so will see how this feels. If you are interested in learning more about bikejoring, get in touch with me.
May 2, 2013
Another storm has come through and after 80 degree days, we are now back in the 40s. Snowed last night just a bit, and there is snow in shady places today. Won’t last long as I think we are due for another warming trend. We are still way down as far as moisture goes, and I received a note to conserve water from my water association this past billing.
I have begun seeking a training cart so I can run more than just a couple of dogs at a time. I believe I am looking to begin working a 5-dog team this fall. If I can find something that will fit in the cargo trailer…then we might even be able to get a few miles per run. We will see how the year proceeds.
April 28, 2013
Getting warmer. The last two days the wind isn’t quite as strong. Still cool mornings. This morning I got out at around 5:30 AM and walked Mir and Teak around the large loop, then ran Tree on the bike around the large loop. I don’t know how long this is now. I think I’m going to get out with my measuring tape and measure it. It might be 1/4 of a mile. Maybe longer. Tree is doing very well on the bike. He is an exceptionally strong dog, but very focused when he runs. Right now I’m trying to figure out how to hook up four dogs or more. Don’t know if it would work on the RhinoKart. I left my Risdon in Ark as I don’t have anything I can haul it in; of course, with the course right on the property I don’t actually NEED to haul anything right now. ah well…hindsight.
April 24, 2013
And…MORE wind and snow. Monday somebody turned the snow fan on HIGH about 3PM. Winds about 50 mph. I looked out the window and it looked like brown fog…there was so much blowing dirt. Then…about two hours later the snow started. Sideways snow, you know the kind you see in high winds. Snowed all night and most of the next day. Not much accumulation…and temps are supposed to be close to 80 here by the weekend. Sigh. Happy Springtime in the Rockies…or…on the high plains.
Mouka is looking just a bit more tight around her middle section. I have started giving her raspberry leaf tea. She is incredibly energetic right now. Jumps up in her run about 4 feet. I will be so interested to see how this all goes. Will keep you posted, of course. We are at day 49 now, day 50 tomorrow. Just about two weeks to go. I have the kitchen sectioned off now with an x-pen and I’ll be putting the end corners on the whelping box this next week or so. We have had so much moisture…and the dirt turns to MUD…which gets tracked everywhere. Dogs have mud in the kennel. Mud on their feet. Mud in the crates. Mud in the kitchen on the floor.
April 21, 2013
Weather has been WILD here this past week. More high winds. Wind farms could make a killing here. Odd that nobody has the foresight – or the initiative – to “make it so.” Then after the high winds…we had snow. Today is actually very nice. Puffy clouds in the sky and blue sky. Just a slight breeze.
I am working on getting another trail ready. Enlarging the loop around the perimeter of the property. Today I made the walk on this trail with Teak, then I rode it on the bike with Betty. The dirt here is like beach sand…very fine. So I am going to have to drag the trail and get down to something firm. Tree ran the large existing loop on the bike. He is looking very nice and very strong. I am very much looking forward to seeing this guy grow up. He has a bit more bone than I am used to, so it may be a bit of an adjustment for me.
Hope you are having nice spring weather where you are.
April 17, 2013
More wind the past several days. Today we have a cold mist.
In preparation for a possible litter coming up I am preparing a new whelping box.
There was an old bookcase of sorts out in the yard here, wood was weathered, but still in good structural shape, so me being the recycling advocate I am…I have sanded down matching pieces of wood and am painting them in order to turn them into a whelping box for Ms. Mouka. We are now at day 42; still 21 more days before day 63.
The long sides of the box will be 5 feet 5 inches; short sides will be just shy of 4 feet.
April 14, 2013
We’ve had wind here. Monday night wind started about 8 PM and blew at 35-50 mph for about 20 hours straight. I don’t know how to describe the feeling of being in wind that strong for that long. Tuesday I had to exercise, feed, and water dogs in that wind.
The old trailer is the middle of the property is coming down. Going to metals recycling and various other places. The cats are now displaced yet again…as this was their sanctuary.
I’m still getting assorted dogs out on foot and with the bicycle. This past week Flare, Noona, Miles, Mir, and Widget all ran. Teak and Tree get out on foot.
Last night high winds again; not as bad as Monday night. I enjoy the cool evening and morning temps, but not the wind. Guess we will see how the rest of April goes.
April 8, 2013
I continue to tun several dogs each day with the bike when it is cool enough to do so. This past week I’ve run Flare, Noona, Miles, Mir, Widget, and Tree. Widget still looks very sharp. Everybody seems to really enjoy this. We do as much as I have the energy for. Yesterday morning early I ran Teak on foot. We chased the neighbor dogs that are always loose. I pretended I was rounding up cattle, yelling “H’yah!” Midmorning I ran Widget and Noona on the bike.
In the afternoon I started to walk Mir and Betty and I didn’t have a good grip on Mir’s leash and just then Emmy(one of the cats) ran across the open area adjacent to where we were. Mir lunged and pulled the leash out of my hand and she took off after the cat. Emmy ran under the old trailer there and all Mir could do was run around the trailer and see if she couldn’t get at the cat somehow. I finally stepped on Mir’s leash and got hold of it again and Mir and Betty and I went on our walk.
Last night I sat on the back porch and sang and played my dulcimer. The three cats sat or lay around and listened. Nice to have an appreciative audience. 🙂
Below is a picture of Bud sitting up on the dogloo. Bud likes to be up on something so he has a good vantage point and can see things well.
March 31, Easter Sunday
I looked out at the city park on my way here today. Nobody was out hunting Easter eggs. When we lived in Claremont CA when Mischa was young, I used to hide something in the living room for her to find. Maybe it was peanuts. Under the edge of the couch, behind a couch cushion. On the edge of a chair seat. In the flower pot. Mischa would have to stay in the hall until I got all the peanuts hidden, then she got to come in the living room and find her treats. It was a fun game and she seemed to really enjoy it. When she had her first litter, and when we kept her daughter, Chata, Mischa and Chata used to lie on the living room floor and open their mouths and have teeth fights. It was like they were sort of sparring, like sword fighting, with their teeth.
One Easter we went camping. Paul, Devon(my son), Mischa, and me. Maybe we went to Idylwild, which was up in the mountains above Palm Springs. I didn’t want my son to feel like he had missed the Easter bunny since we weren’t at home, so we took his Easter basket along and when we went to bed, he put it outside the tent door. I wasn’t *sure* the Easter bunny would be able to find us, but we took a chance. Easter morning…there was the basket outside the door…and the Easter bunny had come and there were a whole bunch of neat things inside!
Hope you had a Happy Easter.
Tree went for a long loop run on the bike this morning. We’d had a STRONG wind through the night, but the morning dawned clear and cool and crisp and we ran. Sorry no dogs on bike pictures. It is hard enough for me to ride and control the line with these dogs that are learning. Maybe some time later I will get it together.
March 29, 2013
Wednesday I ran Noona, Flare, Mir, and Widget on the bike individually. Plus I walked all the other dogs around the long loop at least once. I don’t know how far it is from front to back, but I feel I am covering a “bit” of ground each day. 🙂 Widget is looking VERY good. She leads out well, is fast, happy, strong, and focused.
Thurs. I was very tired and took the day off. Not much dog walking and very little bike travel, although Miles did get a long loop bike outing.
This morning Tree did a long loop on the bike. He is looking very promising. Solid gait and good focus. Runs out in front. These young dogs look very good. I’m hoping to be able to put together One More Team. I celebrated by 68th birthday March 26th.
March 26, 2013
It has been a very dry winter here. We finally had a snow storm come through on Saturday. By snow storm: the wind blew anywhere from 20-40 mph continuously all night Friday night and all day Saturday until about 7PM. There was a fair accumulation of snow but the wind blew it all away, except for large drifted areas. Here are a few pictures I took Sunday morning. Almost all the snow was gone by Sunday evening. There are still drifted areas and some larger patches at my place now, but no great expanses. Snow isn’t deep enough to be able to use the sleds. I can’t really even snow shoe here. I still hang on to my winter gear for the next place we are going to live. And…there IS going to be a next place. 🙂
Click on any photo for larger view.
March 21, 2013
It is still cool enough here for me to run the dogs on the bike. This past week I got Miles and Flare and Mir out and I finally got to try Tree. Tree wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do, but started getting the hang of it by the end of the run. I am hoping to be able to get everybody out again soon. So many things are going on right now, hard to keep up.
March 14, 2013
I have been running the dogs individually on the bike during the day. This week Mir has been out a couple of times. Widget has been out, also Miles did the long loop around the property twice yesterday. This morning Flare did three repeats of the driveway and kennel loop. It is starting to warm up here now, with days in the 60s, so I am trying to get the dogs out as much as possible to get everybody firmed up a little before we have to shut down when it starts to get too hot to run. I may still try to run dogs with the bike in the evenings after it cools off a bit. Will see how things proceed. We had blowing snow Saturday and a little on Sunday, with mostly lots of wind and very little snow accumulation. It is very dry here.
March 7, 2003
Working on the website now. Trying to get some of the massive photos and info moved from the old site into this one. You will find new entries in the bikejoring section(new page “the bike) and a new format for the individual dogs. Mir has her own page now; Kiva has her own page. All the dogs will have their own pages with info and photos. I will add more to the bikejoring section. Check back often to see the changes taking place! 🙂
March 3, 2013
We had a nice day yesterday, warm enough with no wind, so I managed to get the inner tube changed on the Rock-it and we are now ready to go again. See the new page under Working/Bikejoring for “The bike” to read a history of Abakan and bikejoring and see a few pictures of the bikes. Next page to come in this category will be “The dogs”. I’m still trying to get this webspace updated with all the info that was on the other website. We will get there.
Feb 22, 2013
I have been working on a music CD of all original music I have created. Worked on it pretty much all November, December, and January. I am happy with the outcome and plan to begin marketing this CD the end of March. If you want to see any more re this project, go to: http://littledeernotes.wordpress.com/ You will find the January Wind CD in the black menu bar at the top of the page. Use the drop down menu to make your selections. You will find lyrics for two of the songs there, info about the dulcimer used on the CD, info about me, and a Kids Resource Page. Follow the link posted to purchase at Lulu’s Littlehouse at ecrater or contact me for more info.
The dogs have not been doing a great deal. The inner tube on the training bike needs to be replaced. Closest bike shop is 50 miles away. I do have an inner tube that I think will work, but will have to find my tire changing spoons. It has gotten cold here now, and there has been some snow…so running with the bike is not necessarily the best idea. I am just not into it right now. Resting after the music ordeal! 🙂 Dogs will have their time again.
Don’t know whether there will be any puppy activity at Abakan this year…or not. Will just have to see how the year progresses.
Jan 20, 2013
I had to go to town Friday morning, but when I got home as the day progressed I decided to try running some dogs with the bike on the new north trail. Everybody got out and peed and pooped, then I hooked Miles on the cargo trailer and Flare on the camper, harnessed them both, got them lined out on the fence by the kennel, got the bike lines ready and them hooked up, and we started out. These two kept wanting to go a different way, this way that way and they kept stepping over each other’s lines and getting tangled and we started and stopped a whole bunch of times. But…Flare started to get the hang of it and started paying attention to what I was saying and watching what I was doing and when we started our second time around the whole loop series she did it almost perfectly. And Miles ran right along side, so we ended with a very good run.
Next it was Noona and Widget. This was only Widget’s second time in harness, but this girl is a real WHIZ. She pulls her line tight and runs full out. And she listens and pays attention. Noona and Widget and I did the full loop series twice, without a single hitch. WHOOP!
Mir was carrying on so much in her run I thought she deserved to get out, so I harnessed her up and we did the driveway loop twice. At 12 1/2 Mir can still do the job. She is still in such fine form, and she seemed to really enjoy it.
Then Teak got to go. He takes a little while to sort of settle in. This is why I have always had the most success running him by himself. Starts with Teak and anybody else wind up in endless tangles until he finally settles down and gets his mind in gear. Then he is as good a sled dog as any. He can really focus and run well.
We got all done about 1:00. It was probably 60 degrees here. The 6 dogs ran and then got to get in their boxes and have a big drink. The others who were in the runs – Mouka, Kiva, Tree, and Betty – also got their drinks.
My legs were sort of wobbly after that much bicycling, especially the north curve on the north trail because it is still very loose dirt and I had to push the bike with my legs there if the dogs slowed down any. I think this, though, is the best group of dogs I have had in some time. Now we have an interesting place to work out right from the kennel. Next time I hope to get Mouka running with somcbody; maybe Flare.
As Leonard(on Big Bang Theory) would say when he bests Sheldon(the few times he ever gets to do so): “That was FUNNNNNN?”
Jan 10, 2013
Tuesday I got two more passes done with the pallet on the north trail. Mouka helped me pull the second pass; Flare helped me pull the third pass. The dirt is still not compacted and I don’t know exactly how I want to proceed. I may try taking the RhinoKart out and driving over the trail a bunch of times. More on this later.
Jan 6, 2013
I spent part of a day this past week working on the trail to the north on the property. I started out trying to cut a line with the rake but wound up using my flathead long handled shovel and shoveling a long section. Did get about half an acre length shoveled, which was less than half of what I needed to do, but the trail I got shoveled was only wide enough for one dog to run on. Noona and I tried the trail on the bike Saturday morning. Did the complete trails loop twice(this isn’t a great distance; maybe a quarter or half a mile). Noona was a little tentative in spots but she seemed to enjoy the longer stretches. Maybe if I can get the whole thing laid out she will be able to run full bore and get the benefit of that at some point. And, of course, if Noona gets this the other dogs running the same course will do the same. Mouka is looking very strong at this point, is a very strong puller and is getting more focused.
The dirt here is like beach sand only finer and more powdery. It is hard to lay a path and the dust gets all over you.
Saturday afternoon I tied the ends of a piece of rope to the end of one of the pallets laying around here and used the pallet as a drag to lay out the first pass of a wider trail. I want something wide enough to run two dogs on the bike and run the RhinoKart on. Below you can see the results of the north trail as it appears after the first pass. More work will be needed to clear more dirt from the top and to get a good firm surface to run on.
Jan. 5, 2013
I finally found some gloves I can use in the cold to run the dogs on the bicycle! I was meeting friends in Pueblo and went in to the Home Depot there to kill some time and found these fleece glove with *Posi-Therm* insulation made by West Chester in Monroe, Ohio. This is a fleece glove outer with a polyester fiber insulation inner. I can wear them down in the teens and slightly below and still have the use of my fingers to latch snaps, put on harnesses, and hook dogs up and still hold on to the bike handlebars. I will buy an extra pair if I can get them online. Check out West Chester at: http://www.west-chester.net [I bought the Medium insulation in a Men’s Large.]
Dec 29
The Rhino rolls!
A nice cold sunny day. Got Noona and Flare out and we gave the RhinoKart a test run around our little home course. We went around twice. Noona wasn’t really too much into it; she wanted to go to the kennel, but Flare did just fine. I had thought to try hooking up Mouka as a third dog, but was glad I didn’t attempt it this time. I ran Mouka on the bike in harness after Noona and Flare had finished their run. I think the Rhino is going to be an OK way to train the young dogs and get everybody out for now. Mir wanted to go, so maybe next time I’ll try Mir out. I may try running Miles with Flare and Teak with Mir, either on the bike or with the Rhino. See how that goes. You never know!
Below are pictures of our Rhino outing.
Dec 28
I haven’t been running or otherwise working the dogs. I’ve been working on surviving right now. My firewood was starting to get low and I had found a listing for firewood on the realty bldg window in town, had contacted the person with the listing, and he seemed to be interested in bringing me some firewood. Then he called back and had broken the chain on his chain saw and had to go to town to get another one. He said he’d get back with me. I waited several days and no word from the firewood person. I finally called him, but he didn’t give me any great assurance that he was going to be bringing me any firewood any time soon…if at all. So I scrounged around the place and hauled all the burnable 2x4s and old fencewood and found an old bed head board and got out the power chop saw and cut all these things up in sizes to fit the stove box. Then the firewood man shows up out of the blue with a cord of wood for me. So at least now I feel a little more secure in that area. 🙂
December 21
Tues the 19th I cut up firewood and stacked it. Then later I got several dogs out on the home course and ran them with the bicycle. I tried Kiva out for the first time with the bike. She did very well.
At this point I find myself with five strong running candidates and three more I could fold in. I’m thinking now that I may try to get another Risdon 3-wheel cart for training purposes. I see that Risdon makes a 46″ wide cart to fit in vans; this width would fit in my cargo trailer. Will see how the year proceeds. I do like the Risdon folding cart and the locking brake. At least I could run several dogs on the cart together.
Wed the 19th we had blizzard conditions with high winds and blowing snow. Wind chill was about zero. Wind blew constantly from about 8AM on into the night. Wind speed must have been at least a sustained 30mph with speeds reaching 40mph at times. No snow accumulation here. Very cold night with temps in the single digits.
I am working on a new course loop to the north. It will be the first northern loop. I hope to be able to extend this line all the way to the northern edge of the property. The surface, though, is loose dirt, so I’m starting on a short loop to see if I can get this surface to pack down at all.
Thurs the 20th cold and clear and sunny. I got Flare into the red weight pull harness and we tried out the short north loop. I wanted to see if the tire drag would make any dent in the dirt. It *might* be Flare pulled to the side of the trail I had already marked out, so I wasn’t really all that helpful. Then after we finished with this Flare got to run the course on the bike, so she got to have some fun anyway. I don’t know how I will set the north course. I make have to rake it.
Below are pictures of Flare in the weight pull harness pulling the tire. My “leash” is the yellow rope.
December 13
Worked with several of the dogs on the home course yesterday. Widget, Noona, Mir, and Flare ran individually on the bike on a varied assortment of the loops. Noona and Flare did a longer version, looping back several times. They also worked on commands. Then in the afternoon I spent some individual time with Tree and Mouka. I decided that I needed to deal with the stuffing that had come out of a large bear that I had given Tree recently. The stuffing was blowing around and getting in the yard. Little white tufts everywhere. As I dealt with picking up all the stuffing I went ahead and raked the kennel yard and all the runs. Went on to rake the dog drop area in the driveway. Lots to do…but it looks so much nicer now!
December 7
I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere as far as running the dogs. I just couldn’t get motivated. A long out and a turnaround and a long back on the same route can get monotonous. For the driver and for the dogs. Especially if that is the only type of running experience you have.
I got out one of the notebooks I had done for working titles and reviewed in my mind why I was able to use the same area in Arkansas for 10 years to train the dogs and not get burned out. My conclusion was that we had a lot of options and could have a lot of variety. Long stretches. Short stretches. And many choices for turns.
I had started laying out a course on the property to try dogs pulling a tire. Begin some weight training. Yesterday I got Widget harnessed up in the smallest weight pull harness and had her pull the driveway loop and the kennel loop and the west loop. She didn’t pull the whole time. She’d pull, then stop and rest, then pull some more. But a pretty fair workout for her first time in a weight pull harness and only her second time ever in harness.
Flare went second. She got to wear Pine’s weight pull harness(Pine won the Best Novice Pull and Best Percentage Pull at the 2001 SCA Nat’l Specialty). Flare is VERY GOOD at this. She is steady and has a lot of sustained energy. She pulled the entire three loop course without stopping.
Noona was next. Noona’s energy is much more geared toward speed and she actually doesn’t have the kind of focus Flare has, but Noona also pulled the three loop course and then we looped back on the kennel loop and back to the little shed.
What I think I want to try in addition is running dogs in their x-back sled harnesses on this same course, one or two dogs at a time with the bicycle. This will give us more variety, a short course to run, and the dogs will get a bit of a work out. [We did this today. First Widget ran with the bike, then Mir, then Flare. They just ran with the leash hooked to their collar. Pulling the bike is no great feat and I pedal along anyway.]
Here’s a picture of my tire set up. I drilled a hole in the tire and put in an old eye bolt with several washers, a locking washer, and a wing nut on the inside edge. This is just one of the numbers of old tires that are lying around here. There is another smaller tire which I may work up for Widge. I can simply clip a carabiner on a double lead line into the eye bolt and clip into the ring on the back of the weight pull harness. I walk the dog on a leash next to me, or I run next to the dog, whichever seems appropriate.
I’ll try to get a picture or two of the dogs on the course soon.
November 30
Introducing the three displaced “rescue” cats. Don’t know their history. The first cat to be added to our group was a little black female. She had had kittens, but the kittens all disappeared. I had her spayed when it looked like she was going to stay around. She is Emmi. Then a larger tabby male who had been hanging around the edges was folded in. He’s Bud(because he is such a good buddy to the other cats). Then…Socks started showing up. I think he was the father to Emmi’s kittens. They both had been living at the property next door. I don’t believe any of these cats are very old. Emmi might not even be a year old; Socks is probably around a year, if even that; and Bud might be slightly older. Below are individual shots of each cat and a shot of the three of them. 
November 30(still)
Today I was out on the front porch showing the cats the new cat crate. Socks went right in and acted like he had been in a crate for ever. Then I heard bird-in-flight noises, like large flocks make when they are migrating and I looked overhead and there was a large flight of darker birds heading east, slightly to the south of the house. Then…a large flock of white birds flew directly overhead, so I ran in and got my camera…just in case there were going to be more.
I managed to get 13 shots in all. Two groups first…then another large group passed over and I got several more shots. I just flipped the telephoto on and hoped for the best. Here is what I think is the best shot: 
November 25
Mir and I headed out Saturday, the 17th, to go for a walk around the big lake, but when we got there the lake was closed for waterfowl season. So we walked along the gravel road adjacent to the lake. Not exactly the experience I was hoping for, but Mir got out for a medium long walk anyway. You can see a picture of Mir on the front page.
Betty and I got out on Wednesday and walked along the road north of the property. It was a glorious sunny cool morning with blue sky. There was some usable firewood at the side of the road where someone had been cutting wood, so as we went by I picked up pieces and set them out on the road. I was going to drive right by anyway; might as well get some wood. Betty enjoyed the walk, as did I.
Yesterday morning I looked up and saw the sun illuminating a large flock of white birds with black wing tips. One long “v” went directly over the house. By the time I had reached in the house and gotten the camera, though, the long string had gone out of the sunlight. I was able to capture just one small group on film. You can see them below. I looked in my bird books and the only white migratory birds this size with black wing tips are either Snow Geese or Ross’ Geese. The Ross is smaller. These birds were headed westward; they might have overnighted at the big lake. I don’t believe I have ever seen white geese heading through. There must have been anywhere from 300-500 of them.
November 16
Widget did her first harness run with Noona yesterday. I think she did very well. We were passed by a truck, a school bus, and on the way back after the turnaround by an SUV and Widget didn’t even blink. She kept up a good pace and was pretty focused. Again, I cut the distance just a bit, so we did about 3 miles.
This morning I wanted to run Flare with Miles and see how that pair might work out. See if Flare did any better. So I went to the shorter road closer to the house and we ran about 1.5 miles with a turnaround half way. Both dogs did well and run well together. I will run them again together and try a longer run. Maybe next week.
Now…there’s Tree to figure out what to do with…and there is the RhinoKart. I will have to give these things more thought to see what I come up with.
Will try to post some more pictures soon.
November 14
Mouka is finally seeming to be toward the end of her heat cycle, so I decided today to get her out with Noona.
Nothing like getting out in 18 degree weather at 7:30 in the morning and riding a couple of miles on your tiny bike! HA!
We didn’t do the full 3.6 mile run. I cut it short just a bit; we probably did about 3 miles. Mouka didn’t pull a whole lot; some, but not consistently. She did learn a little bit about “whoa” and “let’s go” and learned about running along and wearing a harness. I think she did very well for her first time out. She surely has a ground covering gait.
Below are pictures of Mouka(l) and Noona(r) both running and stopped and a view of the road we ran on – miles and miles of FLAT!
Widget is probably going to go out next. Will see how she does.
November 11
I am slowly getting all my building projects completed and finally getting closer to being able to do more with the dogs. I decided to fence a small privacy area off the west porch, so have been working on that. And decided to rake and burn much of the Knapp weed in the yard, so have been doing that as well. Then yesterday a front came through with very high winds; this morning we had about 1/2″ of snow, which is now pretty much melted.
I did get out with Noona and Flare and the bike on October 28. A cold morning. 20 degrees at 7:30 AM. Flare was not as excited to run as she has been in the past. Noona lined out well and we started well. I had to stop several times to figure out how to use the camera with my gloves, but I finally figured it out. Flare did not pull much the whole way. She would run along and keep up, but Noona did all the pulling. At our 1.8 mile turnaround we saw a field of cows and the dogs were somewhat interested in that. About half way back to the truck I saw a white animal crossing the road, then several more. At first I thought it might be a deer, but these guys were going UNDER the fence, much more like antelope would do. They were about a half mile away; the dogs didn’t see them. I stopped pretty far away and used my telephoto to get a picture of the antelope in a field. As soon as we got closer they ran on. It looked like a small herd of about 7 or 8.
Below you can see Noona holding her line out, Noona(r) and Flare(l) stopped when I was fiddling with the camera, Flare(l) and Noona(r) moving along(see whose line is tight and whose isn’t to know who is doing the work), Noona and Flare stopped at our turnaround looking at the cows(you can see the shadow of me on the bike), and the small group of antelope. It has been a while since I was running in proximity ton antelope! (Click on any photo for larger image.)
30 degrees back at the truck when we finished our run at 8:30.
I’m thinking now I want to start Widget and Tree with weight pull and begin running Mouka with Noona to see how that might work. Mouka has been in heat, am waiting for her to cycle on through.
October 23
I have now finished skirting the trailer. Skirting is all painted. So that project is done. The wood stove is now operational; I will use that as my main and backup heat through the winter. I have the two posts set and ready for the handrail to the porch I have made. That’s pretty much all the major things that need to be done. Now…maybe I can get to doing some dog things! Teak did get a grooming this past week. Now on to Tree and Miss Widget. Then, all the dogs will have had at least one grooming. I hope to be able to begin to get the pups out with Noona to get going with my harness training. Will keep posting here…and maybe I’ll even post a few pictures. 🙂
Sun. Sept 23
I went to the thrift store a couple of weeks ago to see if I could find any stuffed toys for the pups. As it turned out all the stuffed toys were 25 cents each and this included everything. So I got eight toys – bears, a couple of dogs, and a rabbit. I gave Tree one of the medium sized bears first and he ripped that apart in about a week, so I gave him a very large bear the other day. This bear had to have been about 3 feet tall. Tree got all the stuffing out of the bear’s head first, but now when he goes into his exercise area he runs over and grabs his bear and shakes it around like he is greeting an old friend!
Right now I’m working on home projects. Got one large blown out section patched on the trailer belly yesterday morning; now I have one more larger section to patch, then I can begin skirting the middle section of the trailer. Got an access door cut in the south end skirting this morning. I won’t be able to get really serious about working the dogs until I get the middle skirting done. I have 12 pieces of skirting up so far. I need to install 48 pieces total, so I am a fourth of the way finished.
Tues. Sept 18
40 degrees. Noona Miles and I headed out for a long run. This was Miles’ first run of the season. Both dogs were very strong on the way out(1.8 miles). After the turnaround Miles was just sightseeing on the way back. He kept up a good pace, but no pulling and his line was slack. Noona was every bit as good on the way back as she was on the way out, if not better. Noona is an amazing worker. She pulled us all the way back.
Sat. Sept 15
A morning where I can see my breath. 41 degrees at 7:18. Noona and I set out to explore another road I’d looked at on Friday. This road is close to home and it has big trees along about half of it and a big ditch on one side.
Flare is in heat and Widget is in heat; Betty is coming in heat. All the dogs are kenneled in one area now(rather than the boys being in one area and the girls in another) so the nervous energy level is quite high, especially with three more girls most likely getting ready to come in heat. I’m still having health issues with sensitivity to electromagnetic fields, and one of my lymph glands close to my adam’s apple on the right side is slightly swollen from time to time, so I know not to push myself any harder than I already am, thus today I only took Noona. Keeping it simple.
Someone had been in the big trees by the road and had cut several down(they probably had been diseased or dead) and there was a little firewood there that I noticed as Noona and I biked by, so when we finished our run I stopped and picked up a few smaller pieces.
This road is about .9 miles from where I parked to where we turned around at the intersection and headed back, so Noona and I got in about 1.8 miles. This is half what the other run is in distance. Nice to have a shorter run. I’m thinking this might be a good place to start the puppies with their harness work. I’m also thinking I want to get going pretty soon with weight pull training. I wish I had my LL Bean Flashpack toboggan here(it is in storage in Wyoming). I think the toboggan would be a good drag sled for weight pull training. I do have my two other regular sleds here and I’ll probably get out the old Fishback and see if I might be able to make it work for weight pull. I have a nice open flat area just on the other side of the runs and that will probably be where I look to train for weight pull.
The road surface today was a very fine gravel. Good surface for dog feet. Noona had a strong run. Looking forward to getting out again. This coming week is going to be wood week as I am picking up a fitting I had made for the wood stove pipe and getting a load of wood delivered.
Sept. 4
August 30 cool calm morning. Noona Flare and I did the out-and-back 3.6 mile run. It was Flare’s first time out and she didn’t pull the entire run, but did keep up a pretty good speed. I think both dogs enjoyed getting out and it was a pleasant morning. I’m thinking next I will add Miles. Don’t know if I will just run Miles with Noona on the bike(probably) or if I will fire up the Rhinokart for a first run. I did take the Rhino down the road out of here the other night by myself, so I am getting in shape. Have to figure out how I want to secure it at hookup time. Will have to get my quick release ready.
August 28
I’ve figured out how to load images into the site now. You will find one picture from the Abakan annals on the front page. It shows Buck(Belaya Buccaneer), Rosa(Abakan Rosalinda de Llana), and Maggie(Abakan Maggie Whitehair) resting in the snow. The dogs and I were support for friends who were on a cross country ski trip. We hauled the extra gear and some refreshments. This was in 1978 in Conconully, Washington.
August 25, 2012
Sat. morning 7AM 57 degrees at home
8AM 52 degrees at running site; 64 back at home
It was hot yesterday, and it’s been very muggy. We had a good rain Thurs night and the rain clouds came in again Friday night, but not much happened except a lot of wind and a few drops. Cool morning, though, so Noona and I went out with the bike.
Noona did the whole run today. 3.6 miles at a good brisk trot. We stopped once for Noona to poop and at that same time a truck drove past; otherwise the run was uninterrupted. Noona did get to see one bird fly out from the weeds next to the road(she gets very excited about birds), and I saw a jack rabbit(Noona was looking elsewhere). It was an out and back run with a smooth turnaround. Now I have to get another crate in the camper. I think Flare will be next to go out.
We had good luck weather-wise. Had a very nice mild cool breeze on the way back to the truck(better to have the cool wind on the way back than on the way out). Half an hour after we got home the winds picked up and appeared to be blowing 30-40 mph.
Aug. 19, 2012 55 degrees Gravel road close to home
Noona ran about a mile/mile and a half. Her first time out. She could have done a lot more but I want to build her up gradually. She’s going to be 9 in October, needs to get in shape, and I haven’t done any foot care yet.
Aug. 19 Noon
Noona, Flare, and Miles all have been groomed with toenails trimmed, so these three are ready to go. 🙂
August 17, 2012
Miles and I went to the small lake on Wednesday afternoon. A hot 95 degrees, but I had to get out and get a change of scenery. Miles enjoyed splashing along the edge of the water. Saw two great blue herons fishing in the shallow water at the edge of the beach. They were about 100 feet apart. First herons I’ve seen here.
Thursday morning woke to the first 50 degree temperatures. I had cleaned out the camper and got a crate set up there before Miles and I made our lake trip. The space is now ready for the small bike to load in. Got out the bag of harnesses Thursday afternoon.
Friday morning…sweatshirt weather. We are getting there. 🙂
August 12, 2012
There are two toads that live around the trailer. One is a relatively large toad whose body is about 4″ long. I saw this toad early on. It was hanging around the one outdoor water faucet closest to the trailer. The other toad is small, with a body only about 2″ long. It is much more adventuresome and I’ve seen it on the blocks by the patio area, by the car parking area, and even out in the dog yard. I hadn’t seen the big toad in some time, but I was weed eating by the water faucet yesterday and the big toad hopped out of the weeds and under the trailer.
The wind here has wounded my lovely Corinthian Bells wind chime. First I thought to hang the chime under the porch on the west side, but the wind blew it off the hook, first, and then the wind blew it so much I couldn’t stand the constant clanging so I hung it out on the small shed from one of the roof beams. But it flapped and hit up against the side of the shed and finally the last strong wind broke off the clapper disk at the bottom and two of the tubes. The chime still works with the wooden disk in the middle and the four remaining tubes, but it chimes much less. A big wind came up yesterday afternoon as a front came in from the north, and the chimes rang out all of the early evening. I’m sure whoever created these chimes did not mean them to withstand 40-50 mph winds.
It is still too hot to do much with the dogs except walk them, water them, and feed them. Mornings are getting cooler.
August 3, 2012
It has continued to be very hot here. Sunday it was 103. (Today it is cooler. 86! Tomorrow it is supposed to be very windy…) The hot temps also accompany the monsoon humidity, so I am finding myself in a not much different space than I was in Arkansas where I go outside for half an hour and go inside and all my clothes(including socks and underwear) are soaking and my head and scalp are wet. Don’t care much for this…
We did get a very good rain – finally – Monday night, accompanied by much lightning. A slow moving storm so I got plenty of chances to get out with my camera and get a decent lightning picture or two. It rained good for about 5 hours and we must have gotten a couple of inches. The plants all needed this so badly. I have selected certain bushes and trees out in the yard to water; these plants were very relieved by the rain. The lilacs, especially, had been in stress/shut down mode with their leaves almost completely closed. The only lilac that looked actually healthy was the one next to the house that is in shade about half the day.
My next house project is insulating the small bathroom floor. At some point there must not have been anyone living here and there was fairly massive water damage, most likely due to frozen pipes. The pipes are in good shape now, but the trailer belly needs to be either repaired or shored up and replaced…which is what I will need to do when I get the bathroom floor insulated. A bit of a project for the old girl, but I think if I take it a little bit at a time it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
After Monday night’s rain the dogs woke up Tuesday morning to big puddles everywhere. Everybody was so curious they forgot to poop on the morning walks. HA! I’m sure we will have many more interesting days for the dogs.
The sky here is pretty impressive. Flat county, with few trees, so you have a 360 degree view of fronts moving in and of everything happening North, South, East, and West. Wind is pretty pervasive, though, with gusts at times in the 40-50 mph range. Sunsets can be impressive as well, as can some of these rainstorms that come through with huge clouds both vertical and horizontal. The night sky is without any ambient city light, so the stars, planets, and all the constellations can reach out and grab you.
That’s all for now. Best wishes your way wherever you are.
July 22, 2012
Two evenings ago I took the bicycle and laid down the first of a trail around the back perimeter of the property. Then I went back and put a second set of tracks down by foot. The next morning Teak and I walked the trail and this morning Flare and I did.
Today I got out the RhinoKart and rode the driveway and the inner loop to the dog trailer. I went ahead and got out the ramp and loaded the Rhino into the dog trailer. I can get four crates in the trailer, with them stacked at the front end, and the Rhino will just fit in the back and I can still get the door closed.
I have started working Widget and Tree on foot. Widget is a very strong puller(as I have written in a previous post) and Tree is also looking very strong. I haven’t gotten Mouka out as much. I am enjoying her in other ways. Today she was the first out of the kennel bldg to go to the runs(each dog goes to a separate run or tie-outs). Mouka ran around in the open area before the runs and she jumped in the air several times and did 180 turns in the air before the hit the ground again.
Still very hot here. In the triple digits last couple of days. I do all my personal and dog exercising in the morning or in the evening at sundown when the temps cool off.
July 18, 2012
It has been muggy here; much more humid than earlier. But last night big clouds rolled in from the west, we had a bit of rain, and things cooled down and dried up just a tad.
I have been sort of gathering up myself to begin some serious dog hair spinning again. All the dogs are in the process of blowing summer coat. Some have already pretty well passed the worst stage, but Miles was just beginning to have patches come out on his stifles and on his back and sides, and as he has some of the nicest coat to spin I decided this morning I was going to get out the grooming table and gather up some Miles hair.
We had a nice session and I now have two more plastic grocery bags of Miles hair – an “A” grade bag and a “B/C” grade bag.
In passing I want to say that Miles is one of my favorite Sams ever. It was such a pleasure to spend about an hour with him.
July 15, 2012
The hot temps appear to be on hold for at least a while. Mornings are cooler, which is a relief for both the dogs and me. I am much more energized by cool mornings.
The three pups, Widget, Mouka, and Tree, all look very promising. I am looking foward to getting them out in harness as soon as it gets cool enough. Widget is very focused on going forward and pulling, so I think she might even be a lead potential. I will try her with Noona and see how we do. Tree is exceptionally strong. It will be nice to see how he does over a bit of distance. I would have a really good 4-dog team with Noona, Flare, Miles, and Tree. Very well matched team.
I am working on painting the second shed right now. It is where I keep the bikes. The little Huffy Rock-It, which is the one I use to train the dogs, lives in this shed, along with the other four bikes that I ride for pleasure.
There is another body of water here that I have not explored – the Ordway Reservoir – so that is going to be my next destination.
Hope you are having a good summer wherever you are.
July 1, 2012
Flare and I went to the lake early Thursday morning. It was cool that morning and I was curious to see how the lake was looking. This is Lake Meredith…the big lake. There is also Lake Henry, the little lake, but I haven’t been to Henry lately. Maybe in the fall.
The water level in Meredith is getting pretty low around the edges. I don’t know what a normal year looks like, so I don’t know what water levels look like this time of year. Flare and I went around the edge of the lake for a little while. She got to go out in the water and splash around.
I do miss Craighead Forest Park. The trees. The water. The birds. I’ll probably miss it until I can replace it with something comparable.
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The dog yard is now all enclosed. I got the second exterior gate installed yesterday. It is a tall gate and is the one I will use to go in and out with the dogs. Securing the dog yard allows me to let a dog out of the kennel bldg loose and that dog, then, can go to a designated run. I have four runs and two tie outs where dogs can briefly be on a webbing line. Don Duncan and I had a discussion of dog lots and he wondered if I would be having a dog lot again here. My two tie outs are probably as close as I will be coming to a dog lot here. Not enough shade and much too hot in summer for dogs to be left out.
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I have now identified several birds here(with the help of the three bird ID books): Scott’s Oriole. Say’s Phoebe(looks like a small robin). The horned lark(here earlier, but not now). And most recently the Scaled Quail.
June 24, 2012
*I have started spinning dog hair again. I found a drop spindle that I had made some time ago in my things from Utah. From Arkansas I brought a set of Schacht carders that I purchased and had not yet used and much dog hair ready to spin.
Yesterday I sat and carded up a number of rolags and spun several of them on the drop spindle. Yes, spinning on a drop spindle is slow going, but it is pleasant, sort of soothing, and it is really nice to sit and spin again.
*This is the 5th day in a week with temperatures of 105 degrees or more. A hot wind has accompanied much of the heat. I did not leave the unbearably hot NE Arkansas summers only to replace them with unbearably hot SE Colorado summers. If I have to put the air conditioner in, then in my mind I haven’t progressed all that far. My thoughts continue to focus on a life with cooler summer farther north.
I did buy a wood stove – a very nice old upright parlor stove – and I have a pretty good start on a wood pile, but winter seems to be a universe away at this point.
The dogs are doing well enough and I am keeping busy getting them out and exercised and keeping them hydrated.
June 13, 2012
The Risdon lightweight folding training rig did not make the move from Arkansas. I had been debating for two reasons: (1) it was quite heavy for me to move around, and (2) I had nothing I could haul it in. The front tire, too was flat and needed to be replaced. I took off the wheel and tire and took them in to a local tire place and they tried putting in a tube with no success. I contacted Clyde Risdon, but he was out giving a snow shoe course(he is now also making snowshoes, along with the carts, and sleds). He got back to me that he generally replaced the entire unit, but that he had none in stock. I suppose I could have had the movers tie the cart on the back of the moving truck(as there was NO space left in the 27 foot U-Haul by the time they carefully tier-stacked everything from the house and all the dog runs, etc. )…but it simply seemed like my time with this cart was over. The Risdon was one of the things left behind when I passed through the Gateway.
This leaves me with 7 dogs now that I can be running in harness this coming winter. Not exactly sure how I will proceed. The RhinoKart DID make the trip and I may start out with Noona and somebody else on this vehicle and when I see how we do…I may add a third dog.
I also hope to be able to begin to train a dog or dogs for weight pull. I have four dogs I am thinking about starting. Colorado, or at least the last I looked, has a number of weight pull competitions and I might attempt that if I can get anybody trained well enough. It may take a while longer than the upcoming season. We will see.
We are on the TransAmerica bicycle trail here. Ordway is on the Prairie Horizons section of about 140 miles that go along Highway 96. Flatland here. This year though, apparently, has been excepti0nally windy. Like the windyest year ever. I have the distinction now of having experienced the hottest summer(Jonesboro AR, 2011, with over 21 consecutive days over 110), the wettest year ever(Jonesboro again, with 75 inches of rain), one of the worst ice-storms ever(again, Jonesboro)…and now the windyest year ever. What will be next?
I am hoping to be able to begin to ride my bicycle and get some miles on. Will have to ride when there is not a great deal of wind, so will have to plan a little. My mt. bike, though, apparently suffered some damage in the move and the gears are not working properly, so I will have to get it repaired before I can ride it. I am riding my little bike around the neighborhood. Trying to get those leg muscles in shape for the upcoming winter.
What are you doing to keep in shape?
What are you d
June 3, 2012
The dogs and I have made the big move from Arkansas and are getting settled in our new place in Ordway, Colorado. My son has been here and has built a very nice kennel building, which is being used gratefully! We have a bit more land here, and I hope to be able to train dogs for both weight pull and running in harness. Have found a gravel road not too far from home that looks like it will work for bike training when temps get cooler this fall(although it got cool enough last night that I had two sheet blankets and a small quilt on… Much to do to get the “fixer-upper” place in order. I also do not have internet at home at this point, and don’t know how this might proceed. The library has good access and will be whereb you will be receiving these journal posts for now. If you’d like to ask any questions or make any comments…please feel free. I don’t know the procedure. You probably have to register one time, but don’t be shy and don’t be afraid. I won’t be posting any photos unless I can figure out how, but will be posting updates on the dogs’ progress and otherwise. Stay tuned and visit often. 🙂
Jul 19, 2012 @ 07:10:06
Hi, Darlu: Just catching up on your news. Sounds spacious! If I get to Colorado to visit my dad in Estes Park, I’d like to come visit!
Jul 22, 2012 @ 18:26:41
Lynn: You are surely welcome to visit! Let me know if you are thinking of heading this way. D.
Nov 13, 2012 @ 07:12:22
What a nice road to run on! Do you run from the house? I hope Flare regains her enthusiasm for pulling – any idea what might be going on?
Nov 16, 2012 @ 19:10:03
Don’t run from the house; have to drive a mile or so. See today’s post re Flare.
Feb 10, 2017 @ 18:25:00
Hi, Darlu
I am an old friend of Katie Carter and Heidi Neiman (RIP) – had dogs from both of them. I got an email from Katie (after many years) to reconnect and see if she knew anyone who may be having puppies in the near future. She referred me to you.
I think a couple of years ago when I was looking for a boy, you and Heidi were going to try a breeding.. 2014 I believe. It wasn’t successful and then Heidi became ill and passed. I did find a sweet boy from a breeder in Minnesota, Susan Black, and although I did not care for her personally, I did get a lovely, sweet boy at 12 weeks from her. He is three now and so intelligent and funny…but I would like to find him a playmate. Also, he has ALOT OF ENERGY and loves any activity. He amazes me how smart he is. I’d like to come and visit you sometime to talk about bikejorking as I truly think he would love it. I live in Canon City. My phone number is 719.650.6147 email runninggurl@gmail.com Thanks, Christine Herman
Feb 16, 2017 @ 18:23:33
Christine: I don’t really like to do anything until after I get a
breeding. I will get back with you when I know more. Thanks for your
inquiry. Darlu