WOW. Long time, no update.

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 5:50pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 54 degrees F
Conditions: Clear
Forecast: Clear tonight, partly cloudy tomorrow. Lows in the 30s tonight, highs in the 50s tomorrow.

Bonnie & Susan after a run a couple of weeks ago

I'm still here, everyone. I've just been horrible about updating my blog. I had an AWESOME rest of the running season last Winter though, a fantastic Summer in Minnesota and now am starting out what promises to be another fun Winter of training in Georgia.

I'll try to update you all on all the exciting things that have happened lately and bring you up to date over the next week or so.

Cheers!

A

A Response To The Whistler, BC Sled Dog Killings

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 12:31pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 43 degrees F (6C)
Conditions: Mostly sunny, few high clouds
Forecast: Clouds increasing today, snow showers tonight and tomorrow with accumulation expected. Highs in the 40s, lows in the 20s

Above: Not all touring sled dogs are treated cruelly
Me with Orion at the Alaska tour kennel where I handled, March 2008

Many of you have probably heard the reports of the sled dog killings in Whistler, BC. It's turned into a he-said, she-said, pass the buck case in Canada with a lot of conflicting reports. I don't know the mushers or tour kennel involved (although I know the company has come under fire before and one prominent animal rights group has had pictures of their dogs on their website for several years) so I can't say who I believe. However, what is pretty much undisputed is that 100 sled dogs were killed last April at Howling Dog Tours of Whistler (which is NOT to be confused with Howling Dog Tours Ltd. of Canmore, Alberta OR Howling Dog Alaska). This came to light when a worker filed for compensation for PTSD after killing the dogs.

You can read the original document here - http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/01159/WorkSafe_BC_Review_1159405a.pdf BUT BE WARNED - it contains EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING DESCRIPTIONS. Honestly, I had a really hard time getting through it. It's absolutely reprehensible and disgusting.

This hit international news about a week ago and there has been a ton of outrage in the mushing community and the dog world in general. Of course, there have been disputes about who ordered what and why and whether efforts were made to find homes for the dogs. Whatever the case, it sounds like extremely bad kennel management on someone's part.

Below is a news report on the case:

There was a pretty good article on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website today (it may or may not be published in a print edition of the paper), which I am including below because it has a lot of information:

From: http://www.ajc.com/travel/activists-target-dog-sled-831587.html

Activists target dog sled rides after dog deaths

By SUE MANNING
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The

slaughter of 100 sled dogs in Canada has re-energized efforts by some animal
activists to ban or boycott dog sled rides, a popular activity among tourists in
many winter vacation spots, from New England to Minnesota to Alaska."I don't
think society is willing to accept that animals, particularly dogs, should be
killed just because they are surplus or don't suit the purpose they were born
for," said Debra Probert, executive director of the Vancouver Humane Society,
which has called for a provincial ban on tour businesses.
The dogs belonged
to Howling Dog Tours Whistler Inc., and its parent company Outdoor Adventures
Whistler, located in British Columbia. The dogs were killed last April by a
company employee. The incident came to light recently when the employee applied
for worker's compensation, saying he suffered post-traumatic stress after
shooting the dogs and slitting their throats.
Documents from the worker's
compensation probe said the company acquired the dogs in anticipation of extra
business during the Olympic Games in Vancouver, and that the animals were
destroyed after bookings fell. But in a letter to the editor published in the
Vancouver Sun newspaper, Howling Dog's owner, Joey Houssian, said "some old and
sick dogs needed to be put down" and the company thought the worker assigned the
task would perform the culling "in a professional and humane manner." The worker
has not been named by authorities and no charges have been brought.
Probert
and others believe the incident is the tip of an iceberg in the dog sledding
industry, but others say it shocking because it is so rare.
Hundreds of North
American businesses offer sled rides as part of winter vacation getaways. But
there are no dog sled police who inspect, license or regulate them.
Paul and
Sue Schurke have owned Wintergreen Dog Sled Lodge in Ely, Minn., for 30 years.
"What happened in B.C. is such a shocking anomaly, I've never heard the likes of
it. The magnitude of this atrocity is so shocking — all of us, our heads are
reeling. I'm not aware of anyone in the recreational mushing industry who makes
a habit of culling," Schurke said.
Most reputable sled dog businesses belong
to an Alaska-based group called Mush for PRIDE, Schurke said.
Musher Karen
Ramstead, who owns North Wapiti Siberian Husky Kennels in Perryvale, Alberta,
Canada, has been president of the group for the last three years.
The
organization, which stands for Providing Responsible Information on Dogs in
their Environment, has about 500 members in several countries, including South
Africa, Sweden, Canada and the United States. The Howling Dogs employee who
killed the dogs was a member of PRIDE'S board, Ramstead said, and he has been
removed.
This isn't the first time the industry has come under attack. Mush
with PRIDE was formed in the mid-1990s because of pressure from animal rights
groups over the treatment of dogs, said Ramstead, who has finished the Iditarod
four times. The group recommends standards for things like food, water, exercise
and kennel size.
To call for a ban is "gross overreaction," she said. "I am
horrified by what happened in Whistler. That is not acceptable to me as an
individual or to the organization. But to paint an entire sport with the sins of
one individual is irresponsible as far as I am concerned."
"When dog sledding
is done correctly, it's an awesome sport — awesome, awesome, awesome," said Seth
Sachson, executive director of the Aspen Animal Shelter and the Aspen Boarding
Kennel in Aspen, Colo.
He has eight sled dogs, all rescued from his shelter.
"I am not going to kill them when they are done sledding. They are welcome to
live with me forever and be my pets," he said, adding that they get along with
his chickens, goats and horses and love the children who visit.
When critics
list their objections to sledding, they include culling and living conditions —
always tethered, always outdoors and with little social interaction.
As a
result, finding homes for older dogs can be a challenge.
Sachson believes
most sled dogs can become good pets. He has worked with older dogs who just
needed time and patience.
"We get them to stop walking around in circles.
Some walk in circles because they've lived on a chain their whole life and
that's what they know," he said.
They need to be taught how to walk on a
leash, climb stairs, walk across linoleum without falling and ride in a car
without vomiting. And there is house-training.
Schurke, who keeps 65 dogs,
said he has a waiting list of people who want to adopt his dogs when they are
retired.
The California-based Animal League Defense Fund has offered Canadian
prosecutors money for forensics and expert witnesses, asked whistleblowers to
report other culling abuses and urged people to write Iditarod race sponsors
asking them to back out, said Lisa Franzetta, ADLF's director of
communications.
The 1,150-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, the
world's most famous sled dog race, starts March 5.
Humane Society
International/Canada called for stronger laws for the sled dog industry. HSI's
sister group, the Humane Society of the United States, doesn't have an official
position on racing for sport or recreation, just that it be humane to
animals.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals does
not oppose racing, but opposes "any and all cruel practices involved in the
sport of racing dogs, horses or other animals, whether for speed, endurance or
both, on tracks, trails or snow."
"Sadly, this is not an isolated incident.
Mushers routinely abandon, shoot, bludgeon, or drown dogs when they become ill,
don't run fast enough, or are simply unwanted," Michelle Sherrow of Lexington,
Ky., wrote on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"The
deaths of these dogs serve as a tragic reminder never to patronize dog sled tour
operations. With the Iditarod coming up, be sure to tell everyone you know about
the cruelty inherent in dog sledding," she said.
Whether the slaughter will
result in legal charges is unclear, said Maneesha Deckha, an associate professor
of law at the University of Victoria. She said that while killing your pets is
not illegal, putting them through unnecessary suffering is. "Anti-cruelty law is
very narrow in scope," Deckha said. "It doesn't really protect against animal
abuse, it only protects certain animals from certain types of treatment that we,
as a culture, find shocking."
Stehan Otto, an attorney in Portland, Ore., and
director of legislative affairs for ALDF, agreed, saying the legal question will
be whether there was inappropriate pain and
suffering.
___
Online:
http://www.mushwithpride.org
http://www.vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca
http://www.hsicanada.ca
http://www.aspca.org
http://www.humanesociety.org
http://www.dogsaspen.com
http://www.aldf.org
http://www.dogsledding.com
http://www.peta.org
___
Online:
http://www.dogsledding.com
___
February
08, 2011 02:55 PM EST

The Whistler slaughter does not reflect the way most tour (or racing) kennels are run anymore than the actions of one football player reflect on all football players who own animals. As I mentioned briefly at the beginning, I handled at a tour kennel outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. The kennel (much smaller than Howling Dog) was situated right beside a Bed & Breakfast. The dogs were well-treated, friendly and it was obvious the owner really loved them. Plus, with the kennel in full-view of guests 24/7, there would be no way to hide mistreatment.

I know owners of various other tour kennels and can say without a doubt that they would never do something horrible to their dogs. If you would like names of kennels that I can personally vouch for, let me know. Also, if you are wanting to take a sled dog tour, talk to the owners of the kennel about their sled dog philosophy - most mushers are happy to talk about their dogs and can tell you stories about every dog they've ever had!

In the wake of all of this however, I am encouraging anyone who wishes they could have done something to take a different kind of action. You can still make a difference in the lives of other sled dogs. Check out http://carolkleckner.net/ and http://members.petfinder.org/~AK17/index.php . Or even check out your local animal shelter or breed rescue for pets of all kinds looking for a home.

We can continue on and maybe, just maybe, use some of that energy from our outrage and anger to do some good.

I'll close with a few other links to articles and writings on this issue. Note that this is not a cross-section of news articles, just some links I thought were of interest:

Are Sled Dogs Impossible To Rehome? - http://northwapiti.blogspot.com/2011/02/sled-dogs-are-impossible-to-rehome.html

Canmore Company Would Have Taken Unwanted Sled Dogs - http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2011/02/06/17176516.html

Local Man Believes His Dogs Among Those Killed - http://www.bonnyvillenouvelle.ca/article/20110208/BNV0801/302089975/-1/bnv/local-man-believes-his-dogs-among-those-killed-in-bc

The Morality Of Sled Dog Tours And Responsible Travel - http://landlopers.com/2011/02/06/morality-dog-sled-tours-responsible-travel/

Local Sledders 'Sickened' By News Of Cull - http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2965285

Whistler Sled Dog Company Continues To Change Its Story - http://www.seattledogspot.com/2011/02/06/whistle-sled-dog-company-continues-to-change-its-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=whistle-sled-dog-company-continues-to-change-its-story (very angry/slanted against one person in particular, but shows a good example of the conflicting reports)

Sled Dog Company Finds Name A Problem - http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/02/05/Sled-dog-company-finds-name-a-problem/UPI-39691296947111

In the meantime, I suggest we all give our dogs a big hug.

Signing out for today. I'll soon return to the usual fun posts about Wolf Moon's racing and training.

A

Update and VA videos

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 9:54pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 35 degrees F (2C)
Conditions: Cloudy, damp
Forecast: Cloudy tonight, sunny tomorrow. Lows in the 20s, highs in the 40s

So this happened. Snow. Again. Okay, not much (there WAS more before I took this picture yesterday morning. We had about an inch the evening before but then it rained overnight) and definitely not anything worth getting the sled out for, but still snow.

Things here haven't been too out-of-the-ordinary. School is going well and I'm enjoying it very much, my dogs are doing good, I was excited to watch the new episode of Supernatural last night, I've been going through a ton of boxes of my old stuff...Life is good, I guess.

I am excited to report that I am planning on going back to MCK and spending the Summer there. I've been missing the kennel like crazy (and following Blake and Jen online in the Beargrease 150 last weekend - it felt weird not being there) and it will be great to see my friends (human and otherwise) again, and meet little Ellie.

Also, here are a couple of videos from the VA Serum Run and Blue Ridge Challenge:

Bonnie (along with me and Holly in the background) are in the above video from 1:26 -1:30

The above video shows the race finish. My team crosses the finish line at approximately 0:43

2011 Virginia Serum Run And Blue Ridge Challenge

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 9:42 Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 45 degrees F (7C)
Conditions: Overcast, wet
Forecast: Partly cloudy today and tomorrow. Highs in the 50s, lows in the 20s

Hey all! We're back from a weekend of running and racing in Southwest Virginia! There was enough snow on the trail to run with sleds, even though it doesn't look like it from the photo above. That was taken as we came into the finish line of the race - there was much more snow out on the trail itself. I ran the 4-6 dog class with Bonnie and Susan in lead and Holly in wheel, along with another dog named Kenobi, whom I borrowed from Brett, one of my SE mushing friends.

The starting line and finish line were pretty snowless, but once we got out on the 2.2-mile trail, there was plenty of snow and my little team FLEW! I am also pleased to report that even young Holly kept her line tight and kept up with the flowers, who take running as Serious Business as well as Serious Fun.

I am also VERY excited to report that we WON the 4-6 dog class! We ran the course a full two minutes faster than the other mushers. This marks our first win in the sled dog racing world! I am sooooo proud of my girls (and Kenobi too, since he supplied a good bit of dog power as well. Thanks Brett!).

Our trophy was the above-pictured bowie knife. Very cool and very original, IMHO! I like it. I call it my Giant Knife and refer to it as often as possible. Someone's cutting an apple in the kitchen? "I can help you, I have a Giant Knife." Going for a walk in the woods? "I'll bring my Giant Knife so we can defend ourselves!" I think my family is probably getting tired of hearing the words 'Giant' and 'Knife' used in the same sentence! Hah.

But seriously, we had an absolute blast over the weekend. We got to meet up with friends we hadn't seen in a while, talk to people we'd met at the KY event, and just enjoy being in our crazy sled dog community.

I also did a presentation at the banquet on Saturday night, mainly about my experiences working at MCK and what it was like for someone from the Southeast who does dryland to go do snow mushing for two years and then return to dryland...

We met a lot of really cool people, including a young girl who charmed Susan! I was quite impressed with this because, as most of you know, Susan is pretty darn suspicious of strange people and usually takes a long time to warm up. However she just sat there happily letting this girl pet her!

Susan and friend.

Anyways, we were really lucky to be able to use sleds. The trail on Sunday had less snow than on Saturday. Another day and I don't think we would have been able to run.

A MAJOR thank-you goes out to Marcia of Siberian Husky Assist who has put so much effort into making this event happen (and who invited me to speak at the banquet). Marcia deserves a lot of credit for helping get the Southeast dryland mushing community connected and promoted.

The crazy thing is, upon returning to Georgia, there was STILL snow on the ground! Not a huge amount and it was pretty rotten but seriously people, there was still snow on the ground in Armuchee GA after a snowstorm A WEEK EARLIER!

If Georgia Winters were typically like this, it wouldn't be *quite* so bad down here. I'd say something along the lines of "As far as I'm concerned that high pressure system over Greenland can just stay there" but the general populace of this area would come after me with torches and pitchforks, as would my sled dog friends from the New England area who claim I'm stealing their snow! So I won't say that. :D (even though I just did).

In the meantime, trying to get back into the swing of things in this strangely Wintry season in Georgia.

Cheers!

A

Eight Rules Of Dogsledding In Georgia

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 10:00pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 24 degrees F (-4C)
Conditions: Clear
Forecast: Partly cloudy tonight and tomorrow. Highs in the thirties, lows in the teens.

When you are a musher in Georgia, there are certain things you have to accept.

#1: It doesn't snow here. Ever.

#2: If it does snow, it's usually a few brief flurries

#3: On the rare occasion that there is snow enough to cover the ground it is only a dusting and absolutely NEVER more than half an inch.

#4: Even if you have a little bit of snow like this, it will never be enough to run your dogs with a sled.


#5: If by some freak of nature it snows several inches and you ARE able to take out a team with a sled, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for mushing in Georgia.

#6: And it will decidedly not happen again. And definitely not in the same year. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN WITHIN A MONTH.



#7: If the impossibility described above DOES happen, the snow will immediately melt and you won't be able to run again.

#8: You absolutely will not, WILL NEVER be able to take a team out with a sled FOUR DAYS after the snow has fallen.

So I think it's worth noting that ALL EIGHT of these rules have been broken this year, with the dump of snow we got this past weekend making headlines throughout the Southeast.

Serious snowfall. Cold temperatures. Being able to sled (although the past couple of days the trail has been pretty icy and not in as good shape), snowshoe day after day...

Not your typical Georgia weather but we're loving it. This is apparently being caused by a high pressure system over Greenland. Bonnie and Susie and I (and the rest of the team) have this to say about it:

Waiting On The Weather

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 8:50pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 32 degrees F (0 C)
Conditions: Cloudy, still
Forecast: Snow tonight and tomorrow. Significant accumulation expected. Lows in the 20s, highs in the 30s

Look at little Susan sitting by the Christmas tree! She's not sitting in that chair, you know. Or she's not supposed to be, anyway. Do you see a dog on the chair? Nooooo, the chair is empty.

It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. They've been predicting it for days. "Up to seven inches of accumulation" the forecasts were saying days ago. And even right now it's supposed to start snowing.

However going outside right now, it doesn't look very promising. The sky is overcast and the temperature is right at freezing and nothing is falling. Originally they were saying this "snow event" was going to start between 8 and 9pm tonight.

Looks like it's running behind.

Speaking of running, I've been running scooter teams. Just hooking up two dogs at a time because any more would be more than I'm comfortable running with a scooter (although if this mythical *snow* materializes, I'll be able to run everyone with the sled).

I'm going to go look out the window again.

Nope, still nothing! Come on, snow...

And here we have a photo my Mom took of Holly with her stuffie, Squeaky Norman the hedgehog. Holly loooooves Squeaky Norman. She's such a good little dog. And, um, about that "fostering" business...We're all getting a little too attached to her now and would miss her too much if she went somewhere else.

And, if you realllllly want to know why the hedgehog is named Squeaky Norman, it's after the giant hedgehog, Spiny Norman from the Monty Python skit which I've included below. Beware extreme sillyness that has nothing to do whatsoever with sled dogs but I'm posting anyway just because I can. Feel free to skip over it if Monty Python isn't your thing.

And with that, good night and hopefully it will start snowing!

Cheers!

A

RIP April

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 9:30pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 51 degrees F (11C)
Conditions: Cloudy, raining
Forecast: Raining tonight, partly cloudy tomorrow with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.

Rest in peace, April-Come-She-Will, our English Springer Spaniel. You brought us much love and companionship over the fifteen years of your life. We love you and we will miss you.

Merry Christmas 2010!

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 5:36pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 34 degrees F (1 C)
Conditions: Cloudy, snowing
Forecast: Cloudy with more snow tonight and tomorrow. Highs in the 30s, lows in the 20s

So a few days ago, everyone got excited because the weather forecast said there might be a *possibility* of snow *flurries* today.

Um, yeah. About that...

It started snowing at about nine this morning and it hasn't stopped yet And yes, I am that much of a sled dog geek. I HAD to get out and go sledding in our little bit of snow. I say little bit. Meaning little bit by Minnesota standards. For our area of Georgia, this is pretty much unheard of. I cannot remember the last time it's snowed like this here. 1996 maybe?

Above picture is of course me (with my head not in the picture) and team. Susan and Bonnie running fabulously in lead, and Calypso and Holly (the foster dog) in wheel. As far as I know, Holly has never been in harness before but she's been really focused when I've jogged with her. It took about fifty yards for her to figure out that this wasn't the Let's Chew On Calypso's Ear game and then she pulled the tug tight and kept it tight for the rest of our short run. She enjoyed it tremendously and was not at all stressed by the experience. So thumbs up for Holly-dog!

And speaking of Holly, in light of popular demand (*cough*Bonz*cough*), here are the full lyrics to my Mom's sled-dog revision of Deck The Halls (that I mentioned in the my post http://wolfmoonsleddog.blogspot.com/2010/12/deck-halls-with-bow-wows-of-holly.html).

Deck The Halls Revised
By Harriet White

Deck the halls with bow-wows of Holly
Woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo-woo, woo, woo
We are huskies and we're jolly
Woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo-woo, woo, woo
Don we now our race apparel
Woo-woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo, woo, woo
Trill an ancient canine carol
Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo, woo, woo, woo, woo

See the snowy trail before us
Woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo-woo, woo, woo
So we leap, and howl our chorus
Woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo-woo, woo, woo
Follow us in merry measure
Woo-woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo, woo, woo
Pulling sleds, our greatest pleasure
Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo, woo, woo, woo, woo

We're so fast, no one gets past us
Woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo-woo, woo, woo
Win this race, next time Alaska's!
Woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo-woo, woo, woo
Sing we joyous, all together
Woo-woo-woo, woo-woo-woo, woo, woo, woo
Heedless of the wind and weather
Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo, woo, woo, woo, woo

Many thanks to my Dad for taking these pictures. :)

Hope everyone's having a great Christmas!

A

Deck The Halls With Bow-Wows Of Holly

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 10:00pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 47 degrees F (8 C)
Conditions: Mostly cloudy
Forecast: Rain showers tonight, lows in the 40s, clearing tomorrow, lows in the 20s

So if you're wondering about the title of this blog, this morning my Mom woke me up saying she had re-written 'Deck The Halls.' The whole thing.

The reason? Well, if you're wondering who in the world that dog is in the above picture...

Meet Holly.

Last Wednesday I was doing a little Christmas shopping and I stopped by the vet clinic to pick up meds for April. While I was there, I learned a husky had been pulled from the local animal control and was being held at the clinic (in fact, she was being spayed at that moment).

Long story short, I ended up fostering her. I named her Holly because, well duh, it's Christmas time. But it also goes well with my theme of dogs named after floral things (Aspen, Calypso [from the latin name of the fairy slipper plant], Bluebonnet, Black-Eyed-Susan). And also, I just all-around like the name Holly. There are some great fictional characters with the name - Holly Winter from the Susan Conant novels; Holly Short from the Artemis Fowl series.

Yes, I'm a total dork.

So Holly the dog was picked up near some dumpsters somewhere, which would suggest that someone put her out (and, like any husky, she is high-strung and bursting with energy). However she knows "sit" and "down" and has obviously been loved, so it's possible that she escaped from somewhere or wasn't contained and wandered off.

Whatever the case, she is recovering from mange (the non-contagious kind), which gives her a weird splotchy look and her fur is pretty thin in places (apparently she had very little fur on her face when she was pulled into rescue). But it's growing in and we're doing what we can to make her happy and hope to find her a more permanent home.

And above is a picture of Holly (far left), playing with Calypso, Susan and Bonnie (who is peeking up from the bottom of the pic).

All the best to everyone and happy Winter! (it's finally here).

A

Land Between The Lakes Sled Dog Dash 2010

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 9:30pm Eastern Standard Time
Temperature: 30 degrees F (-1C)
Conditions: Cloudy with light freezing rain
Forecast: Cloudy with freezing rain tonight, rain tomorrow. Highs in the 40s, lows in the 20s

UGH! It has been TOO LONG since I updated this blog. I am SO SORRY guys - I've been totally geeked out lately. I'll try to be a better person and update my blog like a grown-up.

The above picture was taken in Kentucky, in the motel room where we stayed during our second event of the 2010-2011 Season, the Between The Lakes Sled Dog Dash.

Bonnie and Susan and I ran in the 2-dog scooter class and placed 5th. It was a two day race, with us running two miles the first day, and two miles the second.

It was a fun course run along a winding bike trail through the forest. The weather the first day was cool, rainy and all-around icky. But we had fun despite this.

Then, the second day it started snowing. And kept on snowing. Soon there was about a half-inch of snow on the ground and it was still coming down. So our dryland sled dog race turned out to be more of a challenge! Rig tires like to slip and slide on even the tiny bit of snow that we had.

Also, since we had been running in the rain before the temperatures dropped, we had water in our brake systems and they froze up, as we discovered. The only way to fix this was to warm up the brakes.

Fortunately I don't think any of us managed to set our tires on fire. Still, I don't think my brakes were working properly.

But don't let this lead you to believe we didn't have a fun time. WE HAD A FANTASTIC TIME! It was great fun to race and it was good to see my Southeast sled dog friends whom I have not seen in ages. You know who you are! I'd name everyone but then I'd probably leave someone out and then I'd feel bad about it! I met some new faces too and that was great.

And then there were the dogs. So many husky-friends! And Bonnie and Susan ran great.

Thanks to Jeff Blewett and Due South Kennels for putting on this event. It's been a long time coming and the event was a success IMHO.


And a MAJOR thank-you to my parents for coming along to the race with me. And standing around in the rain and snow and cold (for SE) weather. It's been a long time since they've been to one of my races. :)

On Fall, Dryland Training And Television Advertisements

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 10:56am Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 39 degrees F (4C)
Conditions: Clear with few high clouds
Forecast: Sunny today and tomorrow. Highs in the 50s, lows in the 20s.

Above: The Flower Girls take a short break while running at Chickamauga Battlefield last weekend. Below: Steve's team at the Battlefield

Greetings everyone! I am very pleased to report that it is finally cold! Ish. I mean, cold by GA standards, not by MN standards.

This morning it was 30 degrees F when I took the Flower Girls for a nice run. I cannot express how happy I am with those two. They make the perfect scooter team right now and, different as they are personality-wise, when they run they are perfectly in sync. Susan is turning into a wonderful little leader. More and more she reminds me of her mother, Inga.

Bonnie is finishing up her heat cycle, which went very smoothly (and means I shouldn't have to deal with it until Spring!). No stray dogs showed up and, since we have no other intact dogs, things were actually pretty calm. Bonnie was perhaps a bit more vocal and decided she was in love with Wilson. Wilson was bewildered by the whole thing (and he usually wears an expression of "huh?" in the best of times) and didn't really return her affections.

A week ago I decided to go for a run at the Berry campus. I can run for a short distance straight from the house (which I do many mornings) but we are in the midst of hunting season so I'm not comfortable taking any of the longer (and nicer) trails. So I ran at Berry. My plan was to go between two and four miles. Simple enough.

We ended up running eight miles.

I guess I was just caught up in watching my enthusiastic little dogs. I hadn't realized that we had run as far as we had until I came to the four-mile mark. And then, of course, we had to turn around and run back to the Shuttlecraft.

Then, the next day, I got up early again and went back up to the Battlefield to meet up with Steve, Deborah, Dave and the other dogs again. We ran about seven miles on the Battlefield trails. It's such a great place to run and we had a blast.

At both Berry and the Battlefield we encountered lots and lots of deer. Good "on-by" training. :) I am thrilled with how the girls are taking commands though.

Calypso will soon be ready to start doing a little more although we are going to have to start gradually. She and I did go on a nice 4-mile hike with Deborah and Anya, so she is getting stronger.

Moving onto other things, I have never watched much TV these past two years. I usually watch TV show seasons on DVD on my computer, which means there are no commercials. However, I am watching a show on Friday nights and I just have to comment on TV advertisements.

First off: AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICES HOW INANE THESE ADS ARE AND DEMEANING TO THE HUMAN RACE?????

Let's recap. The majority of ads are for candy, cell phones, mascara and some lipstick called "Bite Me" or something. And there's one (I'm not even sure what it's for) that has real people interacting with talking plastic store models who are all fawning over some guy who they think is hot. I. Hate. That. Ad.

And you would not BELIEVE the cell phone ads. They make me *almost* as mad.

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised but, after NOT watching TV (except on DVD) for as long as I have, it's like stepping into Stupidland. Fortunately the actual show is intelligent.

That aside, it's November now (duh) and November is National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo). I've always wanted to do that but, though I will continue writing stuff, I somehow doubt that with training, school and several little projects that I have going on, that I'll be able to write an entire novel in a month. But maybe I'll try to finish my Yellowstone story (which STILL has no title).

I am not one of those people who gets depressed because it's Fall. I've had some difficult times during Fall in the past but that was due to outside issues, not the time of year. I LOVE the changing Seasons and the the colorful leaves on some trees and the burnt-looking leaves on the others. It's kind of a damp cold but I'm loving it!

Yesterday evening I saw a weather report that the Smokies were supposed to get snow. Quite a bit at the higher elevations. So immediately plans of packing up the Shuttlecraft with huskies and a sled began running through my brain. But this morning I checked the reports and they'd only gotten two inches.

So I didn't go anywhere.

Oh! And we had this season's first fire in the woodstove this weekend! Yay!

Alright, I shall close for now.

More later, including my clever plan to turn irritation into productivity!

Cheers!

A

We HAD Fall Weather...

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 6:47pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 73 degrees F (23 C)
Conditions: Partly cloudy, humid
Forecast: Chance of thunderstorms tonight, mostly cloudy tomorrow. Highs in the 80s, lows in the 60s

Two happy flowers after a run last week

So we WERE having a nice Fall. Not a Minnesota Fall by any means but the temperatures were in the 30s and 40s in the morning and Bonnie and Susie and I were doing a lot of scooter runs.

Last Sunday, I met up with Steve and his dog team and Deborah and David and their dog, Anya (from Bark In The Park) at the Chickamauga Battlefield near Chattanooga. We went on a pre-dawn moonlit run though the park and it was a BLAST! Great trails and a lot of chance to practice command training.

The flower power girls did fantastic and were really listening to whatever I told them. They took commands, passsed, kept the lines tight and were enthusiastic the whole run!

I am so glad to finally have teams to run with in the area. It's fun running alone but it's always fun to run with other mushers too.

Jen called the other day and when I saw it was her, I immediately thought "Yay, now I get to brag about the amazing Bonnie and Susie!"

She was calling to brag about the flowers' sisters, Violet and Lily. Apparently they are running in lead and doing pretty amazing too. That whole litter is awesome. I remember Violet really standing out in the Beargrease 150.

So the weather in GA was decent, and I was really enjoying taking long walks with Calypso. The Fall colors were just starting to light up the landscape.

And then it got hot and humid again and we started having thunderstorms. Seriously, last night there was a tornado watch.

It's almost November, folks! I'M READY FOR IT TO STOP BEING 80 DEGREES AND HUMID DURING THE DAY!!!!

Thank you.

In other news, the current edition of ESPN magazine has a big article about Lance Mackey in it. Check it out, you can read it online at http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/insider/news/story?id=5655581&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d5655581

Wow, that is a REALLY long URL.

Anyway, I've got another loooong post coming soon but this is all for tonight.

I'll write again soon.

Cheers!

A

Bark In The Park

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 2:50pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 84 degrees F (29 C)
Conditions: Mostly clear, warm
Forecast: Sunny today and tomorrow. Lows in the 50s, highs in the 80s

Bonnie with new friend, Anya, at the Bark In The Park in Chattanooga, TN. Photo courtesy of Deborah Bond

Well, we have had a great weekend here. On Saturday, I took Bonnie to the Bark In The Park in Chattanooga and we had a great time. Bonnie is becoming quite the little socialite now! We checked out the new dog park and it is awesome! The first time I've ever been to one of those. They have a huge off-leash enclosure and agility equipment. I introduced Bonnie to the jumps, A-frames, tunnels and weave-poles. And I was very happy with how well she got along with the other dogs there.

Of course the main reason we went to Bark In The Park was because they had a dryland mushing demo. Obviously, this attracted my attention as I was interested to meet whoever was doing said demo. We were excited to meet other mushers from the area and are planning to meet up and train together.

And yes, Bonnie did a quick run with their team as well. I'm very excited to have met new people (and dogs!) and can't wait to see what the future holds.

In the meantime, being outside is now enjoyable and Fall is in the air. Cool mornings make us happy and although it's still warming up much more than I would like during the day, the humidity is GONE.

Things are pretty GREAT here right now, just so you know. The personal/family issues I've mentioned before are looking up right now!

Now I've just got to get the other posts that I've transferred to this blogging site a bit less messy...

And oh yeah, air quotes. HAH!*

Cheers!

A

*Yeah, you probably have no idea what I'm referring to there. Sorry...

Photo courtesy Deborah Bond

2010 Doggie-Dash, Etc.

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 6:12pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 82 degrees F (28 C)
Conditions: Mostly clear, slight breeze, less humid
Forecast: Clear today and tomorrow. Lows in the 40s, highs in the 80s

Remember Ana and Albert from
back in May?
( http://wolfmoonsleddog.blogspot.com/2010/09/adjustingsettling-in.html )
Yeah, they've grown up!

Okay, so I've been really bad lately about posting blogs. Having to change everything around blog/website-wise really annoyed me. Or maybe I've just been distracted with other things. I mean, I've been meaning to write this entry for a week...

So. Our fist event of the season was last Saturday! Bonnie and I ran in the Paws In The Park Doggie Dash, which was a 2-mile canicross run in Rome, GA.

Here's an article on the event from: http://www.romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/9743456/article-Doggie-Dash-raises-more-than--400-for-youth-programming-through-Rome-Floyd-Parks-and-Recreation-Authority?

Doggie Dash raises more than $400 for youth programming through Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority
by Ellison Langford, staff writer Rn T.Com
Doggie Dash 2010

Runners seemed more interested in sniffing each other than winning during the Paws in the Park Doggie Dash 2010 on Saturday.“It’s not really a race,” said Lincee Powell, event coordinator for the Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority. “We just wanted people to come out with their animals and families and enjoy a day in the park.”The Saturday morning run had four size categories for dogs. Each group walked or ran the two-mile track around the shoal side of Ridge Ferry Park.Joe Tippett stretched his legs with his Shih-Tzu Wally.“We love our dog, and we love to walk,” Tippett said. He got the two-color eyed Wally as a puppy from a breeder.“He was really friendly and visiting with the dogs,” Tippett said as Wally barked at the other participants. “He wasn’t really worried about winning.”Powell said the focus of the run was to provide an event for people and their four-legged family members. Linda Patty said she came to support raising money for youth programming.“We thought that animals would enjoy it,” Patty said. Patty was there with Kim Sartin and Bethany Patty. They brought a boxer, Sarge; two Boston terriers, Charlie and Tinks; and Allie.The entry fees went toward youth programming through Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority. Powell said she thinks they raised approximately $450.“We’ve had a really good turnout,” Powell said. “We’ve had close to 30 dogs out."

We had a blast at the Doggie Dash. It was a nice cool morning and Bonnie did perfectly. I wasn't sure how she would do with distractions but she was perfectly focused and went right "on by" with merely a passing glance at whatever distraction we encountered (although there *was* this one squirrel...). The run was on a paved trail and I bootied Bonnie although we probably would have been fine without them. I think people thought I was weird.

After that, we went to the grand opening of Pet Sense pet supply store in Rome, which is one of those stores that allows you to bring your pets. So Bonnie got some extra socializing time there. It's the kind of place that Calypso would loooooove but Bonnie was more...cynical. I found a giant sqeaking chicken and Calypso's reaction would have been "Heeeeeeey a SQUEEEEAKKKY!!!!! YAYYYY!!!!" but Bonnie looked at it, head to the side, as if to say "Um, is that a giant squeaking chicken? Why is there a giant squeaking chicken in here? Why are you squeaking it at me? What the...?"

I picked up some new dog bowls while I was there, as well as treats and other supplies. I hope the store does well because it's really nice and there hasn't been a decent pet supply store in Rome for years.

In other news, I think I mentioned I had passed the GED? Well, what I know I didn't mention is that the examiner at Northwest Tech told me I had the highest score in Writing that she had ever seen. Not to brag or anything....On the other hand, I don't think I fit the bill of the typical person who takes the GED...

But that aside, pretty much the same routine going on here. It did hit 35 degrees F yesterday morning. GREAT run! Fall is definitely underway - FINALLY! It couldn't have come soon enough if you ask me.

More soon!

A

I'm Baaaaaack

Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 3:18pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 90 degrees F (32 C)
Conditions: Partly cloudy, hot
Forecast: Partly cloudy with chance of thunderstorms today, mostly sunny tomorrow. Highs in the 90s, lows in the 60s

Susan on a canicross run last week

Hey all,

Yeah, it's been WAY too long since my last blog post. Even longer than it should have been because my last post disappeared into a black hole even after it was up and posted on my other blog.

My other blog. Right - http://sleddoggin.com/blogs/wolfmoonsleddog/ Where I have been blogging since September 2007. The webmaster from sleddoggin.com is taking a break for a while and he warned me before he left that the site would be unsupported. However I decided to keep my blog/website where it was because I was used to it and I didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to move all the content to another site. But then, a couple of weeks back I got on my sleddoggin.com blog to write an update and discovered that the last post I had published was GONE and so was my blog header. Worried that some of my other hard work might inexplicably vanish, I transferred all of the text posts here to this blogspot site (which I already had up with a link to my other blog) and the rest of the website to http://wolfmoonsiberians.wordpress.com/ That site will function as my main information website for Wolf Moon Siberians. It's kind of messy right now but I'll get it fixed up in the next few weeks. And I'm in the process of transferring all the photos from the sleddoggin blog to THIS blog...

I am, however, excited to report that I can now post videos to my blog so you'll get to see some Wolf Moon videos in the near future.

But enough about that, how about an update on the kennel. Really not too much to report, we've had a couple of nice mornings - even hit 48 degrees F a couple of weeks back. I've been doing canicross runs when I can - taking Bonnie and Susie out individually. It's fun to work with them one on one like that. They have such a beautiful gait and quickly settle in to a nice trot. Susan is phenomenal; guess her leading experience payed off big time.

Bonnie is just as enthusiastic but a little more easily distracted. She gets excited at little birds flitting around on the side of the trail, or where other trails branch off. But she's a fast learner and quickly figures out what is wanted of her. She just launches into her harness and pulls.

Calypso is recovering very well. She now has fur back on her leg and she is using it a lot more now. Obviously I'm not taking her running right now but she's getting a little more exercise and is delighted that I'm letting her play more.

Wilson and April are fine. I think I've mentioned before that Willy has finally shed his excess pounds this Summer and looks quite good. He has gotten a little more food-obsessed though and screams bloody murder if anyone (ie. Bonnie) starts nosing around his food bowl. Fortunately I pick up the bowls after everyone eats so this isn't really an issue.

April is still getting around about the same. She's stiff but still happy and enjoying life.

And me? Well I took that GED and passed, so I can start working on my CVT degree when I get that little piece of paper...Yay squared!

Oh, one of my friends at the Chattanooga Nature Center sent me this article yesterday:

From: http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_184461.asp

Dryland Sled Dog Racing Demo At Bark In The Park Oct. 9posted September 20, 2010There will be an short demonstration of Dryland Sled Dog Racing at the third annual Bark in the Park 2010 event on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Heritage Park. Dryland dog sledding, long used to train and condition sled dogs in the off season for races such as the famous "Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race" in Alaska, is rapidly becoming a sport of its own. In Dryland Sled Dog Racing, competitors use a rig (three-four wheeled cart with a locking brake and handle/steering wheel) instead of a sled and race on dirt trails instead of snow. The primary dog used for these races is a Siberian Husky, an independent dog that loves the company of people and other dogs and has an instinctive love of running. Prior to the demo, participants will be able to see the racing rig up close (as well as the dogs) and will be able to ask questions about Dryland Sled Dog Racing and the foster care and adoption of Siberian Huskies.
Admission to Bark in the Park 2010 is free with a small charge for some activities. Heritage Park is located just off East Brainerd Road (behind the Pizza Hut) at 1428 Jenkins Road. The event will be held from 10 .m.-2 p.m. rain or shine and proceeds will support the funding of the new off-leash dog park at Heritage Park (grand opening at the event).Activities at the event include dog adoptions, free "Dogs at Work" demos (police/drug/Goodwill service dogs), free agility and obedience demos, Meet the Breed, a Pet "PAWlour" with nail painting, glitter and hair bows, photos with your dog by a professional photographer, dog fun races (by weight class), contests (best costume, best trick and owner look-alike (male/female)), free face painting for the kids, food and a fire engine. There will also be door prizes and a free spin-the-wheel for additional prizes.Since Oct. 9 is the same day as the Tennessee vs. Georgia football game, there will be a fundraising competition between Tennessee's "Smokey" and Georgia's "Uga" mascots. A bluetick coonhound and a bulldog will be dressed up as these mascots and will be collecting cash votes for the favorite. The mascot that raises the most amount of cash will be declared the winner.There will be a dog parade at the end of the event, led by "Hari", the Bark in the Park mascot.Visit www.chattbarkinthepark.org for more information about the event and join facebook at "Chattanooga Bark in the Park".Vendor spaces are $50 for a 10x10 booth space and are still available. Contact chattbitp@gmail.com to participate as a vendor.

[end of article]

Doesn't say which team this is, and I thought I knew much of what was going on in the SE dryland mushing world.

There's also a canicross event to be held in Rome (GA) next month. Well, they don't call it that but it's a run with your dog race so it's basically the same thing.

Looks like there are FINALLY some interesting events going on nearby. This has been a really frustrating Summer for me. But then, Summer is my least favorite Season. I'd rather be out on the runners with a team on a moonlit trail at 30 below. No, I am not normal.

It feels so weird not being at MCK this year. I keep thinking back like "a year ago this time I was..." (a year ago this time I was helping with kennel chores, Fall training and getting ready for my roadtrip to Yellowstone).

This year at MCK, the handling team is Lori and Kim. Not sure if Phil will be back or if anyone else will be joining the crew. I hope to get back to the kennel at least for a visit or two and to get my so-cold-that-boiling-water-freezes-in-the-air fix this mushing Season.

Also new this year, Manitou Crossing Kennels has a Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manitou-Crossing-Kennels/150103878344629?v=wall&ref=ts Be sure to check it out, and "like" it if you are on Facebook. They've been posting some AWESOME pictures and blog entries there. Great photos of Jen and Ellie training teams. I'm happy to see how things are going up there...but man I miss the Northwoods and crisp mornings on the ATV...

Fall IS approaching in Georgia but it's a lot harder to tell. It isn't *quite* as humid and the light is at a different angle. Leaves are turning, but it's still TOO FREAKING HOT! Supposed to cool down in a few days so I guess that's a good thing.

Hmmm, not sure what else there is to report. Went to see "Inception" and liked it and spent the rest of the day trying to interpret it...

I'll write more soon. Many apologies for not posting much this past month.

Cheers!

A

Calypso, Impy and Writing Projects

Calypso, Impy and Writing Projects
Aug 16th 2010
wolfmoonsleddog
Southeast
Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 6:08pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 94 degrees F (34C)
Conditions: Mostly clear, hot, humid
Forecast: Scattered showers tonight, thunderstorms tomorrow. Lows in the 70s, highs in the 80s

Above is post-surgery Calypso. Left photo shows her leg. This was taken several days ago and it looks waaaaay better than that picture shows. It is fast improving. Right photo shows Calypso resting on her “bed” in the living room. She loves this bed and is constantly nesting in it. In fact, as I am writing this, she is stretched out on it with her head under the sofa. Funny dog.

Calypso is recovering nicely and I couldn’t be happier with how things are going. SO glad to have the surgery behind us now. Although Calypso is NOT liking the E-collar (Elizabethan collar. It looks like a lampshade and prevents her from licking the incision) that she has to wear at night. Fortunately I can keep an eye on her during the day and she doesn’t have to wear it then.

So I had a very interesting weekend. Early Saturday morning (after my patented Calypso Alarm Clock System DEMANDED I rise and shine at about 6:30. One of these mornings I’m going to get an audio recording of her morning wake-up call and make a million dollars selling it as haunted house sounds for Halloween) a chocolate lab/mix of about 5 or 6 months of age showed up at our house and proclaimed himself to be The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave! (SNL reference there). Of course this was the worst possible time for a stray to show up but I had to do something. We made calls, talked to neighbors, etc. Nobody knew where the little guy, whom I started calling Impy, had come from. And we weren’t in a position to keep him…

Fortunately one of the calls I had made was to our vet and they knew someone who was interested in adopting such a dog. So Impy is currently at the clinic, waiting for what will hopefully be his new family.

Bonnie, Susie, April and Willy are doing okay. The weather has been gross but it’s supposed to be cooler over the next few days, so that’s good. I can’t wait until we can start training again and I feel like going outside during the daytime.

In the meantime, I have been writing. But not North City. Translating a season of webisodes into a novel turned out to be more troublesome than I had anticipated. I worked on the first chapter but I was having less fun the further it went along. It just seemed flat.

So I put that project on the back burner and started on something different. Since I’ve been wanting to roadtrip out to Yellowstone again so badly right now (though I don’t think that’s going to happen this Fall, unfortunately) I decided to write something that took place in Yellowstone.

It’s actually a re-write of something I wrote when I was ten, then re-wrote when I was twelve, then totally revamped and tried to make overly complicated when I was sixteen, before finally giving up. I’ve scrapped most of the overblown third draft and gone back to writing an adaptation of the first and second drafts. Obviously there are many changes, and I’m writing it with a waaaaaaaay different perspective than I did when I was ten but the basic storyline is the same.

It’s a children’s book, but not a kiddie book. And I’m having SO MUCH FUN WRITING IT! I’m on chapter 3 right now and the characters are already taking over (something that just wasn’t happening with North City). No title yet for this one, so I’ll probably be referring to it as “The Yellowstone Story.” I’ll keep you informed.

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One Response to “Calypso, Impy and Writing Projects”
Dave Lukosik on 17 Aug 2010 at 8:24 pm # edit this

Happy to read Calypso’s knee surgery went well and she is recovering and “resting” comfortably on her “bed”!

On Calypso's Surgery And "Due South"

On Calypso’s Surgery And “Due South”
Aug 7th 2010
wolfmoonsleddog
Southeast
Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 12:58pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 85 degrees F (29 C)
Conditions: Partly cloudy, hot, humid
Forecast: Partly cloudy today and tomorrow. Highs in the 90s, lows in the 70s.

It’s a hot August day at home…

Calypso had knee surgery yesterday and is now back home and resting beside the chair where I am sitting. We’re looking forward (not really) to six to eight more weeks of restricted exercise for her. Maybe it’ll be cooler by the time this is “over.” The heat here is unreal. This is why I always leave GA in August (well, one reason). Because there is nothing I like about this kind of weather…However I understand that it’s not just the Southeast that is being hit with a horrendous heat-wave. I talked to Jen the other day and she told me it was 91 degrees on the North Shore. And that’s usually one of the coolest places in MN so I shudder to think what temperatures were like elsewhere in the state.

It feels weird going into August with no plans to escape go anywhere. The past two years it was back up to Minnesota. In 2007 my parents and I went to Alaska for the first time. But this year…I want to go somewhere where I can step outside without wanting to curl up and melt. I keep thinking about the Rockies and my trip out there last Fall. Seems like Yellowstone is one of the few places with decent weather right now. In the 30s there at night, I understand. Sweet!

But in the meantime, I’ve got things to do here. And I don’t even want to talk about the run-around about trying to find somewhere that offers the GED test in months other than May or June. Seriously…I just want to get that done and OVER WITH so I can actually move forward instead of standing in the mud like I feel I’m doing right now.

But I said I wasn’t going to talk about that right now.

Other things are going smoothly. And Calypso, yes. I was going to talk about Calypso.

She is a bit out of it right now and content to sleep and not do anything, which I guess is better than having her wanting to be bouncing off the walls when she should be resting. She looks kind of funny with most of the fur shaved off her left leg. Poor thing.

The other dogs are okay. We had Bonnie and Susan dashing around the house yesterday and then they both went and hopped on my bed. I swear, all they had to do was sit there and they got more and more hyper without doing ANYTHING. I said something to them and it was like the Great Explosion Of Wagging Tails And Doggy Laughs.

In the meantime, I’ve been re-watching episodes of Due South. I LOVE that show. If you’ve never heard it, do yourself a favor and at least find a copy of the pilot movie.

Due South aired for four seasons stretched between 1994 and 1999 but only the first two seasons aired in the US. The show was extremely popular in Canada and the UK (so popular that there were - and still are - Due South conventions) but for a long time it was near-impossible to find on DVD in America.

I found out about it because one of the main characters is a wolf hybrid played by a Siberian husky (except in the movie where he is played by a more wolfy-looking dog). Now of course I have a great internal struggle because, as I was saying loudly a few posts back, it drives me insane when people think my Siberians are wolves. And here is a show that is furthering that misidentification yet I absolutely LOVE THE SHOW!

The premise of Due South is as follows: Benton Fraser of the RCMP, along with his deaf, lip-reading wolf hybrid, Diefenbaker, are transfered to the Chicago consulate. There they meet up with detective Ray Vecchio and join forces to fight crime. It’s a culture clash comedy mixed with police/crime drama. Not slapstick funny but more subtly amusing.

I think the first two seasons are my favorites. After that, Ray goes undercover and Fraser teams up with a different cop, Stanley Kowalski. It’s still good but it seems to get a little sillier and far-fetched (okay, I know the whole thing is far-fetched). Seasons 3 and 4 are just kind of a different animal…Definitely worth seeing but I prefer 1 and 2.

And there’s a Car. All great TV shows of this type have to have a Car. This one is a 1971 Buick Riviera owned by Ray…and did I mention that Due South has awesome car chases (and dogsled chases in the movie)?

So yeah, I hadn’t watched the show since I first got hold of the VHS tapes and DVDs when I was about 14. So I’m really enjoying it second time around!

Also, as some of you probably already know, today is Beargrease sign-up. Of course I’m not going to be up there this year so I won’t be running the 2011 BG150 but stay tuned because I’m going to post the list of mushers who are as soon as it becomes available.

Over and out until next entry.

A

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2 Responses to “On Calypso’s Surgery And “Due South””
Dave Lukosik on 07 Aug 2010 at 8:27 pm # edit this

Beautiful log home in a beautiful setting! Wish I could change the weather thermostat! Read today that a huge chunk of ice broke free from one of Greenland’s main glaciers and is a floating island 4x the size of Manhatten. Best wishes for a speedy surgical recovery for Calypso! Yes, I remember watching “Due South”, enjoyed the program but wish there were more scenes with the siberian. You have to look up Sgt Preston of the Yukon. This TV series ran in the 1950’s when I was a kid for 3 years. Filmed at Big Bear in Calif in the Winter, but it looked like the Yukon! Remember Quaker Puffed Rice and Wheat were the sponsors, the stuff was “shot from guns” to puff it up! Got my “one square inch of the Yukon deed” by sending in the box tops. I think my Mom threw it out in one of her room cleaning spreys in my room as a kid. Most of my model airplanes I put together got distroyed this way to! “Sorry that got broken while I dusted your room.” I feel for the people up North, they aren’t used to this heat and humidity like us Southerns and displaced Northerners from Illinois! Keep cool and sane!

wolfmoonsleddog on 16 Aug 2010 at 4:45 pm # edit this

Thanks Dave. We like our house a lot.

Apparently in Oak Ridge, TN (where my grandmother used to live) they get an average of eleven days in the 90s. This year they have gotten SIXTY days in the 90s. It’s unreal.

Yes, I wish Dief was more prominent in some of the “Due South” episodes. Fortunately I like the rest of the cast, as well.

I have some “Sgt. Preston Of The Yukon” episodes on DVD! Much fun! I haven’t watched them recently though. Might have to do that.

Hope you are keeping cool!

A

Life In A Day, Dreams And An Update On Kippy

Life In A Day, Dreams And An Update On Kippy
Jul 29th 2010
wolfmoonsleddog
Southeast
Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 9:35pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 79 degrees F (26 C)
Conditions: Cloudy with light rain
Forecast: Cloudy tonight, partly cloudy tomorrow. Highs in the 90s, lows in the 70s

Above is a screen capture from the footage I submitted to the Life In A Day project (http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday). I don’t know whether or not they will choose to use any of my footage in the final film but when I read about the project I knew I had to record something to submit. Especially with my interest in filmmaking. Check it out, it’s pretty cool.

Things here are going well and I finally feel as if I am progressing on some of my other projects. It’s just a matter of deciding which things to say ‘no’ to when.

The weather has actually improved a little bit, although it’s still blazing hot (my friends Elisabeth and Abi and I met up at a pizza place a couple of days ago and laughed at the sign out front which read ‘It’s So Hot We Saw The Devil Chasing An Ice Cream Truck’) but we’ve gone back to having rain every afternoon, which makes a HUGE difference. Granted, some of it has come alongside pretty intense thunderstorms and a power outage (never had to worry about power lines going out at MCK) but I’m not complaining.

Although this Summer has had its frustrations and tough times, I am so much more emotionally stable than I was last Summer. Don’t take that wrong and think I was a danger to myself or anyone else at the time - I wasn’t. I was just in turmoil, trying to figure out if I was on the right path and trying to come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t a teenager or even a kid anymore, and neither were my childhood friends. This Summer I feel on solid ground, so to speak. Case in point: dreams. I had horrible dreams last Summer. I dreamed I had panic attacks, etc.

This afternoon I took a nap and had a very different dream. And it was a lucid dream, which hasn’t happened to me in quite a while. I’ve had lucid dreams before, where I know I am dreaming and I’ve been known to go around feeling things (walls, tables, wire, etc.) in my dreams to see if they actually feel “real” (they do). But one thing I’ve never before been able to do is to control my dreams. I also never have falling dreams (unlike most people).

Until this one. I dreamed I was going to fall from some great height…only I knew I was dreaming so I just focused on NOT falling and just stood on thin air and thought about something I was writing in real life. I’m not joking. The main reason I didn’t want to fall was that I knew it would be fast. Whenever I’ve dreamed about going fast, it’s always too fast and I pretty much can’t handle it and wake up. When I was little I was always annoyed because I LOVED merry-go-rounds but whenever I dreamed about riding a merry-go-round it always went too fast and the dream stopped. But this time I knew I was dreaming and I knew I was in control. It was cool just standing in the air but it was also kind of boring. So I thought, ‘hey, why not’ and fell. And this time, yes it was too fast…but I knew it wasn’t real and I was determined to enjoy it. It was seriously cool, because if felt real. I landed in a lake and somewhere along the line I lost the lucidity and my dream turned into something weird about pushing my friends’ car up a steep mountain road in Wal-Mart. Then the phone rang and woke me up.

In other news, Kippy-Calypso is going to have to have surgery on her knee. Despite my trying to keep her excercise very limited, she definitely has a torn cruciate. I talked to my vet down here and I talked to Jen on the phone and we have decided on a procedure. So Calypso will go in for that in about a week. It really sucks and the recovery is going to be *fun* (not!) but I’m looking forward to her not gimping around.

So I think that’s about it. I’ve started on the first chapter of North City and am still getting the hang of it. It will get easier to write as I go along and get to know the characters better.

Hope everyone is staying cool.

Cheers!

A

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One Response to “Life In A Day, Dreams And An Update On Kippy”
Dave Lukosik on 07 Aug 2010 at 8:07 pm # edit this

Hope your video clip makes the cut! Read in the news today they got lots of entries and the entries will be available online soon. Let us know when yours is available.

The Completed Shed And A New Direction For ‘North City’

The Completed Shed And A New Direction For ‘North City’
Jul 23rd 2010
wolfmoonsleddog
Southeast
Location: Armuchee, GA
Time - 9:34pm Eastern Daylight Time
Temperature: 86 degrees F (30 C)
Conditions: Cloudy, hot, humid
Forecast: Clear tonight and tomorrow. Lows in the 70s, high around 100

Witness the pretty much completed dog shed of Wolf Moon. Sweet! Our work has finally paid off and we have something to show for it!

In other news, Bluebonnet “Bonnie” would like for me to make a public service announcement stating that she is in no way, shape or form, affiliated with Tropical Storm Bonnie - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100722/ap_on_re_us/tropical_weather

In the meantime, I have been thinking. My writing projects have not been going so well lately. I had several ideas floating around in my head for sci-fi, fantasy and kids’ stories. One in particular appealed to me a lot - it was expanding on a time-travel story that’s been in my head for years. Unfortunately I could not seem to make it work on paper. It just wouldn’t write. Urgh. I hate writer’s block.

In the meantime, the North City pilot was coming along but I was having doubts. Okay, it looked like I could do this but it was going to take a LOT of time and energy and seriously, getting a cast together would be a nightmare. And this is just for ONE PILOT. Never mind that I have enough material for TWO SEASONS. And even if we were somehow able to do it…To be honest, with the cast and crew I might be able to round up and my amature editing skills, it’d probably suck. No offense to anybody.

I just want this to be good.

So…what to do? Abandon the project. It was sounding kind of appealing. Wipe the slate clean and try to find a novel or SOMETHING that I could write.

Then I remembered. In Spring of 2008 I came up with what I thought was a great idea for a movie. I thought I’ve got to make that into a movie somehow. But what I wanted to do was waaaaaaaaaaay beyond my abilities, and I so badly didn’t want to tone it down. So I changed my plan and turned it into an approximately 600-page novel. It took me about four months to write it. No, I haven’t tried to get it published because there’s some things I want to fix first…

But that got me thinking. Duh. Instead of attempting doing a North City series that wouldn’t be able to live up to my expectations, turn it into a novel!

So that’s what I’m going to do.

Cheers!

A

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2 Responses to “The Completed Shed And A New Direction For ‘North City’”
Dave Lukosik on 26 Jul 2010 at 9:46 pm # edit this

Nice looking shed you got there! Nothing like building your own. Good luck on your “North City” novel. Just read your 2009 issue of Dog and Sled and enjoyed it!

wolfmoonsleddog on 29 Jul 2010 at 8:00 pm # edit this

Thanks! It was definitely cheaper than buying something pre-fab.

I’m going to try to get the 2010 “D&S” put together but it’s kind of on the back burner for now.

A