Life has been really busy at the kennel. The dogs are running about 10 miles a day. Mike has been working on a new cabin for our helpers. We typically have 2 or 3 people who come and spend the winter with us to help us train the dogs. When Mike and I first bought our property we built a 14 x 14 foot cabin to live in. After Mike moved the house, we have used that cabin to house our handlers. However, spending the winter in a one room cabin is a challenge, even if many of your hours are spent outside running and camping with the dogs.
This summer Mike put up a new cabin that will have 3 small bedrooms so people can have a bit more privacy. Mike is working hard to put on the final coat of drywall mud. Then he will paint and put in the flooring. He also built a new area for dogs at this cabin so that everyone can have dogs right outside their window. Max was excited to help with the excavator.
The blueberry season has past. It began to frost in early September. That makes the berries kind of squishy. There are still a bunch on the plants, this was a really awesome season for blueberries.
We also pick the wild cranberries. They get sweeter after the frost.
I have had a harder time finding berries this weekend. We received our first significant snowfall on Friday. There are about 6 inches of snow on the
ground. There is a chance that it will melt and we will see the ground again, but we can’t count on it. You have to be sure every night when you go to bed that everything is put away or you might not find it again until spring. We are working on making sure that all of our firewood is ready to keep us warm this winter.
Mike had a successful moose hunting trip. We have started processing the meat. We have made steaks, stew meat, and burger. We typically season some of the burger. So far we have packaged Italian sausage flavored burger.
School has started for me. This year we have 14 students. I am teaching Biology I and II, Life Science, math (grades 5, 7, 8, Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, and student teaching in mathematics), Physical Education, and Rock and Roll History. Max has had the opportunity to visit school some. I am always impressed with the way that kids all the way from kindergarten through high school can play together.
It is consistently freezing at night, so we have to make sure that the dogs have access to liquid water. We offer them a broth of water in the morning, water after the run, and by midmorning it is usually warm enough that we can have water in their water dishes. Having snow on the ground helps keep them hydrated as well.
The puppies are getting bigger. It is fun to see their personalities developing. Deputy has really shown confidence. When playing with the big dogs, he holds his head and tail high and thinks he is one of them. Clemens is Max’s favorite of the big puppies right now. Max loves to rub his belly. However, Max’s really loves the little puppies. We are still looking for name suggestions for the F and G litters.
I’m trying to train a new photographer to help me with photos so that we can send out more frequent newsletters.
Until next time, I hope you are all having as much fun with your dogs as we are with ours!
Mike, Caitlin, and Max