We have entered the depth of winter. The temperatures have dropped, the daylight has vanished, and the training miles have stretched from day into night. Mike and the dogs have been training around the clock. In replication of the race, they are running 6 hours, resting 6 hours, and running again.
The darkness is at its peak and that is hard to capture for you in photos. It does not begin to get light until 9:30 in the morning. It is surprising to see sunrise colors late in the morning and sunset colors early in the afternoon.
The darkness in the morning is amplified by the quiet and the desolation. Lonely is not the right word. It is more like time is frozen and you are the only thing left moving. It feels strange to be alive without the rest of the world.
Sound is very clear in the cold. You can easily hear a raven's wings beating. It can be so quiet in the kennel. The privacy is even more intense when Mike, Thomas, and many of the dogs are gone training. I think people often think a sled dog kennel would be louder than it is. Unless something is happening like a team leaving or arriving, feeding time, or something unusual, the dogs are mostly quiet, except for a periodic group howl. If a dog is barking, there is usually a reason. This is especially true at night.
The other night the dogs were barking in the night. It was about 4 am and it woke me up. I lay there in bed listening, trying to drum up the courage to get out from under the warm covers. As I listened, I heard the dogs bark and then stop, bark and then stop. This is a classic behavior when they hear something. I went downstairs and opened the door. Listening I could hear coyotes yipping up on the mountain. The dogs would all bark together at them and then stop so that they could listen for the coyotes. Then they would bark again and again the coyotes would answer.
Zazu
I'm excited to announce that we have recieved our first dog sponsorship for the 2016 Iditarod. Cyndie, Carl, and Greg chose to sponsor Zazu. The dog sponsorship program offers folks the opportunity to bond with a specific dog. Dog sponsors make a huge difference in helping us get to the starting line in Anchorage and to the finish line in Nome. As a thanks you will will receive a dog sponsorship package, which includes a personalized photo of your dog and a DogGoneIt t-shirt. In addition, if your dog runs in the Iditarod, we will send you his or her Iditarod dog tag as a souvenir. If you come to visit at the kennel or the race start you are also welcome to spend time with your dog for congratulatory hugs.
A sample of the candidates for Thomas' qualifying races.
See more of the dogs available for sponsorship on our website:
http://www.wolfsdenkennel.com/sponsor-a-dog/
Max and I have been decorating for Christmas. We trudged through the snow to find a local spruce tree for our house and I am loving the ambiance of the Christmas lights. This is the first year that Max is really old enough to think about Christmas so we have been talking about Santa. I asked Max if he would like to write a letter to Santa and he said "Yes. The G letter." It took me a minute to realize that he had a different interpretation of the word 'letter' than I did.
We did write the letter and then went on to discuss Santa's up coming visit. I explained about Santa coming down the chimney with presents. Max asked me "How will Santa get out of the chimney?" I was somewhat impressed by the practical nature of his question. A few years ago the kids at school were reading Alaskan Night Before Christmas. In this rendition of the story Santa spends time getting his sled ready for winter including changing the spark plugs. One of the kindergartners said, "Why would a sled need spark plugs?" Maybe growing up in Alaska provides access to machines, chimneys, and tools that promotes a practical understanding of the world.
It can be harder to play outside in the cold, but the snow on the driveway makes a smoother surface for the tricycle than the gravel does in the summer.
Max has been doing loops, practicing his balance and coming in with rosy cheeks and sometimes chilly fingers.
Until next time, I hope that all of you are having as much fun with your dogs as we are with ours.
Mike, Caitlin, and Max