Ode to Alaine

Two days in a row! Didn't think I had anything to share today, but as I was looking at all of the beautiful pictures my lovely daughter has taken for/of us (the dogs especially!) I realized that I've not given her the credit she deserves! Pretty much every photo on this blog, my facebook, and even "my" Flickr sites were taken by my girl. We call her the official photographer of Thunderfeet Kennel and Sleds! Not that we do not have our own camera's...I just never remember to a) take mine along or b) even if I DO remember, I forget to take pics and then there is c) Alaine has a gift that neither Ted nor I do. She has a good eye for composing and color, shadows, etc. The truth is that she is a MUCH better photographer than we are, and we LOVE her photos! So this is a tribute to my wonderful, talented daughter, who provides our family with interesting pictures and videos...even though I wish she'd learn to "gauze" over any photos of me so all of my warts and wrinkles won't be plastered across the 'net, and put into family photo albums! (Sigh) Goodbye to having one chin, cheekbones, and smooth skin....Funny, I don't FEEL as old as I look. Must be something wrong with the new-fangled digital cameras everyone is using??? Yea...that's it! Next year is the big 6-0! (ugh...now that is starting to sound old!) Geesh!

Chase gets a kiss

Well, the mosquitoes are out in full force, the dogs are all blowing their coats, and the world is green once again! Wish I could say I love summer, but that would be a lie...anyway, it is just a season to get through until FALL!! (The BEST time of year, next to Winter.)

The puppies are all growing, and sooooo adorable...Alaine says they are the cutest puppies ever.

We get to keep the two (YES!!! Ted said we can have 2 puppies...he wants one for his team. NICE, huh??) puppies from this weekend on. They'll be 7 weeks old, and Penny has already weaned them. Tara will be picking up her 2, and Jill is getting a male. They will all be good dogs, I predict...(somewhat biased, yes.) They should match up nicely with Fiona/Kirov's offspring.

Ted is busy getting ready for the end of the school year, and also with the projects going on around here. The drain field failed, so he is fixing that, and we have the garden to plant too.

Mike and Jon will be coming for the weekend. It is Jon's birthday on Sunday. Alaine and the boys will be coming up for Saturday to help us celebrate. It should be a beautiful day...those boys do love to spend time together. When my Aunt Edith would come to our house in Rockford, we had so much fun playing with the cousins. They were "city kids" then, and we were the country cousins...but we all got along, and played tag, jumped off the barn, swam in the creek, and rode the horses and our mexican burro Jeff until it was time for dinner. Mom and Edith would make us grilled cheese sandwiches with Velvetta cheese and the bread my mom made. There were over 10 kids to feed! Delicious! Sometimes, mom would make fudge and popcorn to have around the campfires my dad built. We didn't have the electronic stuff kids have today, but we spent so much time outside we probably wouldn't have played with it anyway. A good night was chasing and catching a bottle full of fireflies, and listening to the spring peepers singing as we lay in the grass gazing at the stars and talking about how small we were compared to the whole Universe. Ahh....yup..those were the " good ol days"!

Of course, that was before I discovered THE Winter sport...and Siberian Huskies. How my life has changed!

More dog stuff

This is Penny and Rocky (I think) giving her a kiss. Or, maybe he is telling her a secret?

Talked to RJ earlier, and the 9 puppies and Penny are doing fine. She is eating good, and taking care of the pups. He did say that she seemed really tired last night, but she did have a busy day. Tara is very excited about her puppies...will be coming to see them on Friday, but probably won't pick out the two she wants until they are older. Rj is still partial to the first born female, but it is too early to tell what their personalities will be yet.

Damien...Kirov and Ice's son...was born in 2006. I have tried not to get attached to him, but cannot help it. He is so affectionate and reminds me so much of his daddy...except for the attacking people that approach him when he is tethered. THEN, he becomes a real butt-head.
Not sure exactly what his story is. His previous owner said that he was teased and tormented by some neighbor kids while they were at work...that would explain why he is like a different dog when tethered. It is hard to reconcile that with how he is when I am with him. He is good with other dogs, and I can take food away from him, put my hands in his bowl while he is eating...he is so good...but we cannot trust him because of the way he is when he is tethered.
He had been in a kennel with another dog, but got out of it. We had no idea that he would react the way he does when he is tethered, but after the campout weekend with the grand kids, we saw how he acts. It is still hard for me to call him an "aggressive dog" though I've seen his bad behavior. Obviously, we cannot have a dog that cannot be trusted in our kennel...one we KNOW will bite if approached by anyone, kid or adult. It breaks my heart that I am not able to" fix" him. When he isn't tethered, he seems to really enjoy people, and loves attention...but there is always that tension...will he bite? Ted is afraid that we will lose our kennel, our home, everything we've worked for, if we keep him here...but the ONLY safe alternative is to have him put down. Geez I hate the thought of that, but we cannot pass him/the problem on to anyone else. It is too much of a risk. Wish the dog whisperer were here to help!
The people that own him want him back (they say) when they find a home....Ted thinks they just wanted to rid themselves of a problem. I'm not convinced of that, because I do believe that they really love him. He IS very lovable, oddly enough. When they took him home, he was a wonderfully sweet puppy. His parents are two of our sweetest, most loving dogs...and I do believe that he is only a monster because of a couple of brats that thought it was funny to tease a dog. The only way I know to train that out of him is to expose people to him that don't torment him while he is chained up, and hope that he will re-set his way of thinking. It is a risk, and finding volunteers to risk getting bitten is probably stretching family and friendships too far...not realistic, I guess. Poor Damien.

Jill's mother in law passed away yesterday evening. Jill felt it was coming sooner than later...and was grateful that she didn't suffer. Went to sleep, didn't wake up. I am sorry for Paul, Jill and their family...but she was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer a couple months ago, and that is not a kind way to die. She went peacefully, without pain. What more could anyone ask for? Jills family is still grieving for Scout, and now for Paul's mother, too. This has been a difficult year for them so far...I do hope/pray it gets better.

Penny, Blaze and Timber

Oh, and here is a photo of Penny (L) and Blaze(middle) and Timber (R) two of her sons from her first litter. I expect some of these Easter pups to look like Blaze...

Easter Birth

Penny had 6 beautiful sleek, dark puppies on Easter. BUT, she had more inside that couldn't seem to get down to the birth canal. She was tired, exhausted really, and since we couldn't contact the Vet or the Vet Tech we decided to take a wait and see outlook. We spent most ot the day at RJ's place...waiting and watching. This morning, she went in to the vet first thing, and was X-rayed. She had 3 more pups in one uterine horn, and the other was prolapsed, but had a puppy in it. He/she didn't make it. The other 3 did. Total count for this litter is 6 males and 3 females. Penny is doing very well. Tired, but I'm sure she feels much better than she did yesterday. Beth and RJ are probably tired too. I worried about Penny all last night, and am so grateful she and the pups are all o.k. Sad for the puppy that didn't survive, but sometimes that happens. So, our wonderful Dr Lepley, somes through again. He is such a kind man, and always so fair and honest with us. ( It will be a sad day when he retires.) The dogs all love him too!

So, that was how Ted, RJ, Bethany, Penny and I spent Easter...and this morning it was all worth it. Penny is a very sweet dog, and so tolerant of all of us hovering over her as we waited for the next pup to be born. It will be exciting to watch these pups grow, and learn. They are all so dark and long legged...look like Q-Ball, their sire.

Back again

Well, it has been a while. Been crazy busy around here, and with the nice cool weather, we were able to have another dog weekend with Ted, Jill, Tara, Martha and the oldest grand sons Mike (10) and Jon (8). Lost Lake BS camp was desserted, the weather was beautiful, and we got in some good runs on the trails...through mud puddles, running water, across bridges, chasing ruffed grouse across fields, and moving the deer herds around. Mike saw a Fox on our first run, and he'd seen a Bald Eagle on the way into camp...He loves camping and being out with the dogs.
Jon seemed to enjoy it too, but he and Grandpa were in watching the basketball game while Mike and I took a team out with the other mushers. It is always fun to spend time with the girls, and their dogs.
A couple of new mushers came up to see what it was all about...Liz and Scott. Nice young couple, and they are very gung ho about learning all they can. Jill let them use her scooter to hook up some dogs (they have 3) and they seemed to have fun with that. We all remembered how it was to be just starting out. Today, there are many more accessible resources than there were in the 80's...Joining MUSH is always a good first step. Long before I entered my first race, I belonged to MUSH just to get the newsletter to find out what was happening with the club, and where events would be taking place. I do love our club...it is so unique and we are fortunate to have it here in Michigan.
Well, I have to run for now. RJ's dog Penny needs to see the vet this morning, and I have to meet Beth to take her there. Will let you know how that all comes out....

Girl power-Wooo-hooo!

The girls weekend at Lost lake had to be moved to a different locale...so Tara and I spent the weekend at Fort Custer St Park running the dogs on her SWEET! Fritz Dyk cart. We mostly took out 8 dog teams, and one of us drove, while the other one relaxed in the (comfortable) seat. It was fun, and we got to run the dogs, see lots of wildlife, as well as hearing scary footsteps in the night walking closer and closer...then went on by. When you're laying inside a "tent cot" (another cool thing Tara brought along) and you hear heavy footsteps clumping outside, it makes your heart beat faster! Fortunately, my friend Tara comes well armed, and she is reported to be a pretty good shot, too! I had a dog-collar light I was going to use to either strangle the guy with the elastic band, or shine it in his eyes to blind him so Tara could get off a clean shot at him!

We kept a nice fire going, ate very well, ran dogs, and listened to the coyotes near by yipping and howling. We figured out how to "cook" coffee in a fire pit, and I put up a "mushers bathroom" for us to use as the pit toilet was a bit of a hike, (and after a couple of beers, it is imperative to have nearby facilities!) I tend to talk too much, and probably bored Tara to death with my long winded, rambling stories....but she is a well mannered young lady, and instead of shooting me, leaving me to wander the forests of Michigan, or telling me to shut up, please, she listened.

We lucked out with the weather too. Friday night was cold, so we got a couple of short runs in , on Saturday we went out twice with the dogs (a.m & p.m.) then we got up early this morning and went for a longer run with the 8 younger dogs. It got warm today, and we enjoyed sitting in the sunshine around the fire. Reluctantly, we packed up and headed home. That was when Tara checked her messages and I found out that my son, Jeremy had gone to the hospital for chest pain. He is resting at home with a lung infection (they think) Khamala, his wife, said that he was still in a lot of pain. I worry about him a lot....he smokes and doesn't take good care of himself. They have 4 beautiful sons, who love their daddy very much...it would be terrible to have something happen to him. Jeremy is such a good man. I love him so much, and he works so hard for his family (as does Khamala!) I wish he could see how his kids look up to him, and that they all count on him. It hurts to know that he is hurting, and I hope he will be well again soon...but maybe this will finally convince him to quit smoking, and take care of himself better.