Just a typical Saturday

The four-wheeler made its way back home yesterday on the back of a big red truck, with a brand-new blue cord that won't explode when it gets way cold.  But then, it was time to fix something else:

During our last run, I'd gotten everyone hooked up and was about to go when I noticed that Beenie was sproinging around attached just by his neckline.  Either Scout or he, and I strongly suspect he, had chewed through the tug of his harness.  That time, I'd just attached the gangline to the D-ring on his harness, but I needed to re-attach a tug.  

So I bought some cord, and burned the ends of a length of it.

Done!

Scout models the newly-fixed tug.  Guy is non-plussed.

Brother Beenie's harness is much too big for her.  It's a ManMat distance harness I picked up last winter at our favorite store.  He'd outgrown the hot pink one he'd been wearing as a puppy, and I wanted to give this kind a try.  It's designed to put less strain on a dog's back, though we don't go for distances long enough for that to matter really.  It is a breeze to get him in and out of it, and when I need to replace anyone else's harness, I'll likely go with it again.

So this morning, we went out for a run.  Scout is effectively hiding Beenie's harness and new tug in this photo, but you can just see the yellow peeking out over the top of her.  Behind them are the oldsters, Guy and Ghost Dog.  Everyone else has traditional x-back harnesses.

Off we go!  That's Delroy and Cricket in wheel.

It was cold this morning!  About 3 degrees when I first went out, which isn't really that cold, but my hands were chilled soon enough.  Thank goodness for heated handlebars on the four-wheeler.

The run was just the way I like them: uneventful.  With the four-wheeler, we run on the road, but luckily everyone who lives near here drives like a sane person, for the most part.  We did do a head-on pass with a Land Cruiser full of hippies (not an unusual sight on our road), but they slowed way down for us and we went past without undue fuss.

We got back and breakfasted--soaked kibble for them, toast and egg for me--and went about our Saturday.  Which means husky-curl naps for them, and housecleaning for me.

But before I could clean, I had to read some more of this book:

It's so good!  As you can see, I got it from our local bookstore, using up a tiny fraction of my indefatigable used-book credit.  Just when I think things can't get any worse for Jurgis, his world collapses around him and he's plunged into further misery.  Yeesh. 


Reading about wage slavery, though, I suppose makes me grateful to have a weekend, and I best get around to tidying the past week's indiscretions (unfolded laundry, dirty dishes, unswept floor, etc., etc., etc.).  Also must re-fill bird feeders.  Onward!

Waiting for (more) snow

27 October 2011. An auspicious day to start a blog? I guess we'll see.

It has snowed here in Fairbanks. Skiers are out on their rock skis, and I've even seen a four-dog team on the road already. But there's not nearly enough snow to anchor a hook, and as out-of-hand as the dogs are right now, I would definitely need that hook. Come to think of it, the sled's not really ready yet, either. I took the pad off this summer to try to figure out a better way to attach it, and then didn't get around to figuring it out. So I'll probably put it back on the way I had it last winter, and deal with the same annoyance (to whit, the cords get caught on the brake). I also need to modify the pad a bit by putting bolts through it, to create even more drag.

Let me tell you about my team. All of them are rescues, and all of them are fixed. Four of them are littermates, and one of them is their mother. Three of them are boys, three of them are girls. I love them all to pieces.

The four-wheeler is getting winterized (again, but for real this time), so that's out until either (a) it comes back from the shop, or (b) we get a bunch of snow. Unfortunately, (a) is looking more likely at the moment.

So we wait, and in the meantime, life goes on. I go to work, the dogs dream of kibble. There's enough snow to make for sketchy driving, not enough to have fun. Halloween is right around the corner, and I hope that Interior Alaska decides to dress up as a winter wonderland.