Christmas Times

Everything has been a whirlwind the past few days... not in the sense that Ive been overly busy but Ive been using the excuse of the holidays to take some time off! Its been heavenly!! I'm naturally a workaholic and tend to not allow much time for myself but since James has been off its been and wonderful excuse to sit and enjoy our time together.

We've talked of many things over the holidays and the one that stands out most in my mind and has me thinking so much is the thought of heading to new property. Somewhere out in the middle of nowhere away from the hustle of Fairbanks or any other town.

Its become quite populated here in North Pole and with so many new businesses moving in its virtually bursting at the seams in Fairbanks. Wal-Mart was the last straw... I think they paved the way for redundancy.

Why, I keep asking myself, do we need both a Home Depot AND a Lowes. Right across the street from each other no less! This is not what Alaska means to James and I and with our lives being as independant as they are it looks like permanent residence out in the wilds is going to be a real possiblity.

We've talked about this a lot in the past but this holiday season really drove home the point. Too many shoppers out to get the perfect gift, car accidents, close calls from impatient drivers and cranky, cranky shoppers... makes us both want to get away, far, far away...

This wont change much for my business or the dogs, in fact I think it will help both in so many ways. There will be many, many details to work out before we can officially live in a new location but the idea just in doing so is so terribly exciting... I cant sleep most nights, my head is filled with a million ideas.

Back to the land is going to be the common goal for our family, hauling wood, subsisting through a bit of hunting, etc... we wont be too far away from a main town but enough that we will have to make sure all our emergency supplies are at hand for humans and dogs alike. A simple quick trip to the store will take hours just to get there!

I look at our new pups with much more purpose now and our training equally so. They will finally do what they are born and bred to do, hard work, heavy loads hauling wood and breaking our own trails. So exciting! The two big brothers will have a huge hand in making our new life move smoothly.

But this could be a few years off yet. We hope to secure land this summer or the next and then go from there. The drive to get out of town will be constantly pressing on James and I both so I'm sure that will help speed up the process!

When ever it happens and what ever it takes it will be a wonderful experience. This holiday time Ive come to fully experience how tight our family has become, dogs and humans, humans and dogs... we've worked at being a family for eight years now and are fully seeing the fruits of that labor. The joy that comes from all that surrounds us is impossible to put into words...

And it felt so incredibly wonderful to be on the trail Christmas Eve. We snuck out for another run and all the dogs looked AMAZING! Griffin held in really well again and did us all very proud. Seeing him and Hera work side by side, so strong, stride for stride... what a blessing! And thats only two of the dogs in the team! The rest are working out equally well!

Iggy came out with us again to complete our ten dog team. Remi still needs to learn a bit about what it means to whoa but hes getting it. Still steady, still strong and moving up flawlessly in the team. As soon as he is stable I will place him in swing a bit more often and see how his leadership skills go.

Gemini stayed at home again, as was her choice. She didn't want to load up in the truck so I didn't push the issue. Aquila also had to stay at home, she is still limping. Today walking and running a bit in the yard she still brings back the limp. Not good for the trail but nice thats shes slowed down a bit at home. She can give her dominance to others a bit of reprieve while she heals.

Mercury came along with the team and in loose running did fantastic! He kept up the whole time right there beside Spock... being out there with only two following brings my mind back to those who have passed... I miss them so much...

Everything has its time and place though, the team is trucking along so well I have to keep my eyes front most of the time and have little left for the ones trailing except a few glances. Fortunately thats all they need right now because they are doing so well and behaving as they should, close to me and the sled.

Not much more on the wolf problem... maybe the pack is back in balance again?

We are having clients/visitors tomorrow so I must get things ready for their arrival. The dogs will be split into two teams again for what will be a short fun run then maybe on Friday, or Saturday, we will do the large trap line again to see where they are at mentally and physically. If our weather holds like its been we will be able to continue regular runs and bump up the mileage.