Hybernate

The cold has settled in here... forecast predicts as low as -50 tonight. Fortunately it looks as if we are still a few degrees above the lowest elevation. Some areas are seeing -60 or colder. For safety we pretty much stay home all day and all night except for James who has to go to work away from the house but is fortunate that his job is only a short drive down the street. The pups seem to be doing great with the cold temps though I still worry about them a lot.

This year I'm trying not to have them in the dog truck for warmth but instead having those with thin coats rely on their insulated dog houses and those who are without to have extra time inside. All appetites are up, which is an amazingly good sign, but Hera's has tapered off. That's normal for her but I still worry. I have gotten her to eat some raw chicken and she is drinking well thanks to the extra meat I'm putting in her water every evening. Extra meat and fat has been on the menu on top of their usual kibble.

We are also doing play time as we usually do every evening but in these temps its more important than usual. Its critical to keep their moral up and their blood flowing. I can feel the depression that our deep winter brings coming in on me and I don't want them to feel the same if they are cooped up which is one of my main concerns for having them in the dog truck. Even with frequent drops from their boxes they will still be cramped and with larger dogs like Thani and Remus that's got to be torture.

So for at least two hours we are all out there in the cold no matter what the temperature. Me bustling around scooping poop or filling more houses with straw and the pups running about playing, pooping and Gaea trying to undo all my hard work by taking the straw out of their houses! I have to see the humor in it all, as they do, or I might go completely crazy...

When it was warmer I worked on their houses a bit more, scraped out old straw, ice and put in new fresh straw for them. Now that its too cold to really work on them I was able to put in even more straw for those who still needed it. It seems to be working a lot better than last year and I'm pretty confident that they will have enough dry straw to last them until it warms up so I can scrape it out and start the process all over again.

The full load of straw we bought this year was a real godsend. At $7.50 a bale I don't mind using up as much as they need and liberally replacing the old stuff. Apparently the straw that is available right now is harsh with more sticks than straw and at $13.50 a bale would be hard to use as much as I would like.

Straw is important due to its hollow structure and lofty nature. Its great to hold warm air when its new and hasn't been broken down by the dogs. Works much the same way as spruce branches do when used for bedding on snow to bring the body off of the cold ground, or in this case, off of the cold floor of their dog house.

There is a nice feeling about the winter coming in like this that I hadn't expected. Its forced me to stay in and focus primarily on work. That is a two edged sword in that I cant release my stress on the trail in all that serene beauty and solitude but I am getting a lot done. Not sure which is the better of the two but I'm still convinced having a little bit of both is ideal.

Gotta run and feed the dogs their lunch so I can make a quick run down the street to the store and get some more eggnog before the holiday season is gone. That is one thing the pups and I so enjoy (see pics)... isnt that what the holidays are for, sharing?