Every winter I find myself wondering what is to come, where will we go, what will we do and most importantly will we have good snow and temperatures to run dogs? And every year I cross my fingers and hope our dog truck will make it through another season. Since we are not able to depend on the new one (our friend has been borrowing it to get to work) we have to baby the old one in hopes that it will keep going for the rest of winter.So what has this season brought to us? Busted pipes, too many repairs, a limping dog truck and a team and musher full of frustration at all the road blocks we seem to have along the way (which is part of the reason why our updates on this blog have been so late in coming). Ive been trying to stay positive and look to the bright side, look to the daylight coming back, look to more snow on the horizon, look for anything that will help my mind to stay sharp and focused but then my winter depression set in, and it set in hard.
I am extremely grateful for the support system I have around me, for my husband who tries his best to understand my depression, for the monumental efforts he has taken to make sure my truck is running and stays that way. For the dogs and their infinite patience with all the repairs that have been going on that have taken my time away from them and the trail. For James and Mike who have tirelessly kept moving, kept working, kept building and never once complained about any of it. It is simply incredible that through all we have been through this year that we are still going strong, living our dreams and looking ahead.
I have to admit that at times its been very hard for me to focus, to be the strong person I need to be to keep striving ahead, to live this dream. It just seems that one thing after another comes and wont let up, or when it does let up its only for a very brief moment before everything comes crashing down again.
The dog truck is still a factor we are not sure about, the last time we took it out we couldnt get it started again after our run was over. This was a huge frustration because I would really like to be on some sort of schedule, to have our volunteers come out and have the fun I was so hoping to show them with the team and so everyone can have some stress relief out on the trail where its peaceful and quiet.
But James came to rescue the truck again that day and towed us the short way home. It was so nice it was the holiday or he wouldn't have been home to do so and we would have been stuck for a very long time.
The other major blow was that Mercury got sick a few days ago. This is always bad timing since I dont want any of my kids to ever be sick or injured but it came at the worse time since I was so depressed already. Fortunately he is doing much better today though his back end is still a little weak. Hes getting on in years and its expected for him to not feel as young as he used to... but the reality of all the years gone by is still hard to comprehend.
Like Spock, Mercury and I have been together since he was so very young and we knew each other before my husband was a part of my life. Its hard to see the ties of what used to be fall away and all those emotions and my connection along with it. This is not to say that I expect Merk to die tomorrow but the writing is on the wall, none of us can live forever and I am forced to see that painful reality more so with him being under the weather rather than enjoying the days when hes bouncing around healthy and happy.
But there is good to all of this too for the night I found out he was sick, that next day a package of chocolates arrived from my good friend Kathy and was such a welcome hug. Kathy has known and loved Merk, and even though she didn't know he was sick it so fitting to get her gift right at that time.
It made me smile this morning when I found out last night that my husband James had to lay sideways in the bed just so he wouldn't disturb Mercury, who for the first time since he had gotten sick, was comfortable to climb up on the bed to sleep there the entire night.
And to keep focusing on the positive I would like to introduce a new 'member' to our family, the Black Beast!! James liked my Blue Beast so much that he decided to get one of his own from Laughing Husky (http://www.laughinghusky.com/) that has the same shape and size but is much longer. This sled makes mine look tiny!!
So take a look at the photo on the top of this blog post to see a sneak peek into this new piece of equipment. James is still working on getting used to driving it but already we have seen a great positives in its handling and how much we can haul on the trail. The dogs are pulling it effortlessly and its very exciting to see what trails this new sled will see in the future! :)
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