Catchy title don’t you think? I didn’t come up with it, but I like it.
The Dillingham Trinity Lutheran Church youth group are raising money for a trip to Tanzania. The dogs and I have offered to help raise a little money. March 1st – 7th, people will get an opportunity to visit our kennel here on Waskey Road, see some of the equipment, harness an old dog, play with some puppies, and go for a ride in the sled. Price is $60 for adults and $30 for kids under 12. There are a limited number of slots so don’t delay in scheduling your hour. I’m not doing the booking for this. If interested call 842-0822 (evenings) or 843-3647 (days). There will also be cocoa and snacks available.
If you’re considering booking a slot, you might enjoy looking at some video clips of the dogs at “Meet our Working Dogs”. This is a good cause and I think you’ll enjoy your experience at Nushagak Kennels.
All the money raised goes to the kids. The dogs and I aren’t taking a penny.
Community support has been tremendous since we announced our lead role in this year’s BRU. Most of the events have specific organizers, we have already received notices of financial support, and preparations for the Western (the sled dog race) are well underway. This isn’t to say there won’t be plenty of last minute scrambling, but the event is coming together.
The Board made a few decisions regarding the Western. It will run March 5th, 6th, and 7th at noon, noon, and 1:00. We schedule a 1:00 start time on Sunday because most of the churches in town hold services at 11:00. The trail will be 15 miles and we are proud to announce a $15,000 purse paying down 10 places.
Last Saturday our local dog mushing group sat around a folding table. Each board member took a turn and shared their thoughts. The community of Dillingham had recently learned that the Chamber of Commerce was almost dissolved, only a few board members remained. Most Dillingham residents could care less about such news if the Chamber didn’t host the annual Beaver Round-Up celebration. Beaver Round-Up is also when we put on the Western Alaska Championship Sled Dog Race. If there was no Beaver Round-Up could there be a dog race? Since we host the dog race, should we also put on the larger event?
Everyone shared their thoughts. We didn’t have the money or the volunteer base to put on the entire Beaver Round-Up. Sometimes it was a struggle pulling off our small 3 day sprint race. None of the board members joined to put on Beaver Round-Up. The vote was almost unanimous. There will be a Beaver Round-Up and we are going to make sure it happens.
That vote was taken 6 days ago, a press release was issued 2 days ago, and we have been overwhelmed with offers to help. We held a community meeting tonight. Some in attendance offered to host certain events while others were just there to say, “What can I do to help?”
So there will be a Beaver Round-Up and the Western Alaska Championship Sled Dog Race will run for the 53rd time. All these things will happen because they always have. It’s our community event and the community will not let it die. I’m a proud local boy tonight.
Alethia wanted to go mushing and wouldn’t let the cold blowing snow deter her. She put on all her gear including her fur gloves and mukluks her uppa made for her. A rabbit hat, neck gator, and an extra coat and she was ready for the weather.
Alethia towing behind the big sled
First we tied her hand made birch sled (also made by her uppa) behind the big sled. That worked well especially considering it was typical bare ground, glare ice, geeing and hawing as we go type mushing. Lots of hanging on and trying to stay upright on the sled.
Alethia and Bernard
Eventually Alethia decided she was ready for her own dog. We took Bernard out of the team and hooked him onto Alethia’s sled. It worked well for a while, but with the absence of a trail it got a little tough for Bernard to keep up with the team. We put Bernard back in the team and tied Alethia’s sled back onto mine for the ride home. All in all, a fun couple hours in our big back yard.
Posted a few video clips of the yearlings on the “Meet Our Working Dogs” page. It takes me 3 or 4 hours to download each clip so I can only do one per evening. Hope you enjoy meeting the youngsters of Nushagak Kennels.
Here’s a full load of wood. The dogs pulled this easily with the exception of one steep hill leading up to and across the road. The dogs almost got it up and over, but couldn’t quite do it. I threw a couple logs off the top, the dogs pulled, the sled crested the hill and crossed the road. Then I stopped to reload the top logs. You’re never stuck with dogs. Sometimes you have to lighten the load, but you’re never truly stuck. When a snow machine stops on a hill or sinks into soft snow, you’re in big trouble. You can unload all the cargo, but the machine will still be stuck. You never have that problem with dogs.
I’ve come to appreciate wood since moving to our house on Waskey Road. Not because it’s holding up the metal roofing keeping the rain off our heads. Because it keeps us warm. A wood stove heats our house. That’s it. If the fire ain’t burnin’, we’re freezin’. Not only does it heat our home, it cooks the dog food (see post on “Dog pot”), and heats our maqi where we wash. We go through it quickly, we always need more of it, and I’m always looking for it.
We’re not trying to make a social statement about fossil fuel consumption (are trees considered renewable energy?), or carving out an independent life like our ancestors did. It’s just that it’s all we got right now. This house is a work in progress. Building in stages is very common up here. The well, septic, and central heating will come in time. Until then, we burn wood.
At first I was kind of excited to burn wood. The dogs and I could haul it, we’d chop it up, and the kids could stack it and earn their keep. We’re doing all those thing, but it takes so damn much time. Seems like all I do is haul wood, cut wood, haul wood, stack wood, haul wood…it never ends. Last week I began to resent being so reliant on wood. Felt like I was chained to it, couldn’t escape.
Jo and the kids are in Anchorage for doctors’ apointments. So I had the weekend to myself and yep, I hauled wood. Even better, the chainsaw is broken so I brought my single bit axe and 30 inch bow saw. We got into the tree patch I’ve been working in and chopped. Then I sawed. Chopped and sawed until the first tree was down and neatly sectioned ready for transport. The entire time I could hear the dogs playing and making small noises that caught my attention. I heard planes overhead, someone shooting at the range, small animals chattered. It was nice. When the chainsaw is running and you’re in the middle of the woods, you don’t hear anything but the chainsaw. The constant roar, BAHHHHHHHH! The axe and saw were different. The chopping axe sent shockwaves that rattled through the trees and the saw was small and quiet. After the first tree was down I looked at my watch. Didn’t take that long and I wasn’t as tired as I thought I would be. Before long I had stacks of logs ready to haul.
My hands, forearms, triceps, and shoulders are more sore than normal, but it was nice out in the woods this weekend. I’m still going to get the chainsaw fixed. It’s a very useful tool. However I did ask Santa for a new 36 inch bow saw with a few new blades for Christmas. Maybe being chained to something isn’t always bad. A couple quiet days in the woods weren’t bad at all. Maybe other things are better done with an axe and bow saw. Maybe sometimes we need to leave the chainsaw at home.
There are a few more dogs for you to meet on the “Meet our Working Dogs” page. I took the video clips at dusk so they’re a little dark. Won’t do that again. Hope you enjoy meeting a few more characters in the cast of Nushagak Kennels.
I described our early puppy socialization practices in an earlier post (Let working dogs work: Can I pet your dog?). Here’s a video clip showing that early socialization. These pups are not quite 24 hours old, but they’re old enough to begin their educations. As you’ll see, it’s not just great way for pups to learn about kids. It’s also an opportunity for kids to learn about pups. Great early training all around!
