And other random thoughts from a full day at Dew Claw as thought by me – Jodi
Watching the Take Out litter you can see visually they are growing every day; I am betting they will open their tiny eyes for the first time tomorrow. And as I sit for there enchanted by them my mind often wonders what goes on in the mind of a tiny puppy, too small to see or walk.
They grunt and squirm as they sleep, wiggle and grumble as they nurse, and when you rub their tiny soft bellies just right they shake a leg just like an adult dog enjoying a good scratch. Oh how I wish I could get a glimpse inside that growing puppy brain. Instead I just snuggle with them and hold them close and have my own day dreams about what the future holds for these pups.
In addition to my daily doting on the Take Out Litter I spent some time with the Psychopaths, who are starting to learn what sled dog life is all about.
My how they have grown!! They have progressed from short walks around the leader trails at the kennel, to longer hikes on the near-by trails. As they got faster and more confidant they graduated to free running with the snowmachine. And just this very week they have made the big step up and are chasing teams on short runs. The Psychopaths free running with the team is useful for both the puppies and the team. They get to run along and see how things work when we are on the trail, and the team dogs get practice ignoring distractions, win win. And I have to wonder what they think about all this new action. If the excitement level in the yard when the team takes off with 6 puppies giving chase is any indication I think they are loving it.
Currently they are living in our puppy /retired dog pen. close to the house, but not a high enough fence for a fully active Alaskan Husky. So it is home to older dogs who are content to hang out, and puppies who are too small to get out. Looks like the Psychopaths will be growing out of this pen sometime soon. You can see how big there are here all lined up along the fence in this photo I took after their morning walk.
And then my thoughts also wandered off to the birds.
We have really enjoyed feeding the birds this winter, and our efforts have not gone unnoticed. Today as I was filling the feeders with the black oil sunflower seeds that are a favorite of local birds I got the feeling I was being watched. I poured the seed into the feeder and sat quietly next to it, as the trees around me started filling with the feathered locals, chickadees mostly, a pair of grosbeaks, and the opportunistic camp robber. I swear they were watching me waiting for me to leave so they could all swoop in. I stood quiet and still for what seemed like an extraordinarily long time as they birds got more vocal, I could imagine them all twittering away, “why is she still here, when is she leaving?” and I stayed. The chorus grew and they subsided a bit as some of the braver birds began to come closer in spite of me. Again after what appeared to be a huge amount of me staying still, one swooped in and landed on the feeder stealing a seed. After 5 or more minutes another. But I got the feeling I was still cramping their style, so I backed off and used the zoom lenses to get some photos of our feathered friends happily chowing down without my presence to stifle the fun.
I had the privileged of hand feeding birds at the camp of esteemed Alaska Native elder Howard Luke. And I am thinking with time and patience maybe I can earn the trust of our local songbirds. At the very least it will be a fine opportunity to observe the birds up close, and who knows maybe sometime in the future I will be hand feeding Dew Claw birds.
So there are some of the rambling thoughts (and accompanying photographs) from yesterday’s adventures.
We also got every dog in the yard out today, which is always a good day! And then every dog got their house cleaned out and brand new straw. And even with posting this blog it looks like I will be asleep before 11 PM, relatively early for me on a busy day. So let me sign off and leave you with my final thought for today…
