There are some tell tale signs that real winter has settled on the land. The biggest being the switch from quad training to sleds. Always a fun switch, and the waiting for enough snow to be able to do so safely can be agonizing. But this year it is over and the fun has begun. Below is a little clip of Dan leaving with the yearlings.
And here we have a clip of our friend Matt leaving with a team from the tour yard. As you can see from the videos we have expanded at Dew Claw and now have an additional yard with a series of pens and a free run area for the younger up and coming race dogs. And the tour yard provides guest with a greater opportunity to directly interact with the dogs. In addition we have heat pens, and a special area for the older dogs we affectionately call Team AARP. But I digress; on to further signs it is really winter.
The birds are being fed daily now, gracing us with their joyful songs. They also take advantage of the bits of straw and scraps of meat a dog yard inevitably produces. Our straw barn was full this fall, but now we are using it regularly to make sure the dogs have dry bedding in their houses. We invested in a larger meat saw (thank you craigslist) set up and our order of 2.5 tons of meat is being used to make the wonderfully meaty cookpots the dogs love.
In addition to all the wonderful familiar signs of winter we are happy to have some new faces joining us. Dew Claw is pleased to welcome a dynamic duo of animal loving ultra runners; Jeff and Jenn. *Seen here hooking up a team for one of their first solo runs, after being here less then a week. I was trying to be sneaky in the trees up the trail taking photos. And yes you heard that right – solo run. With natural athleticism and completely agreeing with the Dew Claw “Dogs First” philosophy they have taken to mushing like a husky. And the whole team is excited to be working with them this winter.
Jenn passed the Thistle approval test with flying colors!
“I’m suspicious of people who don’t like dogs, but I trust a dog when it doesn’t like a person.”
― Bill Murray
Again join all of us in welcoming them to Team Dew Claw. And please also join us in wishing Victoria all the best in her new position at Motley Crew Kennels, you can still find her amazing photography on FB and Instagram. Also fear not, you will not be left with my snap and shoots only, Jeff is a photographer as well (he snapped the adorable shot of Jenn and Thistle above) so we look forward to sharing some of his work. But for now you are stuck with my attempt at action shots as they were leaving for a run today. Might be a bad photo, but you just can not miss the look of happiness 🙂
