January 1, 2005 - Happy New Year! We got a couple inches more snow since last week, and some cold weather blew in. This is nothing out of the ordinary for Montana, but we are not used to it since it has been so warm so far this winter. My main leader Ghost got sore wrists this week from all the pounding on the hard dirt and gravel. The rest of the team is doing well, and Ghost was feeling much better after a couple days off. I have lots of leaders that I am working on, and Ghost has reached the age where he deserves a break from responsibility and the pressures of leading a fast string of dogs. I am letting him cruise along in the middle of the team.
January 8, 2005 - What a cold week this has been.�I only got the team out for three runs.�Next week I will have to start packing in the miles, or we will be way behind in training for the Race To The Sky. However, for the miles that they do have, the team looks really fantastic. They are running hard and fast and finishing strong. I am rotating everyone into lead except my old troopers Fresca, Luna, and Ghost, who do not need any training for lead.
January 15, 2005 - The super cold weather continued all week, and there was sufficient snow on the ground to protect the dogs' feet. We put a lot of miles on this week, and a couple of the dogs actually started to feel a little stiff or sore. Two days off gave them a chance to recover, and they are all still very eager to go.
January 22, 2005 - Wow, what a huge change in the weather. I was hoping for a bit of a warming trend, but instead the temperature shot way up above freezing, and all our snow melted in just two days. Now we are struggling with worn down foot pads because of the hard gravel.
January 29, 2005 - We have gotten the word that the Race To The Sky has been cancelled due to lack of snow. I am going to let the racing dogs rest so that all their foot pads can heal up. Next week I will start training some of the younger dogs again. This is a very disappointing end to our season.
February 5, 2005 - This week I made sure to get all of the yearlings out for a run in harness. I am running small teams of eight dogs and working on getting every dog comfortable in harness. On each run I try one youngster in lead for the second half of the run. Some of them take to it right off, and some need a little more time and training to learn the job.
February 22, 2005 - Tomorrow I will be flying to Ohio to spend three weeks with my parents. My father is recovering from a mild stroke, and I will be teaching his classes in Physics, Calculus, and Astronomy at Antioch College. It is very hard for me to leave my dogs, but I am looking forward to seeing my relatives and being in the academic world for a while.
March 16, 2005 - I am back home in Montana. I really enjoyed teaching again, but I also missed my dogs. Dad is able to go back to work, so I am not needed there anymore, but I am needed at home to train dogs and take care of puppies. Holly�s puppies are getting big and need lots of exercise and play time. They will be ready for harness training soon.
March 26, 2005 - Today we went to look at some property in Island Park, Idaho. It is just across the border from West Yellowstone, Montana, in deep snow country. We are looking for a place that will offer better training conditions for our sled dogs than our current location in Three Forks. The property we looked at has a small log cabin on five acres of land with excellent trail access.
April 9, 2005 - We have received an offer to buy our land here in Three Forks, so we decided to go ahead and make an offer on the property that we looked at in Island Park.
April 12, 2005 - Holly�s puppies were given their first run in harness. All five of them did really great. They were totally focused on running with no goofing or playing or tangling. These guys are going to be a lot of fun to work with.
April 18, 2005 - We are going to be buying the property in Island Park! Now we just have to get the closing dates scheduled on both properties so that we can start moving. We have until the end of June to finish moving off our current property. We are very excited about having a real house to live in and good trails to run the dogs on.
April 29, 2005 - Today Cloves gave birth to two puppies. The first born was a black and tan boy, and the second born was a golden brown and white girl. The father is Ricky, a purebred Siberian. The mating happened while I was away in Ohio.
May 7, 2005 - We went down to Idaho this week to take a second look at our new property. We are excited and hope to be allowed to start moving in soon. There was still some snow there, but a large part of the yard was bare. Back here in Three Forks, the meadowlarks, bluebirds, robins, and other birds are particularly profuse this spring. We have decided to name the two puppies Meadowlark and Robin.
May 14, 2005 - Not much to report this week. It rained all week, so I did not run any dogs. While it may sometimes be necessary to run in the rain, it can result in mud getting kicked up into the dogs eyes, putting them at risk for eye infections. This is a relaxed time of year when we focus on training rather than conditioning, so the big dogs all got the week off, and I spent more time cuddling our two little puppies whose eyes have just opened.
June 3, 2005 - The puppies went for their first walk today. They were very happy campers and did not want the walk to end. They are eating small amounts of solid food now as well as continuing to nurse some.
July 26, 2005 - Whew, it has taken me a long time to be able to get back to the diary! We have made our move, and all the dogs are now on our new place in Island Park, Idaho. I had to get a new computer as the old one broke right after the move. There is lots more to be done, and lots of unpacking ahead of me yet. One of my best young dogs, Carbon, passed away from pleuritis and pneumonia despite the vet's best efforts. So, lots of highs and lows with this move.