Wolf Moon Dogsledding

Location: Finland, MN
Time - 9:29pm
Temperature: 55 degrees F
Conditions: Partly cloudy, cooler
Forecast: Clear tonight, lows in the 40s. Clear tomorrow, highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s

Here are some pictures from Day 3 of the trip up here.

And here is Calypso trying to get her kennel mate, Nemo, to play.

Location: Finland, MN
Time - 9:03pm
Temperature: 63 degrees
Conditions: Clear, slight breeze
Forecast: Clear tonight and tomorrow. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s

Ah yes, this is more like it. Dogs, lots of dogs. Cooler weather. Northern forests. Dogs. Wilderness. Dogs and did I mention dogs?

Arrived here on Monday and am starting to get settled in. Calypso has been kenneled with a dog named Nemo and they are getting along very well. Puppies are great fun and the older dogs at the kennel are going on short runs.

More coming soon - including pictures from day 3 of the trip and of life at the kennel.

Location: Black River Falls, WI
Time: 6:58am
Temperature: 43 degrees F
Conditions: Mostly clear, damp
Forecast: Mostly sunny today, chance of thundershowers tomorrow. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s

A few pics from our trip through Illinois and Wisconsin

Location: Salem, IL
Time - 6:37am
Temperature: 65 degrees F
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Forecast: Partly cloudy today, sunny tomorrow. Highs in the 80s, lows in the 50s

Well, we are on our way. Yesterday went fairly well, with Calypso riding in the crate without fussing much (see picture).

We stopped along the way to visit with some mushing friends. It was really great to see them!

A funny thing happened when we arrived at the hotel last night. We turned on the TV and there were a bunch of Sibes pulling at ATV! Apparently it was an episode of the Animal Planet series “It’s Me Or The Dog.” Cool!

Location: Northwest GA
Time - 9:54pm
Temperature: 74 degrees F
Conditions: Clear, cooler. Wet
Forecast: Mostly clear tonight and tomorrow. Highs in the upper 80s, lows in the 60s

It rained today and it was wonderful. Everything cooled down nicely. Perhaps I shall go for a run tomorrow if I have time.

My upcoming move is in the forefront of my mind right now. So much to do and so little time to do it all…

But I’m not panicking yet.

In other great news, I am officially in the 2009 Beargrease 150. Here are the list of entrants (so far!) for the 2009 Beargrease marathon and 150 (the marathon entries are listed first, then the mid-distance - 150 entrants).

From: http://www.beargrease.com/race/registrationlistmarathon.htm

From: http://www.beargrease.com/race/registrationlistmid.htm

Location: Northwest GA
Time - 10:01pm
Temperature: 85 degrees F
Conditions: Clear, warm
Forecast: Partly cloudy tonight, chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. Lows in the 70s, highs in the 90s

So I have started packing for my move to Minnesota…and it’s been busy. As you can see from the above photo, I’ve been sorting through my sled dog equip (and that’s only part of it in the picture).

The ganglines, harnesses, etc. are not the only things I’ve been going through. See below for an equally important category - my CDs!

Location: Northwest GA
Time - 10:28pm
Temperature: 86 degrees F
Conditions: Mostly clear, warm
Forecast: Mostly clear tonight and tomorrow. Humid. Lows in the 70s, highs in the upper 90s

It is SO hot here. I’ve been sleeping with my window open most nights but not tonight. It’s just too darn hot.

Here is a newspaper article on the conference at the Chattanooga Nature Center last week. This is off-topic for this blog but I feel it’s worth mentioning as it’s another side of my life that I don’t usually write about here.

From: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/aug/01/chattanooga-experts-heed-call-red-wolves/

Friday, Aug. 1, 2008 , 12:00 a.m.

Chattanooga: Experts heed call of red wolves

 

 

By: Tom Faure
(Contact)

Only 300 red wolves are left in the world, according to estimates, and 10 of them live in Chattanooga, which explains why about 25 conservationists have come to town in the past couple of days.

The Chattanooga Nature Center on Thursday hosted a Red Wolf Species Survival Plan conference, bringing representatives from about 20 of the 40 red wolf facilities in the country. The two-day conference, making its first trip to Chattanooga, is focusing on methods to ensure the survival of the species, which Nature Center Wildlife curator Tish Gailmard said is one of the most endangered animals in the world. Of the slightly more than 300 red wolves in the world, all are located in North America, she said.

“It’s really a great opportunity for the other co-operators to see our enclosures and see how we do things here,” she said. “It’s also a great opportunity to show off our beautiful property and to show off Chattanooga.”

At the conference today, attendees will map out breeding pairs for the next year, she said.

Red wolves usually stand about 15 inches tall, are about 5 feet long and weigh 40 to 80 pounds.

“They’re larger than a coyote, smaller than a gray wolf,” she said. “They do have a lot of tan and black and a lot of red markings. They’re red on the backs of their ears and on their haunches.”

Ms. Gailmard said red wolves once were native to the region.

The Nature Center also houses red-tailed hawks, snakes, turtles and 50 or so other animals, she said.

The 29-year-old center has worked since 1996 with the Survival Plan, overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. About 100 of the red wolves, or “apex predators” as Ms. Gailmard called them, are in the wild, with many in North Carolina at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, located on the Atlantic Coast near Nags Head.

“Considering the grave challenges red wolves faced when first listed as endangered in 1967, efforts to restore, recover and conserve them have been remarkably successful,” according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2007 report. The population has grown from 14 in the 1970s to a captive population of 208 and a restored wild population of up to 130, the report said.

“The red wolf was pulled back from the brink of extinction and given a fighting chance for survival,” the report said.

Five pups were born at the Chattanooga Nature Center last year, the offspring of a 6-year-old male and 5-year-old female who came to the center at the end of 2006. The Nature Center also has a 15-year-old male, a 14-year-old male and a 14-year-old female, all quite old for red wolves, whose lifespans are about 12 years in captivity and seven to eight years in the wild.

Ms. Gailmard said conservationists have only two weeks after a pup is born before they must decide whether to release them into the wild or keep them in captivity for life.

“What’s really great is when the captive population produces some pups, and we can foster them into the wild, and then we’re introducing the captive blood line into the wild blood line,” Ms. Gailmard said. “That makes the whole bloodline stronger, which is what the whole goal is.”

Keeping red wolves in captivity is important to help the species grow, Ms. Gailmard said, and those who’ve come to the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan hope to expand on early successes in fostering captive-born pups back into the wild. The facilities monitor the wolves closely, tracking their genealogies to diversify breeding as much as possible, she said.

“We’re trying to prevent in-breeding and increase the genetic diversity,” she said. “We’re trying to make stronger genes.”

All in all it was a good conference. Below is one of my pictures.

                                             
From left, Jenny Nicely (CNC assistant wildlife curator), Will Waddell (coordinator of the Red Wolf Species Survival Plan), Tish Gailmard (CNC wildlife curator), me (CNC wildlife docent), Hope Howard (CNC staff member*).

I am going to miss the Nature Center - it’s been a big part of my life for the last few years and I am thankful to have been a part of so much that has happened there. Thanks to all of you for everything you have done!

*I’ll look up her official title tomorrow when I can think properly

Location: Northwest GA
Time - 1:35am
Temperature: 72 degrees F
Conditions: Partly cloudy, wet
Forecast: Mostly clear with a chance of storms today, sunny tomorrow. Lows in the 70s, highs in the 90s. Heat index of 103

Well, in case you’re wondering what I’m doing up at such a ridiculous hour, I just registered for the 2009 Beargrease 150 and I hope to goodness I did it right…They asked for random stuff - the usual, like name, address, etc. and then for stuff like boot size. Boot size. Yeah.

So here’s to hoping all is well with my entry and here’s to another 5 hours of sleep before I have to get up and go to the second day of a 2-day conference at the Chattanooga Nature Center (more on this soon).

Location: Northwest GA
Time - 6:49pm
Temperature: 89 degrees F
Conditions: Cloudy, hot, humid
Forecast: Chance of thunderstorms today and tomorrow. Highs in the 90s, lows in the 70s

Well, since it is just too darn hot right now, how about some cool pics? I’ve been getting ready for my move to Minnesota next month (wow, is it really that soon?) and I was looking through some of my old pictures from upstate New York in March 2002.

That was when I traveled farther North than I had ever been - to Redfield, NY and the Tug Hill plateau. I had been doing some cart a minor sled work with Aspen back home but I had never really done any “real” mushing until I went to that area of New York between the Adirondacks and Lake Ontario. Here are some pictures from then.

The Tug Hill Plateau gets feet of lake effect snow off Lake Ontario. As an example, the below picture was taken in the exact same location only two days after the above picture was taken.

Snowshoeing in a snowstorm.

Me and Yogi (black dog) at Lake Effect Sled Dog Kennel

Larry Obrist, owner of Lake Effect Kennel, with a doggy friend

A dog runs free through the kennel

Me running my 3-dog team around what I called Dead Man’s Curve (actually tame compared to things I have experienced since then).

Running the dogs through the upstate New York wilds was a wonderful experience and I took so much away from it. I knew then that this really WAS what I wanted to do. To be out on the trail with huskies.

Location: Northwest GA
Time - 4:10
Temperature: 80 degrees F
Conditions: Partly cloudy, mildly humid
Forecast: Chance of thunderstorms today and tomorrow. Highs in the upper 80s, lows in the 60s

Just to PROVE the temperature (this is cool for GA in July)

Calypso running up the road, pulling me and the scooter.

The dried-up creek bed.

A sign of Fall? More likely a sign of how dry it’s been up until the past few days.

I got a new collar for Calypso! It’s from Black Ice and is not one of the slip collars so I feel comfortable letting her wear it all the time.

Calypso sporting her new collar