Cold Snap!

     Whew!  What a crazy year this has been and we are not even out the first month.  All FOUR of our vehicles quit running after the first of the year, the repair bills and the vet bills from Shelby are killing any surplus funds we managed to save last year, and we didn't even get to enjoy the first snow with our sled due to all the vehicle drama.  My Jeep is slowly being repaired after its accident last February, but it's a slow process because apparently I know how to wreck them.  We replaced three damaged fenders thanks to a local body shop guy.  Then with the help of friends, we replaced both axles, all four rotors, rear brake pads, the fuel pump, front and rear lights, front header panel, rear axle bearings and hubs, and the front shock absorbers.  In addition to all that, we still need to adjust the steering wheel so that straight is actually straight.  One would think that this would get a vehicle up and running for us, but no, of course not! Now, after all this, the Jeep develops a vacuum leak somewhere in the throttle body.  Crazy times to be sure!
     Needless to say we have been busy trying to keep up with life's drama and still have enough of ourselves left over to give to the dogs.  Sarge has been taking time off to recoup from a busy trial season, but now he's restless and rearing to go already for his next season starting in April.  Tundra has moved up from wheel into lead again until I can find another lead dog to run with Revvy.  Tundra's husky ADD is making things interesting and running next to a young pup just increases those "OOOO SQUIRREL" moments.  Mac is settling into wheel and his strength and work attitude are truly a thing of beauty.  Our old team member, Kamrie, has returned to the main team in wheel to show the young pup a thing or two about his new job.  Turning on a dime is no longer a problem and I have the scrapes and bruises to prove it! :)  Despite the circumstances we found ourselves in for November, we went out to the Dryland Challenge in Kirtland and ran some practice runs with the dogs both days after the competitors had raced.  Originally we had planned to race ourselves, but the young, upcoming team wasn't ready without an experienced lead in the front and our hearts wouldn't have been in it.

    This morning was probably the first morning in a couple of years I had to put on almost as much gear to take out the dogs as I do for a full day of trail running with them.  BRRR!! It was certainly cold enough to even make our hardened huskies stand at the door and whine to come back in.  At last check we were running at six degrees farenheit, which is not something we've seen in Ohio in quite some time.  It was definitely a shock to the system to get out from underneath warm covers and walk outside into the frigid air.  However, we have our paws crossed that hopefully this cold will bring some snow in and recover the trails.  Maybe, just maybe, the rolling paperweight that is our truck might be able to get us down the trails and back without breaking down.

Mush on!
SilverStar Kennels