Follow our quest for a more simple lifestyle living off grid in the remote north woods of Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, working with traditional sled dogs.
White line reminders of early winter when Neil sunk an ax in the ice to check the depth. One penetration of the ax into the ice sent a chain reaction of cracking all across the lake. This then allowed water to seep up through the cracks creating a different surface color at the cracks as the water flowed over the existing ice.
Ice pulling away from the shore
I can't believe it. Here it is, not even April, and the ice is almost off the lake. I do know that if we have no snow in March this year we will beat a record on the books from the late 1800s. What is going on here?
The sled dogs appear to be anxious to start a new season. They could use a rest from all of our winter activities, as can the mushers. Spring is here!
Today, on Oake Lake, it sounded as if we were on the northshore with all of the seagulls squawking. Eight Hooded Mergansers were spotted paddling along the shoreline where the ice no longer exists; a male/female pair and a five male/1 female group. I love this time of year on Oake Lake!
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, our friend, the Blue Heron came gliding past the window, hesitantly landing on the shore then taking off again as if to say, "Wait, this is just way too soon. This can't be right. I'd better check the memo again."
Large white and gray birds, yet to be identified and possibly in the Kite or Tern family, flew by one by one, looking down upon the lake. A red tailed hawk glided quickly by the window and landed in the shag bark Silver Maple Tree.
Last year's Minnesota Honey Producers Association State Fair booth
Selling not only honey but honey lemonade and honey ice cream!
Did I forget to mention honey candy?
Since the dogs are only able to provide partial financial support for their mushers and our lifestyle, we must do other things to bring money into the pot. While Neil is back in England for a few weeks working in his business, as an "Operating Theatre Practitioner", I continue to do Real Estate Appraisals and handcraft Scent from Nature; 100% Pure Beeswax Candles. This year, however, I will be adding something new! (Hey, I thought this blog was about a quest for a more simple lifestyle?! Well, it is. And in this "quest" one must do what they have to do to be set up for the desired future. This doesn't always mean it will be easy or simple. But it sure makes for a fun and interesting journey!)
I've got a background in and experience with honey bees as well as business so I thought I would combine the two. The Minnesota Honey Producers Association had a need for a manager for their Minnesota State Fair Honey Booth and I submitted a proposal that was accepted! This is their annual fundraiser where honey and other items containing bee products produced by their members is sold. What fun! The Minnesota State Fair runs from August 26th - September 6th. We'll be looking for bee products produced by members of the organization so join if you make these products and would like to take part and aren't a member already AND we are also looking for individuals who would like to work at the booth selling those items! You don't have to be a member to work the booth. You just need to be reliable, willing to learn all you can about honey and share that with our customers and then sell, sell, sell!
The 12 days of the fair will be very fast paced. Thankfully, Neil will be here to take turns feeding and exercising the dogs as they are a #1 priority, of course. He may also take on a volunteer shift or two at the fair. You can't live in Minnesota or visit Minnesota during the summer without going to the State Fair!
We had a chance to spend last week with family as my parents and nephew made the 16 hour drive from Arkansas for a visit. Blueberry had put up with the pestering by Wimzi too long, now it was Andy's turn to take over! He kept the house dogs, including Wimzi, fully entertained playing with toys and fetching the ball for hours on end.
There were many things to do in the dog yard and Andy was very helpful keeping the dogs occupied while I raked straw from their kennels and carrying water buckets to each kennel as the water line in the dog yard is still frozen. A long hose attached to a spigot at the house runs to only one kennel. From there, the water buckets are filled and distributed. I assured him that the next time he visits, he will have had enough experience moving those water buckets that he might be able to spare the entire front of his pants becoming soaked with water. Lift out and away from the body as you walk.
Mollie, the family Sheltie, came along for a vacation as well. She and Tuloon didn't hit if off very well. Each would lift a lip at the other as they walked by. At one point, a noise was heard while all of the "house" dogs were outside. A quick investigation revealed Tuloon laying on top of Mollie, making absolutely no contact with her mouth. It was obvious that she didn't want to hurt the 10 year old Sheltie, but she certainly wanted to dominate her. Mollie (and all of the people) didn't need the stress of managing these two and their personality conflict so Tuloon got to spend the remainder of their visit in the dog yard with the other sled dogs.
While our visitors were here, spring wildlife began to show itself and we were graced by the presence of a Bald Eagle that landed on the ice directly in front of the house. No doubt it was investigating the status of the ice break-up as it anxiously awaited fishing season. Knowing that it was looking for food, I quickly ran outside to bring the puppy and little house dogs inside before continuing to enjoy its presence. No little dog snacks for you! The very next day, a weasel was seen romping along the shoreline on the ice where the Eagle had been. A comedy show commenced as a red-winged black bird, which had just announced himself two weeks ago on Oake Lake, pecked the unsuspecting weasel in the hind quarters, sending it straight up in the air then straight into a hole in the ice to seek refuge. Moments later, up it popped from the icy waters and continued its stroll along the lake, maybe a bit more cautiously than before.
Wimzi is 8 weeks old today. She has turned Blueberry into her permanent play thing. Fortunately, mild mannered Blue is beginning to set some boundaries and is not getting walked all over as he did previously. She is sooooo persistent!
At 8 weeks old, Wimzi weighs 16lbs. This is the same weight as Topa, one of the Tuloon/McKenzie pups, was at this age. Topa is now 9 months old and the tallest female in our kennel. She weighs roughly 60lbs.
Wimzi loves to latch on to Blueberry's wispy tail.
Playtime
Blueberry with a look on his face we've never seen! He's finally defending himself.
We are happy to announce that we now have a place to post all of our fall and winter event photos, our back yard photo shoots of the dogs and all of our puppy photos so everyone can enjoy them! We can't possibly post all of them on our blog so please visit our Photo Albums page!
At 49 days old is the best time to do a puppy personality profile test. Per Gail Tamasas and Wendy Volhard who wrote the document on the specifics of testing procedures, scoring and interpretation of the results of PAT, at 49 days old, EEGs demonstrate that puppies have the brain waves of an adult dog but are as yet minimally affected by experience and learning. They go on to say that while they have learned to use the inherited behaviors which make them dogs, they have not yet had a range of experiences to influence the test results so we are able to test a virtually clean slate.
At 49 days, the tests will reveal the raw material of the puppy's individual temperament. Thereafter, environmental experiences may influence a puppy's responses and we can't be certain we are getting a true reading of his behavioral tendencies.
Although we do believe this puppy testing is a good indicator of the temperament of a pup, we don't do this test to pigeon hole certain dogs and make assumptions about them, we do it to gather information about how to better teach the dog to reach its full potential and to place this pup in the most appropriate home, if we ever intend to place a pup. Along with this test is an old school leader test that should be given to pups at the same age. When collars and leashes are placed on pups for the first and the tester simply walks away from the pup holding the leash, the puppy's response is graded on a 1-4 with a 1 being full leader potential all the way down to a 4 which means, according to the test, that the dog will never make it as a leader or even a contributing member of the team.
I love to tell the story of one of our leaders, Zala. Zala is now 2 year old and tested as a group 4 puppy. When the leash was tightened as the tester moved forward, Zala just sat and refused to move. After several attempts, Zala still would not move. Having this information only changed the way we interacted with and trained Zala. After two years of training, this winter, Zala spent the majority of her time up in lead with a copilot and did quite the awesome job.
Just because someone or something, in this case the test, tells you something can't be done. Don't just accept it and give up on whatever it is, be it a dog, a person, a task or a dream. Do whatever you can to make some changes and try some new strategies in order accomplish the end result you want.
Now on to the Wimzi and Sascha test results! Our friend Shilon of Black Ice Dog Sledding has tested several of our litters over the years and her input has helped us to create the ideal kennel for us. Again, she agreed to provide input on Wimzi and Sascha.
Both girls tested as Group 1+ puppies in the leader test and they both scored mainly twos and threes in the Puppy Personality Profile test which means that they are both self confident and have the boldness and assurance that will make them excellent working dogs. We just don't take these results and let it ride, hoping they will then just be able to train themselves. Self confident dogs need to have a strong bond with their human in order to respect them and then therefore do things for them. The self confident dog also needs to be eager- to- please otherwise you could end up with a dog up front in your team that doesn't care which way you want to go because they have plans! Self confident dogs need to be challenged in different ways through obedience training, agility and canicross hiking which will all help build that special bond between canine and human.
Stay tuned in years to come for updates on how these two little girls progress!
White line reminders of early winter when Neil sunk an ax in the ice to check the depth. One penetration of the ax into the ice sent a chain reaction of cracking all across the lake. This then allowed water to seep up through the cracks creating a different surface color at the cracks as the water flowed over the existing ice.
Ice pulling away from the shore
