Goodbye, Winter

Last weekend was our last weekend on the trails. The snow was already getting poor on Sunday, turning to slush in the daytime and then solid ice at night, leaving a slick crust in the morning. Over that slick ice, I have no breaking ability in my skis!

But I'm glad that winter had one last hurrah, and we were able to ski a bit more after that last warm spell.

Saturday was cool and overcast. We went down to the pond where I did the snow studies for my graduate work. I used to go there with Autumn and Linden pretty frequently.

My last cup of tea before heading out!


Look at these schweeties! They stand there so patiently while I am prepping to get out the door. They don't jump up and down and howl, the way they would at the start of a race!


Made it to the old pond!


Look how nicely Thistle holds out her line when we stop for anything. She is a true leader--a veteran of multiple Iditarods, multiple Yukon Quests, and of course many 100-300 milers. Autumn and Starbuck-A-Roo were also leaders, and you can see the commonalities in their bearing and habits, even though their personalities are quite different. They are never in a hurry and always thoughtful and analytical.

Cricket, in contrast, is impatient and easily distracted:


The hay field was looking very mysterious in the flat light:


Once again, Thistle holds her line taut, Cricket wanders around and screams. :D


That night, the clouds cleared away, and Sunday was bright and sunny! The glacier on the shed roof, which had hung on all the previous day:

came crashing down!

The girls and I headed back down to the pond. They were Very Good Girls, and held a Very Reasonable Pace the whole time. Cricket is a speed demon. When I used to skijor with her alone, I had to bend very low and snowplow very hard and remind her to slow down the whole time. I developed a chant. "Easy, easy, slow and easy. Easy, easy, slow and easy. Easy, easy, slow and easy." If I stayed quiet for a bit, she'd take that as permission to speed up again! When we got Thistle, Cricket yielded control to her, and Thistle never goes faster than I am comfortable with. A true leader!

It was so warm that when I stopped to pee, Thistle laid down and panted.


This trail to the old pond has gotten wider and wider. I'm not sure why. It connects to a larger trail system, and you can go all the way to Nenana and beyond, but I'm not sure what's changed.

And here we are at the pond:


It's easier to turn them around on a pond!


They even went at a Very Reasonable Pace going home! Going home is usually a dash. Dogs just love to race home!

I'm in awe of this sweet girl.


She reminds me a bit of Autumn, and I hope I have not smothered her too much. I love her as if she had been with us all along, but from her perspective, she just got plucked from the only home she had ever known, moved to a strange house (although seeing her old teammate Cricket must have been a comfort), and then informed that she was Home and Loved and she was the Best Dog Ever, and that we Loved her to Bits. I mean, maybe we moved too fast? :D