Waiting for Freeze Up

It’s winter. It’s not. It’s winter. It’s not. As some dog mushing outfits begin to enjoy snow and sled travel, we are still waiting. Two Rivers has been tucked perfectly between ‘Winter Storm Warnings’ for weeks. To the north of us – in the Brooks Range and far
ther up – it is winter; and to the south of us – in the Alaska Range – the snow has been falling in heaps. Here we sit… STUCK IN THE MIDDLE. Regardless, we are getting lots of Pre-Winter projects complete. That’s the plus.

Earlier this week we had a long day of dozing the yard. We rented a tractor with a box blade, moved every dog house and every dog, and smoothed out the entire area. The dog houses were pressure washed and scrubbed of any old straw or bedding. New name plates are in the works.

As anyone who has a curious canine knows… dogs love to dig. Digging is an SP Kennel summertime passion. Every year, just prior to freeze up, in order to limit the number of human twisted knees or broken ankles, we fill in all this wonderful dog landscaping. No more: holes, ditches, bath tubs, canals or treasure spots.

The challenge now is that we now must wait for freeze up before we return the dogs to their homes. Why put Peach back when we know that she is going to try to dig to China or beyond? (We did tell Peach about the current state of affairs in Hong Kong and China, so she now has her sights on North Korea. We never said Peach was smart!) Anyhow, in order to stop the digging all together we have not moved anyone back home.

So… where are the dogs?

As SP Kennel fans know, we have plenty of pens, the Dog Barn, and random spots here and there. So in other words… they are scattered. Gravy and Sanka are spending the week together. That’s a ying/yang duo as they skip and run around the front play pen. Bruno and QT are in the dog room… chilling out next to a half a ton of dog kibble. Burp. Scooby and Cayenne are doing laps around the pen in the ‘back 40’. Scooby is 5 to 1 on Cayenne by now. Chipper and Jefe were in a play pen together but Chipper’s ridiculous circling gave Jefe a migraine. Now Jefe is with Junior in another pen and Chipper is alone. (Please don’t feel sorry for her.) Champ moved into where Jefe was. Dutch and Violet run in harness during the day and play all night in the platform pen. Their wrestling matches are entertainment for the everyone. Mismo was with Junior but he wanted the couch, so that’s when Jefe moved in. Kodiak is by himself. He likes himself. Clyde, Chevie, Perky, Commando and Gold are in the dog barn. Decaf and Spark live on a wooden platform all the time and now they are joined by Amber and Cloud. Yay playmates! Bill and Wu are having tons of fun with their temporary platform buddies: Bronze and Nomex. Driver and Iron are in the back of the yard, near the forest. They bark at rabbits, grouse and other forest critters all day. Five and Razz are up near the house and go in and out of the basement to try and keep their paws dry. Rodney… poor Rodney. He is so hyper that we move him almost daily in order to keep the mud at bay. It hasn’t worked yet. Olivia and Nacho are in the Plaza. ❤️ It will freeze sometime and everyone will go home.

Thanks to the SP Kennel muddy mess crew: Doug, Karolyn, MaryBeth, Tom, Cindy and Padee!

Here is the “Muddy Mess” video. Allen proves that even if you haven’t lived in Arkansas for 30 years… you can still drive a tractor: