The Bequest

We dress in the fabric of the people around us
Checkered prints of smiles and humor, caring
Gifts, not heavy, yet hard to hold
Then they are gone, the absence surreal

Denied our eyes, our ears,
We reach through memory
For a familiar laugh, smile, or touch
Like grasping for mist that cannot be held

The evening breeze, cool, shifting shape
Touches us as if someone is there
Yet a glance yields only gray quiet
We cannot touch, but still know

No estate to bequeath, just a smile,
Never mine, never yours,
Make a place for it, as if coaxing a bird to sit on your palm
That it will not dissipate like morning fog
Make a place for it, as they made a place
So it will stay

© Maria Amodei 2015

Spring

Scent is such a powerful sense, able to immerse our minds and emotions completely into the world around us. Whether it be the summer rose, wet autumn leaves, wood smoke telling of warmth on a cold winter day, or the olfactory crescendo of three months of cryogenically preserved urine and manure released as the true harbinger of spring.

Not so Fast

Ike got to run in the team today.  He was pretty good, distraction level age appropriate for a 9 month old. "Ooh, what's that!" 

The conditions were very fast, snow well packed and a bit slick under the runners though the dogs clearly had good traction.  I did a short run, which should have been simple as well.  Should have been.  There's one sharp left from an uphill section, with the trail immediately dropping fast from the turn, perfect recipe for the sled to get pulled into the turn too soon, cutting the trail and hitting the tree.  All turns have trees on the inside of the corner.  You notice these things when driving a dog sled.  You begin to have a personal relationship with the trees, assigning them personalities, and malice.  They want you. 

As usual the corner was too tight so I stopped the dogs to pull the sled out wider.  I noticed Ike had his tug line under his hind legs so I took a moment to fix his line, and another moment to get Jag back on the left as he’d crossed the gang line avoiding the tree himself.  I walked back toward the sled and someone bolted, so they all bolted.  I bellowed a LIE DOWN that could be heard in two counties.  Now going down a steep hill the sled ran into the wheel dogs.  I quickly pulled the sled back, set the hook, and put Levi (wheel dog) back in his collar which he’d slipped evading the renegade sled.  We were perched at the top of a steep and winding downhill trail.  Usually a very fun section to run, but I had 6 dogs on fast trail and the delays were percolating their little brains like a pressure cooker.  Today was looking like my day to die.   

The next quarter mile was brutal.  I’m still hoarse.  Every time I subtly indicated they could resume travel they hurled themselves forward in a run for the roses.  The turns were one on top of the other, always with that patient tree on the inside, waiting for you like a spider with a baseball bat.  I could not just ride the brakes as the more tension on the gang line the more tightly the sled is drawn into the turn.  You have to let it slide a bit to get yourself forward past the vertex before the dogs pull you around.  We ended up stopping some 50 times, bolt stop bolt stop, sometimes I only let them go 5 feet.  My poor wheel dogs, closer to the emotional volcano, were trying hard to moderate themselves.  Finally both slipped their collars rather than be dragged forward while I was commanding them otherwise.  I’m pretty sure the major sources of my stuck throttle were Chord in lead, oblivious Ike in the next pair, and Marcus in lead, in that order.   

Finally the trail leveled and straightened a bit so I could let them run.  Free to go they settled nicely though we finished the short run at quite a good clip.  All in all it was a wonderful run, with a brief, jumbled and miserable section in the middle.  If I run that trail with 6 dogs again on fast conditions I’m going the other direction so we go uphill through those turns!

7 Stages of Winter

1. SNOW, SNOW! Look it’s beautiful!
2. More snow, great! We’re getting a good base down so we can go out and play on the trails.
3. Look at the snow in the trees, just lovely. I think I’ll take a break from shoveling to look at the snow in the trees.
4. Wow, more snow. Certainly a banner year for snow. After clearing the drive and gates I’ll take some ibuprofen and go out and have fun in the snow....
5. Well we certainly are getting a great base. Drive cleared again. Not sure where I’ll put the next batch of snow as the banks are over my head.
6. This last storm was certainly more than we needed. The snow thrower is throwing snow up the banks then it rolls back down onto the drive.
7. Oh f@*k it’s snowing.

Vindication

The dogs were vindicated today. For years they have been trying to tell me that sheep need a Border Collie to drive them to feed. Today it was true. The hay trailer was empty. I'd opened another trailer over a small hill through deep and heavy snow. Today the sheep needed a Border Collie to drive them to feed.

Let it Snow

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the hay is so delightful
The sheep have no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

The harnesses all are drying
While the dogs do dream of flying
Down white trails they yearn to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

When we finally plow our drives,
Shovel gates and walkways clear
Then the snow is a lovely sight
Calling us out to play and good cheer.

Now the blizzard is far from dying
And my dear, the snow is flying
As long as we love life so
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
 

iPhone Swan Dive

My new GorillaPod arrived yesterday, with the new-fangled iPhone attachment.  I used a Glif with my previous GorillaPod to attach the iPhone.  The combination worked well, but I think I dropped them out of the van at a trailhead this fall.  These devices allow you to attach an iPhone to almost anything, like a dog sled.  Since the GoPro won’t be here for a week, I decided to video today’s run with the iPhone.  I quickly determined that the new attachment was not sufficiently durable to hold the phone in position, and then it dropped the phone entirely.  Poor Mr. Phone took a dive in the snow.  I waited till he cleared the back of the sled before tromping on the brake and risking annihilating him.  The dogs were not inclined to stop as we’d just gotten going. 

 4.9 miles today.  I was on the Mason rail trail which is groomed so the conditions were fine despite some rain and icing with little snow.  Halfway through our run it began to snow hard.  I love mushing when it is snowing, a Currier and Ives meets Jack London feeling.