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Greetings from Wintermoon Summersun August 24, 2010 Full moon of warm summer days kayaking What wonderful paddling we have been having. The lakes are sparkling, trees and flowers lush, eagles overhead, loons tremoling and many women learning the skills and joys of paddling kayaks. And wonderful food from the garden too. Well a very sad day a couple weeks ago, Ms. Aaigimak, the oldest dog ever, the best popcorn eater, the gentlest spirit, the most look alike her father Ace, the highest jumper into your arms, the most independent and the last of the Hildur daughters, left us. There is a feeling like something is missing in the cabin after having her as my constant companion for so many years. Thanks for such good friendship Aaigi doggie. From out in the dog yard, it the darn cutest thing to see your oldest dog, 15 year old Sandy, playing enthusiastically with your youngest puppy, 5 month old Sami. They are tied next to each other and I would have never guessed that Sandy would show such interest. Very fun to see. Sami is looking more like her mother Eleanor and seems to have her desire to pull also. On her 5 month old birthday, I harnessed her and she pulled with gusto. I've put her picture on Facebook. Also next to her is her best friend Tahti, now 10 months. They too play constantly. I had to move brother Urho as Tahti is coming into her first heat cycle and we don't want to go there. Both will be nuetered next month. I have certainly appreciated all the extra help this last month, from Craig helping walk dogs this morning, Sandy and Karena helping out with the last trip, Anita with the gardens, chores, & everything, Dana and Taya with the dogs, kayaking and gardens, Christine with kayaking, Belle with homestead chores and dogs and David. You have all been great. To live in a place that you can hear wolves howling makes one's heart sing. To have them howl three separate times in one day touches your soul. Last week, a pack of about 6 or 7 were about 3/4 mile to the southeast, just past Makelas cabin. I heard them in the morning, afternoon and evening. I wonder if they had gotten some prey there. There certainly are a high number of deer in the area, as you can see from all my carrot, beet, chard tops and broccoli eaten off. It is late enough in the season the the pups should be able to travel pretty well with the adults. I think that we all need wild spaces, places that free our minds and hearts, that ground us at the same time they set us soaring, that connect us to the natural ways. It is wonderful to live in such a place and enhanced by being able to share it. The gardens are doing well. Everything is ripening and we are freezing, dehydrating,.... for the winter. I was so happy to dig 2 potato plants and get a half a grocery bag of beautiful potatoes. And we have another 50 plus plants. The only thing that hasn't been the greatest is the garlic; for some reason, probably lack of rain at the beginning of the season, it didn't get real big this season. I am still looking for some help this late summer/fall so if you, or anyone you know might be interested, please let me know. Also if anyone is interested in helping with trail work this fall, please let me know. I am also scheduling for winter dogsledding. If you have a group of 6 or more and would like to reserve dates, please let me know soon. I will also list the dates that are open to anyone signing up. I am really hoping for early snows since we got shorted last winter. The dogs have been so excited these last couple mornings when the temps were in the 40's! I imagine I will be able to use the 4 wheeler soon. July 25, 2010 Full moon of head high tomato plants and warm days The two go hand in hand.... lots of sunny days and growing tomato plants. We were short of rain early on but now have gotten some. The rest of the garden is coming along too- broccoli heads are full and delicious, abundant greens and basil, peppers already.... the garlic and basil have been making for some great pesto! The warmth has made it hard to run the dogs some mornings. Little Sami and adolescents Tahti and Urho can still run loose so they have been happy. Wow ! does Tahti have long legs and loves to stretch it out; she just flies around the yard, up and down the driveway and always gives Sami some extra playing. They are still the best buddies and are next to each other in the dog yard. Urho is the more serious one but does love to pull. There is a big hole in the dog yard that will be hard to fill. Our super friendly, happy go lucky, full of humor, Hund left us at the beginning of this month. He was most often the first greeter in the dog yard and did a splendid job. His one blue eye and one brown eye gave the first impression and indication of his full personality. He loved coming in the house and because he was afraid of thunder and lightning, he often got to. It was fitting that he was in the house, fan on him, when he left us. His mother Raven is still a house dog and at 14 doing pretty well. I am trusting her more and more to be loose and she still goes on her little adventures (her mother Crooks was famous for that too) but has been very good about coming back. We have two others of our elders in hospice. Reigning longevity queen Aaigimak, 17 years, 6 months, is having a harder and harder time getting around and sweet Philly is not doing the best. We are all dreaming of shorter days and cooler mornings. I can already tell a difference at the end of the day, a little less light. One thing I would like to put the word out is that the assistant position is open. I am looking for someone who could start asap and it could be for any length of time.... know anyone who loves dogs, organic gardening, kayaking and the Northwoods and has some time this summer? Many thanks to my dear friends who have been helping out: Anita, Rebecca, Kate, Craig, Katie and mom Joy, Sandy, Corrina, Karen, and of course superman: David. One project that kept us busy this past month were the 23 turkeys we raised. They have all gone to the freezer now and filled more than one. They weighed between 16-20 pounds each with the one male around 28 pounds. They loved to eat and really got into grass too as they had a big pasture and we supplemented with grass we picked. An important turkey tip we learned: you can't just throw a big handful of grass into their pen.... no, they just stand on it and look at you like.... well, hard to say what those turkeys were thinking. One has to stick the grass turkey beak high in the fence and then they will "gobble" it up. Kayaking has been fun and we have gone several times down Petrell Creek. The wild rice is standing now and starting for form it's rice heads. It might not be as thick as last year but there still looks to be a good crop. The advanced beginner group paddled on Lake Superior from Burlington Bay to Agate Bay near Two Harbors. We were very close to a 1,000 foot ore carrier, both loading and coming in the harbor. And to my good fortune we had enough time to paddle up the shore to the Superior Shores deck for a wonderful birthday toast. That was fun! And as we are dreaming of cooler temps, snow and dogsledding... it is time to start planning the group week ends. If you have 6 to 8 folks (can be men and kids too) and want to spend some fun time with sled dogs this winter, please contact me now to schedule a date. June 26, 2010 Full moon of rain and storms Happy Solstice to you all ! We certainly did need rain after a very dry spring and now we have gotten it. Over 5 inches this past week so everything is looking very green. Of course the thunderstorms which often accompany these early storms were particularly unwelcome this past week as we kayaked in the Apostle Island National Lakeshore on the south shore of Lake Superior. One day we had unloaded the boats, put our wet suits on walked to the beach and as we eagerly gazed on the calm waters, boom, thunder. We did have a wonderful paddle to Basswood Island from our campsite at Red Cliff. The morning started so foggy you couldn't see the island and ended with full sunshine. The paddle included seeing an eagle and it's nest, picnicing on the sand beach & a hike to an old quarry. The animals and gardens were tended to by new handler Jessica who is doing very well. Anita and Jane came up to help too which was very appreciated. We still have the turkeys, the baby layers are half size already and jumping up on everything, the old girl layers are still wandering all around and the dogs are doing well. It has really been warm in the mornings so we aren't using the 4 wheeler, just walking/jogging with them. Little Sami is 3 1/2 months now and half the size of her mom Eleanor. She still gets to run loose a bit and is very good about coming. I'm wondering how her ears will turn out, one is up sometimes, one is half up and sideways..... still very cute. Last week end Dana and Taya were up helping and we walked Eleanor, Sami, Tahti and Urho all together. What a ball of energy going down the driveway; it was fun though and they did well. I took some pictures and hope to put them up on Facebook this week. The gardens are pretty much planted. Hope to put in the last of the squash today. We got the new greenhouse (where the pigs were last year) planted with 3 rows of tomatoes and 2 rows of peppers and it looks great. The potatoes, garlic and onions are good, the corn and squash would like a little more sun, please. Starting next week end we have kayak courses every week end. We are looking for volunteers to come and help out... come up to the peaceful Northwoods, food and sauna provided, meet great women, play/work with the dogs,.... let us know if you would be interested. And Aaigimak is still doing pretty well. She actually fell off the deck and landed partially under the house but came out ok. We have been helping her with the stairs now. Still knows to stare at me in the mornings until I give her her pills wrapped in turkey. And yesterday was digging in a box looking for bread :). May 27, 2010 Full moon of turkeys, chicks, bears and naming puppy Little Eleanor/Clark puppy girl has gotten the name Sami. The Sami people are the northern Finnish nomadic reindeer herders. I have no doubt that they are a fearless and active culture and that fits her personality very well. We laughed at her the other night... I let Tahti loose, her senior by 6 months and Tahti just ran as fast as she could all over the yard... with little Sami and her little legs going as fast as they could in hot pursuit. She really likes her aunt Tahti and now Eleanor and Tahti are next to each other in the dog yard and Sami hangs out between them. Uncle Urho tends to be a little rough with her but they are buds too. Sami is a beautiful brown, not unlike a reindeer, and matches Bear a little. I can see them in lead together in the future. And then there are 25 turkeys and 25 little laying chicks, thanks to Rebecca. She brought all them up here, after starting the chicks for us and finding the turkeys at the U. The turkeys are already 9 weeks old and pretty big. We have built them a house and pen at Thornapple and they are doing well. The dogs are great but it has been warm, so we are just running them now. Don't know if we'll make it out with the 4 wheeler again or not. April 28, 2010 Full moon with no rain It has been a beautiful for the people spring but our land is very dry. We are about 2 1/4 inches below normal for rainfall after being 17 inches below normal for snow this winter. We set a record for no snowfall in March. Luckily it has been pretty cool in the mornings and we have gotten out most of them with the dogs pulling our old 4 wheeler and in keeping with the quiet of the Northwoods, the engine is not on. We just put it in nuetral and away they go. Usually 8 dogs and usually I have to brake most of the way. They are still so strong from exercising all winter and they really want to go. Eleanor and Clark's 2 pups are 7 weeks old and really starting to explore. They have made it out to the first dogs, Lemmikki and Hanna in the dog yard but are still scared (for good reason) to venture into Bear and Trondheim's spaces. The boys tend to be very rough. Even 7 month old Tahti and Urho who regularly are loose and go into the boy's spaces, get roughed up. They aren't being mean just exuberant. Tahti and Urho are doing great on their walks with harnesses and belts. I am sure little miss Tahti will be a lead dog in her life. Urho is also as smart but likes to observe a little longer but also does mind very well. They are both out on chains as Tahti can climb over a 7 foot fence and Urho can dig under it. They both get a couple hours loose each day and are good at playing with the little puppies. Eleanor is very ok with it and when she is loose every day takes them on little adventures. In the name quest.... I realized that Toimi sounds alot like Tahti and since these two will be on teams together for many years, I probably should take it out of the running. So another name came to me to be put into consideration: Sami. It is what the northern Finnish native people are called (similar to the Inuit in Alaska). I keep trying all the names on her to see if one will feel better and she just looks at me and comes to puppy. We are starting to work on the gardens; one advantage to it being dry. All the seedlings over at David's are doing great. We plan to finish the greenhouse we started last summer to give us more inside space as the tomatoes, peppers and basil really do so much better this way. And I am getting more fencing as the deer and rabbits are not our friends in this situation. I was able to see Food, Inc. on public tv over Earth Week and things like this truly inspire me to work even harder in the area of growing food. I think it is going to take a huge shift, as the program showed, to go against the big industrial chemical giants. I highly recommend seeing it altho it was hard, reality sometimes is, and made me sad and mad. I also watched a few episodes of Food Revolution with Jamie Oliver and that was pretty much a feel good reality show as he goes into a school district and attempts to change the school lunch program, with some success. The woodcocks are beeping, the grouse are drumming, the gold finches are yellowing, the days are longer and the energy of rebirth fills the air. It is wonderful to breath deeply and be part of it. And the kayak schedule is on the kayaking page. There are still lots of openings and as most of you know, research shows a nature get-away renews you physically and mentally. We also have openings for a special Kayaking in the Apostle Islands, a trip I am co-leading with Chris Heeter, June 19-14. We will be at Wintermoon Summersun the first 2 days and then on the south shore of Lake Superior for 4 days exploring islands, sea caves,.... And if you are someone who really likes to spend time up North, we do have openings in our cooperative Peltos cabin. It is a beautiful setting in the pines, access to trails, use of the sauna, rustic and quiet,.... For 3 weeks, it is a lifetime fee of $3,000. or 6 weeks for $6,000. You can use it anytime and don't have to commit to one certain time period. One thing folks really like is having the plowing, mowing, firewood, maintenence done and be able to come up and take it easy and relax! If you have any questions or are interested, please email or call-218-848-2442. It would be great to have you join us this summer in the season of "green" and beautiful blue waters. March 29, 2010 Full moon of no snow I've seen the snow go fast before but usually in April.... mid March just makes one feel sad. And the trails had been beautiful too. So the 4 wheeler is out and the dogs are still happy We actually still did the mother/daughter trip March 19-21 snowless and took everyone, good sports that they were, out on the 4 wheeler. March was brightened by Eleanor having 2 puppies on the 11th. Brown girl was so big she became lodged in the birth canal and required an emergency trip to the vet for a C section. It was our first one. Little brown girl survived and she has a little tan sister. Little is relative tho- at 2 weeks they already weighed 5 lb. and 4 lb. 7 oz. There are pictures on our Facebook- Wintermoon. And speaking of pictures, Michelle Lloyd who was here in February took some of the nicest dog pictures I have ever seen. They are so full of expression and doing doggy things that you don't always capture... Trondheim and Lemmikki playing, Wanda howling, Hanna curled up with her tail.... she went to Blurb.com and had a book made and anyone can go see it and it is also for sale, under Wintermoon. 6 month olds Tahti and Urho are really growing too, about 3/4 of Wanda's size already. We've just started walking them in harness and they are doing quite well. The dogs had a good pulling season and even the older dogs still seem to relish going out. Sandy at 12 did some good skijoring. I was particularly impressed with (baby) Bear this winter. Just one year old and he pulled with such gusto and seemed to love it. I even tried him in lead a couple times and he was great. Both 2 year olds Lemmikki and Trondheim did beautifully running at lead too. The father to all 3: Craig's Jax comes from the kennel that won the mid-distance Beargrease this year. Aaigimak (17 +) still has a little hop in her step when she goes out for a walk. Sisu and Raven loved the rug in front of the wood stove and the pillows in the sunlight thru the LR windows. And speaking of them, yesterday my friend Sarah Levar did a radio interview for WELY 94.5 fm with Joan Carlson of Cook. I met Joan over 25 years ago when she was one the first women with Jamie Nelson to run the Beargrease. Both had been sprint racers. Joan talked at length about her wonderful lead dog Wing.... well most of my kennel is from her. It was great to hear the stories again of how Gary Hokkanen had used Wing when he won the first Beargrease and that he had brought her back from Alaska from Rick Swenson's (5 time Iditarod winner) kennel. So Wing had Gullywing, a dog that Lloyd got, She had Agnes who had Crooks, who had Raven, Sisu, Karhu, Bob, Nanook, Yukon, Ursa, Tigger, Eoyore, who had Makoon, Wasamo, Hund, Juno, Gabby,..... it was a wonderful conversation that Sarah and Andy had with her. It was such a fun dogsledding season and thanks to everyone who joined us- from Washington DC to LA and even Germany, celebrating 60th and 54th birthdays, co-workers, friends, neighbors and a special thanks to those of you who came by yourself not knowing anyone else. I love the community that forms with our common interests in dogs and nature. And eating. I had to laugh at one info sheet that came back with this under "Dietary Considerations: No, willing to try anything once as long as I don't know what's in it." Thanks to David's grooming the trails were great and it was so nice to be able to mush on Petrell Creek. Almost everyone is awe-inspired by the pristine feeling and magic of it. And the best is this is the first winter where we own it to protect it. Last winter's handler Cara was up for a visit; she's living in Asheville, NC and doing alot of dance, which has always been her passion. Maija has graduated from nursing school and has taken a job in Ashland, WI. Jennifer is really getting into her art work and has a great web site with it: LevenhagenARTS.com. Allison and Drew, just finishing up at Northland College just got a puppy. And Sadie leaves tomorrow and will spend the summer working on trails in Washington. February 28, 2010 Full moon of Orion and very sunny days There's always the trade-off: we all love the sun on our faces as we dogsled, the trails not so much, we can see beautiful Orion in the clear night sky, the solar panels are collecting away, but the dogs are thinking what happened? It has been warmer than usual lately but our snow is holding up very well. It was good weather for 8 high school students last week and not too warm to build the biggest quinzee I have ever seen up in the meadow where the Grouse trail cuts off from the Dogwood. Teacher Craig from the School of Environmental Studies had a circumpolar field study including dogsledding, snowshoeing, skijoring, retelling the the Inupiaq Eskimo epic Qayaq and speaker artic traveler John Stetson from Duluth. (I have to digress and add my favorite quote of his about artic adventures, which I feel applies to all of life: "to be able to feel comfortable being uncomfortable".) The students were great and were amazing with the dogs. It is heartening to know that they are in our future. Many thanks to Manya and DJ who helped with this group. Our other dogsledding adventures have been going very well and the dogs are doing great. Everyone loves the 2 now 5 month old puppies I kept from the Wanda/Clark litter: Tahti and Urho. They are fun loving, people loving and very athletic. Never could keep them in a pen. One is now on a chain and I switch them every day; if they are both loose they seem to wander way too far away. And speaking of that, our 17 year old Aaigimak went on a little walk about and at 9 pm even. I am afraid she was a little disoriented but went out the trail by the Bunk her, then west on the Inuit, down to the Dogwood. At about 10:30 we finally found her, a very tired girl. She is still doing pretty well, altho slowing down. We have 4 other new dogs too from the Claire's retired racing team: Val and Michael, sister and brother to Odin, offspring of Ida, and Max and Emma. They have just been here for one trip but seem to be liking our trails and all the attention. They are all beautiful and very fast. I was out chopping chicken and beef dog food this week and there to my delight were a pair of boreal chickadees. They are not so common this far south but do love meat/fat and so we have seen them several times. They have a soft brown head instead of the black of our more common ones. The pine grosbeaks are regulars and sometimes we are treated to the flashy yellow evening grosbeaks. The gold finches are starting to get more yellow plumage and are coming in larger numbers... there must have been 30 of them yesterday. January 30, 2010 "Wolf" full moon, the brightest of the year The trees are still laden with tufts of snow from our recent 10 inches and with lots of clear nights this week, the woods have looked peaceful and magical. The reason, though, that they are so full of snow has not been as serene for us: rain and ice prior to the snow. It has bent many branches and brush on the sides of the trails so.... we have spent alot of time back out nipping. The trails are great now. One up side of snowshoeing all the trails is that the 4 month old pups: Tahti, Urho and Mayatuk have been able to join us. They are half size dogs now and can really run fast. Their stamina is very good too. During their days, they visit most of the big dogs, take a nap with mom Wanda in her house, help when we chop the chicken dog food by eating all the flying scraps, pick up everything that someone accidently sets down on the ground (favorites being gloves), follow Sisu around, jump on Raven and sit around and look cute. One year old Bear is doing so well in the teams. He is a most eager sled dog and pulls his little heart out. Two year olds Trondheim and Lemmikki have both started running in lead. They don't always know the commands but are very eager to please. Several of the elders are pretty much retired: Pluto, Philly and Raven. And speaking of elders, Aaigimak had a wondeful 17th birthday party at the beginning of January with Dawn and gang. Check out the great photo of Aaigi and her cake on our facebook page: wintermoon summersun. We have been very lucky to have had DJ here from NY the last couple weeks helping out. She brought 3 of her dogs including Bear's brother Babiche who is also doing very good with pulling. And handler Sadie who just graduated from University of MN Duluth is doing well and really loving the dogs. They love her too. It has been fun to have our almost renovated kitchen to cook in. At least the floor is level !!! and there is so much more light with the new windows. There seems to be more space with a round table as the island. The dogs are doing great so far this year. The trails have been good so it has been fun for all. For some of you a break from winter snow and cold is desirable... my friend Chris Heeter is leading a women's trip to Baja in March. It is on a remote beach, staying in yurts, kayaking, whale and sea lion watching, hiking, fishing, great food,... Incusive from San Diego for $1,995. See her web site for more details: thewildinstitute.com. Seems like January has flown by with lots of wonderful women (and one man) joining us and the dogs. It is a full February and March ahead too. Hike, hike. December 31, 2009 Blue moon and white trees What more could a musher wish for at the Holidays: snow !! A beautiful 15", (David got 20", Duluth - 24", Two Harbors - 5", Ely - 4" ). It was wet and heavy, sticking to all the trees, creating moon reflections that lit up the night as we walked to Petrell Hall for contra dancing with a fun band. Then the next greatest gift was many friends and a new handler coming right before the first trip tomorrow to help get ready. Many thanks to Rebecca, former handler Erika and husband Daniel from Portland, OR, for so much help snowshoeing, nipping trails and dog chores, Diane and Julie from Seattle, neighbor Karen, Peltonians Anita and Mietek, wonderful new handler Sadie and David for helping with the final kitchen renovations, dog chores and getting organized for the group. It feels so good to be out on the sled now. David groomed the Dogwood and it is devine. The dogs are happy too and are doing very well. Lemmikki has started running in lead and is so focused you would think she's been doing it for years. She does come from a long line of great leaders: Craig's Libby, Raven, Gabby, Crooks. And then there's those puppies. I have 3 here now: Tahti (Finnish for the dog star), Urho (Finnish for courage and being heroic) and Karen's Mayatuk. At three months old they are exploring everywhere and have been starting to interact with the big dogs. Mom Wanda is tied next to Bear and Trondheim and they love playing with the pups. Chloe is back running after her surgery for mammory tumors and is doing good. And we are starting preparations for the BIG party on January 2 when Aaigimak turns 17 ! Her back legs are a little shaky but she is doing pretty well. Right now she is on a foam pilow by the woodstove curled up next to Kissa, the cat. And wagging her tail when we pet her. For pictures, we (actually the wonderful former handler Kate) have started a facebook and welcome you to become a fan; it's wintermoon summersun. I know how nice it is to see pictures. Diane took alot when she was here and hopefully they will be on soon. There is the most adorable one with mom Wanda and all her pups in her dog house looking out. We are so ready for the fun of trips to begin. There's been lots of good food put up this summer and fall, many hours of training the dogs to be in shape, nipping of the wonderful trails, a new kitchen renovation, David made some great chockcherry wine and now beautiful snow! We have all the blessings one could wish for and look forward to sharing them with others. December 2, 2009 Full moon of many 4 wheeler runs It's hard to believe that Solstice is less than three weeks away. We now have 9 hours 1 minute of daylight; we'e lost an hour since November's full moon and we'll lose another 14 minutes over the next 3 weeks. And we're already 1 minute away from the earliest sunset of 4:32 pm. I guess I'm attuned because I like to feed the dogs right before dark but it gets harder to fit everything in so my headlamp is getting used alot more. There's actually been alot of moonlight to help the process. And last night I had the extreme pleasure of walking out onto the front porch exactly when the pack of wolves howled. It was to the southeast and fairly close. I was just telling a friend that I hadn't heard them for several months and then.... They had their den just south of our land and we heard them alot all spring and summer including the yips of the pups. I imagine when the pups got old enough to travel they spread out their hunting grounds. Until yesterday we didn't have any snow, now about an inch so we are continuing to train with the 4 wheeler. My neighbor Karen, who wants to get her own team, is helping. We are running 8 dogs and they are really doing well. Including the little Bear. On November 14, a week before his first birthday he went on his first 4 wheeler run and he did the best I have ever seen a "pup" do. He is focused, pulls very hard, gets along with the other dogs and seems to really love it. He's a great addition to the team. He does still make squeaky noises though. Wanda, mother to the 6 adorable 9 week old pups, is back running on the team and is doing very well too. And those puppies.... you can see pictures on our facebook page Wintermoon Summersun. They are so much fun but sure get into everything. The only drawback is they like to jump on Aaigimak when she goes outside and she doesn't care for it at all. She isn't so stable at 16 years 11 months but is doing pretty well otherwise. Still loves to eat popcorn with me. We've been continuing to work on trails and many thanks to Kate, Chris and Jackie, Sadie and Karen for helping out this month. We still have a bit to go... but maybe we'll get 3 feet of snow soon :). The forest is getting quieter.... no leaves on the trees, the gathering is done, the loons and geese and many of their other feathered friends have migrated south, deer hunting is over, many cabins are closed up, .... it is a very peaceful feeling. A treat that you can hear the wings of a raven as it flies over. May the peace of the earth find all of you this holiday season. November 2, 2009 Full moon of the monsoons Well the TV weather person told the big picture: in October, in the Duluth area, we saw more cloudy and rainy days than Seattle. We received 4.6 inches of rain, 2 inches above normal. It snowed almost 6 inches. Everything is wet!!! And the temps were below normal.... but at least that is good for training dogs and we have started with the 4 wheeler. It is nice to have so many experienced leaders and dogs and training is going very well. I have mowed part of the Dogwood trail and we use that, the driveway and some on the dirt roads. They love it. And a red letter day yesterday, baby Bear, almost a year old, went out for the first time with the wheeler. You would not have known it was his first time he did so well. He has been going for walks all spring and summer and doing great. He does kind of squeal (in a good way) alot though. He went with his buddies Trondheim and Lemmikki who are amazing pullers too. Wanda, daughter to Ida, is being the most wonderful mother I have every seen. Her 6 five week old puppies are starting to explore outside their dog house and follow mom around. Four are black/brown and look alot like her, Odin and Ida, one is grey and looks a little like father Clark and one is white with her ears sticking straight up already. She is the most adventurous already but they are all curious, friendly and like to be held. I will probably keep just one. I do have quite a few retired and soon to be retiring dogs in my kennel so need to keep youngsters coming in. Speaking of retired, Ms. Raven is happily laying on the couch next to me and Kissa. She is a part time house dog now. Her trick is to lay outside when it is raining and stare at the cabin. I can only take that so long, especially this past month when all it did was rain. I always said she was one of my smartest dogs. I do miss her in the teams as she was one of my best lead dogs. We are progressing on the kitchen project although it is going slower than I had hoped. Living without a kitchen is a challenge. There are always the things that bump to the head of the list, like go to the sheep farm in Duluth and get 2 truck loads of manure, unload it by hand so you can plant the garlic, which surprisingly got done despite the wet conditions, go to a different farm and get 2 truck loads of straw for the winter for the dog houses, go to the sawmill and get many garbage bags full of wood shavings so you can clean the chicken coop, start shoveling the 2 dump truck loads of gravel in the dog yard, filling the holes and leveling out before the ground freezes,(thanks Rebecca for all your help with that), pour some footings for the new little Petrell cabin so the mover guys can come and level the cabin, do some office work, host some productive trails week ends,.... and many thanks to Karen, Katie, Laura, Kathi, Kevin, Brianna, Brian and Craig for helping nip on the trails. We did get in some good scouting for a new trail too; it is to the south of South Cedar Loop on some old logging roads. There has been good enthusiasm for dogsledding this winter and I am looking forward to seeing many old friends return. If you are thinking you would like to join us, I wouldn't wait too much longer to sign up as there are just a few spaces left. Dates available are Solstice Dec 20-21, Jan. 22-23, Feb 19-21. Hopefully the early snowfall we have gotten (it has all melted tho) is a sign for a good snowy winter. We are lucky to live in the highlands, 1000 feet higher than Lake Superior because it is a snow belt. We almost always have 60-100 inches of snow. I am reading an interesting book called SNOW. The design of a snow crystal is mostly determined by the temperature when it falls. The most common is six sided, which occurs between freezing and 27 degrees. And interestingly, snow covers half the land surface of Earth, at least temporarily. With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, I become aware of how thankful I am to everyone who has come to Wintermoon Summersun. All of your energy have helped make it into the "retreat" that we love. October 4, 2009 Full moon of warm September temps and HUGE projects Well, starting with the most recent, my kitchen is in the process of an extreme makeover. The floor was sinking..... in my sweet 102 year old Finnish starter cabin. So yesterday, my dear brother Wayne, now affectionately called the ten hour tornado, coordinated the gutting and rebuilding of a new, LEVEL ! floor. I'm now working on the master plan to put it all back, and that might take a little longer. In the meantime tho, we will be having 2 trails week ends these next 2 week ends and everyone is invited: October 9-11 and 16-18. I provide all the food, Bunk her, we'll play with the dogs, .... let me know if you are interested. On last Monday, Ms. Wanda, a 4 year old I got from Claire and Chris in May, had puppies. Her grandmother is Ida who Claire bought from Susan Butcher, he uncle is Odin, one of our wonderful lead dogs and father is Clark, who ran the Iditarod in 2004. They should be fast little buggers and I will be selling some of them. The previous week end our friends Mietek and Jane, came from the Cities and helped butcher the pigs. The pigs always become my friends and it is with reverence, gratitude and a heavy heart that I do this job. I do feel that they had the best life- a buddy, logs of new rooting areas (and future garden space), grass and produce, lots of company. Before that my neighbor Diane and I got in 3 times of wild ricing. We went twice to Breda Lake and once to Wolf Lake, our kayaking lakes. The rice was good again this year and we got well over 100 pounds. This will parch down to about half and we've just started that process. We then thrash, winnow and enjoy. There are some good dinners in our future. Earlier in the month, with the start of fall colors, was the last kayak trip. A great group of 7 paddled Salo and Indian Lake and the Cloquet River. We saw eagles both days and there is a nest on Indian Lake. Still no handler but I've been fortunate the last couple weeks, a new neighbor Karen, who would like to learn how to mush has been coming over several mornings a week to help run with the dogs and chores. We haven't started with the 4 wheeler yet because it's been so warm but I have the trail all mowed now and probably tomorrow I'll start. It has turned cooler now. The dogs are doing great. Ten month old Bear had a growth removed from his tongue and was nuetered. He loves to run and is going to be good in the teams this winter. I have 2 handlers hired for the winter: Katie and Sadie. Figured since I didn't have any this summer, I'll make up for it this winter. DJ will be back also for 4 trips and hopefully Manya too. :) It was a wonderful September for the gardens, they made up for their slow start and the tomatoes came on strong. The peppers were amazing too. Unfortunately the corn froze in that early frost so no fresh corn. The garlic is drying and looks and tastes very good, so lots of pesto this winter. The potatoes and carrots are still in the ground and look good too. It's always sad to see one season end. The kayak trips went so well this summer and I've taken my rack off the truck. But my thoughts have turned to finishing the painting on my dog box and so one good thing replaces another. Many thanks to all who joined us this summer and to those of you have signed on for a mushing trip for this winter. New Years is still open for a group and there will be a dance with a great band on New Years eve at Petrell Hall. September 4, 2009 Full moon of early frosts Well it certainly hasn't been a "garden" summer. Two hard frosts this past week and we lost some things: corn, squash, basil.... but I did cover alot and we still have some squash, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes (all things vulnerable). As I was on my hands and knees watering in one of the greenhouses today, I felt a little something on my back; I moved slightly and over my head flew a little bird. Such sweet little gifts when down in the trenches. I'm digging and hanging the garlic right now and it looks pretty good. All that watering Anita and crew did during the no rain middle of the summer has paid off. The potatoes look good too. Mostly the warm loving crops are slow. I'm really savoring a decade milestone this summer. It was August 1999 when the Hiltunen log house was moved down Hwy. 16, the Brimson Toimi Road, got stuck turning up the Petrell Road, but eventually made up through the dog yard and was turned around in my yard and backed into place. Many of you who saw it then said what are you thinking.... it was pretty ugly and very needy. And there were days I said that myself. But now we are so enjoying the fruits of all our labors (so many handlers helped with so much). We have one major project left on it that we will be starting as soon as the last kayak trip is completed in September. Everything comes out of the kitchen and a new floor will be installed. My brother is coming to help and of course dear David has signed on. The bright side of the very cool weather is that it is so doggie. We have been getting them out jogging/walking alot and they are doing good. Last weekend's kayak group, along with some coop cabin folks got out every dog in 2 days. And that was all before 8 in the morning. Little Bear continues to be a great puller and I can't wait to see him with the sled. He unfortunately has a growth on his tongue that could be cancerous and has to be removed. It looks like a few more will be on the retiree list this winter: Philly, Lichen, Pluto. And we lost sweet Louise this month; she was 15, aunt to Eleanor, Signe and Oskar. I was running Kapu one morning and it struck me how much she reminded me of Moon, one of the original Wintermoon dogs. She is from his bloodlines and has matured into a steady and determined puller. Sandy had a racing moment last week. The snap that held her to the belt came undone and away she went down the driveway on her own. Knowing Sandy would not stop or come back when called, I went for the truck and others ran after her to see which way she went. I knew I had to pass her before the road but as I drove behind her, she ran faster, I felt so bad but finally was able to go around her just before the road. I jumped out and caught her just as she came up to the truck. Poor old girl, she had really been running full out and was a little shaky in the back legs. At least she got a ride back and is doing fine now. We have been in puppy mode the last few years and this fall it is our new girl Wanda, expecting in late September. They should be very fast pups as mother is granddaughter of Ida, a Susan Butcher dog and father is Clark, who completed the Iditarod in 2004. I will probably be selling some of these pups if anyone is interested. There will be a trails week end October 10 - 11 and 17-18. Everyone is welcome to come and help maintain the dog trails, run with the dogs, take sauna, eat some garlic.... I provide the food. It is a beautiful time to be up in the northwoods. And with the cooler weather, I have those long sleeve Wintermoon T shirts available and can mail them out. And last call for anyone who would like to take a date this winter for a group. If you have 6-8 and would like to have Wintermoon just to yourselves, I do have several dates left. See the Dogsledding page or give me a call or email. August 5, 2009 Full moon of cool dog-lovin' weather It hasn't been above the 70's for so long.... and the mornings have often been in the upper 30's and 40's. It is perfect for the huskies and they are enjoying their morning walks. On the tally- no bears, a few bugs and a handler ! Cathy joined us a little over a week ago and has jumped right into learning how to take care of the dogs, watering and weeding the garden, helping with kayak trips,.... she says she really loves it. Oh the gardens... if it is cool for the dogs, it is cool for the gardens. We have only had a couple ripe tomatoes, a few peppers,... things are slow but we did get some much needed rain so the plants are growing. Some new purple additions came for July 11 which I am very excited about: a couch, an anorak, hand knitted sox and a purple bottle of champagne! We had a great time with Heart in the Earth. The presenters were so grounding and wonderful: Binner making juices and talking about using them to stay cancer free, Helga sharing her years of experience on dream interpretation, an intimate portrayl of Dorothy Molter by director Sarah, Jennifer's amazing piano playing, Sherry's gentle yoga, Pam and her herb knowledge, kayaking, hiking, Char, Siri and Sue's WONDERFUL food, and the great sharing and community of women. It was a memorable time!!! I am thinking about doing it again next summer. July 7, 2009 Full moon of pretty much planted gardens Well, the rain and bugs came, the bear came, but still no handler. Just a couple more cauliflower and parsley and the gardens will be planted. It has been cool and dry, not the best for gardening. We didn't get the new greenhouse at Thornapple planted but I think with the bear around (he's gotten into the pig food) and I've been hearing wolves howling pretty close and my neighbor saw a mountain lion, I think we'll turn the greenhouse into a semi-secure place for the pigs to sleep at night. The pigs and 48 broilers are all doing well and growing. The gardens do look pretty good even tho we are still about 4" below normal rainfall... and there's a few weeds. Have had a couple ripe small tomotoes and peppers and lots of greens already. The weather has been cool, more than a few mornings in the 30's. The dogs are lovin' it tho and Peltos member Anita has been here for several weeks and helps run/walk them in the early morning. Bear, still known as baby bear, gets to run loose when we take some of the girls out. He minds very well and loves to sprint down the driveway and back. There are still some openings on the adv. beginner kayak trip July 31-Aug 2 and beg. kayaking August 14-16 and September 11-13. We'd love to have you join us and the $200. rate can't be beat. June 7, 2009 Full moon of no bugs, no bear and no handler I think the no bugs is related to the fact that for the third time this month of June, I have my wood stove going. Last Sunday, it was snowing. It has been very below normal temps. On June 3rd: 7 am 28 degrees, 1/4 inch of ice on the water bucket, frosty white grass. I gather 6 harnesses for Odin, Wing, Trondheim, Jude, Lemmikki and Clark. They are whining and screaming to go, the 4 wheeler is rocking and jerking as I bring them all up to the gangline. As I pull the quick release and hed down the driveway I'm struck by the thought: I love my job but these dogs love theirs even more, they are crazy about it. I try to hold that feeling. Yesterday we were bemoaning the cool weather for the garden's sake. Now I am glad that nothing is planted outside. What's good for the dogs, is not for the gardens. I'm not sure where our bear is, maybe still in hibernation. And I'm really not sure where the potential handler might be. Interviewed quite a number and while I thought the "economy" might work in our favor, I am now thinking the opposite. If anyone knows of someone who would like to spend some time in the Northwoods this summer, let me know. Thinking I had a handler or two, I took on alot of projects including 2 piggies, 50 broiler chickens and building a new greenhouse. All is going well and David has been helping alot. We are quite behind normal in planting the garden, maybe at 2/3 done. The garlic is growing so well and 3 of the 4 greenhouses now have 85 tomato plants and numerous peppers. I am looking forward to Heart in the Earth in July. It is so fun to have the energy and talents of many women all in one place. We're adding speaker Sarah Levar, Director of the Dorothy Molter Museum in Ely who will be sharing Dorothy's amazing life on Knife Lake in the BWCAW. AKA the Root Beer Lady, Dorothy lived in the wilderness for over 50 years. Binner Rahn of Duluth will be making us some delicious juices and talking about the health benefits of juicing. And Jennifer Levenhagen will be joining us to play her beautiful and inspiring original piano music and to team up on her fiddle with Kari Munson singing and guitar. There are still a few openings and you can see our Heart in Earth page for more info. My little 6 month old Bear puppy is growing and has gone on his first walk in harness. He did well and really focused on forward movement. It is very reminiscent of uncle Trondheim and aunt Lemmikki who have become the most amazing sled dogs. Newbies Fran and Wanda are getting more used to our dog yard altho Wanda still is a barker. Signe had surgery to take a growth from her right eyelid and is doing fine. The dogs are doing quite well and enjoy that we can still go with the 4 wheeler. Kayaking is almost here, have our first outing next Saturday on the St. Louis River. We have made one change to the schedule: JULY 31 - FEBRUARY 2 is now an advanced beginner trip with the plan to paddle two days on Lake Superior, weather permitting. So if you have taken the course before or are an experienced kayaker, this would be an excellent way to practice your skills and the challenge of the Big Lake. There are still openings on June 26-28, July 24-26 and August 14-16. The woods has changed so dramatically in the last month. With the leaves on the trees, the sound of the wind is louder and has more variations, one's focus is more limited because you can't see very far and all the colors are an eye delight. Kissa the cat is sitting staring at me and I'm trying to think what he is....(he doesn't need water or food, or want to go outside) so it must be, say hi from me ! May 8, 2009 Full moon of the emerging garlic And so for the important news first: the garlic is up. We planted about 15 pounds and so there are alot of little green heads poking out of their straw mulch. A beautiful sight. From one full moon to the next, it is amazing how much can change. I was still mushing on snow last month and did until Easter, April 12. The Dogwood held it's snow well being it is so protected in the woods. Going solo most of the time, no weight on the sled, the dogs conditioned well from a long winter, you can only imagine how we flew around the trail. It was the magic we work for. I have one handler, Rhonda, starting June 7. She has done alot of kayaking and loves the outdoors. If anyone would like to come up in May or June to help with gardening, dogs,... we would love the extra help. As I write this Babiche, the larger black puppy and Osa, the brown female puppy from this winter's litter of Tillie and Jax, are on a road trip that most of us would love to do. Across Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, upstate New York... Carla, a musher from the Twin Cities area and Osa's owner, is driving Babiche to Michigan to meet DJ from NY where Babiche's new home will be. All the pups are really doing great and getting all kinds of important life experiences. O 2, the other black puppy, is in Duluth with musher Chel Ethan and don't be surprised if he is on her mid distance Beargrease team in a few years. These pups are loving to run and are very smart. We have 2 new dogs too, again from Claire and Chris. They are from their sprint racing team and make Chloe and Sandy look like big dogs :). Fran, is named after our dear friend and mentor Fran Skinner and I'm not sure who Wanda is named after but she is the niece of Odin and granddaughter of Ida. I've taken them out with the 4 wheeler and they are doing well. Early mornings on the 4 wheeler are going very well. It is still cool and the dogs are still very strong. I usually have the brake on the entire way. It is fun to watch and hear spring emerge: the grouse drumming, the red bursts of buds on the maple trees, the woodcock doing it's wooo wooo wooo,... it is an ultimate present moment experience. We have also been seeing and hearing alot of wolves. Last week I walked out onto the road from Makela's driveway, looked to the east and where our South Cedar trail crosses the road, 3 wolves trotted across in a beautiful line. Yesterday, our neighbor Mike was walking his dog on the road down by Petrell Creek and they saw a freshly killed deer. He stopped at the bridge and was looking down the creek for awhile, when he looked back towards the deer, there was a large wolf standing there, looking right at his dog. He had to yell and wave his arms at it. As he described it, it seemed like one of the ones I had seen. I have also heard the wolves howling quite a few times, mostly to the south. I am wondering if they have their den there , as pups should have been born at the end of April. I have been doing some thinking, as I'm sure most of you have, about the economy. It is a hard thing to think about and to live with. In consideration of the economy, I have decided to reduce my prices for the kayaking week-ends and the Heart in the Earth - July 10-12. If you received my flyer in the mail, it has the old price and it will now be $200. for the week end, which includes lodging, in that beautiful new Bunk her, meals and all gear and instruction. A Hopi poem which was just in our food coop newsletter relects the feeling. "At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves." "For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. "All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. "We are the ones we have been waiting for." And a little doggie story; Aaigimak, the elder at 16 is becoming more accepting of Bear, now 5 1/2 months, probably because he is the only pup and he isn't as jumpy... It is very nice to see them together, my oldest and youngest and both from my original Inuit Cayenne bloodline. Aaigimak is Bear's great great great aunt. AND all the firewood is cut and split, yeah and thanks to David, the great! And lastly, I have a friend and neighbor, Susan, who has 30 acres 5 miles south of us. She is looking to rent or explore joint ownership possibilites with a female with her land and a wonderful house. It is 2 bedroom and the room is 20 x 20 with it's own inside and outside access, screen porch, basement, elec, running water. You would share common space. She would like to stay in Brimson but needs to share costs with someone: $500. month. If interested you can contact her at d.susan09@gmail.com. April 9, 2009 Full moon of sunny warm days The first Canada geese flying over tell me it's "spring watch" time again. It's like old friends coming by for a visit and this last week has been busy: chipmunks, robins, purple finch and I heard a saw whet owl. The pine grosbeaks left weeks ago but the evenings are staying late this year. Speaking of birds, I talked with our wonderful birding friend Laura Erickson this week and she mentioned a new blog she writes from the bird's point of view: www.twinbeaks.blogspot.com She is very much enjoying her new job with the Cornell Ornithology Lab in Ithaca, NY. The puppies are keeping me busy, even tho there's only 2. Bear and Babiche are 4 1/2 months old and most of the time still get to run loose. This week, I hooked up a small team and took off down the driveway, gee on Dogwood... and then I heard the shrill barking of puppies. For the first time, they followed the team and caught up with us; they are really fast already. Luckily I was just about to the turnoff onto Inuit, so gee again. They kept up with us and liked running up with the big dogs. They were all smiles when we got back and hardly even panting. The next day I let them follow again and they loved it. The Inuit trail is no longer tho, the sun had it's way with the open areas by the creek and beaver pond, so the pups haven't gotten to go again. The Dogweood is still open but I think it's too far for the pups, plus we go out close to the road. I have been taking several teams every morning and David goes out alot too. The trail is really good and 98% snow covered and we have been flying. We have to be done by about 10 tho as it warms up so fast. Dogsledding trips this winter were amazing. We had good snow and the trails were beautiful. And so were the women. Fun to introduce the new women to mushing and fun to have so many women return, some over 10 times! The dogs did a great job and really enjoyed all the loving. Our our hearty thanks to Cara for her hard work, humor, sensitivity, generosity and her memory. It was great to be able to ask her where things were or what I was suppose to remember and she always knew! She left last week and after a little traveling, she will be spending some time as a nanny for her cousin. Seedlings are up, 200 tomatoes, peppers,.... and lots more. All at Davids, with grow lights and TLC. It looks really good for the gardens this year and we plan to build another greenhouse. Anyone is welcome to come and volunteer to work in the gardens; any length of time. And the kayaks are starting to peak out from under the snow. Good times ahead. The schedule is listed on the Kayaking page and there are still dates available if you would like to get a group of 6 or more together. Or just come on your own; most women do. And Heart in the Earth is July 10-12 with lots of great activities, speakers, food, .... Helga Ragan doing dream interpretation, Pam Thompson with herbal remedies, Diane and Lynn giving a tour of Ladyslipper Farm, our farmer's market supplier, with their bees, cordwood greenhouse, hoop houses and beautiful produce, yoga, drumming, kayaking,.... lots of fun. And some closing wisdom from dogs from psychologist Linda "It's great to have four legs to stand on: Good balance depends upon support from many different sources." March 10, 2009 Full moon of impending snow storm What a beutiful winter we are having- wonderful women from all over the country (lots of CA this year) and Germany!, good snow and trails, cute puppies, happy dogs in great shape, amazing handlers: Cara, DJ and Manya, and not having to hear that 'little tree' name on the news every night! We're also immensely enjoying the new living room addition with it's 11 windows. Many thanks to Manya who joined us the last half of February. She has been coming to Wintermoon for over 12 years and really was a great help, particularly with the circumpolar field study girls. Craig who teaches at the School of Environmental Studies brought 7 wonderful seniors, all girls too, up to teach a field study incorporating dogsledding, snowshoeing, alternative living,.... We had a great time with them and they were wonderfully curious, attentive, respectful, mature, intelligent and loving to the dogs and pups. It really makes you smile about youth. Of course having a great teacher is certainly a factor. The dogs are all well and getting in such good condition, altho one guest evidently wasn't so sure. As we were going up a hill on the Grouse trail, I turned to her and suggested "get off and run". There was a silent pause so I said it again. She then yelled to the dogs: "get off and run". We had to stop we were both laughing so hard. And talk about comic relief. Craig's 4 Tillie pups have been here all winter and are always making us smile. They are 3 1/2 months old and love to go on long walks and find every single thing they shouldn't be chewing on. My little brown Bear, in honor of all the other bear dogs I've had: Polar, Koala, Karhu (Finnish), Makoon (Ojibwe), Nanook (Inuit) seems to be keeping up to their great reputations. He is very smart and alert. The others are too though and all have good homes. Chel has O2, the little black boy, Carla has Osa, the brown girl and DJ has Babish the large black boy. If they follow in the tracks of the pups from last year, they will be great pullers. Trondheim, Lemmikki, Qimmiq and Tillie are all doing wonderful. David has started 200 pepper seeds , some already up. This week we'll start tomatoes. Plans are underway to build a new greenhouse at Thornapple this spring and start the 2 pigs in it to work up the ground. Our last pigs did an amazing job of preparing the garden ground by rooting around. We are getting a late winter storm today. March is known tho for getting alot of snow and it will be great for the trails. I am hoping to match last winter's last run on snow date: April 15 ! The schedule is up for kayak trips. I am doing a women and teens at the end of May and a Heart in the Earth July 10-12 to help me celebrate a big 0. February 9, 2009 Full moon of wonderful dog runs The snow has continued to be good and the dogs are getting stronger by the week. Seven trips so far and the mushing has been very fun. David's trail grooming is wonderful. We have all four loops, Dogwood, Grouse, Inuit and South Cedar open and in great shape. It has been wonderful to watch the pups from last year: Trondheim, Lemmikki, Tillie and Qimiq (Libby & Jax, Craigs dogs)become sled dogs. They are doing so well and really LOVE going out with the sled. More dogs than I thought are semi retired this year, including Dune, Lichen, Philly, Raven & Sisu. Louise is retired now. So good thing there are puppies again this year. They were born 11-21 and have the run of the place. A couple nights when the wolves were very close, saw tracks on every trail and heard them howling, we put them in the pen. They are growing so fast and love going on walks on the trails. Diane was here this week end and built a quinzee on the beaver pond and the pups loved climbing in it. I am keeping a brown sweetie named Bear. Speaking of walking on the trails, Cara, the handler, has her cat Bill here. He loves to go for walks on the trails too. Last week, Cara & Bill, Aaigimak and I all walked the Inuit Trail shoveling snow in the low areas. And yesterday, Cara said she and Bill were out and he got behind her a ways. When she went back to investigate, she found him covering snow over some dog poop that a dog had left. Considerate kitty! And we can only imagine what he thinks of those messy dogs. We were so lucky to have DJ from NY here for 3 trips helping us out. She brings her 2 dogs Orum and Bear and lots of fun to have here. She and I are collaborating on another project: the old barn from the Petrell land has gotten moved back to the original site and will be redone into a sweet little cabin. It is tamarack logs and in great shape. We have had some great trips and the dogs are all doing great. The 5 women from California this past week end were so glad that the weather has warmed up. We did have alot of -20 and -30 over the last month. The bird feeder has been wonderful this year as both the pine grosbeaks and the evening grosbeaks are coming together. In the past, it seemed it was one or the other. All the regulars, blue jays, chickadees, finches, grey jays, woodpeckers, nuthatches, red polls are here too. January 10, 2009 Full moon of abundant snow and devine trails We have been delighted with a snowy winter so far, close to 50 inches, almost 10" over normal. We've had 2 trips so far with guests from Denver, U.K., Rochester and Minneapolis, MN. Handler Cara is doing very well as a musher. It is not surprising as she has been a dancer, mostly modern, for over 6 years. She commented that mushing has some similarities to her work with contact improvisation. A wonderful thought. She says she particularly likes dogsledding on the Inuit Trail where it opens up onto Beaver Creek with the 2 beaver lodges, lots of sky, clouds and sun. We also have puppies: 4 fluffy six week olds. They are from Craig's dog Tillie, named after the only female dog in the team with Balto in the 1925 Alaska serum run to Nome. One little brown male has captured my heart and we call him Bear. The living room addition is now a cozy place, the new woodstove heats the super insulatd room really well and with the many windows it's almost like being outside and has a good view of the dogyard. The books have made it out there so it feels settled. As many of you know, I like to feed the dogs right before dark, so that can vary from 4:30 to 9 pm. After 20 years of doing this it has struck me how much I LOVE DUSK. It's certainly one of the inspirations to feed them. Besides enjoying connecting with the dogs in this nurturing way, I am treated to wonderful spectecles of nature: crimsons of sunsets, new moons rising, full moons rising, the last 11th hour light illuminating the tips of the trees, planets and stars appearing, a grouse eating high bush cranberries at the edge of the dogyard, wolves howling,... I highly recommend it as a time to be outside. And Aagimak says it's great to be 16. "I can do almost anything I want." Still openings on a couple trips this winter. It would be great to have you join us. December 12, 2008 Full moon of chilly weather We had a pretty big party on the 10th - over 40 attending and lots of milkbones. Our sled puppies Lemmikki and Trondheim turned one. David, Cara and I looked at piles of adorable puppy pictures and Craig, sister Tillie and brother Qimmiq joined us by phone. For me it's the transition from pup to dog and they really look it. They have been pulling with gusto and amazing focus all fall and seem to like going with the 4 wheeler. We are less than a month from another big birthday party, our two oldest dogs, Aaigimak and Craig's Mudshark will be 16 on Jan 3. Both are loving being house dogs. We are still training with the 4 wheeler and it is going very well. We've got about 10" of snow now but it's not packed enough to take the sled out as the brake and snow hook wouldn't hold well. And we still have some trail nipping to do- should finish the Dogwood today and we have parts of the Inuit, Grouse and South Cedar done too. Many thanks to Chris and soon to be teenage daughter Jackie, Kathleen and Randy who helped with trails Thanksgiving weekend. We did a major renovation to the corner on the Dogwood by Petrell Creek. The one where you'd be going around the uphill corner, have to jump off running because the sled runner was going up on the fallen tree and then Balto would stop to pee on the spruce at the top of the hill and the whole team would bunch up because you couldn't brake being the sled was on it's side and you were off running. And then there was the second team now at your heels. The corner is now 20 feet wider and I know we might have taken away someone's fun on the run, sorry. David named it Jackie's corner. You should have seen some of the chunks of wood and branches she hauled off, cheerfully too. She also went on 2 morning dog runs with me and was a big help with the dogs. The woods are beautiful, pines with snow on their branches, sun sparkling on the snow, aminal tracks telling stories everywhere and the gentle guiet that descends with the blanket of snow. We've had a big flock of the colorful yellow, white and black evening grosbeaks at the feeder for about 4 weeks. In the last few years they haven't stayed this long and I've read numerous accounts of their numbers being down. And we've only had a couple pine grosbeaks so far. The gray jays are loving the bread and fat. We are so happpy to have Cara helping us this winter. She loves the dogs, particularly Malcom, is a hard worker, mature, sunny in the mornings, even at -26 degrees which we had last week, and is looking forward to meeting all of our wonderful mushers this winter. A cool thing is she is the daughter of a good friend from high school and college. I asked Cara if she had any thoughts she'd like to share on the first month plus being here and she replied with a laugh "tons". She is alot of fun to have here. The living room is now all insulated and we are very close to installing a little wood stove. With all the windows it has a feel of being very close to outside. Watch for a future issue of the Minnesota Womens Press; I was interviewed for a story on womens' businesses. Our first trip this year is New Years and we'll be celebrating again with a dance at Petrell Hall. There's still openings on a few trips, see the Dogsledding page for the dates. And we will end, March 27-29 with the traditional mother and daughter (8-15 years) trip. In some ways it is hard to hear the news these days with all the unsettling changes in the world; we luckily have hope for change. My wish for all is that you can take the opportunity to spend some time with nature and in the outdoors. Kate, winter handler 06-07, was such a good inspiration this week. I called her at 9 pm; she answered on her cell. The Cities had just gotten 2" of snow and she was out cross country skiing. For me, living so close to the natural rhythms of the earth has been so wonderful and brings feelings of peace. May it be in your life too. Happy Holidays ! November 13, 2008 Can't see the Full moon for the clouds It has been quite cloudy, rainy and snowy lately; the solar panels have been quiet and the batteries low. It was only 5 degrees a couple mornings ago and so the ground has really started to freeze. Luckily all the garlic is planted, about 15 pounds, and covered with straw. I just had pesto tonight from this year's crop and it is great. Lots stored away for this winter too. November 1 saw the arrival of the winter handler, Cara. She is fitting in very well, loves the dogs and is pretty good with the shovel too. Natasha has warmed up to her right away. We had four truck loads of gravel dumped in the dog yard to fill the holes and put under the dog houses and we have spent alot of time out there lately. We also moved all the dogs around to their winter spots. I would say about half got a new perspective on things. Another great project has been building a wood shed; I figured after 35 years I guess I am staying and could build one. I think I'm going to love it. David knows he will. We had lots of great help this last month: many thanks to Julie, Anita, Mietuk, Kate, Jennifer, Manya, Joe, Kathleen, Randy and David. We had intended to work alot on trails and we did some fut a new project appeared and so all were willing to help, from shoveling gravel, cutting brush on the road.... all for a old log cabin to be moved here from Salo Lake. It will be put on the Petrell homestead and amazingly, that is where it was originally. So we still have some trail work to do and we'll be getting to it soon, as we hope to have our first trip at Thanksgiving. The dogs are ready! They have been doing very well with the 4 wheeler and get so excited when we get a little snow. We lost one of our elders this month: big Mac... Makoon. He seemed to be prepetually a puppy and it was hard to believe he was 14. He was one of the most personable dogs I've raised and had the greatest aahhhwwhoooo. His name meant little bear cub and he went to join his father Polar Bear and mother Nanook. I got a call fro October 14, 2008 Full moon of harvesting I'm sitting here with my cup of hot water with honey and vinegar and boxes of tomatoes and a table full of garlic downstairs awaiting their fate. The garlic has just been cleaned and will hang in David's garage and the tomatoes will be made into sauce and dehydrated. Finally this past month, the tomatoes started ripening and that sure looked good, as we had planted way over 100 plants. It was a glorious and warm September and did wonders for finishing off the gardens: a 20 pound cabbage, frost ripened carrots and the biggest onions I have ever grown. We definitely stepped it up a notch, inspired by Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I really recommend this book. On a very exciting dog note, this past trails week end, Denise and I took the 4 wheeler out with Trondheim and Lemmikki. It was their first time and they did great! They are now just over 10 months and have been running with the skijor belt since spring. Trondheim went next to his very good buddy Hanna and Lemmikki with her uncle Uno-tuk. They were very good role models. The pups will be in the teams this winter and look like they will fit in wonderfully. Speaking of trails, Lynn and Deb were up to help and we nipped a new corner from the Dogwood Trail to the Inuit so that we can turn to the west side. It goes past some huge tamaracks which we were treated to their full golden fall color. The maples are pretty much done but the deciduous and larches are beautiful right now. Big Hund got nuetered this month; since he decided he was a house dog and could run loose, he was getting into too much trouble with the open females. He still seems pretty happy. Most mornings I can go out with the 4 wheeler so the dogs have been getting great exercise. I'm looking forward to November 1 when Cara, the assistant, comes and we can get even more dogs out. Yes, I have a handler for the winter who looks great. I know her family well as her mom was my best friend in high school and college. Cara Schwartz, her youngest, is 22 and has attended Winona College and loves dogs. I am planning a trek to the Cities for the Midwest Mountaineering Outdoor Expo. I will be speaking on Friday Nov 21 at 7:45 pm at the Expedition Stage in the store. I invite you all to come on down and see the slide show. It's free and they have lots of booths about the winter and outdoors. September 15, 2008 Full moon of frost, ripening tomatoes and change... Seems like so many changes in the last month not the least of which is going from shorts to long underwear. Below freezing with a thick ice crust on the buckets this morning. We had our first frost on August 25 but we were prepared, covered plants and didn't lose anything. We started the month off 2 " precipitation below normal and have had many heavy rains (2.3" on the 27th) and are now above normal. And the gardens have made a major transition. We've dug the gaarlic and it is awesome- the best crop I've ever had. There's probably 75 pounds hanging drying in the shed. Part of it will get replanted this fall and the rest is pesto-bound! All the root crops have done well- onions, potatoes, carrots and the cooler crops- broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower. Just the warm lovers- tomatoes and squash are very slow. We ate our first ever sweet corn on Sept 2 and it is good. A huge change was Allison and Drew going back to Northland College at the end of August. They were so good with the dogs, kayakers and gardens and are really missed. Many of you know of my first three dogs: Cayenne, Hildur and Petra. They were the heart of Wintermoon and wonderful dogs. We lost one of their offspringthis month; big, handsome Bombo, son of Petra and Kivi. He was Craig's first dog and his trusted leader and buddy for 16 years. Luckily his legacy include pups (at 5 years) Uno-tuk, Kapu and Libby and grandkids Trondheim, Lemmikki and Craig's Quimik and Tillie. In the dog department, the cool mornings have meant I can take the 4 wheeler out and the dogs are lovin' it. We do a loop that goes out the Dogwood and cuts over to the road and then back up the driveway. I also have been running with the skijoring belt so the musher can stay in shape. Ida was spayed this month and everyone else is doing well. Mel has been eating quite well too. I am planning 2 trails week ends: Oct 4-5 and Oct 11-12 and they are open to everyone, women and men. I provide the food & lodging. We will work on regular maintence and we need a different ending to the Raspberry. (Ask Andrea about trying to turn around in 4 feet of snow, having the sled run over you, laughing to hard to get up.... you get the picture). One of the fun things I did this summer was create some inukshuks- rocks piled on each other, traditionally to mark the way. I had my eye on these red rocks for a couple years and they must have felt the energy because when we put them together, it was like magic how they looked and balanced. These rocks have come to represent how life is quite stable and solid and precarious at the same time. I've always been a fan of paradox and this is a beautiful one. The 2008-09 dogsledding schedule is up and we are still reserving group week ends, if you are interested, let me know soon. And registrations are open for all dates. August 16, 2008 Full moon of summer squash and Oskar's adventures Oskar the dog says "who needs those people anyway. I can run to the end of the driveway and back perfectly well on my own. And oh so much faster. That skijor belt dragging behind me was a little annoying.... something about a buckle that broke." Yes, as I undid the snap to Oskar's collar and he bolted from his space at this typical lightning speed, the buckle broke and away he went. First I ran after him but he was not inclined to turn around. He sped past both Drew and coop cabin Anita, so I ran for the truck to follow him. Before I could even get the truck turned around, he came still speeding back to his space. Oskar gets a milk bone! The gardens are looking so beautiful, even though we have only gotten one ripe tomato out of 150 plants. We do have great broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash, beans, greens, basil and potatoes. The peppers are starting to come too but those tomatoes just won't ripen. It has been a cooler summer than usual, which of course is fine for us and the dogs. If we can get a little more heat we should have alot of tomatoes. We have had several mornings in the 30's and 40's so it will be touch and go. The rest of the dogs are doing great and have had lots of the kayakers taking them for morning walks/runs. I would guess in a couple weeks I will be switching to the 4 wheeler. And the kayak trips have been marvelous. The weather has been good, the water levels up from last year, even Lake Superior. The fire ring got moved more to the middle of the yard and we've had some good fires and some-mores. A couple of the kayak groups have been helping on our newest funding project for the dog's vet account. It was the idea of this group of wild women from Oregon and Pennsylvania after seeing a calendar in my outhouse of a similar vein. Let's just say doing stuff in the outdoors in the buff can be exhilarating. Of course, no one is compromised in their poses but it has been lots of fun. Especially the two women who did the snow angels last February! So it is looking like we have enough pictures for a 2009 calendar "we've gone... for the dogs" I think we still need one more shoot in the gardens. It will be on sale starting this fall. I really appreciate everyone's efforts for helping with vet care of our wonderful dogs. And many thanks to all who have been sponsoring dogs. (For more info see page on Husky Sponsors). The living room addition is coming along and hope to have it enclosed and insulated before fall. All the windows and doors are in now and Hund (a temporary house dog) and Sisu have moved out there. Aaigimak is still on the couch in the old living room, now called the dining room/music room. We love having the piano, so it has been a good reorganization. There will be trails weekends the first two in October: 3-5 and 10-12. All are welcome; I provide the food. And it's fun. Allison and Drew leave at the end of this month. It has been so great to have them here and the place reflects it. They are thoughtful young folks who make you very hopeful about our future. July 18, 2008 Full moon of many little weeds and happy dogs We have been getting some good rain for the gardens and they are doing well, along with the little weeds. Actually some of the weeds have gotten big but we are trying to stay ahead, especially in the garlic. It is looking fantastic; some of the best we've had. There's been some good kayak trips in June and July already; the lakes and creeks are up and the paddling is good. There are still openings on the trips in September. The summer birds are beautiful- lots of finches, rose breasted grosbeaks, blue jays,...it seems that whenever I put up the feeder that is easy to put up the bear doesn't come but the minute I put up the hard one, he comes immediately. No difference in how much he gets from either one. Makes me think he must pass by pretty often. The dogs are doing great and have been getting "run" every morning. Allison and Drew are great with them, and with everything else this summer too. It is the busy time of summer but we have been taking the time to schedule the custom/contract dogsledding trips... so if you are interested, let me know. Good dreaming... And that of course makes me think of trails.... we will be having trails week ends the first 2 in October and all are welcome to come help build them. I provide the food, Bunk-her, sauna, garlic,.... it's fun to be in the cool crisp clean air. June 18, 2008 Full moon of cool mornings and baby chickens Full moon day was a big one: it was 33 degrees this am and we got the 4 wheeler back out and hooked up 8 happy dogs. Allison and I harnessed up Eleanor, Signe, Shim, Ida, Wing, Odin, Uno-tuk and Cinder and they went flying down the trail. Luckily there was a ditch with some water for them to cool down in. It was alot of fun. This was the latest I remember going out with the 4 wheeler. Drew, Allison and I have been jogging with the dogs every morning and because it has been quite a cool spring, they are doing really well. Especially Lemmikki and Trondheim. Now 6 months old, they run and pull with amazing focus and drive. They still love to run loose and play, play,... but I can tell they will be great this winter. And I sat on a couch in the new living room with lilacs on the end table looking out the new skylight for the first time. Of course the back north wall isn't done and the roof not finished but why should that stop a memorable moment. It is a sunny space that will be really enjoyed. But the biggest focus of the last month has been the gardens. We are about 95% planted and although things are slower than normal they are looking good. We built a new greenhouse at Thornapple where the pigs had been last year, with the help of Kathleen and Randy, (soil looks good) and it needs a little more work but had 30 tomatoes, 30 peppers and 20 basil. We have about 140 tomatoes, great garlic, potatoes, onions, broccoli (the rabbits have gotten some), beans, peas, greens,.... and some very little squash. We should have a great harvest. Rebecca started us some turkeys from eggs and got 1 day old layers , 25 of them, and got them off to a good start for us. They are a month old and we should have lots of great eggs. They are very cute. Kayak trips start this week end and luckily the weather has turned warmer. There are still openings on some of the trips, especially the September ones. House dog Aaigimak is doing well at 15, but Sisu has gotten her calcium imbalance back again and had a seizure. She is on her medication and seems to be doing better. We also have a new thunder and lightning dog: Signe. She has taken Karhu's space. There are 6 and that seems to be about what I can handle altho with the new living room.... Now is the time to let me know if you have a group that would like to get a date for dogsledding this winter. And of course I have a new trail in mind to build... along our western border.... trails week end will be October 4-5 and 11-12 and all are welcome. May 19, 08 Full moon of visiting handlers and growing seedlings (I wrote this on the full moon but it did not get uploaded and luckily Manya let me know so I'm doing it over...) DJ was just here and we just took Lemmikki and Trondheim now 5 mos., out for walks in harness. They are doing exceptional! And in the last month they have gone on harness walks with Erika, who is on her way to work on an organic farm in MA, and Kate. Jennifer is coming next so they are getting alot of attention and still so friendly and loving to each other. David has 100's of tomato, basil, broccoli,... seedlings started in his house and they will be going into the gardens soon. April 20, 2008 Full moon of the vanishing snows First, sorry the news is a couple days late as I've been having computer woes.... But have we been having fantastic weather. Today is was 60 degrees- perfect building weather and David and I got the roof and tar paper on the cabin addition. And what's the most perfect, we went dogsledding on snow right up until then. My last run was with Eleanor, Signe and Oskar (siblings) on APRIL 16 ! One of the latest times in awhile. The Dogwood loop was still open and in wonderful shape. One early morning run a couple weeks ago, we were on the Petrell Creek section, after a fresh snow and there were tracks from a pack of wolves. This pack didn't just run through, they had a party! I have never seen so many tracks in one place; it was beautiful and fun to imagine them.... There were no kills visable and it was about a month past breeding season. A couple days later, Craig and I took teams down to see the tracks and there were 3 immature eagles circling around, so probably there was a kill somewhere near. And the next day, there was one lone very eaten deer skull laying on the creek. The next time I went, it's now early April, my wheel dog's back feet went through the ice and I knew it was time to go the woods trail. Receiving 17 inches of snow the second week in April was such a gift and I went out every day. And now, hard to believe in one week the snow is all gone. So I've started garden seedlings and planted greens in the greenhouse. David has been cutting and spliting wood like crazy after almost running out this year. It was a cold winter. Pups Lemmikki and Trondheim are 4 and one half months old and have joined the dog yard. They kept climbing the 4 foot fence and taking off on me. Lots of deer and smells to follow. They still play together constantly and I take them on loose walks. The dogs are doing good and I'm planning to start training with the 4 wheeler this week. Riley had surgery for an anal growth but is recovering nicely. Mel is eating better and went on 3 runs this late winter and pulled the whole time. We lost another elder Wintermoon dog this month: Wasamo, 14, the lightning dog. His name was Ojibway for lightning, he was born in a storm and could run as fast as..... He was also great great great grandfather to the puppies and was always a gentle, affectionate and loving dog. And a good leader- he ran on the elder team the last few years. There's pussywillows and red wing blackbirds, puddles and robins, and soon the lakes will be ice free and we can get the kayaks out. See kayaking for our summer schedule; we'd love to have you join us. And as Amelia Earhart says "Adventure is worthwhile in itself." March 21, 2008 Full moon of the wild and growing puppies Good news on the puppy front! I have kept 2 of the three month old Libby(daughter of Gabby and Bombo) and Jax (dog of Craig's) pups. I have the all black male, now known as Trondheim, named for the town in Norway where my grandfather was born. And I have the little brown girl, now Lemmikki, a Finnish word for sweetheart. They have been going out to the big dog yard and meeting the other dogs, going on walks, learning to sleep on the couch, chew everything and be the subject of hundreds of pictures. They are pretty cute and so far have been coming when I call. This week end is our last group of the season, the mother/daughter and the snow is holding. We have had some sunny warm 30 plus days but we still have a very good base of snow. Hopefully we will still be sledding for weeks to come. The dogs are all doing great and have been so good on all the runs. Just a couple girls in heat to keep things interesting but no problems with that. There is very sad news about Karhu; she was not able to survive the immune disease she had. She was one of the smartest, gentlest, loving and energetic dogs I've had and I miss her alot. I could let her loose at the gangline and she would run back to her house. I had a wonderful visit from a handler of old- actually 01-02- Robyn. She is now married (Pedersen to Thayer), living in Colorado, teaching yoga and doing her art work. She has a beautiful collection of cards with great writings and her theme is "fearless self expression for your most delectable life". She's studio lila at www.studiolila.com. Last trip, it came up about trails.... as many folks have been admiring the new Inuit Trail. I am looking at the first w/e in October, 4-5. Anyone who would like to come up and work in the quiet woods and help out; I provide the food and all. As the days lengthen, our thoughts turn to our wonderful gardens. It has been so satifying to serve the dried tomatoes, potatoes, onions, squash, carrots,... and all this winter. David started the pepper seeds this week and next we will start tomatoes, herbs, flowers and all. It is what sustains us as we loose our beautiful snow. Along those lines, I was given Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and can hardly put it down. It's about her family deciding for a year to eat only food that they buy raised in their neighborhood or that they grow themselves. I have been captivated by Kingsolver's writing and she is true to form in this non-fiction as well She takes a very serious subject: "the conspicuous consumption of limited resources has yet to be accepted widely as a spiritual error, or even bad manners", researches her info and adds wonderful experiences and insight. She helps advance the concept of locavores and is a great inspiration. I highly recommend it. We want to add Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Iowa, Colorado, Washington and more California to our season's guest list. Many thanks for joining us. February 20,2008 Full moon of more cold and many guests It has been so fun to have women from all over the country: California, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Nevada, North Dakota.... and to have women returning for their 10th and 13th times! It has been fun conversations at the dinner table, in the sauna and on the dogsled. The mushing has been devine as we got a good base of snow early in the winter. We haven't had alot lately, but an inch or two now and then to freshen up the trails. AND speaking of trails, finally after over two years, I can announce that the INUIT TRAIL IS DONE !!! It is named after my first three dogs: Cayenne and her 2 offspring: Hildur and Petra. Cayenne was an Inuit dog from Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories, Canada and had been Lloyd's dog before I got her as a present December 25, 1986, the day she had Hildur and Petra. The dogs are doing good and have been loving all of the attention. The new ones : Eleanor and Signe are great leaders and Clark and William (who have both done the Iditarod with former owner Matt Weik) are good pullers. We have one sick dog however so please send her some good thoughts: Karhu has an immune disease and we are hoping the medication will help. Speaking of Cayenne and my first dogs.... I have finished the first chapter of the Wintermoon book. It took over a year to write. It is about getting started with dogs and was fun to think back twenty years to those momentous events. The book chapter is a perk at the $100. level of dog sponsorship. You can sponsor any Wintermoon dog and at the $50. level you get a mug with the dog's picture and $100. level a mug and a chapter. At the end of January we had fun helping out at the start of the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth. We were a handler crew helping the teams to the starting line and got to see alot of dogs!! It was unfortunate however that there were a number of crashes on the first turn and Jennifer Frekking, who has come in 2nd in the past, tipped and broke her wrist. She had to drop out. Another women crashed and broke her sled and had to have another one brought in. She went from 2nd out to last but was able to continue. Hopefully the Beargrease Committee will make some changes with this. As many of you know, I love books and Tammy from Oregon just brought me a new Balto book: The Adventures of Balto, the Untold Story of Alaska's Famous Iditarod Sled Dog by Patricia Chargot. The picture on the front looks like the real Balto, who also looks alot like our Aaigimak. (who by the way at 15 is really doing well) I haven't gotten to read the whole thing but there's a quote at the end when Balto and his team mates get to Cleveland and are in a parade from Judge James B. Ruhl, chairman of the Balto Committee: "The dog is man's best friend. A dog's love is akin to a mother's love. He is man's last friend when the cloud of misfortune hangs over him. And he is to be found watching at his master's grave when the last friend has departed." January 22, 2008 Full moon of clear, cold skies and growing puppies Libby's 6 week old puppies are laying in front of the wood stove; they are very smart pups, as it has been below 0 and actually -25 at night. They are very cute too and are enjoying all the attention from everyone. They come running to the door and it is pretty hard not to let them in. Libby is a good mom and they took their first walk with her today down the Grouse trail. In other trail news, we worked on the Inuit trail today and we are almost finished.... I am really hoping soon. The other trails are great; we have gotten close to 50 inches of snow this season. And the dogs are doing great and loving the good trails. Handler/intern Abby Taylor arrived this week and is getting to know the dogs and layout. She is from the East Coast so this is a new experience for her. In the rare bird department this winter is a female cardinal. I have never seen one here before. The winter moon has been so beautiful and bright in the clear sky, reflecting off the curves and folds of the snow. It brings forth such magical feelings and love of winter. There's peacefulnes that falls with the snow and it lightens ones soul. Hope yours is full too. Full moon of Gabby's grand puppies December 23,2007 Gabby, our beautiful 5 year old from Ursa and Hund, is proud to announce the birth of six grand puppies born to her daughter Libby. The father of the pups is Jax, a black and white male from Chel Ethun. Libby's father is Bombo, son of Petra and Kivi and is owned by Craig Johnson, a Wintermoon partner. Libby's sister is Kapu and brother is Uno-tuk. The three males and three females were born December 10 and are coming to Wintermoon for the winter to be able to meet all the guests. Their eyes are open and they are starting to waddle around. In other very good news we have great snow. We have had several amazing snow storms with almost a foot of snow each time! The trails are great- like floating on snow. We have several open and are working on getting the South Cedar Loop and the new Inuit trails open. The dogs are really good and have been enjoying lots of runs right from the dog yard. It looks like Petrell Creek might have slush this year and not be open. Rosie has left for Colorado and we have had so many good friends come to help until the winter handler Abby Taylor arrives January 21. MANY THANKS to Wendy, Jama, Allison, Drew, Jane, Dana, Mietuk, Anita, Linda, Julie, Maija, Jennifer, Craig, Kate, Lynne and David for all the wonderful assistance!!! We have started on a little addition project to the cabin and it will progress throughout the winter. The Bunk-her has some beautiful new siding and porch and railings upstairs. It has been fun to work on these for the celebration of our 20th season. With the start of the New Year if anyone would like to help sponsor any of the Wintermoon huskies, you can get a mug or chapter of the Wintermooon book. Please see sponsorship page. I have completed the first chapter and it will be sent out to the sponsors very soon. Found some great pics of Hildur, Petra and Cayenne. We all wish you a wonderful 2008 and winter season and may your year be filled with the wisdom of huskies: live in the present moment, forgive, play and exercise with gusto, get enought rest and give kisses to those you love. And I want to thank all of you who have come to Wintermoon Summersun over the past year for supporting and believing in us. Full moon of trail clearing... November 23,2007 We have been having the pleasure of walking around all the Wintermoon trails, nippers in hand, quiet abounding, and snipping off all those pesky woody plants that grow up in our path. It is such a meditative and soothing thing, although a little hard on the back. The Dogwood and Grouse trails are almost done and we have also been chipping away at the new, never been used, Inuit trail that is along our northern border. It is about 3/4 done and I am really looking forward to running dogs on it this winter! Then we still have the south Cedar Loop and the Raspberry to do. It has been made easier, unfortunately, by the fact that we don't have any snow. Our 5" that we have gotten has melted with some warmer temps however there is some in the forecast for this week. Thanksgiving was a wonderful celebration with all the Brimson community of friends. This was my 34th year attending and it is very grounding to be able to have this connection with a place and long time friends. It reminds me of a wonderful saying Sandy gave me- contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. I have been thinking alot about this winter being my 20th season sharing dogsledding. All the wonderful people I have met, all the wonderful dogs I have and have had, the fun mushing... that is a huge space of thankfulness in my heart! And in the other type of space category: we're giving the lodge a renovation too. The dogs have been doing very well training with the 4 wheeler and are getting in great shape. Signe and Eleanor the new dogs,(Oskar's sisters) have been leading for me and seem to like their new home alot. We did get the rest of the garlic planted with our warm fall and everything is done in the garden except we are still eating kale from the greenhouse! It has been alot of getting ready for winter: firewood, trails, construction projects, putting away stuff, promoting trips,... Rosie is leaving next week; she has been a wonderful help and has been great to have here, hard working, positive attitude, loves the dogs and outdoors and fun to be with. The winter handler- Abby Taylor an intern from Salsbury College arrives Jan 20. So in between lots of great friends will be helping out- Jama from Arkansas is coming later in December, Wendy, Mpls is coming up the middle week ends in December, Linda and Julie are coming up next week end, Allison, now at Northland College, is coming for a week before and after Christmas and DJ, upstate NY, is coming for 3 weeks in January! Wow are we lucky. If anyone else wants to come up to be with the dogs, trails,.... you are sure welcome too. It is a beautiful time in the woods too. With all the leaves down, you can see so much more and the subtle colors of dried grasses with the green firs and grey aspens and white birch trees are beautiful. The winter birds are arriving and the pine grosbeaks really add a splash of color. Lots of blue jays, chickadees, gray jays and nuthatches too. It seems just yesterday I was able to feed the dogs at 9 pm and still have daylight and now I better be out there by 4:30 ! I am sitting at the dining room table and see snowflakes in the air. That makes one's heart sing! Full moon of garlic planting time October 25, 2007 The leaves are all blown and fallen now but there is still a golden brilliance with the tamaracks (Eastern larch) turning. We are blessed with alot of them ( they like semi-wet "feet") and so Brimson is alive with their feathery golden colors. And so that means it it time to plant garlic. We have 10 pounds planted already and hope to do 10 more today. We cover them well with straw and it is so fun because they are the first things up in the spring. We had a great trails week end and got to celebrate 2 birthdays: Jane and Allison and so out came the "party promy dresses" and Hugos- here we come! It was fun to dance after a hard day in the woods. We really got alot done on the trail too. We connected the Dogwood with a brand new section that meets what we built last year. It is at the northern edge of our property and I think will be called the Inuit trail in honor of my first 3 dogs: Cayenne, Hildur & Petra who were Inuit dogs from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada. It will be a beautiful trail with lots of variety of terrain and trees. Many thanks to Jane, Allison, Jennifer, Rosie, Deb, Maija and Craig for all the great help on the trail and moving the piano !! We had a little excitement that Saturday morning too. Craig was up helping and we were setting him up on the 4 wheeler with 3 of his dogs- Libby (Uno-tuk and Kapu's sibling) and T-too in lead, then Jax with 3 of my dogs. He was almost ready to go when we heard snap and the gangline broke right behind the leaders and away they went. Jennifer and Alllison ran after them, Craig went for his truck to meet them where the trail comes close to the road and Deb, Jane and I put the other dogs back. When they didn't return, I got in my truck and went looking. Craig said he didn't see them at the trail, Jennifer ran up and she didn't see them, so they turned around and I started walking the Dogwood. I walked the whole thing thinking I might find them but they were way too fast and ran the entire loop. Jennifer and Craig met them as they were almost back. Both were fine and smiling.... We have 2 new dogs: Signe and Eleanor, both from Claire Seekins and sisters to Oskar. They love !!! to run and are doing well. We lost our elder, the big beautiful white Kuu this past month. He was 16 1/2 and really did well right up until end. Maija gave him a wonderful and fitting tribute: Kuu Bear... Old soul Youthful spirit Charmer Companion We'll see you on the trails.. The morning runs with the 4 wheeler are going very well and the dogs are getting stronger. Rosie is having fun here and is a great worker. She will be here until mid- December. The living room/dining room looks great after it's sanding frenzy; I love the exposed log beams! Full moon of the fall rains September 26, 2007 It was made perfectly clear in the morning light why the dogs were so barky last night. As I walked Aaigimak down the driveway for her morning stroll, the deep impressions of tracks were unmistakable! The moose had come all the way to the edge of the dog yard, then whirled around and back down the drive to the corner where the sled dog trail goes into the woods. If only I had gotten up, but it was so warm and comfy and we had had two days of really hard work taking the old ceiling down from the living room/dining room. Yes, we started another big project... well, why not, kayak trip season had been over for almost 12 hours. It had been a desire of mine for such a long time. I was hoping to be greeted by beautiful log beams and good looking wood; unfortunately we will be grinding and sanding for a long time. One of the reasons to start this week, it is Jennifer's last week and Rosie's second week here and so there are 3 of us which really helps. We will miss Jennifer and her caring ways with the dogs, people, pigs & chickens, gardens,... Yes again, it had been a very busy summer. We are just taking in the last of the garden- big boxes of squash, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and garlic hanging in the shed. The carrots are great too although we are fighting with the deer over them; we cover them with tarps every night so the deer can't eat them. We had a great visit with Manya and Joe from PA. this month and they helped us with so many projects like finishing up the interior of the Bunk her and digging potatoes. We are so happy that the fall weather has included lots of rain, over 5 inches since last month, about what we were behind. So much rain that we were able to go down Petrell Creek into Breda Lake for our swan song kayak. It was amazing; I can't ever remember it being that high water. We did not see a single rock! And it was so fun to have 6 family members on this trip from a 16 year old granddaughter to her 64 year old grandmother. Fall kayaking also included snow the second week of September and the Sage group here showed alot of sisu ! (Our wonderful Finnish word for tenacity, guts, endurance...) as they paddled in 40 degrees. Luckily the next 2 days warmed up nicely. We have started with the 4 wheeler training the dogs altho not every morning is cool enough so we still jog with them too. They are doing great and dreams of snow trails dance in all of our heads. Speaking of trails, I will be having a TRAIL WEEK END OCTOBER 19-21 for anyone who would like to come up and help work on the sled dog trails. I provide the food, Bunk her, sauna,... Just call (218-848-2442) or email. One of our elder dogs, 15 year old Spice, the beautiful red, high energy, bark at rocks, always ready to go, has gone back to live with Pat Jones who I got her from 5 years ago. Spice had been a leader on a sprint team and was ready now to really retire. We will miss her gentle spirit. We have gotten to see Maija recently because she moved to Grand Marais to start a nursing program. It will be good to have her close. The fall colors came a little early this year, probably because it had been so dry but the maples were brilliant. I was thinking how the intense reds of fall seem to evoke such wonderful feelings like passion, creativity and courage... which is so helpful when dealing with change. Time to go run dogs,.... hope to see you sledding this winter..... Full moon of hot and dry August 28, 2007 (entered a little late....) We have been spending a bit of extra time watering the gardens & animals because of lack of rain; we have had high fire danger again too. The dogs are doing well altho can't always go for runs in the am. with this heat. The kayak trips continue to go well and we are having so much fun exploring all the lakes in the area. The wild rice is growing and filling Petrell Creek, Breda Lake and Wolf Lake. We've continued to see lots of eagles and loons this summer. The broiler chickens have been butchered and the pigs are really growing. They love visitors, especially ones that pick grass and kale for them to eat. Last week end was the 25th Brimson Sisu Run/Walk with over 250 participants. There were great prizes, wonderful music from Jennifer Levenhagen, the handler, and Kari Munson, good food and a beautiful day. The dogsledding schedule is posted and we are thinking about the fun of gliding through the woods on soft and beautiful snow already. We would love to have you join us and if you have any questions please let me know. And so in fall we head out to the trails to get them in shape. Any one wanting to join us nipping trails is so welcome : October 19-21. I provide the food and all. It is a fun time to be out in the woods. Full moon of happy kayakers July 29, 2007 We have had 31 kayakers here since the last full moon... from places like Kansas, Arkansas, Montana & Wisconsin. With the hot weather we have been having, it has been wonderful to be on the water. We've seen lots of birds- loons, eagles, an osprey nest with young, blue herons, and a muskrat swam almost right up to my boat and today, Jennifer saw a wolf on the shore of Petrell Creek. Sarah and Jim have been carefully tending the gardens, chickens and pigs while we have been paddling. All are doing well. The 150 broilers are out in the pasture now in four pens. And the pigs... do they love to root ! They are the perfect soil preparers for future gardens. I can see planting lots of garlic in their space this fall. And they are very friendly- they seem to like to be petted and are quite social. The thousand seeds planted last month have really taken off however we have had to do ALOT of watering as it has been a dry summer, again. We have been eating delicious greens, basil for the pesto and peas. We have 90 tomato plants and they are just starting to ripen. Lots of good salsa in our future. The dogs have been doing ok too altho this is not their favorite time. They are enjoying getting brushed, lots of water and pets. I have been thinking of trails already tho and have some trail week ends in October if anyone is interested in coming up for nipping and swamping the brush on the dog trails. I provide the food, sauna, Bunk her... We have gotten some more done on the inside of the Bunk her too so it is almost done. Then to the outside. We have openings on one kayak trip in August, the 17-19 if anyone would like to join us. Both September trips are filled now. The wolves have been howling again off to the East. I imagine they can move around a little more now the they young are 3-4 months old. We have been short on northern lights tho this summer. The fireflys have been making up for it. And during the day, there are so many colorful yellow and purple finches and hummingbirds to delight us. I am putting together the winter dogsledding schedule and if you have a group that would like to come, please get ahold of me for dates. Keep cool and happy trails. June 30, 2007 Full moon of thousands of seeds planted and Jennifer's birthday Jennifer, the kayaking assistant and dog handler arrived at the beginning of the month and we just celebrated her 25th birthday. She is fitting in very well, loves running the dogs, the alternative life-style and kayaking. We have done a couple trips already and July is full. We do have lots of openings in August however. Jim and Sarah have pulled a million weeds and planted thousands of seeds. The gardens are coming up, altho it has been dry here again and we have had to water by hand alot. We have a new 60 tomato plant greenhouse at Thornapple and the pigs have helped us expand the gardens there too. The pond has had a makeover and it is so sweet to see the goldfinches and other birds go to it for water. That was the intent of building it but the flowers and rock builing part has been fun too. The dogs are surviving the hot weather and bug season. Not to much they can do in the heat; they all have shade, dig themselves nice holes in the dirt and get lots of water. We have an opening in one of the cooperative cabins (6 weeks a year) if anyone is interested. Please call or e mail and I would be glad to share the details. I am starting to schedule the dogsledding dates so if you are interested in having a custom trip with 6-10 please let me know and we can talk dates. It has been fun to see the baby fawns following their moms into the woods. Lots of baby birds showing up at the feeders too. And this year: the bear. It has come numerous times and knocked over the feeders; just looks at me when I yell- go away bear! Then ambles off. Jennifer has gotten to see it so that is nice and Jim, Sarah and I saw a moose on the driveway and they have seen a wolf twice. The life force bursting forth at this time of year is such a miracle and a blessing to be part of. We had our first basil pesto from the garden and it was wonderful ! May 31, 2007 It's a blue full moon... rising... It was actually orangey and very large lighting up the sky as she rose.. magnificent! A bookend for a very full month. It started out very dry and I'm sure many of you heard of the forest fires up North here, particularly the Ham Lake on the Gunflint which burned 75,000 acres. We could smell the smoke but did not have any here, luckily. Then about mid-month it started raining, usually 1 to 2 tenths of an inch and has been steady all month. It's great to relieve our fire worry but hard on the gardening. So were are a little behind in getting the gardens in. Sarah and Jim, the garden interns arrived May 15 and have been hard at it preparing soil, building a new greenhouse at Thornapple, putting up fences and planting potatoes and onions. We also moved the 2 pigs from my house to Thornapple where they will spend the summer. They are so amazing how they root up all the weeds with their noses. And they like to be petted and rubbed. They have escaped twice and once ran out into the woods but we were able to round them up. Jennifer arrives tomorrow and will be helping with the kayaking trips. She went to school with Maija so knows a little about us. Speaking of Maija- she is just leaving to visit Adolfo in Guatemala for a few weeks after completing her pre-req classes in nursing. I had alot of fun at the Living Green Expo in eary May. It is for businesses and products that promote sustainability and it was great to share what we have been doing here for 34 years! The dogs are good and we have still been getting them out with the 4 wheeler on the cool mornings. Otherwise jogging with them which suits them just fine as they really like to stop and smell the _______ along the way. This past w/e it was great to have the help of Rebecca, Carl, Meg, Deb and Sarah helping run them and we got so many out. Meg and Sarah have attended our last couple mother daughter dogsledding weekends and know all of the dogs so very well. Sisu is temporarily a house dog as her calcium levels have gotten to high and needs a little more attention again. She and Aaigimak seem to be getting along altho they both prefer the log loveseat. We have a new dog Jude from Claire and Chris again. She looks alot like Oskar and is related. It is thunderstorm season so I have my 5 dogs that usually need to come in: Juno, Hund, Raven, Karhu and Sisu. We have been have a number of slumber parties. The bird songs are so sweet this time of year; it seems they are all so happy or territorial... We have had about 20 gold finches coming to the thistle feeder and I had to put up another one. The trees are about 80 % leaved out and things are just starting to bloom, the air is filled with earthy and fragrant smells and the gardens are calling..... May 2, 2007 Full moon of warm temps and low moisture Well last month I wrote it was starting to snow but not sticking on the ground... well a happy April Fools to us! We got 12 inches and I was so thrilled to take the sled back out and mush every day until Easter. I didn't drive my truck the entire first week in April so I could use the driveway for running the dogs and it was heavenly. The last sled runs on Easter morning had both Uno-tuk and Kapu in lead and they did very well. My only thought was where was this foot of snow in December ? And now we have had 18 days in a row with above normal temps, many 50 & 60's, and so it is dry again and the fire danger is high. This is really something we don't want to see. Our morning runs are now done with the 4 wheeler and on foot, both of which are very satisfying. The dogs can run so much faster pulling the 4 wheeler (I have it in Nuetral with the engine off) than I can run with them but it is better for me when we do the harness and skijor belt. I'm here on my own this month and so mornings are pretty busy. This morning it was the elder team of Dune, Spice, who will be 15 on May 11 !!, Makoon, Wasamo, Sisu and Louise. They had that 4 wheeler rockin' on the post before we got going and they did great. All the dogs are doing very well and are starting to blow out their winter coats. We are looking forward to the May 15 arrival of Sarah and Jim who will be helping out this summer with a focus on the organic gardens and farm. The 2 pigs come next week and the chickens in June. Then at the beginning of June, Jennifer will join us and she will be doing alot with the dogs and kayaking. We have alot to do this summer so if anyone is interested in coming up and volunteering let me know. There is the Bunk her to finish too, trail work, dogs, carpentry at the cooperative cabins,... I want to thank everyone who has sponsored dogs in the new husky sponsorship program. I have over 75% of my dogs over 8 years old and with the older dogs, it usually means more medical attention. Last year it was around $4,700.00 in vet bills so this program really helps to insure that the dogs can get the care they need. The cups with the pictures of the dogs are turning out really nice too. More info on the Sponsorship page. It is fun to have a little more time for reading and I got a book that I heard about in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know (which I would recommend). It is by a Japanese Masaru Emoto called The Hidden Messages in Water. Amazing info and research he did on the the ability of water to copy information. Water formations would change based on words he presented to the water.... there are wonderful pictures. The seedlings are planted and up, the spinach is up in the greenhouse, the goldfinches are turning yellow and the red wing blackbirds are back and the wood frogs had started their chorus... it is a magical time with new energy. There are still openings on kayak trips and it would be great to share some of the Northwoods splendor with you. April 2, 2007 Full moon of the spring melt We thought we had such a good base of snow after the storms last month brought 22" but 5 days in a row of 50 and 60 degrees showed us ! The snows have again melted earlier than previous years and I fear we are looking at an inconvenient truth. We ended up the season only about 5 inches below normal with 64 inches. Now today mother nature is playing April Fools and it is snowing but the bare ground is soaking it in. We do need the moisture though. Another passage is that Kate's time ended on March 31. We really enjoyed her and she was so good with the dogs and people. From her first day, picking up a hammer and helping with the entire Bunk her addtion to her last, teaching me how to copy and paste and taking Sisu for a run, she worked hard and was a joy to have here. She is off to visit family, do a little traveling, a dog sitting job and then probably back to the Cities to look for her next adventure. We just finished the brochure, newsletter... and so you should be getting it in the mail soon. I am excited about a new offering with Judy Wick, massage therapist. She is an experienced runner and personal trainer and we are going to have a workshop for women that looks at all aspects of running, races and triathlons. See the page on Running Seminar for more info. I have been having fun writing the book about Wintermoon. A side bar to the chapters as I move through the years will be about how the dogs got their names and what they mean. I am reading a book that Andrea (top returnee at 13 years!) loaned me this winter: The World is as You Dream It - Teachings from the Amazon and Andes by John Perkins. One part I read that I really liked "For most tribal people, the risk was not so much one of dying but of not living properly. It was the quality of your time on Earth, not quantity, that was important." I am enjoying the book and would recommend it. One way that spring adds to our quality of life is the return of so many birds. The grouse are drumming out in the woods; earlier than usual because the old fallen trees they stand on to proclaim their territory are free of snow. The feeders are now the reds of the purple finches and yellow of the evening grosbeaks. There's the motion of large flocks of finches, juncoes, siskins coming and going. And the ever present BLUES of the jays and black and white of chickadees. And Whitey is still here coming every day altho she/he was gone for about 4 days in March. ?? If anyone is interested in a summer break up in the woods and would like to volunteer in exchange for a cabin and food, let me know. We will have lots to do this summer with gardens, kayaking, chickens, pigs, building projects,.... We are planning the kayaking trips and there is still time to reserve a weekend for a group of 6 or more or you also can start signing up as individuals too. I can already hear the water splashing against the boat and the wind in the trees. We would love to have you join us. March 3, 2007 Full moon with lots of snow We have had full blown winter (finally) this past week; two great snowfalls with over 20" of new snow. David has been out with the groomer and the trails are looking suberb. We are so happy because this should mean our dogsledding season can last longer. Dogsledding has been great and it is so fun to have women come from all over the country- in the last month: Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Arkansas, Texas, California and even Germany. It is like taking a vacation tour for Kate and I to hear all the great stories and descriptions of other places. It has inspired a chapter in the book I've started too. I would like to share some of the interesting stories I have heard from guests. Wait til you hear about David the quail who bonded with a dog and was "housebroken". Husky sponsorships are going well too with 13 dogs chosen already. The cups with their pictures are turning out really nice as Kate is the official photographer. She just got a digital camera before she came up for the winter and has a great eye. Plus she is so good with the dogs, I'm sure that helps. Aaigimak who just turned 14 (daughter of Hildur) is doing so well as the housedog. And her hair and tail have grown in alot more too. She is happy to go on walks with all and has been nice in sharing the house with Dune the last 2 weeks. He had a tumor on his front leg removed and all seems well. After it is healed, he should be able to run again. He is the greatest leader and has been wonderful with the elder team. Planning has started for summer kayaking groups. If you have 6-8 and would like a week end just for your group, please let me know soon as I will be doing my brochure shortly. That beautiful Petrell Creek we have been running the dogs on this winter, becomes a pristine and gentle waterway for kayaking in the summer. And I am ordering seeds for the garden this week. Pictures of basil, tomatoes, peas, arugula and peppers dance in my head. We will be starting some in David's heated workshop later this month! Happy St. Urho's Day, March 16, to everyone. He's the amazing Finnish guy who chased to grasshoppers out of the grapes. Everyone wears green and purple (works for me) and you should see how cute the dogs are. February 1, 2007 Full moon of deep winter cold We are not worried about our snow melting here... we are having an artic blast. And it has proven the hardiness of canines and of women from CA, AR, NY, OH and IL ! We have continued to have small snowfalls throughout the month and so we have had enough snow for our Minnesota womens dogsledding adventures. It is sisu country and great tenacity and endurance have been shown. Many thanks to DJ who has helped out on the last 2 trips and brought her cute huskies from NY. It is a great time of year to pull the rhubarb, broccoli and chicken from the freezer to serve for our hearty dinners, sit with candlelight and tell stories about the days mushing. We have had some great runs down Petrell Creek and around Salo Lake. Our newest little husky Wing is proving to be a very good lead dog and Uno-tuk is getting into it also. Great progress has been made on the Bunk-her project and thanks to David and his log work, the railings are magnificent. The deer have not been coming up to the feeder in the daylight this year. Every morning we see tracks and empty bread wrappers where they have pulled them out of the bags though. There has been a pine marten coming regularly and the ravens have just found the slab of dog meat we put out for them. We have been hearing the pileated woodpecker but not any owls yet. Kate has been doing great driving the dogs and they all love her. We had a very memorable event Jan. 26 in Duluth. The group of women- Jane, Mary, Jenny, DJ - who were doing the Beargrease trip went to the Gala to hear Libby Riddles speak. We sat with her during dinner and got to hear stories of her 40 dogs in Homer, talking in Juneau on the cruise ships,...AND we for some reason :) we sang selections from her very popular childrens book Danger the Dog Yard Cat , to 200 people. All with props of cats paws, snowflakes, and musher garb. It was fun to be part of the event. We are really enjoying the mushing alot and we are starting to plan the summer kayaking schedule too. Let us know if you are interested in getting a group together for kayaking. January 3, 2007 Wolf moon It is the farthest the moon is from Earth for many years to come and the wolves here have really been howling to it... and the huskies too. It is so beautiful to see the moonlight reflected on the snow. Yes, we have snow! New Years eve started with rain and it was so sad because we had just gotten 3 fresh inches... then it turned to snow and we got a wonderful additional 6 inches. We are still behind normal though. I think all the dancing on New Years eve in the ball gowns (those women from Kansas can dance) helped bring on the snow. The purple disco balls that Kate had were great too and of course the chocolate. We had a good first trip: 8 women from Kansas and it started snowing when they arrived. So our first sled run down Petrell Creek was beautiful. On one of our runs we met a fox coming down the trail towards us. Not many other tracks because of the fresh snow however the week before Rebecca reported seeing many wolf tracks. In the fall newsletter I talked about starting husky sponsorships in 2007. I now have the details on another page in the web site. Check it out if you would be interested in helping with a fund that goes to veterinary care for the huskies. And you will receive a great mug with a picture of any husky from our kennel. I also talked about Christmas day, 2006 being the 20th anniversary of my first puppies Hildur and Petra and dog Cayenne. It was wonderful to sit that day and think about those early memories. And I did start the book! I really did not have an idea what would come but it did and I am enjoying writing about it. I think the purple paper, purple pen helped :) Kate the handler is doing great. I asked her what she thought after 1 1/2 months and she said it is wonderful, that the dogs are amazing and she loves to see the different personalities emerge. Like Uno-tuk who knows he is so good looking, and Natasha who is so cute and shy. She said it hasn't been hard at all adjusting to this life style and has enjoyed having time for crafts, art and books. David and I think Kate is wonderful too. A hard worker, conscientious, attentive with the dogs, warm personality, quick learner and just an overall great fit here at Wintermoon. I think you will all enjoy her this winter. Since right before Thanksgiving we have been working on a Bunk her project that has had the most amazing energy- so many folks have been helping: Keith, Adolfo, Mietek, Jane, Dana, Rick (Kate's dad), Sue, Craig and David. I want to thank them all for an incredible job!! And I would also like to thank Dawn for a membership in the Minnesota Women's Consortium- a great group of womens businesses and organizations. And speaking of winter... there are still openings on many of the trips listed under DOGSLEDDING so think about joining us this winter. The snow on the pines, the howling huskies, the guiet of the trail, the surprise at the Bunk-her... a grand adventure ! December 5, 2006 Full moon with snow ! And the moonlight glistening on the snow is one of the most beautiful and magical things to see. It's been cold too with temps hovering around 0 for over a week. We are still training with the 4 wheeler and the dogs are doing great. Uno-tuk has been running in lead and 3 of the new dogs: Wing, Chloe and Odin are very good lead dogs too. The elders Karma and Kuu, at 15, are in the log cabin pen and got a deer carcas from some hunters for a treat. We have sign ups for dogsledding from Kansas, Washington, Colorado, California, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Oregon so far this year. There are still openings for lots of dates; check out the dogsledding page. Kate Zieman started as the winter handler about 3 weeks ago and is doing great. So far she has run with the dogs and 4 wheeler, chopped chicken and carved moose, nipped on our new trail, sawzalled, hammered and screwed on the Bunk-her and fed, watered and collected eggs from the chickens. She likes the variety and is a great worker. I think you will enjoy meeting her. Speaking of the new trail, it is coming along and is going to be beautiful. It winds through the spruce, up thru some large aspen and back to the Homestead Trail by the creek. We are about 80% done so if anyone wants to come up and help with trails, you are very welcome- any time works for us! Winter brings a stillness and quiet to the land and it is wonderful to let those feelings settle into our selves. We need beauty and that replenishment for our spirits. Happy Holidays. November 5, 2006 Surprise moon This full moon surprised me because we have not been able to see it coming... the month of October has been the cloudiest, snowiest, coldest... but clear tonight and there she is. We have had almost 10 inches of snow already but it has now melted. That's ok though because we still have a bit of trail work to do. The new trail we are building along our northern property line, to be named after my dog Willow, got off to a wonderful start with last week-ends trail work. It is amazing what 6 nippers can do: many thanks to Linda, Julie, Julee, Laura, Denise and Jenny. A spectacular trail emerged amid very thick stands of brush. I can't wait to see it with snow. This week end a smaller crew, in numbers and age, took on re building the first part of the Grouse Loop coming out of the Petrell meadow. Thanks to Rebecca, Kate and 11 year old Meg and 10 year old Grace. Oh the beauty of the confidence of 10 & 11 year old girls. You should have seen them in the mornings, with the skijor belt on, running down the driveway with Sandy, Mel, Dune, Sparky,... They each took out 3 dogs the first am and 2 the second. They watered all the dogs and fluffed and added straw to their doghouses amid pets and dog kisses. They remembered all the names, even tho the ones on the houses might be wrong. The giving and receiving between dogs and girls was heavenly and priceless. Rebecca is an amazing mom and person. The Kate from this week end is our new Wintermoon handler and it was wonderful to have her help and to start to get to know her. She came up kayaking last summer with her mom and sister. She is a great worker and I think we are going to have a fun winter. Newsletters and brochures are just done and going out in the mail. If you have any questions about any of the dogsledding, please let me know. The dogs are really doing well going out with the 4 wheeler and I have been trying some of the new dogs in lead. Wing did very well yesterday; I just got her from Claire and Chris. We did lose a very well known and big personality dog from the kennel. Mr. Barbaloot (named by Craig from Dr. Suess' The Lorax) died from cancer at only 11. He loved to start the howling, to put his very large head in your lap, to make you laugh, to be in lead and to stop short at a full run to poop. You always felt you had a friend with "Looty". October 6, 2006 Harvest Full Moon What a magical full moon time- I could see the moon rise - 6:28pm and the sun set - 6:44 and tomorrow morning it will delight again with a sunrise of 7:18am and moon set of 7:57. There's a grounding energy being able to be between those two beauties. Then add all the brilliant fall color and cooler temps, the start of fall training, having hired a great handler and I am a happy camper. Kate Zieman, St. Paul, will be starting mid-November. She, her mom and sister came on a kayak trip last summer and again on a Superior paddle this fall. The dogs are excited to be using the 4 wheeler again. We go out the Dogwood Trail, then out over to the road and back up the driveway. It's a great starting loop and they are doing well. Raven is out for a couple weeks because of mouth surgery; she had several bad teeth that had to be removed. She is sleeping in on the couch and is happy about that. We have another new dog- Wing - a 7 year old F from Claire and Chris. I have started flagging the new section of the Homestead Loop that we hope to build this fall. It will be about 3/4 mile and follow my northern property boundary. Everyone is invited to join us either Oct 14 & 15 or 28 & 29 for trail building. I provide all the meals, sauna,... in exchange for help with the trails. It's a great way to be in the heart of nature and very satisfying to look ahead of you and see thick woods and look behind you and see a beautiful trail. I am almost done digging potatoes and carrots and then the garden will be done for the season. It was an ok year; pretty dry though. Still have garlic to plant in a week or so- hopefully about 20 pounds this year. There's a dogsledding trip January 13-15 that will be open to families. There is a family with 2 teenagers, one an exchange student from Germany already signed up. And as our wonderful kayaking season wound down, I found time to read a book that Manya sent Running with Champions by Lisa Frederic. She was a handler for Jeff King and after 3 seasons ran one of his young teams in the 2002 Iditarod. It's quite an inside perspective of a midlife journey. One part that really struck me was at the beginning she talks about how she came to be interested in mushing. She and her husband lived on Kodiak Island and fish for a living; they decided to go watch the Finish Line in Nome one year. This was her observation: "The musher stopped the sled under the arch, barely glancing up at the symbol that marked the end of his journey. He glanced shyly at the crowd and shuffled along the length of the team. He ran his hand down the body of each animal, wrapping his giant arms briefly around several. When he reached the front, he sant to his knees next to the two leaders and buried his face in their coats. When he stood up, his eyes were bright and wet. The crowds seem to confuse him, but the emotion on his face confused me. He seemed more grateful that victorious, more humbled that triumphant." With her very first mushing encounter, I felt she captured an essence that most of us feel and quickly read the rest of the book. I recommend it altho there were parts that were hard to read. There are still a couple week ends available if you are interested in putting a contract custom trip together. And there will be a couple openings on a trip we do with the Beargrease Sled Dog Race January 27-30. We will be helping at the Start and with a team running the mid-distance race, in addition to running our dogs. (not in the race :) September 7, 2006 Full moon of the harvest time It been a fun month for kayaking with friends coming from NY, OR, GA, IL, and a trip to Brule Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Our stars were aligned- we had an island campsite, warm days for swimming, no bugs AND northern lights! There's still an opportunity to kayak in September on Lake Superior: I'm offering 1 day outings the 10th, 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th for $50./day including lunch. We will meet and paddle near Duluth. Call or email if you're interested. In general the weather has been cooler- alot of mornings in the 30's and 40's so the dogs are much happier. I've been jogging with them and had help last week from Makela coop cabin members ll year old Meg and her mom Rebecca. Meg was great- the skijor belt was a little big for her but she took out Mel, Spice, Kuu, Louise and Louisa. She's come on the mother-daughter week-end the last 3 years and is really good with the dogs. She remembers who they are, even when they have the wrong name, and helps her mom out too. It's still very dry here- we are about 4" below normal and the leaves are really starting to turn colors. It's the time my thoughts turn to TRAILS !!! Every fall we have a week end or 2 when all are invited to come and help with trail building and maintenence. It is a wonderful time to be out in the woods and the work is invigorating. No skills or experience is necessary and I provide the food, Bunk-her and sauna. Let me know if you have any questions or would like to join us. DATES FOR TRAILS WEEK - ENDS: OCTOBER 14 - 15 and OCTOBER 28 - 29. The gardens had a hard time this summer with the lack of rain and heat however the garlic and potato crop are good. We'll get some carrots and squash too. Looking back on the summer, what strikes me is how patient the dogs seem to be. They are the extreme example of acceptance for what is and calmness in waiting. This was a hard summer for all of us with high temps and lack of cooling rains and yet they are a testament to perseverence with a joyful attitude. Bless them. We still have week ends available for groups of 6 to 8 for dogsledding December to March. Have a group of friends or family that you'd like to share a memorable adventure with? August 9, 2006 Full moon of the heart of summer It was a classic Northwoods full moon night and I have never heard the wolves howl so close. It was about 10 pm and I needed to go to the workshop and get some dog food for Sisu (she has been staying in the house alot and has a special food). It would have been only a matter of 5 minutes that I was outside, that's part of what makes it so amazing, and also that I actually was thinking about writing this. To the southeast, really right where Makela cabin is, a group of 3-5 wolves started howling. It seemed like mostly adults; none of the high pitched yips of pups; They are probably only 3-4 months old and still may be hanging around a den sight. ALL of my dogs responded immediately and howled for about one minute. Then silence. After several minutes the wolves howled again and the dogs responded again. The moon was rising over the tips of the pines and it was so exciting to be standing there soaking it all in. Later, after I had gone to bed, I heard one lone wolf howl again, out towards Thornapple meadow. I might have been a little worried if the broiler chickens were still there but we have butchered all of them and the "girls" : the laying hens were all safely in the chicken coop. Several nights before this as the moon was rising and I stepped out on the front porch, the moonlight glistening on the pines really did look like snow on them. I know it has been exceeding hot and my brain is kind of mushy and all of us here are really anticipating when snow will come.... but it really did look like it :) . I am planning some special kayaking for September. SUPERIOR SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS : September 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, or 24. It will be one day kayaking on Lake Superior in Duluth, along beautiful Park Poing (the bay if it is too windy) including lunch, kayaks & gear, for $50. E mail if you are interested. I am also scheduling the winter dogsledding custom contract trips for groups. If you have 6=8 folks who would like to come North and have an amazing winter experience please contact me soon. I am sure most of you have heard the very sad news that Susan Butcher passed on from luekemia and a blood disorder. She was only 51 and leaves her husband David and 2 daughters. I got to know Susan when she came down and ran the Beargrease ( and won it in 1990). She was dedicated to her dogs and was a wonderful person to have involved in the sport. The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is celebrating it's 25 anniversary this year and 2 things about that: Libby Riddles will be in Duluth speaking for it and a book is being written about the Beargrease. I have been working with the committee some and will be doing interviews of past winners. Had a very nice conversation with 1989 winner Dee Dee Jonrowe about her race. The forest fire is pretty much contained now at around 30,000 acres and we did get some much needed rain. We are still about 1 1/2 inches below normal though. The dogs are feeling so much better now that it has cooled some. We can go for some runs in the mornings again. I love that part too. We did lose our oldest sweetie Luna a couple weeks ago; he was 15 and still looked like a puppy to me. He was having quite a hard time with arthritis though and I think some of his organs just shut down. I am thinking of a fall trail clearing week end early in October. We need to build a new section to replace the Simola driveway which is now getting plowed. A pair of robins has built a nest and has new babies right above Gabby, Kapu and Uno-tuk. They are very attentive parents and find bits of dog food; location, location. Some things are starting to lose the green and we love to see those mellow colors. Have had a few mornings in the 30's !!! JULY 10 Full moon of the hot summer (written a little late as I had to do a little celebrating "the coming into the world date" and take care of 160 chickens..... more about that later) Not only has it been hot here but also dry now; fire danger is extreme and there is a major fire burning, 15,000 acres so far in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We always get a little nervous when we get this dry. And of course the dogs are not really happy in the heat. They all have their sun shelters and get fly repellent on their noses and ears every day and LOTS of water. We have had to curtail the usual morning walks as it has been warm and I don't want them overheating. They have been getting their winter coat brushed out too. They are all doing well though and I don't know what they dream about, but I have been planning some new trails in my mind. It always makes me feel better. The gardens are doing just ok. Lowest thing on the totem pole in order of priority so they could use some more watering and weeding but we are getting lots of basil and greens. The broccoli and zucchini are coming along too. The chickens 150 broilers, and 12 new baby laying hens, and the 6 girls , adult laying hens have been taking a chunk out of the day. Feeding, watering and moving the 4 pens over at Thornapple are the main things. Unfortunately, I don't have a handler so it takes a little longer. If anyone is interested or knows of anyone, I am looking ! There's baby birds everywhere. The blue jays and grey jays are so cute and noisy and follow their parents to the feeders and then just look at them. Sometimes mom or day will give them a seed and then they get it. The garlic is actually looking pretty good; it was planted in the fall. 14 pounds of it ! So hopefully we will have enough for winter. Now is the time that I am scheduling the custom contract dogsledding trips. So if you have 6 to 8 (women, mixed, parents & kids) and would like to have Wintermoon exclusively to yourselves please get ahold of me soon. I still have quite a few dates that are open. A 3 day trip is $375. and a 4 day is $450. which includes all the meals, lodging and dogsledding. The kayaking has been lots of fun this summer and there are still some openings. See Kayaking. The beauiful and intense colors of all the flowers are food for the soul and summer is a time of renewal and rejuvenating. I hope there is some in your lives. Full moon of the heavy rains June 11 This spring has been a back and forth of heavy rains, almost 3" last week and then everything getting dry. But the mornings are a symphony of bird songs punctuated by a dog howl here and there. We had Craigs 5 dogs here for 3 weeks and so Mudshark had to add his 2 cents worth most mornings. AND this last week we had frost 3 mornings in a row. Of course the gardener in me was worried but the musher, a way stronger gene, was so delighted ! We took out the 4 wheeler and you could tell the dogs were delighted too. They like going fast and we just don't cut it for them when we run with them. The grass on the trail was as high as they were, the dew cooled them and it was a beautiful sight. All the dogs are doing well. Chloe and Odin have fit in well. Sister and brother, Karma and Kuu are together in the straw barn pen, which we expanded to about double the size. Luna, the oldest now at 15 is in the pen up by my old house. It has been typical spring busy when gardens are being planted and we have a batch of baby broiler chicks (150 this time and 12 baby layers). The gardens are about 75% done and the chicks are almost out of the brooder. I am running a little behind but the soil is great in Brimson so things should do ok. Have had a new handler for just a few days so that helps. I made a great connection with Northland College in Ashland WI and we have set up an intern program and Jenna is the first to come from that. There's a chance that another woman might join us too. There's still openings on all of the kayak trips so if you are thinking about it or know someone who might be interested, please let me know. It is always fun to be on the water. Full moon May, 13, 2006 Two new dogs have joined our pack (not puppies :( ). A new female Chloe, 5 year old brindle colored, built like Mel and full of energy and male Odin, black with dashes of brown scattered all over his athletic body, 7 years old. I got them from Clarie and Chris, former home of Mel, Kettle and Malcom. They have a racing kennel and want to keep their numbers down and raise and treat their dogs like I do and so it is a good fit to "retire" them here. Very lovable like all the others (Dune, Louisa, Louise) The dogs are doing great- we are getting out with the 4 wheeler on a regular basis and going for walks too. Mostly up to check on the 71 new baby chicks at Makelas. They are almost 2 weeks old and chirping away. We did have a sad passing at the end of April. My very sweet Willow, daughter of my soul dog Hildur who was one of my very first puppies in l986, had cancer. We had a great winter together; every morning she would take me for a walk. It was something that was so healing for me, helping to get centered for the day and I probably would not have taken the time if it weren't for her. It is truly the hardest part of my life. The spring birds are a bright spot on the landscape. The rose breasted grosbeaks just arrived. Each male has a bright red chest bib that just makes you smile. And each one is unique so you can identify them and give them names like... Bob ! The purple finches, which of course are also red... are around, robins, red wing blackbirds, gold finches, and the very dark baby grey jays have arrived. If someone asked me I couldn't tell you where my sunglasses and sunscreen are...it has been that long. It has been raining for a week - 1.6 " last Tuesday and 2.85 for the month already - 1.77 above normal. Good for the fire danger, which we were flirting with earlier but not so good for getting into the gardens. The seedlings at David's are doing great; some tomatoes are already 2' tall and need to be planted soon. We rebuilt the greenhouse at Thornapple, as it fell under the 89" of snow this winter, and plan to start planting soon. So I missed seeing the moon this month but it is like friends that you don't always get to see, you know they are there. And the thoughts and images of them are also wonderfully fulfilling! Full moon April 13 11:40 am In one month's time.... we went from having lots of snow- over 2' to brown ! It really is scary how fast the sun can take care of all that snow ! The ice went out on the lakes this week. So the 4 wheeler is out and we move on. The one constant in life: change. One thing I do love about this time of year; when you get up in the morning, you put on polar fleece, then by afternoon you are in a t shirt and by the time you're ready to feed dogs in the evening, you are back to the original polar fleece outfit. Sometimes you start the wood stove at night but usually not. The bird feeder scene has really changed too. All the pine grosbeaks are gone but in the early morning the evening grosbeaks come. The trill of the red wing blackbird fills the air, the purple finches are the color, the juncoes flock to the ground and all the different sparrows are passing through. It has continued to be warmer than normal and I have started kale, spinach and chard in the greenhouse. The 14 lbs. of garlic we planted in the fall is up about 4" and looks great- yeah poppers. I have had a little extra time lately to do some reading and my friend Suzanne Swedo, CA, sent 2 great books. One is about Minnesota but she was asked to write on the back cover since it was Lost in the Wilds and she has written a book on How to Survive in the Wilderness. The other I have just started but she highly recommends and I am really enjoying is Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin which is about using the mysteries of autism to decode animal behavior. The dogs are doing good and have been enjoying some loose walks and runs as well as going out pulling the 4 wheeler. It seems lots of folks really liked the Aggkaka Swedish Pancakes we had on Sunday mornings. It is from my Toimi friend Melanie (Johnson) and I have put it on the recipe page as requested. It was a great dogsledding season- so many wonderful folks graced our homestead and shared in the fun. April brings a deep satisfaction. Full moon March 14, 2006 Sunset 6:18 pm Moonrise 6:28 pm What a treat to be feeding the dogs tonight and have this amazing, slightly orange full moon rising behind them in the east and the glow of the sunset still in the west. With the dogs and me in the middle, it was a particularly centering feeling; one of those moments when everything feels right in the world. We send the energy onto you too! We still have lots of snow- step off the trail and you are up to your knees. It is great. Last week end we had an interesting run. To start with we had 3 kiwis here ! (That's what folks from New Zealand call themselves) So David, Rena and I were each taking a sled out with one of them. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, sunny, in the 20's, we all had our sunglasses on. We weren't even around the Dogwood Trail and it clouded over and started to thunder. At first, we couldn't believe what we were hearing, but it continued. And unfortunately we did not have Hund on the run with us; he is so afraid of thunder. Now it is getting darker but we pressed on to the south cedar loop. Then it started raining, then it started pouring,... by the time we returned, we were all pretty soggy. I have to say that New Zealanders are really good sports! They had a great time. In other good news, the Iditarod has been going since March 4th and there are 2 women in the top 5 ! Dee Dee Jonrowe was 3rd and Aily Zirkle (who has won the Yukon Quest) was 5th. Jeff King was in the lead. We are still hoping for another month of mushing but I am starting to plan for this summers kayaking trips. If you have a group of 6 to 8 and would like a custom trip, there are still lots of dates available. Also there will be dates that individuals can sign up for too. Please see KAYAKING. The dogs are doing great. It has been fun to see a couple new dogs run in lead this winter- Gabby is doing particularly well, Louisa had never run there before and really seems to like it and Uno-tuk too. I recently saw Cinder at wheel trying to take the gee I had called out when the 2 leaders were going haw. Maybe it's time to try her too. I had a big frustration this week when I read an article in the St. Paul paper from the end of January with a huge spread on dogsledding, and it wasn't even that Wintermoon did not get listed. It was that the handler who was taking the reporters on a run told them that "these dogs are not your friends". I am not kidding you! I have a really hard time when folks make such _______ remarks. And with a huge audience. He was also reported as chastising his young lead dog. I will be writing a letter to Beth Gauper who wrote the article. It has been a wonderful winter here with so many folks becoming friends with the Wintermoon dogs. The trips have been so much fun and it's easy to feel I live and work in paradise. Along those lines, as many of you know we really feed the birds here, and have some great sitings at our feeders. Recently, a white headed chickadee has been coming, really sticks out of the flock and is so cute! I put a flat of the frozen dog food out about 30 feet past the feeders up about 3 feet high hoping that the ravens would see it as a dead something... (we have never been able to get ravens to the feeders) and about a week later, they came. Now we have had as many as 8 at a time. They are so full of grace and "magic". In the dog yard the other day, a loud tapping on a dead aspen, and there was the pileated woodpecker, in a tree right above Kuu. The eagles have been returning also, four circled over the dog yard this week. Thanks everyone for making this a great winter. Full moon February 13, 2006 oh oh late again,... no handler again.... a handler is a valued person who helps out with the dogs and all the other chores... and when there are 34 huskies, there are alot of chores. So it's me and the huskies which has some nice advantages like I am much closer to my dogs when I am out in the dog yard all the time. I just read a quote from Hudson Stuck, a missionary in Canada and AK who wrote a book about his traveling over 10,000 miles by dog team about anyone can have a relationship with a dog, but to have a real connection with them is very special. I love the part where I feel I am really connecting with my dogs mental and emotional being. It is an experience for me that feels very important to making the world a better place, a place where all our relations count. AND !!! we have been so fortunate this winter to have WONDERFUL snow. 75 inches so far this season, compared to 61 normal. The trails are still great and there are still openings on the March 17-19 trip ($300.) and the mother-daughter (ages 8-16) trip March 24-26 ($150.). The winter has been great! Filled with guests from all over the country- Florida, Washington DC, Colorado, Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Illinois, Canada, North Carolina, Georgia,... so fun to connect with folks from all over the countries. Coming up: folks from New Zealand ! With only a few trips left, thoughts turn to kayaking. I have alot of dates in May, June and July if anyone would like to get a group of 6-8 together. Let me know and I can tailor the trip to your interests. Full moon January 14, 2006 I've been getting some calls "do you have snow?" and even though we too have been having warm temps, we have lots of good snow !!! We ended up with a 20" snowfall in December and several smaller ones since and so the trails are great. And the dogs are loving it- trip season has started so they are getting lots of runs in and of course lots of petting. With the trails being groomed by David, the mushing has been devine. And speaking of trails, it is fitting that on the full moon, we ran the new trail - south Cedar loop- for the first time. It goes along the southernmost boundary of the property by Makelas. What fun. There is a wonderful stand of old white cedars that we pass through, cross Beaver Creek and through the open creek marsh and greet 2 of the grandest aspens I have seen. A nice variety on this trail. Our 2 newest dogs Hanna (Hund and Junos sister) and Sparky (part Siberian) are settling in and seem to be loving the program. Very friendly dogs. I got them from a friend who is getting out of dogs and he has Sparky's sister, 5 years old, Natasha, a little shy, but warms up fast and then is very friendly and a good puller, that he would like to give away. So if anyone would like a nice husky, let me know. I actually have her here right now. It has been a warm winter so far; this time last year, it was -40, and I am not missing that! But you do have to wonder... many of our friends in the southern part of the state have lost their snow again and that is not right. I am so grateful that our is good. WANTED; Handler/Assistant We are looking for a woman to join us full time this winter to help with the dogs and dogsledding adventures. No experience necessary; just an adventureous spirit, good attitude, love dogs and enjoy people. A sweet little cabin, great food and some compensation. Please e mail or call 218-848-2442. December 16, 2005 Usually I am disappointed when it is cloudy and we can't see the full moon; not today- it is snowing !! It started yesterday and we have 16" already with more expected. It's meant a bit of shoveling, David really did alot yesterday-all the dogs spaces. But the trails will be beautiful. I am going out with the chain saw today as there still are a few trees that fell over the Dogwood trail that need to be removed before I can run with the sled. A very anticipated event every year; it is like visiting an old friend to greet those trails again. We still have a bit of "nipping" the brush on several of the others. The dogs are doing great. We were up to running 8 at a time with 4 wheeler; now I will drop it to 4 for the sled. We will all feel like we are flying with that light sled. We lost an elder this month- 16 year old Atim. Son of Nanook and Moon. He was one of the best leaders we ever had- so intent on running. His name is Cree for dog and he was always shy when having his picture taken. I always imagined him thinking- enough with the pictures- let's go! There's a new look to the cabin. We moved the solar panels to the porch of the Hiltunen (the main lodge) where they will get more sun and be closer to the new batteries, which I also moved into my cabin. The winter birds have arrived. We are getting both the beautiful red pine grosbeaks and yellow evening grosbeaks. The chickadees are here in full force and now that there is fat at the feeders, we see the woodpeckers, grey jays and blue jays alot. The deer are back too. I think it is the same older doe as last year with two new ones from this spring. If there isn't enough bread and seeds out, they go right to the bag and start pulling it out. It's a winter wonderland! November 15, 2005 The seasons have really changed... from a warm fall to a snowy November. The snow is falling and blowing all around today, about 5 inches on the ground already. We have been hurrying around, tilling the garden, planting the garlic(14 lbs.), mulching the perennials, stacking firewood, picking up stuff... We have been training the dogs with the 4 wheeler almost everyday and are they getting strong. Some of the new dogs are doing very well at leading: Malcom, Mel, Kettle and Hannah. The 2 trails weekends went very well and we have a new trail (still thinking about names- maybe something with aspen because of the huge ones along the trail) that is on the Makela (south) side of the road. It's a very interesting one- besides the grandmother aspens, it goes by some wonderful old cedars, into some open creek grasses and crosses Beaver Creek and past lots of tamaracks. It should be alot of fun to run it this winter. Quiet is starting to descend on the forest and the time of slowing down and reflection is approaching. We have so much to be thankful for this year. We hope that you are in good health, spirits and feel the gratitude of this Holiday. October 17, 2005 We like summer, and had a good one, but girl, do we like fall. It's been getting down to freezing most nights now and it really invigorates us and the dogs. Back to summer for a minute, the gardens did great and the freezers are full, the potato & carrot bins, canned tomatoes, and the chickens and ducks butchered. (That was a hard thing). As happens every year, I am surprised how fast the leaves go. They were a golden and red feast for the eyes this year and then, boom, they are gone, as in fall. But it means we are that much closer to our anticipated snow and winter. We have only just started on trails tho so we have some work to do before it comes. Two trail building weekends have been planned for Nov. 4-6 & 11-13 and everyone is invited. I provide the food, Bunk-her, sauna, ..... We are hoping to build a new trail on the Makela side of the road. The dogs are doing great and are loving getting out with the 4 wheeler (they pull it and us, with the engine off). Spice had a little adventure last week as she broke her chain just as we went by with 6 dogs and the 4 wheeler and she was not about to be stopped. Passed us, took a haw at the end of the driveway, and we could not catch her. She went up Peltos driveway and Maija went after her on foot; I took the team back and put them away, got in the truck and went looking. Very luckily, because she could have stayed in the woods, she came out on the road, just past the Simola driveway (about 2 miles from home) and I saw her. The biggest wow from that is this 12 year old dog wasn't even panting when I caught her, about 45 minutes after she started running flat out! Full moon July 21 as written in August, very late.... we have been sooo busy. It's been a round-robin routine of water dogs, water chickens, water garden, .... it has been very hot and dry. Then feed dogs, feed chickens, water again..... Everyone and everything is doing well though. It has been wonderful having Maija, Erika, Erika's friend Daniel and David all helping. We all have been going non stop. And we do have a beautiful garden this year and it feels so good to be eating broccoli, greens, basil,... organically grown. We are starting to freeze some for the winter and dogsledding trip time. Full moon June 21 and Summer Solstice What a great combination! And the weather even treated us to warm and sunny- amazingly summerlike. It has still been rainy and cold and the gardens are not quite in! The latest ever. We have added quite a bit of space at Thornapple (maybe 30' x 80') which includes 100 tomatoes, 40 broccoli, 80 basil, peppers, potatoes, squash, onions, eggplant and herbs. It really looks good. For solstice, Erika and Maija organized a wonderful celebration to share with the kayak guests we had here. We each took a piece of birch bark, with the idea it was like a little boat. We wrote on the birch bark: our dreams, something we would like to put out into the world, hopes,... Then we walked to the creek and on the way picked up nature treasures to adorn our message and carrier. At the creek, we took turns setting our "boats" into the creek. It was hard not to smile as we set them into the current and we all became one with nature. The laying hens are doing good, the ducks are growing like crazy, and tomorrow the 100 day old broiler chickens come. We are staying busy :) . Full Moon May 23, 2005 It's surprising we can even see the moon tonight- we have had so many days & nights of clouds & rain. But tonight is clear and she is beautiful. She illicits a call to spirit tonight as we have lost one of our dear canine friends in the last month. The energizer, velcro, blue-eyed couch lover Yukon went fairly peacefully in his sleep a couple weeks ago. He was amazingly active and alert right up to the end- all of 16 1/2 years old. It's a huge transition for me because I have gone from 3 house dogs to none in 4 months. I can't tell if Kissa, the cat, likes having the choice of any couch now or if he too misses his buddies that he cuddled many an hour with. We do have some new faces in the dog yard. A female- Mel and 2 males- Kettle and Malcom. They are young adults that I got from racing friends Claire and Chris. They too spend alot of time socializing their dogs and these are very friendly huskies, as well as good pullers. We are still exercising the dogs with the 4 wheeler most mornings as it is still cool enough. And we, Erika, Maija & I, usually take a couple out with the skijoring belt too. The mornings are full of bird song- the finches, jays, sparrows, woodpeckers, chickadees are so busy claiming territory and mates. It is truly a joy to be out there. The rest of day is usually spent with chickens and gardening. It's a season full of promise. Full Moon April 24, 2005 Three nights ago, I stepped out onto the porch to grab a piece of firewood; it was chilly, 9 pm & already down to 25 degrees. At that moment I heard a chorus of howls and it was not my dogs. It was from the southwest but it wasn't my neighbors dogs either. Way to close and loud. As I stood listening to the varied pitches of the group, I was sure I knew exactly where they were. I had been there the past several mornings, walking our Wintermoon dogs on the Dogwood Loop, ending at the muskeg where the trail got very wet. The first morning Karhu was loose and I could see her about 25 feet into the wet area, pulling on something, like maybe a deer leg. I called her, she actually came, and we went home. The next morning, with boots on, and a dog in harness, we walked up to where Karhu had been. There lay, just off to the side of the trail, a dead deer. It still had it's fur and just the start of ravens poking through one area on her side. But below one of the back knees, the leg was missing. I had not seen her, but several others had seen a 3 legged deer during the winter. We commented on how hard it must have been with all the deep snow. It looked as if she had just laid down in the soft moss off the trail and not gotten back up. No sign of struggle, no blood. It was that night the wolves howled. Erika said later she first heard one sole howl, followed by the group. The next morning Maija and Erika went down to the muskeg. The deer was completed gone; eaten. All that was left was the head and some fur. The transition from life to death to life was played out in a moment. And it was the luck of the universe that I happened to step out at that exact time to be a part of it. The snow left fast this year. Hard to believe that so much could do that. We went from running the dogs on the Dogwood Loop on April 4 with 99% snowcover to having none on the trails a week later. We are now using the 4 wheeler and jogging with them too. Full Moon March 25, 2005 rose 6:34 pm I am treated at this evening's feeding of the sled dogs to a goldish full moon rising over their heads. What a wild calling to have them lift their heads in the after dinner howl with the moon rising on their breath. The nature dance that I am in is wonderful movements: looking up, then down, then being quiet and listening, flying down the trail, then walking, sitting on the rock,....being able to respond to the moment and feel it. With over 90 inches of snowfall this past winter, the trails are still wonderful. The early morning temperatures are still below freezing which means we can go dogsledding. Maija and I each have a 2 dog team so we can go slow and savor the beauty, the smells , (she tells me she can smell the Balm of Gilead buds), the changes that come so rapidly at this time of year, (there is open water below the beaver dam on Petrell Creek, the pussywillows are bursting out,) we hope to see the raven nesting in the tall aspen along the trail but no sight of her yet. Change is in the air; I think when you have lived with the change of seasons, you come to anticpate them. That one can experience miracles so often is the greatest. December 2004 WE HAVE SNOW !!!!! It has snowed over 40 inches already this year and the trails are in great shape. And so are the dogs. They are loving the groomed trails done by David and the new grooming equipment. We have added some new trails; one past Peltos cabin. Have you heard about all the owls that have moved down from Canada? Mostly great greys and hawk owls. They have a food shortage there and thousands have come down to northern Minnesota now. We see several a week and they are beautiful. We also have some interesting birds at the feeders (and new feeders this year) a pair of boreal chickadees, a shrike, and one day I counted 30 pine grosbeaks at the feeders at once. A number of times, we have also had a pine marten. My neighbors have really been having the wildlife experiences in the last couple weeks. Diane was working in her workshop and one of her dogs was outside the door, barking and barking,after a while she opened the door to find her dog, nose to nose, with a wolf! It looked at her with what she described as a quizical expression and ran off. The dog chased it and she had a hard time getting the dog to come back but the wolf kept going. Then Pam came home one day and turned her vehicle around in the driveway to face out, turned off the engine and was sitting gathering her things when out of the woods came a bobcat. This was during the day and it just sat about 10 feet in front of her car and looked at it for about ten minutes. We are so lucky to live in the Northwoods. We have been seeing moose and wolf tracks around as well as the very abundant deer and rabbits. There are still openings on all of the dogsledding trips and we would love to have you join us.