Fall Colors

The leaves are starting to turn on some of the trees. I have one small aspen that has turned yellow, and the largest aspen is showing signs on some of its leaves as well. On my training runs today, I enjoyed looking for signs of color around the neighborhood and in the mountains. There were several stands of aspen that were clearly changing color and a few other trees that I could not identify from a distance. Usually the bushes and undergrowth are the first to change color. I have been seeing evidence of this in the woods for the last couple weeks. I love the deep reds and oranges that most of the undergrowth displays. The fireweed was one of the first to turn; I have some of that in my own yard and almost missed it because it bloomed and was finished so quickly this year.

I ran two teams today. The first team was led by my four-year-old standouts Switch and Breaker. They are tiny little girls but are super fast and very trustworthy. The team behind them contained all of our Holly puppies who are just about to turn one year old on October 3rd. These pups are our best hope for the future, having two genuine superstars for parents. The mother, Holly, was a top dog for champion musher Neal Johnson, and the father, Pinto, was a top dog for champion musher Buddy Streeper. This was the puppies first run since the move, and they did really well.

The second team that I ran was led by Olive and Dallas, our five-year-old Siberian Husky standouts. These two girls are very solid leaders and have the speed to keep up with any of our dogs. The team behind them contained all of our Abba puppies. These guys will be two years old in December, but they have not had a lot of training yet. Cinnamon and Cloves pulled especially well, and Nutmeg and Allspice were fairly solid as well. Cloves gave birth to a couple of puppies this year, and it looks like she is back in good form now. Although our Holly puppies are the best litter I have ever seen, taking to harness work like pros, it was clear that the second team, which was almost a year older, had more power.