Coldest

It got down to 30 below last night. Now it is supposed to start warming up. By next week, we will have lows that are above zero. That will seem very pleasant. I am burning wood like crazy, but it looks like I still have an ample supply.

I had a great run with a 6-dog team of veterans led by my old standbys Fresca and Luna. Then I took out Holly's puppies for their first ever time pulling a sled. It was partly great and partly comical. They were so eager that they had a tendency to tangle at every hiccup by the leaders and every bump in the trail. In retrospect, I should have chosen harder driving leaders who would have kept them strung out and less tangle prone. I used Amtrak and Olive in lead. They did okay, but not great enough for these super talented pups. I am running six miles, which the dogs are covering with speed and enthusiasm, so I think this is a good distance for now.

Comet's puppies are six weeks old today. Three of them have blue eyes, so this means that Amtrak cannot be the father. The possible candidates are Blackberry and Raspberry, who broke a lot of chains all summer. They are Holly's puppies, so they are super dogs with super pedigrees. Abba's puppy, Sox, also has blue eyes, but we know the daddy is Helium, so blue eyes were expected. Abba has been nursing four puppies (her own plus three of Comet's) while Comet has been nursing three, yet Comet is still much thinner than Abba.