Moved to our Winter Blog

Winter at Summer Place will be our winter blog this year: http://winterspk.blogspot.com
Join us there!

Blog Book and Moving On

THE CALL OF THE WILD, Robert Service (selection)

.... "Have you broken trail on snowshoes? mushed your huskies up the river,
Dared the unknown, led the way and clutched the prize?....

Have you suffered, starved and triumphed, groveled down, yet grasped at glory,
Grown bigger in the bigness of the whole?
"Done things" just for the doing, letting babblers tell the story,
Seeing through the nice veneer, the naked soul?

Have you seen God in His splendors, heard the text that nature renders?
(You'll never hear it in the family pew.)
The simple things, the true things, the silent men who do things ...
Then listen to the Wild, it's calling you.

They have cradled you in custom, they have primed you with their preaching,
They have soaked you in convention through and through,
They have put you in a showcase, you're a credit to their teaching...
But can't you hear the Wild? it's calling you.

Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us,
Let us journey to a lonely land I know.

There's a whisper on the night wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,
And the wild is calling, calling...let us go."

This blog is being printed as a slice of kennel life at Summer Place Kennel. it will feature three years out of the fifteen years that we have been here. As we let this blog rest to be printed,
we are moving to our summer blog, Summer at Summer Place, http://www.spksummer.blogspot.com/
Join us at the summer blog. We will return to this one in the fall.

"There's a Summer Place, where it's safe and warm and free from harm, from all cares...."

Summer Place Kennel, a home for retired sled dogs and some rescued dogs in need of a safe and warm forever home. We also provide a conservative oasis, a people free zone for the local wildlife.

"Two roads diverged in the wood and, I, took the one less traveled by, and it has made all the difference." Robert Frost

Wooded Land and Dry Conditions

The neighbors are cutting the acreage adjacent to ours pretty heavily. I noted yesterday, on our three dog run, that , even with the recent heavy snow and driving rain, the woods with downed branches are very dry again. Our open fields are crunchy, once again.

The swamp still has some good water in it from winter meltdown. Every run for the dogs is an adventure of smells . Our 'people free' zone is a haven for the spring wildlife with the adjacent lands being logged.

Hauling Boulders

The digging weather is at its best for these industrious huskies. Already they've excavated many summer dens, although some of them are just inside the gate for me to step into as I enter. Today's work is hauling boulders from the upper field. Thankfully many years ago a hard working farmer stacked them all as he cleared his fields.

The winds have downed quite a few dead trees in the wooded areas.

Photo: Tsunami in his 'digs' from last year.

And now it's 75 degrees, and tomorrow...? Schizoid weather.

We had ten or more inches of snow; then two days later, 75 degrees; thunder and lightning this morning and tomorrow to be forty degrees. The deer are hanging around closely as in this photo with Sierra or near the deck with Skinny.

'S no fun!

Sierra, below, before Ruthie tried to tear off her ear. Sierra is the self appointed herder/guardian and Ruthie tore through a chain and a bungee to run about, not in her turn.

Turkey on left, deer in center, waiting by the corn can.

Tanni (below) and Evalina, watching the morning unfold.
It was hard for the dogs to see out/see each other. This is Yo.

I shoveled the houses off to give them each a semidry perch.

While it was beautiful, there were branches falling off of the heavily laden trees. It snowed for 24 hours straight (or more). I don't know the actual accumulation, but the photos speak for themselves. The dog tempers flared today, too, leaving Sierra (in photo before the action) with a torn ear and wounded feelings. The deer and the turkeys came right up to the house to get their corn and carrots. Everyone was out of sorts , it seemed. And tomorrow we're headed for warm weather and back into the 60's again, so imagine the muddy mess about to present itself out here. Ah, Spring!

Nonfunctional Snow!

The worst kind... after all the pens are set up for Spring with tarps, etc and now about seven (at least) inches of this heavy wet concretelike snow. Arghh. And more to come tonight...stop the snow dances , it's late April! If we can't use it, don't snow, please!! The good side of this is that my granddaughter (age two) LOVES snow and this delighted her today. She wanted to spend her time with her little shovel.