Slowly, the Winter melt is taking place here at Miortuk!
However, just to remind us that Mother Nature has a sense of humour, on Wednesday night and Thursday morning we experienced snow showers.
The rest of the week, we enjoyed sunny/warm days and even a chance to sit in the sun and soak up some rays!
The kennel is slowly losing the hard packed snow with the side getting the afternoon sun getting down to bare ground. The west side of the kennel is slowly melting as it only get the morning sun and in the afternoon it is shaded by the trees.
Some of the dogs are enjoying their Spring "home renovations"! Meaning, they are chewing at their houses with the consequence of more Summer repairs to their houses. Sam has added "air-conditioning" buy chewing away a third of the front of her house.
You have to have a sense of humour when you have Sled Dogs!
As you can see from the photos, we have lost a lot of snow and you can see the lake is starting to melt.
There is an updated video of the third instalment of the puppies last run here on the 10th of April.
​Until next week.........

Yes, this week with the warm temperatures, sunny days the snow is gradually disappearing and the rain on Friday is speeding up the process.
However, even that the snow is disappearing from around the kennel there is still around four feet of snow in the bush. The way it is going there could be some pockets of snow in the forest until June.
The dogs are enjoying the sunshine and love to bath in it on the roof of their houses.
Lazy days after a busy Winter.
​There is an updated video of the puppies running on the Training Page.
The forest is starting to awaken with the sounds of the birds returning from their Wintering Homes.
Soon the trees will start to bud. 
Yes, there are some flies hatching and Butterflies fluttering around the kennel.
Soon the forest will be serenaded by the frogs.
Life here in the forest is great!
Until next week....... 


 

Spring 2016 has been one for the record books!
Sunday was a beautiful Spring day for running the dogs, below 0 Celsius & Sunny, Monday more snow and Friday sunny with 20 Celsius time to sit on the deck having a beer and enjoying the sun!
The last half of the week has been warm and sunny causing the snow to melt. However, there is plenty of snow left and at this rate will still be here in May.
Sunday was the perfect Spring day running the dogs with cold temperatures, sunny skies and hard packed trails. 
We were able to get three teams of puppies out for possibly their last run this season on snow with the sled.
All three teams performance was incredible!
The three teams, without pushing them, ran the three miles in 9 minutes 10 seconds,9.21 and 9.25! They were just running at their comfort speed.
All the puppies were great, running with enthusiasm and enjoying themselves. Happy puppies!
​Happy Musher!
There are videos of their runs on the Puppies Page and the Training Page.
I am so excited with the performance and attitude of the puppies from Blue & Indigo.
​Until next week......

Another week with more snow!
It was a crazy week here again with frigid temperatures early in the week, over 30 cm of snow on Thursday morning, heavy rains on Thursday night and the return of minus temperatures on Saturday.
Spring is very slow to arrive here this year and the forecast is for another 15 cm on Monday.
You would think with all this snow, it would be perfect for running the dogs. The trail was groomed on Thursday and looked beautiful.
However, the rain Thursday night into Friday morning made the trail a slushy mess and some sections were covered with standing water and now with the return of the cold weather: ICE! 
Maybe, with the addition of Mondays snow, we can get the puppies out for another nice snow run.
​Until next week......

Goodbye to March and welcome April!
​March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb.
April started with warm temperature and rain and the forecast is for more cold weather this coming week with some more snow.
​Spring in Quebec!
CRAZY!
In the photos above Thibault was able to capture the essence of the week here.
Little Kira for the first time sitting on the roof of her house. This is significant as she has been very shy, except when hooked up in the team and especially at Lead, and is showing her gaining more confidence in her presence in the kennel.
The photos also captures, the run this week with the puppies Lloyd and Libby.
All the puppies on their 5th run in harness were exposed to different trail conditions from nice hard pack, icy sections, water and soft/punchy trails.
This was a good experience for them to learn to manage different trail conditions and not be afraid. With small 4 dog teams, the speed can be managed to ensure the puppies have a good experience with these different conditions.
Lastly, you can see the dogs just relaxing and enjoying the Spring temperatures at the end of a long season of running.
This week, we also celebrated the arrival of Spring with a Quebec Spring Tradition by going to enjoy a meal at La Cabane a Sucre. This feast is served at a Maple Sugar Farm were they are making syrup from this years tapping of the maple trees. 
A big meal consisting of fresh made pickles, pickled beets, chilly sauce, pea soup, bacon, ham, sausages, boiled potatoes, eggs (scrambled & poached in maple syrup),baked beans, crispy pork rinds, fritters and sugar tarts.
All enhanced with a large jug of maple syrup to smother the food with.
SUGAR OVERLOAD!!!
But, delicious!
​Until next week.......