Lotta changes goin' on round my hollar, and I think I'm likin' it :)
The leaves are very beautiful right now. Blazes of orange and spots of ruby dotted around the sides with the golden of the oaks, surrounded by the misty color of the evergreen pines. And training will soon begin..
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| My neighbor's homestead. |
For most mushers, this has already been well into session.. but for me, it has only been barely 4 months since my accident and I think I should take a shot at doing the one thing I still have that I will always love - mushin'. I am of course, very nervous. My little rig is no more than a few bars of aluminum with two little steel brake pads holding back anywhere from 3-6 of my riled up rebel dawgs. I am 230 pounds, but even standing on the brake bar with both feet it still will never stop the team in case of an emergency if we were going regular speed. My rig was intended mostly for racing when they were built back in the 70/80's up in the yankee pinelands. Just to think that little rig has survived 30 years of mushin and racin', with all kinds of teams and been from NY to PA, MD, NJ, and WV and survived to hobble on down to the great N.Carolina mountains.
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| my rig, after i picked it up for $200 in Far north West Virginia back in 2008. |
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| My rig as of Summer 2009, fixed up, with all new hardware and re-finished rims. |
Still, some repairs needed to be done. The deck (wood panel holding the crate for supplies) was probably the same deck from those many years ago, and was attracting mold and cracking. So I cut a new, thicker deck using the old as a pattern and hope I can get around to painting it tomorrow.. sure is an improvement!
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| Cutting a new deck |
One thing always gets me on this rig when I'm fiddlin' round with it though... I really
really wish people would replace their hardware every few years, so the next generation (muah) would not have to strip it with a dremel or hack saw it off! You would not believe the toggle bolts and all the sparks that flew gettin' them suckers off!
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| The original (never replaced) brake pads that I hack sawed off last season because I had literally, no stopping power (see wore grooves). I had to get the pads custom cut at a shop to replace them. |
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Anyways.. Breeze's skin condition came to a result last week when after a vet visit she was diagnosed with Demodectic Mange. For those who do not know what this is,
see here. It is non contagious, so thus why I tried to rule it as an allergic reaction because she was the only one affected. I have never had a dog with any kind of skin condition and was devastated when I found out. Since she does come from exceptional lines and sire/dam leaders all of the pups hold great potential and if chance be, the opportunity to possibly pass that down onto further generations. It is labeled "genetic";
however, my vet does give me assurance since there are no past history of it that she could be the first and should be spayed to stop it from being passed on. Of course I am fine with this because health is #1 priority in my kennel and breeding program and I am even more relieved to have it properly diagnosed so she could be treated. I am disappointed though, because Breeze had plans to join another team in hopes of becoming "the next generation" for them as well. But things move on, I guess.. I'm just glad to see her recovering and healing nicely while she is on antibiotics and topical treatment.
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| Breeze buggin' Zorro | | | |
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Anyways.. back to trainin'. I hope to soon get my confidence back up with a visit up to VA with my mushing mama, Robin and her team, Clear Creek. It's been far too long since we've been able to see each other or train, so naturally this gal's purdy excited! :) Hope to get Kajunn and Shooter out on the line and see how they fare out as well. I hear the changes, and I'm singin' back.
"Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy"- [Take It Easy] by The Eagles
