Malinois Power! Skijoring with Kiersten Lippmann

Andrew and I hiked the 31.5 miles, 20,000 foot elevation gain/loss on Friday. I am still tired. Tessa was very sore afterwards, but she seems OK now, except I think she' s coming down with another round of erhlichia. I am afraid it is going into the chronic stage and am going to treat her aggressively with doxycycline for the next 8 weeks per my internet information. The day was nice, the dogs were happy, and the trails weren't crowded. The stars blazed overhead once the sun set. Great day.

It's been hot here. Got me thinking about the months (all hot) I served in Southern Illinois. But when I thought about it a little more, I realized that Massachusetts has So. Ill. thouroughly beaten. Here are just a few of the reasons: Why So Ill is Soo Ill. 1. Chiggers 2. Seed ticks 3. Copperheads 4. Water Moccasins 5. Rattlesnakes 6. Huge biting flies 7. Pitbulls 8. Animal abuse 9. Rednecks 10. 100% humidity and 100 degrees for days at a time Why Mass is not So Ill 1. Chiggers were the bane of my existence. I wrote my entire thesis draft with frequent breaks to itch and otherwise attend to my numerous chigger bites. I found these techniques alleviate, but do not eliminate the burning itch associated with chigger 'bites' (they form tubes from your skin cells and suck out your juices, then die inside of you) a. nail polish- yes, it feels nice and cool for about 30 minutes. Then it's back to itching, only this time you have to chip away the nail polish before you start s...

This seagull was begging for food, but was a bit nervous of the dogs. My primary concern was porcupines, given the one we encountered last time we were here, but we didn't see a one, not even a road kill to practice with. The park was busier, but people all tend to disappear in the rain. I don't know where they go. Martha Stewart's house maybe? Great times all around. We took a kayak tour. Tikko and Tessa got to hang out at the kayak tour store. The owner of the store decided to take the dogs for a walk around Bar Harbor. I guess he got kind of bored. Tikko didn't like that so much and slipped his collar. Happily Tikko wasn't real interested in going anywhere and was quickly apprehended. He then howled in the back room and got to hang out in the front. He'd rather have come on the tour, sounds like. Most of the week was rainy, misty and/or overcast. We had one sunny day where we took long hike/run on the amazing trails, and then took the kayak tour in the after...

It is almost 90 degrees here as I write this. I hate sticky heat, makes me feel tired, sleepy and like I might have traveled back to So. Ill for a visit. But today is the day! I am going out to Central Massachusetts to try to find a porcupine I can use to teach my dogs to avoid these horrible creatures. When we were skijoring in Maine after the Bridgton Musher's Bowl we found the one in this series of images. Luckily, I could tell the dogs were scenting something and I was able to stop Tikko in time. He shivered and shook watching that thing with intention. I had no doubt he would have gone after it in a second if I let him. In my observations, Tessa follows closely but never close enough to get quilled. She's learned, but it doesn't help Tikko to have an excited quill-wise sister accompany him in the chase but not he pain. Running in Acadia we found a huge 25 lber. It was right in the middle of the trail. Tikko snagged it by the neck, shook twice and spit it out, minus ab...

I have to write the soil section for Glen Canyon. I am not a geologist. I am not a soil biologist. But I can read and interpret maps. Google earth helps too. Some new vocab: Lithic: of or relating to stone Colluvium: soil blown and deposited at the bases of cliffs Allivial: soil transported by fast moving water, and deposited where the water slows down Eolian: transported by wind Intefluves: high area between two drainages Torriorthents: a kind of shallow, sandy soil derived from sandstone. Pagina ( I know, and one of the common bacteria associated with soil crusts is called vaginitus): the state soil of utah. Another shallow, well drained, low organic matter soil. So that's my formation of new neural connections for the day.

In the start chute at Bridgton: Eager to go: So, don't we look professional? Wish he was this focused the entire race, but he sure started well. Recently I've been focusing more on curbing his tendency to catch up to anyone on the trail in front of us when he's off leash. Not good. I lost him last week, and if a nieghbor hadn't called me I wouldn't have ever looked where he ended up. He followed a weimaraner and runner that I've seen a few times before- I wish she'd stopped when he first found her. She must have heard me hollering for him. Had good success using marker training and watch me. But when he gets going, he's in the zone, and its a challenge to break through.

This blog is meant to chronicle my journey raising skijor dogs, racing, and backcountry travels. I always am learning new things, and working on different skills with my dogs. Some succeed, some don't. I'll record it all in this blog.