Still no ballerina pictures.

Another cold and bright morning materialized today out of the cloudless night. Frost, and lots of it, lay thick on the grass and the truck as the sun had not made it above the tree tops yet. I could hear the familiar squeak and clink of dogs doing laps in their areas: they were up and waiting to be fed. Jenn, who was doing her best to sleep off a cold, was buried deep under the comforter, so Hunter and I had our hot chocolate and a coffee while I waited for a respectful hour to feed the dogs.

These are just a few pictures of Hunter in the back of the truck when we loaded the dogs to go home. She climbed up there all by herself and was pretty proud of herself for doing so. She graciously posed for Jenn and the camera. It was difficult to convince her that the front of the truck, in her seat, was safer and more comfortable than the back of the truck. She wanted to ride home with the dogs.

I'm a bit afraid to call attention to the weather; we've been fairly lucky, in comparison to the past few years, in that we have had less rain so far. That, and the new load of gravel that I have been wheelbarrowing around the dog yard, has made for a much less sloppy kennel this fall. The dogs are in great spirits and they are enjoying the cooler weather, too. I am looking forward to giving them new straw this weekend since the first straw of the year is always met with great enthusiasm. Much digging and shoving, pawing and fretting is done in the dogs' house when they get the straw, wanting to get it 'just so'.

This past weekend I was able to 'treat' my parents to a dry-land ride with the dogs. My friend Lou has been exceptionally generous in letting me borrow his four wheeler and Mule (a glorified golf cart and machine that I *need*. Really.) while my four wheeler is out of commission. The best thing about the Mule is that it allows the passenger to sit beside the driver, as opposed to behind the driver as on a four wheeler. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of that weekend, as I neglected to bring the camera -- a happenstance that I am sure Dad is happy about: I don't think he has ever worn dirtier clothes than when I lent him more suitable boots, pants and a jacket.

Mouse and Blitzi, post run.

I thought that we were far enough into our run that I'd be able to get a good shot of Jenn, Hunter, the scenery and of course, a neatly lined up, patiently waiting team of dogs. As is obvious, we were not ready for a break. Moxy can be seen snapping at Hope for moving around too much. Poor Moxy, she was the only one willing to behave.

Back in from feeding the dogs, I was on my second coffee and sewing harnesses. Please, don't ask. It's a story I'd rather not relive, since Triangle chewed a brand new, $26 harness; one of the fancy collared x-backs for those who'd appreciate that. Jenn had, by now, felt her way around the corner and into the livingroom, not fully awake but up and out of bed nonetheless. She had some breakfast while I finished the sewing and then I went out to hook up the trailer and load some dogs while Jenn got Hunter ready and met me at the truck a few minutes later.

Once we arrived at Lou's place, I started to get the four wheeler ready while Jenn dropped the dogs and put on the harnesses. Hunter followed Jenn around for a while and then, when I started to sort out the gangline, she decided to help. It's funny to watch what kids learn by observation as Hunter did, as best she could, what I do: untangle, stretch out, and put each tug out straight to make hooking up easier.

Stretching out the leader section.

... and the team sections.

"I don't know why it's all tangled, Hunter. Mischievious little gnomes must come in at night and do that because I rolled it up neatly the last time I used it. I swear." Sheesh, even my kid gives me a hard time.

The hookup was good and incident-free; no chewed harnesses. Jenn and Hunter got on the back of the four wheeler -- it has an add-on 'two up seat' so they had a lot of room plus a certain amount of comfort. The run, too, was great although the last half is sort of boring because the trail does a series of concentric, ever tightening laps in towards an imaginary center until it reverses direction and we do it all over again. I will say this, though, there is a lot of distance in that swirl of trail; Lou has done a great job with a small-ish field.

Part of the trail. Sort of dull and muddy at this time of the year but, at the speeds we move, it's hard to see, anyway. (Those that know us and the team have already picked up on the sarcasm.)

Getting pulled up and over a rock outcropping. Good dogs!

Tomorrow, the other half of the yard is slated to go out, Baby and Triangle included. Baby, I don't doubt, will be another great dog. Triangle, however, hasn't shown the same ability and understanding of his brother but his enthusiasm to go might overcome this, soon I hope.

Back at the truck, getting nice, baited water.

Get used to seeing this brown and black dog, Dora, in the front of our team: she's already proving to be a natural leader.

Moxy, Chili and Hope, post run.