Nature's Kennel Sled Dog Racing & Adventures

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Thursday, June 20th, 2013

Nature's Kennel

PO Box 5
McMillan, MI 49853
Tel: 1-906-748-0513
Email: info@natureskennel.com

Dog Blog

Adventure Journals

Welcome to the Nature's Kennel Dog Blog! Check out the latest kennel news, stories of your favorite sled dogs, Iditarod training adventures, and more!

Monday, August 30th, 2010 "I can sympathise with people's pains, but not with their pleasures. There is something curiously boring about somebody else's happiness. " Aldous Huxley It is possible that I have lived in the woods too long for here are two of the improvements made this summer that I am the most thrilled about: Two tumbling composters to help dispose of "trash" and to feed my garden. Sawhorses! I finally gave in and spent a day building four new sawhorses. It is definitely one of those projects that I should have done years ago. (The orange paint is so nobody ever wants to borrow them and if they do, I know they will be returned.) Posted by Ed


Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 I took Momo to the feed store for her birthday treat yesterday. She got to walk down the whole line of chewies and bones. There were knuckle bones, rawhide bones, big meaty bones…she sniffed them all and then pulled out the tinest little “chicken bone” from the tiny treat area and chomped one down. I was going to get a photo of her eating it but she gobbled it up too fast. I had to hold her back from getting this one that was lying on the ground in front of her. Guess she goes for taste these days instead of size. We bought a few extra for home. We got so wrapped up in Mo’s birthday celebration…that we forgot to mention that Nate crossed off another state on his traveling list. We made a quick trip to Duluth this weekend to pick up a new dog from August and Don Galloway. Along the way, we had a great visit with Matt and Paula Rossi (here’s Nate giving Matt the look of nasty competition), we met up with Andrew at Grandma’s Restaurant downtown (Nate bellied up to the bar) and had lunch with Louise and Greg of dogbooties.com. We loaded our car with booties for the upcoming winter and had to take a photo of the booties that were stacked to the ceiling in her workshop. 65,000 dogbooties.com booties are headed to Norway this month! Nate wasn’t too sure what to think of the blonde Galloway girls! Wren and Sylvie were great hosts and as Ed loaded the new dog (Stickers) into the car, Nate loaded up on new toys! Thanks girls! This week we are off to Mackinac Island (I won a free trip…so guess we’d better take advantage of it!) and then we are going for a quick visit with Ed’s mom and dad before we head back to crank out some projects. We are trying to finish up some house projects before fall training gets underway in September and it looks like a great week for working! Posted by Tasha




Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 "You can only be young once. But you can always be immature." Dave Barry I actuallly first heard of the dog named Curry through one of his brothers. Curry's brother had run single lead for most of the Iditarod to help one of my friend's on his first Iditarod finish. When I asked about this dog, I was told how amazing he was but you should see his brother Curry! That was a few years ago but I never forgot and so this spring when I had the opportunity to buy Curry, I jumped at the chance. Curry has finished the last seven Iditarods with the highlight being a third place finish with Zack Steer in 2007. He also has a couple of top 5 Yukon Quest finishes on his resume. Being that he turns eight years old next month, I purchased Curry mainly for breeding a new line into the kennel. That was until I hooked him up in harness a couple of weeks ago. Holy Cow! or should I say HOLY CRAZY DOG!!!! He is going to make my main race team!!! This soon to be 8 year old acts like a three year old!!! He is wound up and driven. I guess that is why Lance leased him from Zack to run with his team in the All Alaska Sweepstakes. (Curry is the dog on the left, leading Lance.) Posted by Ed


Monday, August 23rd, 2010 Happy 14th Birthday to Momo! Yes, old Mo is still doing fabulous. She has graduated to a prime location for napping--on the couch. And her hearing is just about gone, but overall she's still in good health. We purchased Momo 13 years ago from Amy Soule via Susan Butcher. Momo has single handedly changed the performance of our kennel. She is the mother to 28 puppies, including our "Fab 5" who were the core our main teams for 6 years--Vinnie, Mickey, Mouse, Maple, and Goose. Their sisters, Hedgie and Willow were also fabulous, but didn't have the race career that the boys did. Hedgie, age 11, is still here with us catching squirrels and freely eating dog food out of the storage area, Willow is retired with Mike and Cathy Benda near Houghton. The boys are all retired as well: Vinnie is with Cliff Henning, Mickey and Mouse with Darlene Henning, Maple with Henry, and Goose with Julie Benda and Captain Mike. So, Happy Birthday Mo--may you day be filled with car rides, cheese, chewies! Posted by Tasha


Thursday, August 19th, 2010 Ok, Ed has been in control of the journal a bit too much lately! The baby is not nearly as abused as he appears to be while in Ed's hands! Thank goodness he's usually in mine! We have had quite a variety of weather this week, from record setting 90's to the mid 40's (no not in one day but it sure has seemed like it!). Nate loves swimming now that summer is over. He kicks around in the water and even smiles when we blow bubbles at him. We got a lot of berry picking done last week. Harry and Mary Putney took us to their secret location for wild blueberries and we got about 15 quarts in two hours! Harry figures he picked 100 quarts of berries this year! Mom and I picked wild blackberries near my house and got 15 quarts of those as well. We'll have lots of berries for pancakes for tour guests and for baby snacks. Don't forget the big event this month...Momo turns 14 on August 23rd! We did some caculations and figured that her 100th birthday will be around October, so we'll be celebrating her 100th birthday at So Mush Fun this year. She is registering for cheese, mini-sausages, and fish, available at any grocery store near you. Posted by Tasha



Monday, August 16th, 2010 Wow! That was a hot weekend! We still had a great time due to the fact that the house was full of friends and family. On Saturday I even snuck away to watch the Lake Ann crew compete in the Ore To Shore Mountain Bike Race. I hope you enjoy the pictures! Picture #1: Nate was very naughty and spent most of the weekend in a puppy pen. Picture #2: The puppies that were stuck in the pen with Nate were not amused to be living with a smelly human. Picture #3: The VanderMeulen's getting ready for the big event! Picture #4: Devon showing that she is relaxed and ready to win? Picture #5: Michele Seng brought chicken for all of the dogs in the kennel. It was a wonderful frozen treat for the dogs who are ready for more cold stuff (like weather). Posted by Ed



Thursday, August 12th, 2010 I hope you are all surviving this nasty heat. The dogs are doing just fine. They are digging a lot and playing in the morning while it is cool. I am trying to take advantage of the weather by painting and finishing the house at the kennel. With the dust and fumes I have been creating we feel it best to take Nate elsewhere. So he (and his Mom) have been having fun swimming, picking blueberries and blackberries, and going to local theater performances. Posted by Ed


Monday, August 9th, 2010 "Every puppy should have a boy." Erma Bombeck In our case 24 puppies have to share one boy. Here are some photos to enjoy of the crazy youth that starts our day off with a smile every morning: picture #1: Vixen's litter (the water pups) devouring their breakfast. picture #2: Nate and Sock Monkey Derrick picture #3: Suzi (Alaskan mountain range pup). Doesn't she look like her Dad? I hope she runs like him too. picture #4: A mess! Can you pick out the 14 year old puppy? picture #5: The Volcanic litter being released. picture #6: The Seashells running around the pond. Posted by Ed



Sunday, August 8th, 2010 It feels great to be running dogs in harness again! We have had some wonderfully cool mornings and some energetic dogs. Also don't forget to wish Maliko a very happy 25th birthday yesterday!!!!!! Posted by Ed

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