Nature's Kennel Sled Dog Racing & Adventures

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Wednesday, June 19th, 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!

Friday, October 29th, 2010 Our day begins with Ed heading over to the kennel house around 7 am to meet with the crew and discuss the day’s activities. I usually get up on “Nate time” which is anywhere between 6:15 and 7:45 am. He isn’t consistently sleeping through the night, if he wakes up to eat (usually at 3 am) then he sleeps until 7:30, if not, he’s up around 6:15. I’m not sure which is the lesser of the two evils! We get dressed, Nate nurses, and then we head to the kennel house for breakfast. The crew is usually out the door by the time we arrive, so we get a quiet morning inside to have breakfast together. We then walk pups as the big dogs are on their long runs. Nate makes it until about 9:30 before needing to nap again. We have a porta-crib a the kennel house, so depending on what I need to get done, he either sleeps there or we head back to the Roadhouse. Then it’s up for lunch and afternoon projects which usually (for me) includes phone calls, emails, and the occasional outdoor project. We are pretty lucky to be able to lug Nate around with us all day. He’s such an easy baby, loves to ride in the stroller or backpack, and even entertains himself while playing with his toys or in his bouncer seat. He loves to stand up and “drive” the cars—holding on the steering wheel and laughing…so yesterday Ed and I took him trail riding along with the truck and trailer to gather trees that had blown down from the windstorm. We have shared family dinner at 6:30 pm, and then it’s off to the Roadhouse for Nate’s bedtime (around 7 pm) and we enjoy a quiet evening and finish the day’s projects or emails. Not the most exciting life, but a great one! Posted by Tasha



Thursday, October 28th, 2010 We recently had TV 9&10 from Petoskey/Gaylord up to spend most of the day with us to see what our “unique” Northern Michigan family is like. They wanted us to act natural and go about our normal daily activities. Easier said than done! When they first arrived (around 8:15 am) I was at the kennel house feeding Nate his breakfast of rice cereal, peaches and bananas. Ed and the rest of the crew were outside hooking up dogs. Christine (the newswoman) and Justin (the cameraman) told me to just keep doing what I normally do at that time of day. Well, I’m not really sure WHAT I do at that time. I’m sure every mother has felt the same way…I felt like I really don’t DO anything from about 8:30-9:30 as that is when Nate is up and playing, I’m checking a few quick emails, doing the dishes and laundry. Definitely not film-quality material! But, it did get me thinking about what I really do, and how our days here at Nature’s Kennel really are different from most people. We had a great visit this week from Ron Cleveland from Pinkney, MI. Ron wanted to learn about kennel life, so he came up for the week, joined in the dog running and kennel chores, helped with clearing the trails, sharpened our tools, helped the girls with projects, and definately learned that things are a bit different up here! In fact, while Nate was bathing in a tub by the woodstove last night, he use the term "The Waltons" in his description of his week here. Oh my, I think that's a good thing! So, here's a little description of life here at the kennel, with more to come soon! (Oh, by the way, the news program will air November 24 on 9&10 news, at 6pm.) We had a cabin built on ten acres adjoining the main kennel property (which is 40 acres) in the summer of 2009. Last winter, the guides all lived in that new cabin, and for the past 9 years, Ed and I have lived in our main house near the kennel. With Nate’s arrival, we decided that we needed to distance ourselves a bit from all the action around the kennel, and this summer we moved into the new cabin, the “Roadhouse” (it sits close to the road). I was pretty apprehensive about moving “so far away” from the dogs, puppies, etc., but after a few weeks of prodding and then finally deciding to take the big leap, we moved all of our personal stuff into the Roadhouse. The Roadhouse is not too much smaller than our kennel house, it had two large bedrooms, a bathroom , living and kitchen area. It’s a great place to get away from the craziness of kennel life, a place have Nate nap and play, and nice for us to go to get office work done. However, there is no running water or indoor “facilities”. We do have a really nice generator, but it has to be on in order for the lights, internet, TV, etc. to work. And yes, there’s an outhouse. At first I thought that we were crazy to leave the main house with all those things in place, but the more I’m over here the more I like it. It’s quiet at night, there’s nothing to break, get clogged up, or freeze, and the woodstove works great! For right now, Nate’s room is the bathroom (the crib just fit through the door nicely and he doesn’t know the difference since there’s no shower or toilet in there--see photo below where he's showing off his bed) and the second bedroom has bunks for guests. I never thought I’d be ok with the move, but it’s so great to have a place to our selves where we can watch Netflix movies at night (we are now Modern Family fans), we can leave toys scattered around, and we get to have some private time to ourselves. And, the best part is that we all share cooking duties at the kennel house so I only have to make dinner once a week (also see photo below of us all together at the kennel house)! Ok..that’s the background…tomorrow is the run down on what actually happens around here. OH MY—Nate just rolled off his sheep skin from his back to tummy and is trying to will a toy over to himself (he can’t move yet). Posted by Tasha



Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 We are still recovering from So Mush Fun! Nate has slept the past three days (almost literally!), the house is just about put back together, the pumpkins are still lined up waiting for Halloween, and the puppies are recovered from being overly loved! Thanks to everyone who made the trip up. I'm sure there are a few kids (Luke, Emma, AJ, Taylor, Jake, Olivia, and Machlea) who were a bit sleepy in school on Monday morning! They had a fabulous time playing Ghost in the Graveyard late into the night, while the rest of us enjoyed the peaceful campfire (while Nate slept upstairs). The weather cooperated perfectly as it was cool enough for dog running in the morning yet sunny and warm in the afternoon. Hoover and Martha left the party with Amanda and Byron on their way to Ohio. Yes, the sisters are on their way to a life of luxury at a small rec kennel. They will be superstars! Kazoo and Rupert came well prepared with their own Halloween costumes (pumpkin and banana), the musher olympics were competitive as usual (see photo of Kathy scooping poop!). I'm doing some last minute clean up today around the house because TV 9&10 from Cadillac/Petoskey coming up tomorrow. They will be here most of the day as we are being featured as a unique Northern Michigan family. How strange that they find us unique :) I mean doesn't every 7 month old baby own 120 sled dogs, live with two parents, five women, four house dogs, a gaggle of puppies and ride a four wheeler. Us, unique, that's weird. Posted by Tasha




Thursday, October 14th, 2010 Nate, Mallory, and I made a trip to the pumpkin patch this week to get the pumpkins for the So Mush Fun annual pumpkin carving contest. Nate was not too thrilled with the job, it was a lot of hard work and took place during nap time. There is a great pumpkin patch near our house so we headed to the patch and got 20 beautiful carving pumpkins. So, if you are coming for the weekend, be sure to bring your knives and other sharp objects...may the best carver win! We are just about at the end of fall color season up here, but had a great few weeks of fall tours by dog team. This is the first year we offered such a trip, and it was very successful (thanks to the great advertising from our friends at travelmichigan.org). We had some fun passes along the trail, had great tour practice for our guides, and the dogs loved the early season tour guests. We have been working on a lot of projects around the yard, and as you can see we have a new employee who is great on the saw! Our weekend's events schedule is below. We have camping space still available, dogs to run, quads to ride on, and pumpkins to be carved! Saturday 10/16/2010: 9 AM Emma VanderMeulen opens the puppy pens for business. Yes, puppies are here and ready to be held!! 11 AM Musher Olympics!! Yes, it's back and being organized by the guides...so should be a great time!! Hint...Bring your muscles this year! 2 PM Pumpkin Carving Contest Begins...BRING YOUR FAVORITE SHARP OBJECTS, KNIVES AND CARVING MATERIALS. PUMPKINS (and candles) PROVIDED!! 4 PM Break in the carving action for the annual Ice Cream Eating Contest...Jake VanderMeulen, have you been practicing??!! There will be a kid and adult division with PRIZES!! There will also be a cutest baby contest...and since only one baby is coming it should be a landslide victory. 6 PM Potluck--bring a dish to pass and something to grill. HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY MOMO! All the better to celebrate when the food is out! 8 PM--Pumpkin Judging Competition and BONFIRE!! Sunday 10/17/2010: 8 AM--up early for more dog running action!! Posted by Tasha




Thursday, October 7th, 2010 Nate and I (and babysitting grandparents Steve and Joyce) have been on the road in Southern Wisconsin this week for several school programs with Tasha Canine and Teton. No, Momo was not able to go with us this time. She has been my #1 school dog for about 10 years, but I think that it's just getting too stressful for her to be away from home. I missed talking about all her successful puppies, her signature mohawk, and her amazing sled dog-ness, but it was time to officially retire her. So, Teton, Mallory's dog, took her place. She's an all white Alaskan Husky so she was a great contrast to TC, and she was perfect. She did roll is goose poop on one of her outdoor breaks so had to get an emergency sponge bath in the girl's bathroom, but other than that she did fine. She even made sure TC behaved herself and didn't eat any of Nate's toys or grandpa's seatbelts in the car. We are headed back home tomorrow to enjoy the HOT fall weather! (Note: I guess Nate is also sad that Momo had to stay home, he really did have fun, he just didn't want to smile for the camera when we stopped for a break!) So Mush Fun is coming up soon, so be sure to RSVP if you want to join us for a weekend of camping, pumpkin carving, ice cream eating, musher olympics, oh, and yes, a little dog running! We have lots of camping spots available and lots of puppies to hold! There will be a potluck on Saturday night, so please plan to bring a favorite dish to pass, and bring your creative carving skills to show off your glowing pumpkin around the campfire. We will also be celebrating Momo's 100th birthday that weekend...so bring a friend, bring some dogs, and come on up! Posted by Tasha

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