day no. 10 - once again: snoooow!

Erä-susi Huskyfarm, -10 °C snowing

It got warmer! We already had 3 days with temperatures over -10 degrees. If you ask me it’s already too warm. Once again I don’t know what to wear. My warm working clothes make me slow. A short sprint is enough to make me feel like if I just came out of sauna. I feel so warm and I sweat! Everyone has nice advices. Some of them are a bit strange to me. I slowly get used to just throw my jacket away…in January with meter deep snow hills wherever I gaze. I’ve been always told by my mum and grandma to cover myself; better to warm than to cold. "The cold is dangerous, you know you just gonna get sick…" I heard often their voices in my head in the last days. But now I tell my mum's voice in my head to just shut up! I just throw my jacket and my gloves away, because -6°C is just too warm. Actually it is not the cold per se which is dangerous. Nobody dies just because of feeling a little cold, but if you sweat and stay out in the icy wind than you might get ill seriously. Once you are really cold, remaining outside you will not get warm again.

Even when it was really bloody cold, I loved it! The biting cold, the clear air…now it's gone. I hope it will change again soon. The dogs already start to change their fur and I feel less hungry. I guess I don't need so much energy anymore. Might be because of the warmer weather or because I learned how to do my work in an effective way without moving more than necessary.

With the warmer temperature the snow came. It was snowing the whole day long. The pure, fluffy new snow covers everything like a white blanket and the fences look more clean, too, even though dogs usually not shit less just because it snows. They like the snow. I've seen the puppies rampaging in the snow scattering the snowdrifts in all corners having a lot of fun. But the fresh snow is tricky, too. I have problems to recognize the tracks. Everything is so slippery and since I hardly see where our trails run, it happens quite often to me that I just vanish next to the trail in the deep snow or the course of stream running next to the tail, but being now filled up with snow. 

That's how a serious winter looks like - amount of new snow fallen within 3 days

New snow is a challenge for the sledging dogs, too. Whoever tried to run through the high snow will confirm that it is an quite strenuous activity. A good leader knows how to differ between a safe trail and deep snowbank. He or she will guide the pack safely around tricky passages. That's why a good leader is admired and hard to find. It requires a lot of experience, a good intuition and trust on both sides. Huskies don't just run in the same way for everyone. If the dogs admirs and trust you as you do, it has clearly noticeable effects on the performance and attitude of the dog. Sledging is nothing but teamwork. If the dogs do not respect and trust in you, in the wilderness you won' t get anywhere...

Bruises, lumps, scratches and aching muscles are part and parcel of working on a huskyfarm... like cold feet.

Especially for tall people cleaning the fences or feeding the dogs can be a real challenge. The fences reach just my shoulder heigh or sometimes they are just a little higher. The huskies are actually smaller than I expected, but still they could get out of there easily.

I've seen them climbing the fences and on youtube you can find a lot of videos that show how clever they are. They seems to be proper escape artists. At least when they got bored they can be really inventive. Probably that's why there is no need to make the fences higher. If they really want to break free, they will find a way to get out, no matter how high or low their fence is. 
The fences are framed by stable wooden construction which withstand the weigh of snow and ice and the jumping huskies longing for food. Every fence is a little bit different and offers nice possibilities to hit my head on the beams. It happens to me at least 10 times a day. I just can' t get used to it...-.-

Knowledge of the day: I'm already addicted to Mr. Wolf's little wolfs. Huskies are amazing dogs. But I realize that, even though they are such  handsome, admirably tender and playful dogs, they are born to work, they need to run! Born outside, spending their whole lifes outside, they will die outside...and that's the best life you can offer them at all!