Summers sure are short as a musher -- another season of training has just begun. Unfortunately, we're already working with two fewer dogs than anticipated since I lost two of my best dogs over the summer -- one to a neurological disorder that has not been fully diagnosed yet (so, there is a chance she can come back, but it is remarkably low), and one to a severely broken leg; shattered would be a more accurate description. Poco was who broke his leg, and he will be sorely missed in a season that I am aiming for the Yukon Quest -- he was a big, strong male -- perhaps my strongest dog -- and much of the Quest is about strength rather than speed. Lita is the one with the neurological disorder -- she's not yet on the website, but she was leading my team after the Iditarod and she, alone, probably added somewhere between one half and one full mile an hour to our speed; she will be sorely missed too.

But, on the bright side, our training has started and everyone else looks good. You can see a photo from our first day in the photos section.