Monday, July 16, 2007

Dial 'M' for Mush

Ladies and gentleman, put your hands together and give a big Spitfire Kennels' welcome to...Hitchcock! Yippee!
Yes, I got a new dog today. She's a three-year-old from Andrew Lesh, who came in second in the 2001 Yukon Quest. Sidenote: That was the year that Sam and I first met as we were both covering the race for our respective newspapers.
Hitchcock's dad is out of Terry Streeper (champion sprint racer) and her mama is out of Bill Cotter (past Yukon Quest champ), so she has some damn good blood in her. She's a little hyper but really friendly. And the best part? She was free. Andrew is pretty much out of mushing now and she was one of his last dogs, so he really just wanted to find her a good home. I think she'll fit in nicely here. She's a little high strung and immature but with some discipline and lots of love and I think she'll be a good little racer for me. At least she's not Physco. I am a little worried that she'll only run North by Northwest but we'll see. (Thanks Richard)
Ruffles has already taken a real shine to her and I'm hoping that Hitchcock will let Ruffles 'adopt' her now that Raven's gone. Bull too likes her and has already tried to hump her twice.
I'm really excited for winter. With some new dogs and a really reliable leader (Capiche), I'm planning on doing some distance races in early 2008; at least one, anyway.
Anyway, today I'm getting the exterior of the cabin ready for staining tomorrow and then on Thursday, Sam and I are off to Chitina to dip-net fish. The Copper River red salmon are our staple winter meat and if we can bag a moose in early September, we'll definitely be set for another year.
Last night Sam and I went for drinks with Ken, Julie, Todd, Al and Michelle (all musher friends) and the Mackeys; Lance and Tonya to hear all about the Mackeys' big trip to Hollywood. Lance was nominated for an ESPY award because he's the first musher to win both the Quest and Iditarod in the same year. He didn't take home the award but they had some funny stories about meeting celebs and walking the red carpet.
I'd like to give a shout to Meg in Mount Vernon. We miss ya!
Peace.



Hitchcock.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah-hh memories of salmon fishing. Have fun - beat our record 30 in 4 hours I think it was.

Constable Ian's parents just came back from Alaska and wished they could have had a visit with you and Sam and seen your kennel. They really had a good time even if it was a cruise. Brought "winter" clothes and it was 80 degrees. Showed me baby pictures of Ian's new little fellow. What a cutie.

Welcome Hitchcock. Bad Bull!

Had a great B'Day. Thanks to all.
Mere xoxo

Brown Eyed Girl said...

Oh Jill, she's so freaking cute! I love her eyes - they look playful and mischevious. Have fun with her!

Christine (& Shaun & Mikey)

Theresa said...

Congrats, mama!
And good luck fishing. Break a net or whatever you say to someone who's off to dipnet. Don't forget our canning date.