I tried to do you right, why'd you have to go and turn to ice?

Bark! Bark! Arf! Ruff! Yip! Yap!
Ready? All right!
Whoooooosh!!!
Now comes the sound of the sled brake on ice...I don't know how to write that.
The weather has not been cooperating as of late, but the show must go on, so Rich and I took out four, six-dog teams yesterday over the icy, hard-packed trails. Running small teams with weight in the sled is manageable, but still quite fast and very rough. We had our mid-winter thaw a couple weeks ago and shortly after the temps dropped but unfortunately, no snow dropped from the sky, so the trails were/are in less-than-desirable shape. Icy, hard, overflow with a ton of moose holes and ruts. We're taking it as slow as we can with little teams.
Easy guys, eeeeasssy...
Yesterday, we passed our neighbor head-on with our first two teams and then again with our second two. The second time we passed, we were leaving our narrow, windy trail which we affectionately call 'Swiss Cheese Trail' and our neighbor was coming home. We had waited to hook up because we knew he was out there and passing head-on on Swiss Cheese is, well, it sucks. But, we didn't wait long enough and sure enough, here he comes. Everything went as smoothly as we could have hoped for, including another pass with a loose dog that was running behind his team. Good dogs!
It's nice to get out there again and with snow in the forecast, it can only get better.
I am really, really loving my job and feel fortunate to be part of such an amazing community asset. Plus, I think I've finally got taking clients' blood pressure down.
Between the dogs feeling better, getting back to running, and loving my job and co-workers, I feel optimistic and excited for whatever the future holds. Whether or not we race this year is still up in the air, but I feel like the dogs' recent hiatus has done them a world of good and we are all loving life and having fun!
I hope you all are as well. Happy New Year.
P.S. Wherever you are, please do a little snow dance for us up here!
P.P.S. Thank you again to Mark Atkins for your continued support.
Peace