The Performance - Winterdance

This mornings run started well before the first strains of "The Star Spangled Banner" became applicable, but the biting winds and overnight sleet showers meant that the ground was treacherous and our course time reduced. In the first part of the run I made mistakes, finding footing on mud and slipping sideways under the force of the wind was an annoyance to both me and the pack. But once exertion had restored circulation to toes and fingers we rattled on at high speed.
The first law of wilderness mushing is that the dogs come first, literally and metaphorically. This law still stands for us as urban mushers, so our return home is a routine with little variation. Rounding the last corner to home there is one final surge to the front drive. Once through the gate the pack stands, clouds of steam form around them as I un-hitch the line and one by one release them from the harnesses. Sometimes it is "not so slow moving Millie" who I let slip first, others it is Mishka, it all depends on whose efforts have been most significant on the run. This daily appraisal has no SMART objectives or praise sandwich, no increased pay follows, simply a pat and word of affection.
In summer both dogs will take chance to bathe in the water filled childrens sandpit in order to cool down. In Autumn as the mud forms both dance in the spray of the hose pipe. Today however, after drying them both off, Mishka and I played with the sleet, forming it in to balls and playing catch. Admittedly the ball never actually became mine to catch but wide eyed visceral pleasure meant that staying out in the cold felt like a surrender to the observance of a ritual performed since man and husky first teamed up- the welcome to winterdance.