See what the fuss is about…

Our Blog has found a new family ~ the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Just a stone’s throw down the road.

What a nice greeting…

Check it out HERE.

Until tomorrow ~ God willing,

Woodswoman

This past weekend, warmer temperatures prevailed.

Those warm temps and sunshine had some critters jumping for joy.

Rachael led the charge. Telling the world she loved the snow and the sunshine.

Not everyone celebrated the same way. Some just soaked in the sun.

Some went for a short run on fast trails.

But some, like Rachael, couldn’t contain their happiness.

And kicked up their heels.

And while all this was going on, our thoughts turned to spring also.

We have a new adventure at Russ-Stick Acres.

One I hope you will enjoy.

Come June, we will be featuring a Farm Market for all the local growers, farmers and crafters.

We invite you to partake. Check HERE.

Of course more information will follow, as it gets off the ground.

Until then, enjoy the sunny winter days and bask in the beauty of nature.

Until tomorrow ~ God willing,

Woodswoman
To see other exciting news, check out our other Blogs:
Meet the Mushers
and
Our 40 ~ The Simple Life at Russ-Stick Acres.
A daily blog of adventure tidbits.

How many times in your life, can you be both the teacher…and the student?

For Miranda, the Mustang trainer, it happened this past weekend.

She went from graceful elegance and total control…to…

Dog power!

Because Miranda (Mandy) grew up with horses, and is an experienced horse trainer, she was an easy lesson.

And caught on fast.

Although her experience that day was truly “Baptism by Fire”, by no fault of her own (Union picked THAT day, on the trail, in lead ~ to decide she was truly retired…), we have no doubt she will be back for more this weekend.

I would bet money on it…

Anyone who runs barrels, laying a horse on its side, can handle a dog team.

Beauty Power Spirit.

Canine or equine ~ the saying fits.

Until tomorrow ~ God willing,

Woodswoman

To see other exciting news, check out our other Blogs:
Meet the Mushers
and
Our 40 ~ The Simple Life at Russ-Stick Acres.
A daily blog of adventure tidbits.

On the cusp of the blue moon, as the sweet light faded and the full moon clocked in, we ran dogs.

Our two new boys, Shiloh and Malakai, have only seen a dozen or so full moons, two in this month alone, and they needed an outlet to assist them in coping with the energy that comes from the moon’s gaze.

Luna = lunar = lunacy. I remember my Latin classes.

I assisted Russ in hooking up a team, including the newbies, and watched as they sailed out of the dog yard, rooster tail of snow flying.

The remaining dogs still wailed, barked and howled with excitement as they loped out of sight and into the woods beyond.

Then we watched…and waited.

Ranger, our leader, always barks once the team is stopped, so as Russ stopped the team to give the younger dogs a few seconds of break, we, back at the dog yard could hear Ranger bark his impatient bark to go.

Upon hearing the distant bark, the dogs in the dog yard exploded with excitement.

Then silence ~ they were on the move again.

The remaining dogs would stop their excitable noise only when I would say “Shhhh…listen”.

Then, and only then, they would perk their ears and turn their head in the direction of the trail flow.

The stillness was only broken by the sound of my shallow breath under the neck gator, as the coldness was creeping in.

I felt like Heimo Korth, standing perfectly still. Heimo would watch for the bush plane that would visit his remote cabin only 4 times a year. Watching…waiting…

Only my eyes moved back and forth, looking…listening…waiting for the dog team to punch out of the woods with Russ on the sled behind.

The dogs weren’t so patient. About 8 seconds is the limit for them being pin-drop quiet. Then one or two would whine or fuss, wishing they were the chosen ones out with the Boss.

The lighting was magical. Not of this earth.

Not quite of Heaven.

About halfway between.

My Nikon won’t capture it ~ I won’t even try.

As I stood there, breathing in the cold air, I felt that overwhelming feeling of contentment once again, that only comes from following your true bliss.

My hope for all of you is that you take the steps needed to follow your bliss in the coming year.

Start with one small step.

Years ago I remember being in the bookstore in Traverse City, MI looking at the books on simplicity. I picked up a small book by Elaine St. James. Simplify Your Life: 100 ways to slow down and enjoy the things that really matter.

That was my starting point more than 10 years ago.

Tonight I wipe back the tears of joy knowing where that small step brought me. To a little place, 40 miles south of my hometown. Married to my best friend only 6 years ago tomorrow ~ on the first day of the new year.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Until tomorrow ~ God willing and always watching over us,

Woodswoman

I’m so glad you took the time to head down our trail.

We welcome you.

After 223 Blog posts, in a little over a year’s time, we want to provide even more access to our way of life.

So, in an effort to provide even more “tales from the trails” from Russ-Stick Acres, we have opted to do two Blogs.

This venue will always remain the same ~ my picture journal of events, people and animals that touch my heart.

This new opportunity ~ which is in the infancy stage ~ will be providing a more “wordy” account of our daily life. More stories, more detail, more “real”.

I’m still tweaking it…but I began today. Up until now, I was just using this new Blog as a trail leading here.

However, there are some nice features. Consider it “one stop shopping”. You can see some of my favorite Blogs from like-minded farm and mushing folk.

Come along…and click on as a follower. It’s easy, and fun.

Trust me ~ I will always be here. In pictures and in words.

And the two will lead to each other. Parallel trails…

I hope you will come along.

Here it is…our second Blog.

Until tomorrow ~ God willing,

Woodswoman

To me, Christmas time is also a time to reflect on the blessings you have experienced through the year.

Even more so than Thanksgiving.

We have many blessings. Health, family, friends, and animals.

Animals that gravitate to our farm and kennel.

Comanchero was one of those creatures heading our way.

However, after a summer providing horse back rides at his original stable, he had made a place in the herd and we hated to move him again.

Comanchero will remain at Hobby Horse Riding Stable with the other Mustangs.

One road over.

And we will remain a 3-horse farm.

Our trio.

Our trilogy of beauty, brains and brawn.

Tomorrow we are getting two new heifers. Dexter and a Dexter cross.

One is 16-months old, the other is 12-months old.

It will be nice to grow our herd.

It seems like just yesterday our little Luna was born.

A new spring baby is planned for 2010, compliments of Dixie and Dudley.

Shiloh, our latest addition, has settled right in.

He gives a new meaning to the phrase, Tree Hugger.

Shiloh took Union’s spot in the kennel, so she is now a full-time house dog.

We attempted a retirement last year with Union, however she made it clear she preferred the dog yard.

This year, she’s opting for the radiant cherry wood heat of the woodstove.

Of course, when we run teams, she now dons a dog jacket and joins in as a leader.

Our new little boar we ordered isn’t coming until late April. We would need to pick him up in late December, so we went to Plan B.

We will be getting a full grown boar over the holiday break and picking up our new little one once the snow goes, from a future litter.

We enjoy the ebb and flow of farm life.

We hope you enjoy our stories throughout the year.

And may all your trails be blessed.

Merry Christmas folks ~

Until tomorrow ~ God willing,

Woodswoman

For me, a good weekend is one where I come home from work Friday night, and I don’t leave “our 40” until Monday morning.

This was a good weekend.

On Saturday we enjoyed the nice weather and went for a pre-hunting season walk, among other tasks.

Sunday brought more bliss.

A day of leisure was welcome, knowing what lies ahead once the storm clouds move in.

During our Sunday dinner, which consisted of BBQ pork chops on the grill (our pork), small red potatoes sautéed with onion and bits of Maple bacon left over from breakfast, homemade applesauce and baked beans, things felt right.

It felt like November, and it felt good to be in the main cabin with the wood stove kicking out warmth.

We watched Mary Shield’s “Season of the Sled Dog”, as we do most weekends. I love watching Mary and her husband, John’s, special way of life ~ living rustic, camping, and using the sled dogs in their daily tasks. It validates the sometimes harsh life we have chosen.

We had asked Mary to come to Michigan this past August for our Meet the Mushers event. She was unable to do so at the time, but we are hopeful for some future encounter. Ironically, Mary is like us…she doesn’t like to leave her animals.

Mary was the first person to finish the Iditarod in 1974 with an 8-dog team. Upon finishing the race, she decided not to fly home due to the cost, so she headed back down the Iditarod trail, bound for home. She has also run the Yukon Quest.

Mary also knows the value of a small team and what they can accomplish, which fascinated both Russ and myself in her book, Sled Dog Trails. It would be a pleasure to hear her stories and meet her first hand. Until then, you may wish to check out Mary’s video and book selection on her website.

You can find Mary, and our other friends too; on a new Blogspot we created. Don’t worry, it’s not to replace this venue ~ it is just another avenue to keep everyone posted on our activities.

All roads lead home.

We hope you had a blissful weekend too.

Until tomorrow ~ God willing,

Woodswoman

I’m tired of the fast pace of summer, brought on by countless daylight hours.

I’m looking forward to the time “in between” fall and winter.

Where things slow down, and our interests shift.

We are wrapping up horse training, long lazy Sunday trail rides, and getting wood split and ready for our insatiable wood stoves.

Fall training beckons…

I can’t wait to enter into that world once again.

The world of sled dogs.

Fall training with 16 anxious furry friends.

Until tomorrow ~ God willing,

Woodswoman

Some weeks start out rough.

This was one of those weeks.

Lots of doctor’s appointments. Dentist drills.

And vet visits.

However, when the dust settled, it wasn’t so bad.

Our precious Scooby, who began the week with a wobbly walk, is now doing better.

She gave us quite a scare.

We weren’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

Her 90# frame has some issues.

A small handful of old ruptured discs, now arthritic, proved to be the culprit according to the film taken by our local vet, Dr. Dale.

Rest and recuperation, with some steroids tossed in, is what the doctor ordered.

We should have our old Scooby back in no time.

She’s looking forward to returning to normal too, as any working dog would be.

Because as we all know, dogs are happiest when they are working.

Until tomorrow ~ feeling blessed ~ God willing,

Woodswoman

As the day nears the end, and another Mother’s Day has passed, I am reminded of all things cyclical.

My thoughts turn to Freddie the Leaf.

If you have never read the book, “The Fall of Freddie the Leaf”, by Leo Buscaglia, you must seek it out. (Click HERE.)

It’s a book about a leaf…Freddie, who experiences the cycle of life that a leaf must take.

It’s touching. It’s teaching. It’s a tender moment to reflect on life. And death.

We have Freddie moments at our place.

It’s inevitable when you take in older dogs, knowing you will see them through their geriatric years.

I suppose as a sled dog kennel we could just raise puppies every so often, and give up our older dogs to other suitable homes, but that’s not how we roll.

We enjoy the older dogs, with their sage wisdom and spirit.

Out of our 19 dogs, 17 are over 7 years of age.

One is going on 18.

So, we must steel ourselves for the inevitable.

For the cycle of life.

The first moments of Mother’s Day saw our precious Scooby struggle to rise.

Upon doing so it was evident she had lost most control of her back legs, although she was able to wobble forward with effort.

It was also evident that she, too, was also surprised by this new encumbrance.

Although being sedated for possible pain, throughout the day she strove to play with Zip, and follow Rustic Russ’ movements on horseback.

We’ll see what today brings. X-rays that = despair, hope?

Scooby was Rustic Russ’ very first rescue. Over a decade ago.

She made the transition from sled dog to house dog beautifully, fighting back her natural instincts to seek out the spring bunnies, or the free-ranging chickens.

She is our guard dog and takes pride in announcing visitors.

We pray her time isn’t up yet ~ that she has more golden years to share.

Until tomorrow ~ in God’s hands ~ and truly God willing,

Woodswoman