Rasputitsa...

Breakup has arrived, or as the Russians call it, rasputitsa, the season of mud.

This time of year, the dog yard slowly turns into a slushy mix of melting snow, straw and mud. The upper dog yard, to the right, has been cleared of snow, so will move the dogs up there as soon as it dries out.

The driveway's clear of snow and is pretty solid, at least in the middle, so you just have to be careful where you drive.

The road's clear too after scraping off the melting hard pack of snow and ice after going over it most every day last week with the tractor and rear blade. It's always good to see the snowmelt flowing in the ditches and not down the road!

April's Change

After the coldest March in over fifty years, April's been too warm. The trails out of the dog yard into the valley have softened up and are starting to disappear. Then the moose came back and post-holed much of what was left of the trail. So I guess the dog running days are over for this winter. Here's some pics...

Heading up the trail in mid-March, still pretty cold then with lots of snow.

Heading for home on the last dog run at the end of the month. The snow's starting to settle and melt back from the trail as the warming sun does it's work. Did get Earl to run up front for a couple of trips across the valley over Sawmill Hill and back. We'll make a leader out of him yet!