WhiteWinterView

The winter is back and my thighmuscles ache after a long run in the snow. The days are short and the sun refuses to rise above the tree-tops. However the moon illuminated the forest on our way back home. The youngster Varg is pictured on both photos. The third photo is "Suzannes Huis" - a cabin for visitors.

Perfect gait, perfect x-rays of the hips.

Skarv is running his 10th winter and , like his mother Poukin and father Skrim at the same age, exhibits a smooth, springy and durable gait. It is fascinating to see his vigour even after a long distance in rough terrain. X-rays were done on his hip-joints a month ago with perfect result. One cannot fail with dogs that move like this.

Litter reunion.

Seven months old puppies from Nordenden at a nine-hour walk at Hardangervidda. The three uppermost photos are all of Varg, the fourth photo is Kazan and the fift is Tarraq with Varg. "Mange takk til Thomas og Geir for flott høst-tur i fjellet. Spesielt til Geir for hans gjestfrihet på Nystulen og til Thomas for hans utrolige fordelaktige avtale med værgudene."

Nordenden

A bird-eye view of Nordenden or, more precisely, Nordenden as seen through a photolens from a helicopter. Only part of the kennels can be seen as the rest of it is hidden beneath the trees. This way the dogs have plenty of shade during the summer-heat and places to hide when they feel like being descrete.

Mother and Son

Mother with her 4,5 months old son.

The Puppy who refused to leave his pack.

He was supposed to leave for his new home at three and a half months old. However, stubborn as he is, he is already old enough to make up his own mind. The puppy has become an inseperable part of his pack, his forest, his tracks, his running trips and his owner. On the upper picture he is trotting along our forest-track and on the lower picture he is cooling down with his mother, Ax, during a forest run.

Young, vital and strong.

Moulting

Once a year, in springtime, my dogs take their winter-coat off in change of a lighter summer-wear. Today is Spring Equinox and the first moulting has started on one of the dogs.

High above the ground they stand.

It is interesting to compare this photo taken last spring / early summer with the ones below taken in midwinter. It is the same dog on those photos. With the wintercoat taken off one can see this dog`s rangy, leggy, tallish body.

TUBBS SNOWSHOES

The new binding system on the new model of Tubbs Mountaineer fits better and gives a more firm and steady connection to the foot. With deep snow and the most beautiful landscape just outside my cabin this snowshoes makes it enjoyable to explore the surroundings. It is required however, that my wolfdog companions have long legs and an efficient snow-walk. A good dense coat and long legs are essentialts for my dogs, and have nothing to do with cosmetics :-)

Sun-day a day in the Sun

The temperature has dropped again and the mercury-bar condensed to a minus 25 tonight. All the dogs was permitted out of their fences to speed around in the forest and produce some body-heat during the day. A substantial dinner consisting of fresh horse-meat and a mixture of intestinal fat and liver will keep them warm the next night.

Double-suspension-gallop