Two weeks ago I rode a hundred miles across the U.P. on my motorcycle.
Today the ground is white.  It really isn't abnormal for Paradise to
get a snowstorm in April - or May, even - but with the early spring
we've been enjoying, I had my hopes up...
  I'm up early this morning because the publicist at Globe Pequot
Press roped me into a 6:00 radio interview at WNTA 1330 AM out of
Rockford, IL about a month ago.  When nobody called by 6:15, I was
getting perturbed.  It seems the guy who was supposed to interview me
is gone, taking his show with him.  I really don't care about not being
interviewed, but I'm downright pissed at getting up so early for
nothing.  Ever since giving up an overstressed, ulcerous, thankless
career in quality control 15 years ago, I've made it a personal goal to
never get out of bed before 8:00 a.m.  Now I have to figure out what to
do during these extra hours - s'pose I could shovel some snow.
  The wolves are happy that it's snowing; they're all laying outside
of their houses snowbathing (I can see their compound from the window).
The ravens are out there, too, as usual, looking for meat scraps the
wolves didn't eat.  Once in a while we find a raven carcass, not eaten,
but left there as a warning to other ravens who might have designs on
the wolves' food.  Doesn't happen as frequently as it once did, though,
because only the fast, smart ravens are left.
  The sled dogs are beginning their summer vacation, a little bummed
that mushing season is over, I think.  They did us proud this year,
especially during the dogsledding workshops.  We couldn't have asked
for better teams.  Our oldest client was a 70 year old woman, who rode
in the basket (Cheanne was driving), and giggled like a little girl
through the entire run.  Our youngest driver was an 11 year old girl;
we put her with Steel, our best lead, and Ducky, our most gentle swing
dog, and they performed magnificently - the girl was on the runners,
but the dogs were doing the driving.  Other mushers tell us we spoil
our teams, but happy dogs, like people, are more enthusiastic about
their work.
  I've finished breaking ground for the foundation of our new offices,
288 square feet of blueberry bush sod, with tree roots and hardpan.  I
could've used a Bobcat, but I opted for a pointed shovel.  Took me 2
days, but I'm pushing 50, and I figure I need all the hard labor I can
manage.  Bowflex machines are for people who don't have work to do.  I
start pouring concrete and laying blocks next week.
  The moose are getting into their spring swing, showing up every
evening to browse ditches at the sides of roads (where the first
sprouts of the season grow).  You can usually spot one from the lines
of cars tourists park up and down the road as they gawk at and harass
the poor critters.  One very, very stupid woman actually told her
daughter to go over and stand by the moose so she could get a picture.
What the hell is the matter with these greenhorns?  In my 35 years in
the woods, I've been bluff-charged by black bears a half-dozen times,
attacked by large raccoons (not to be taken lightly), and shot rabid
coyotes, but none of those scared me like being chased around trees for
half an hour by a moose.  Those animals ain't scared of nothin', and if
you cross one, it'll stomp you into pudding.
  I have a new dog, an 11 month old Siberian named Moki.  Lots of work
to do with her, but she'll become my new companion in the backwoods,
replacing old Buddydog.  She doesn't quite have the nose for
search-and-rescue that Buddydog had, but she's smart and eager to
please, and she bonded to me right away.  Maybe a little too brave,
though.  I'll have to somehow imprint a little caution on her before
she runs into a cougar or wolf.
  Otherwise, everything is pretty quiet here in Paradise, Michigan,
where people are as hard as the winters and as rugged as the
countryside (I saw that on a bumper sticker).

Len McDougall, Author

http://www.writers.net/writers/19462
timberwolfwildernessadventures@yahoo.com