Spring took a long time coming here in North Idaho, making growing our garden a bit difficult at first. The starts all had a difficult time as we tried to harden them over. If you’re interested in our “homesteading” efforts, you can see them on this Facebook page. The dogs show up there from time to time:
https://www.facebook.com/bkhomestead/
The dogs did fine through the winter, as usual. The truth is, we probably keep them too warm in their ‘big dog house’ (they have their own wood-burning stove and two backup electric heaters that we can deploy if necessary, or if we’re out of town. Now, just so you know, the word “kennel” has legal and business meaning here in Bonner County, so please note that the word “kennel” here is not meant to describe a business – it’s just the big dog house. We call their crates their kennels, we call the building a kennel, and basically anything they’re told to get into, we tell them to “kennel”. So, Dear Bonner County, please note that! The kennel is so well insulated, that it maintains the heat very well, and mornings show all of the dogs coming out to lay on the snow, either because Labs love to lay in snow, or because they need to cool off. Heating the kennel is necessary for the water pipes. We try to keep the dogs a comfy 55 degrees, which is the temp they do best at (warmer makes them pant).
We have had he dogs to the river. Because of various surgeries and company this summer, we were not able to get them for a swim until recently, and boy did they have a ball!! To see images of the seasons each year, be sure to click on our “images” link at the top. I’m also adding a direct link here:
http://www.blueknightlabs.com/kennelcam/spring-summer2018/spring-summer2018.html
I REALLY have to get Mariah and Luna’s DNA’s sent in. I’ll be doing this soon, so that we have them by the fall.
Believe it or not, Dan and I are in winterization mode already. We’re not getting any younger, and it takes us time to have several cords of wood ready to keep the kennel warm. We also want the split wood to have time to dry more. One never knows how hard a winter nature has in store for No. Idaho. Best to be ahead of the curve.