This morning I am going over in my head all of the things I would love to tell you. One of the things that keeps coming to mind is the overwhelming feeling I still get when family, friends, and now the community join the team. The ways they do this are as unique as the individuals themselves, but play a big part in the kennel and my life. This is just one of the times I’ve been blown away...
In the training and racing season my diet kinda goes out the window. No, no; not by any means the dogs diet; no that is planned out, meticulously blended and mixed, proportioned to each dog’s need, fed twice a day, watered, meat blend snacks, vitamins and minerals, constantly check for proper weight and coat condition. “Rick, have you noticed the food building up extra plaque on Birch’s teeth?” And me, well I got up at 3:30 am to beat the heat of the day during fall training. I’m in the dog lot harnessing up my first team by 3:45 am, after the dogs have already been served a light broth of meat and water. 18 dogs are harnessed and on the line, we take off for a 4 hr run. I’ve brought meat snacks for the dogs and an extra pail of water and bowls to supplement the creeks. I stop the team in them so everyone can drink and sometimes the dogs lay down in it to cool off. About an hour into the run I start to get hungry, I haven’t had any time to eat yet! I reach into my pocket and pull out a couple pieces of jerky. Looking at the bag with the light of my head lamp, I read in my dear friend’s handwriting that it’s Mesquite and was marinated for 22 hrs. The memory of how special the jerky is to me makes me smile.
You see, I try to “put up” enough jerky for my training/racing season in the summer. I go through a lot of jerky! It keeps well, I’ll eat it when I’m too tired and don’t feel like eating food, sometimes sparking my appetite for more food, its good protein, and I can bring it anywhere and always have something to eat with me. With my work hours being very long in the summers, it’s hard to find the time I need to make the jerky right. In walks Carol Lubovich, master of the kitchen! Just try her brownie cheese cake and you will agree with me! She made the offer to make as much jerky as I needed for the season if I would just supply the meat and seasoning and show her how I do it. I jumped at the offer, pulling up to her house with my truck cab full of dehydrators, seasoning mixes, and 80lbs plus of meat! Well, I’m not sure if she knew what she was getting herself into, but she rose to the challenge with a smile! I was told just a few days later by Carol’s family that she was planning out her days to work around what was known as the “Jerky Schedule”. On hearing this I thought I’d better check in. Knocking at the door, I was summoned in from a voice in the kitchen. After making my way to the kitchen I was barely greeted with a nod of the head and a look of, “I’ll get to you in a minute”, Carol was head down, hard at work on a batch of jerky. As I looked around me I saw counters full of dehydrators, the fridge stacked to the top with different batches of marinating meats. A Food Saver on the table with bags and markers laid out and ready, a box already filling up with meticulously labeled jerky- date, seasoning, and marinading time. A stack of “Tester” baggies to determine my favorite variations of temps, drying times, flavors and tweaks to some of the recipes she’d made. I had just walked into a, “Jerky making Boot Camp”! The dedication of my friend to make sure every detail was just right for me, right down to the easiest size piece to eat on the trail, humbles me greatly. Carol took what she was good at and used that skill to join me on the runners! I shared my special jerky with friends in the mushing world this season. Carol is now referred to as the “Jerky Lady” by many!
The training run is over now and we’re back at the kennel. Time to feed the “big dogs”, clean the dog lot and feed and play with the puppies. Stomach rumbling, I slip out another couple pieces of jerky to chew on and keep going.... “I think I’ll open a bag of Pepper and Garlic for tomorrow’s run.”