So that post about no snow? A distant memory. Last week at SAR training we had clear ground. No snow in sight. Then in the space of a week over 3 feet of the white stuff fell (can you say "lake effect?") This poses a bit of an issue for wilderness SAR training when ones dogs are 17.5" and 21" respectively.

The answer came in the form of an abandoned building to train in - Yay!!! Kipp got an introduction to the idea of building searches. Which are a whole new idea to a dog who is used to searching in the great outdoors. Scent behaves much differently inside with a heating duct system than it does outdoors with a natural air currents. And then there's the whole idea that you're running down hallways and checking rooms instead of working fields and woods.

But after some introductions to the game changes, Kipp seemed to catch on to the different format. It was neat to watch him run from room to room looking for his "victim".

Kenzi? Well, she's still a bit of a spaz. But she engaged right away and her focus was pretty decent for a brand new location. I think I worked her just a touch too long. Gotta work on quitting before a touch before she's ready to. But I was pretty happy with both my dogs for the night.

I finished up a few different knitting projects this week. A hat and muffler for 17 y/o DB. A scarf for a friend. A pair of fingerless mitts for my mom. I'll try and get some pictures up tomorrow.

I also submitted another pattern to KnitPicks for their Independent Designer Program. Now I'm waiting for a "yay" or "nay" on my pattern idea...