There are so many possibilities for March blog posts! Sled dogs, the Iditarod, St Patrick's Day, the spring solstice, pi day, John Phillip Sousa .... there may be several extra posts. :-)

While not a part of the Iditarod, or even a sled dog race of any sort, dog sledding is a means of transportation in Mrs. Mike: the Story of Katherine May Flannigan by Benedict and Nancy Freedman. While listed as fiction, it is based on a true story as the authors knew, and worked with, Mrs. Flannigan when they wrote the book. When she was 16, (in 1907) Katherine May was sent from Boston to her uncle's farm in Calgary, Alberta where it was believed the cold air would help with her pleurisy. While there, she meets and marries a Mountie and moves even further north. This is the story of their life together.

Alone Across the Arctic: One Woman's Epic Journey by Dog Team, by Pam Flowers with Ann Dixon was listed in the August 30, 2014 blog post. Big-Enough Anna: the Little Sled Dog Who Braved the Arctic is that story, but this time written for children and with some wonderful illustrations. Same authors as before, with the addition of Bill Farnsworth did the illustrations.

It should come as no surprise that sled dogs love to pull. After all, it's what they've been doing for generations. Born to Pull, with text by Bob Cary and illustrations by Gail de Marcken is a wonderful introduction to these dogs. With chapters on the various northern breeds (and what they do best) to feeding, training, and racing, this is an excellent read for both younger and older readers.

Ziva, the dog in Wind-Wild Dog, written by Barbara Joosse and illustrated by Kate Kiesler, was a real dog and the inspiration for this story. Sled dogs with one blue and one brown eye are thought to be 'half-wild' and for that reason, one puppy was not picked by other mushers to join their dog team. One man was different, and this is what happened.

Snowmobiles are now the primary means of transportation in the Antarctic, but originally it was provided by dog teams. Of Dogs and Men: Fifty Years in the Antarctic. The Illustrated Story of the Dogs of the British Antarctic Survey 1944 - 1994, by Ken Walton and Rick Atkinson is the story of their adventures. Grand adventure, hard work and an amazing partnership between man and dog make for a thrilling read. Wonderful photographs!

I have a friend who builds dog sleds. He does so the old-fashioned way in that he steams the wood in order to bend it into the proper shape. He's using red oak at the moment, but would like to try white oak and white ash. He lashes them with an old technique, but a new product. Originally sleds were lashed with rawhide, but he uses seine twine (a nylon twine used in purse seine nets). He uses his sleds, too, when there's enough snow, and has a team of three dogs.

Reading Hermit With Dog