Moonlight Run

As per usual I had fallen asleep on the couch while watching tv.
However once the show ended I was wide awake (why do I do that?) and decided to check the computer one last time before bed.

On facebook it was being reported that the northern lights were out dancing in the sky against the full moon.

It was 13 degrees here during the day and the snow we received only days earlier was melting into a big mushy mess.  Although it was still hovering around the 5 degree mark at 10:00pm it felt cooler with the breeze.
Without another thought we grabbed the dogs and headed to the race site which luckily for us is only a 5 minute drive down the road.

In the past when I've done moonlight runs the silence is what envelopes me in a feeling of warm happiness.
On this night it was different.
Spring is pushing it's way into our world and this was pretty evident with sight, sound and even smell.

Bare ground was exposed in more than one spot with tufts of dry brown grasses poking its way out of the hard snow.  The sound of the runners on the hardened and mushy snow was loud enough to cause my Hubba Bubba to look around questioning me.  Even Rocky turned his head a few times when the drag mat ran over ice or dirt. 
We were not the only creatures stirring by midnight when we finished our run.  For the new spring smell of skunk was very strong in the air.  More than a few times Penny's ears perked up as she caught sight of something ahead, and I'm sure she was aware of the smaller night creatures stretching their legs from a winters nap.

 We had a scare with Penny as it turned out to be a little too warm for her and she became a little unstable on her feet.  Hooking down and rubbing her tummy with snow and letting them all have a good long rest seemed to help along with a few more long rests on our way back to the truck.
Not only did this keep the dogs cool but it stretched out our last run of the season.
At about the 3/4 mark I thought I should let Hubby finish up on the runners... I suppose it was only fair....however this allowed me to take a few pictures.

I think the lights are headlights from the cars along the hiway that runs parallel to this part of the track.  This was one of our stops for poor Penny when I was still on the runners.

We did run through a cold pocket of air creating a mist with the dogs breathing.

Hubby's turn on the runners.