No, people. Not all relationships are like that.

This just came across my Facebook feed:


Hah!

I drew this in response. This is how DL and I will likely spend Valentine's Day:

Happy birthday, Starbuck-a-roooooooooo!

Starbuck sez, "It's my birfday. Would you like to hold one of my paws? I got lots and lots of paws."


"Rrrrrrroooooooo...."

Earthquake!

At around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, DL and I were rattled awake by a rolling earthquake. DL calmly laid there. I wondered aloud whether we should get up. MC later told me that our reactions matched our backgrounds. I'm from a place where earthquakes can and have killed people. DL is from the East Coast, where they have none, and his time in the Alaskan Interior has taught him that earthquakes are interesting, but no big deal. I thought about it and decided that I was actually in the safest place I could run to anyway, being in a securely built log cabin with posts through every corner. It did occur to me that it might have been a tiny earthquake right beneath us, or a giant one in, say, Seattle, so we flipped on NPR. They were playing a cooking show, so apparently it was, indeed, no big deal. Apparently, it was centered in the Cook Inlet, and there was some property damage, especially from some explosions from a gas leak, but no injuries were caused, and no lives were lost.

Now that I think about it, I have never actually "experienced" the drama of a big earthquake. Our historic "big one" in San Francisco in 1989 affected our rock-built neighborhood very little. My sister and I, who were doing homework with our friend and neighbor PG, got into our kitchen doorway, then shrugged and went back to doing homework. We had no idea how bad it was until we lost power, and then listened to reports on the radio. Entire structures had tumbled down. One section of the Bay Bridge had fallen to the level below. But I feel like that earthquake is bigger in my memories due to reading and hearing about others' experiences than anything I experienced myself. My mom told us her office was frightening, with chunks falling from the ceilings and everyone fumbling their way out through the debris in the dark.

I hope my earthquake luck continues to hold out! I guess being, at present, a few hundred miles from the most active fault lines is of some reassurance. And living and working only in tiny buildings with no gas lines helps, as well.

The ladies in their typical poses

Booger is blank and happy:


Roo roo-minates, and is soffft and fuzzy:


Autumn is wise and serene, and wants a belly rub:

Photos

The Alaska Range, from the Richardson Highway near Delta Junction:




These tracks appeared at the top of our driveway sometime yesterday evening. They don't look like moose tracks. They look... like... caribou? We don't have caribou anywhere in or near Fairbanks. Also, these hooves are kind of small to be real caribou. Perhaps a domesticated reindeer, on the lam?

What do y'all think?







Edit: A woman from Fish and Game has informed me that these are the tracks of a moose calf. "the biologists say no caribou in town this winter. It does happen albeit rarely"

:(

Ice, ice, bearby

Here is another campus ice bear, freshly carved with nice detail:


And the ladies enjoying their rawhides, side by side in the peaceable kingdom. :)


Starbuck sez, "Please... stop... telling... me... puns!"


Booger grinning in her sleep:


Grin-HANCE!

Ice, ice, baby

Here is one of several ice polar bears that are placed around campus every year around this time:


I used to wonder why ice sculptures would appear, seemingly out of nowhere, when I never saw anyone there carving them. Now I realize that they are carved elsewhere, and apparently transported by crane.

Here are the ladies at breakfast:


The peaceable kingdom that is ours! The ladies eat side by side without squabbling or trying to steal each other's.

"The other Northern Lights"

Yesterday morning, the sunrise seemed particularly spectacular. Due to having early conference calls, I got up early, took the elderly ladies for their walk, joined the calls, and then took Starbuckeroo for our long run. From the top of our ridgeline, we watched the entire sky blaze in a thousand shades of pink and orange. When I checked Facebook later, my feed was full of photos of it. Today there is an article inspired by it.

What a special morning it apparently was! I'm glad I was not in the office for it!

This morning, I saw a meteor streak across the sky while on my short walk with the three ladies... Having dogs who like to take lots of walks sure confers a lot of beauty in one's life, from the sunrises and sunsets to the aurora!

Booger's emotional trajectory

"I getz petted."


"I smile."


"I iz happy."

Happy New Year, couch snuggle photos, old lady life, and climate change blows

How's this for a smorgasbord post?

1) Happy New Year! Here is a photo of our New Year midnight toast:


2) Couch snuggle photos!

If you scritch Booger just right...


She closes her eyes and smiles!


How sweet is little old Autumn?


She's officially an old lady now. Today I bought her these:


My little sweetie!


Here are the gooberdy dogs snuggling together:


3) The temperature in December and January! What is this madness?


Wearing summer hiking pants with snow boots!