Miscellaneous photos

I had to order this print from zeppelinmoon, because it reminded me of Someone I Know:


This artist is based in London, so apparently this is not just an Alaskan, nor just a rural dog thing!

Cricket loooooves to snuggle with her daddy. I hear him going, "Get your paws off my book!" or "Get your paws off my keyboard!" :D


Starbuck-A-Roooooooo and her jellybeans:


I went to harvest the giantest rhubarb stalks:


And as I squatted down, I saw this green pod. I stared at it, and it popped open before my eyes!


I saw a rhubarb get borned! Awwww!

OK that was 1 p.m. At 5 p.m., it looked like this:


And at 8 p.m., it looked like this:


Amazing!

It has been sooooo hot:


But for some idiotic reason, I thawed two Cornish game hens...? I did NOT want to turn on the oven! So I minimized the roasting time by spatchcocking the hens:


And pulling them out before the skin was as crispy as I'd have preferred, but we were dyyyyyying of heat (insert dramatic flair here):


We had them the first night with salad:


And the second night in tacos!

The rhubarb went into a pie, which I baked on a cooler night:


So pretty! This crust is 50% white flour 50% barley flour from Delta Junction:


It came out really nice, flaky and golden and not as "coarse" as whole wheat.


You could barley tell it was healthier!

Cricket selfie!


Starbuck-a-Roo using the black widow chew toy to prop up her rawhide:


Look at this pretty columbine I found growing on campus:


This little patch of poppies and columbines keeps coming back, even after UAF facilities weed-whacks the entire thing level several times every summer. I tied a piece of twine around it so when it dies, I will gather the seeds. I'd love a red and gold columbine! I'd never seen one before.

Kerflop! They like to hang out outside:


Until they get too warm, of course!


Starbuck-a-Roo overheats more easily than she used to. I believe dogs have a more difficult time with heat the older they get. Cricket is the most heat-tolerant dog I've ever had, crazy sun-worshipper!

Sheep and Goats!

Last week, I took two afternoons off work to take the animal husbandry classes at Calypso Farm. I'm not tempted to get more animals, but I think it is interesting to learn about them, and I like to visit Calypso.

There are only two goats there now. They let their old ones pass away since they had CAE, a disease that causes arthritis-like conditions in goats. So they started a new line of goats that are CAE-free. This first mama is called Canela, and she is very extroverted, opinionated, and pushy:


This is Remy, a wether sheep. He is very personable, so he got manhandled the most. Poor Remy! But he didn't seem to mind:


Hahaha that face:


I got to hold the BABYBEEs. When they were 6 days old, I had to show them to mama periodically:


But when they were 8 days old, she decided they were independent, and she wandered off and left it to them to follow her! Amazing.


Canela again:


This is Canela's yearling babe. She is also very personable. She posed on this stump:


"I am princess goat!"


Such a peaceful afternoon:


Canela again:


Lambs nursing:


Felix, the ram. He is the only ram at Calypso, and there are no intact male goats. They make behbehgoats using studs. Felix lives separate from the herd with his one wether buddy. You can pet him, but if you go into his pen, he would ram you. He is very pretty though, isn't he?


We learned how to trim hooves (Remy's, of course):


A pastoral scene:


The herd coming in:


More lamb photos because of course:


Eight days old, they can have some independence!


The farm cat eating a vole:


Then funnily enough, last week a local 4H chapter brought this four-month old baby goat to campus as a fundraiser. A goat in my office! His name is Ernest, and they did not wether him, so... I'm sure he won't be this sweet and pliant for long, but he may be a daddy one day!

Professional The-Roo-Py Dog Photos

Last weekend, Companions, Inc. had an official photo shoot of all of the therapy animals and their humans. These were taken by Bud's Alaska Photos. And he generously gave all of us therapy dog handlers full-sized copies of every one we wanted. Here are several of my favorites.

Me and Roo:


Luuuuuuuuuurve:


Me: "I love my RROOOOOO!"
Roo: "Uh... okay..."


Sweet Roo:


Serious Roo:


Distracted Roo:

Good Eats

I have accumulated a lot of food photos for y'all.

Chicken veggie stir-fry with fly lice:


Black cod with mashed potatoes and green beans:


I love green beans, especially sautéed with onions and/or garlic:


Ham and bean soup with leftover ham from Chinese Easter:


Salmon baked in teryaki sauce, with stir-fried veggies:


The makings of moose tacos (spiced ground moose, black beans, corn tortillas):


Guacamole and pico de gallo are same mix of aromatics; just one base is avocados, while the other is tomatoes!


Mmm!


Leftover salmon goes into breakfast quesadillas:


The baked cheese we picked up in Cordova:


Heated up nicely in a cast iron skillet:


It didn't melt to be gooey, but the edges turned crisp, while the inside was squeaky like fresh curds:

The jalapeño one hardly had any jalapeños at all; I could not even notice a zing. DL said that it was hot by Wisconsin standards, haha.

Beef and veggies stir-fried:


Into chow mein:


Both jiao-zhes and potstickers:


With stir-fried bok choy:


They browned rather nicely and didn't stick to the cast iron!


A polenta-based margherita pizza for a gluten-intetolerant friend's birthday:


And finally, last night's stir-fries over rice!