Porcupine!

Porcupines are very common in Alaska, but I only rarely see them. In fact, in my 13 years here, I think I've only seen maybe 3 as roadkill, and a single one alive! Well, okay, now two!

But last night while I was brushing my teeth, Thistle demanded to be let out Immediately. I thought she had to poop really badly, so opened the door and followed her out (with Cricket, too). Turns out there was a porcupine in the yard! The Very Good Dogs came back when I shouted at them to Leave That Thing Alone and Get Your Fuzzy Butts Back Here. They Left That Thing Alone and Got Their Fuzzy Butts Back Here.

I put them inside and grabbed my camera, and followed him as he waddled off through the forest (as I continued to brush my teeth with my other hand. Multitasking!)



Those spines must be very serious indeed, because he was fearless and 100% ignored us. He also made no effort whatsoever to be stealthy. As he waddled through the woods, he rustled every single plant in his path, as graceful as a labrador retriever puppy in slow-mo.

Apparently, Romeo, the famous wolf of Juneau was an expert at catching, killing, and eating porcupines. No-one ever saw him do it, but they would find husks of porcupines around his territory, and never a quill on him. He must have been a clever fellow.

Ah, googling him makes me feel sad, because he had a sad end, and also I was often told that Roo looked like him. Sigh. I'm going to transplant some rhubarb now.

Working from Home Challenge

For about half an hour each morning, the light comes in my kitchen window at just the right angle to glare onto my screen, so I move to the couch, where I get seriously micromanaged:

Dogs on Pillows: A Photographic Study

They each have a pillow:


Thistle seems particularly comfy on hers:


Whoops. She fell off.


Maybe she needs to repeat that class from her retirement transition training.

So I have made an observation. When DL is home when I vacuum, they go to him and he pets them and cuddles them and tells them that It Will Be Okay, and that The Noisy Thing Won't Hurt Them. But when he's not home, the vacuum doesn't bother them at all.


Huh.

Run Wild and Free, King Silver

I knew that Brent Sass's legendary lead dog, Silver, had passed away a few weeks ago, but today an obituary for him ran on the front page of the Minor News: Yukon Quest champ Brent Sass' legendary leader Silver 'gone but never forgotten'.

He was a Very Good Boy who excelled at breaking trail in the worst conditions:


As he got old, he would ride in the sled for adventures:


(both photos courtesy of Brent Sass)

Run free, King Silver! I hope you are signing autographs in Heaven, because my girls would like to meet you and sniff your butt.

Walking photos

In the summertime, the trail system adjacent to the back of our property is a swamp, and the only accessible neighborhood trail is an improved one that is lined with a woven material, and gravel. So we walk there, to the end of the improved trail, and back, most Saturdays and Sundays when we don't plan a longer hike.

Just last weekend, we dropped below freezing one night, and there was a crust of ice on the puddles:


My fuzzies walking ahead of me:


Cricket!


Thistle!


It's not easy to get photos of them when they are off-leash and not on the couch. They are very fast!


This ukky pond is a melting ice lens:


This weekend, we got a bit of rain, and fairy slippers appeared!


So pretty!


My fuzzies walking ahead of me. I cannot hold these girls on leashes. My arms ache, my shoulders ache, I rope burn my hands. I just put them on a skijor belt and bungee all the time.


The forest is in full leaf now:


Aspens, birches, spruces:


Walking, walking!

Good Eats

As the weather is warming up, we are eating the last of the cold-weather foods that I love so much.

Well, fish tacos are all-season! These are made with rockfish:


These avocados were tiny and sad-looking on the outside, but had this inner beauty. Look at the tiny little pits! That means more avocado goodness!


Pico, guac, and queso fresco for the tacos:


In Very Exciting News, I bought a cast iron pizza pan, and here is my first pizza on it:


And here is my second! Like everyone else, we are having difficulty getting yeast, so I got some refrigerator pizza dough. It was a rectangle, so I cut off the corners and pasted it into a circle. It was... okay. Not as nice as a real crust, but definitely okay!


Salmon chowder!


Singapore noodles:


The leftovers were great for breakfast, with runny eggs added:


So I know you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but when this image showed itself to me in a popup ad:


I decided that I had to read this book. I thought it would be funny and sarcastic, and it was. A lot of the schtick was this Midwestern woman growing up and living in big cities and displaying fish-out-of-water humor. Anyway, she even gave a recipe of the kind of food she grew up with! A casserole of macaroni, hamburger, cheese, tomato paste, and some spices. Of course I had to try it before the weather got too warm. I splattered tomato paste in the book! A sign of true affection:


It was, unsurprisingly, really tasty, and probably not something I'll make again until deep winter:


Of course, being Californian, I had to make a side of steamed veggies, something Samantha Irby's mom would NOT have done:


Also, since my oven was on, I made a blueberry cornmeal cake:


Here is a moose stew. Definitely a winter-only meal.


Mmmm moosey:


My lunch today! A salmon melt:


I discovered the Red Blossom Tea Shop in San Francisco's Chinatown as an online shop after I had moved to Fairbanks. I have been ordering from them faithfully ever since. Every time I place an order for my regular mid-grade tea (Tung Ting and Guan-Yin's Iron Goddess of Mercy), they include samples of the next fancier level tea, hoping, I think, that I will upgrade to more expensive stuff. Well, this time they included a sample of Mao Feng, as well as this extremely fancy chocolate bar made with said Mao Feng:


Apparently it was made in New Hampshire by a friend of the tea shop owner, who in his shop, the Dancing Lion, makes small batches of Very Fancy chocolates, and he had made one while reminiscing about visiting the tea shop:


You guys. This chocolate bar was, for a brief moment in time, possibly the fanciest item in all of Fairbanks. DL and I devoured it:


It was very good, really very good! I had thought that, like wine, chocolate would have a point of diminishing returns, and this Very Fancy Chocolate could not possibly have been that much better than my favorite from Chocolove. But, my friends, it was. And now it is gone. Thus a lesson on the ephemerality of physical pleasures.

In other news, Thistle seems really comfy with us now. Do you think she looks comfy?


Cricket still loves to snuggle with DL:


Hail Queen Thistle!

Spring is continuing to spring

The weather has cooled down since the weekend (thank goodness! Mid May seemed a bit early for mid 80's F! The weather has been pleasant--cool and sunny. Our morning runs are comfortable, non-sweaty, and mosquito-free! It no longer gets dark at night.

Here is a Cricket selfie!


And here is a Thistle selfie!


Sweet Thistle, wise Thistle, tolerant Thistle:


The columbines are getting bigger, visibly by day! I hope the ones I started from seed sprout and turn into nice plants, too!


I saw my first honeybee last week, and my first bumblebee over the weekend. These columbines will rise to meet them!


The tree buds are chartreuse in color, and almost glow against the blue sky:


I still think that the summer sky at high latitudes is bluer than down south:

Whoomp! There it is!

Today, we hit 80deg F, and the birch buds popped open:





I also noticed that the columbines I planted last summer have come back!