Notes from Here and There

More signs of spring: Abundant sunshine, I killed my first mosquito yesterday, and mud. And mud. And more mud. This is my least favorite time of year, but it doesn't last very long, so I just learn to live with mud.

I thought I'd share some photos of my buddy Jill. She is one of a group of dogs that were found dumped by a gravel pit near Nenana. They had already been suffering from severe neglect, and I guess their human finally as a last act dumped them. They were thin, mangy, covered with lice, and not people-friendly. A local vet donated vet care, a local groomer donated baths, even arranging a time when the shop was closed so the fearful little things could be there in private. Anyway, six of them ended up under the care of Sirius--two being fostered with a friend and four others at the rescue yard. Of those four, Jack got adopted almost immediately. He has a very nice temperament and you can hardly tell he had a horror of a first life.

Then there is Jill. I decided to try taking her for a walk. At first, she was fearful.

But her confidence grew within a block. I suppose she is a sled dog after all, and she has those genes such that marching with purpose makes her happy.

She has no muscle tone, so stopped frequently to rest. But she got out of the road to do so (smart girl!), and sat very prettily.

Pretty girl, huh?

Well guess what? My former neighbors, who now live in Anchorage, have decided to foster and maybe adopt her. They joined us for a walk yesterday and are going to pick her up tomorrow before they hit the highway south.

This is April, one of two puppies. She is still in a cone since her incision still hasn't healed from her spay going on 3 weeks now! Poor girl. I suspect it's due to early and prenatal malnutrition. But she is a cheerful and lively puppy. Her only obvious remaining weirdness from her neglect is that she is uncomfortable on a leash and very insecure when we leave the dog yard. When she gets uneasy, she flattens herself to the ground like a starfish.

These are the resident hooligans. They are like, "Why R U hand feeding hurrrrr? Where iz OUR handfulz of fud?"

This is May, the other puppy. She is the most scarred of all. She will nose-boop me, and accept hand feeding, but she won't let me pet her. Only the volunteers that are there daily have managed to get her into a harness and take her for a walk.

Back on the home front, the trails are getting really punchy, but we can still walk quite a ways.

My girls still enjoy the off-leash time.

Yaaaaay!!

This is where we turn around!

Sigh.

Couch symmetry.

Every dog has her floppular preference. Cricket likes to flop in the sun.

Thistle likes to flop on the dog bed.

This specimen is Cedar! He is one of three Hedlund huskies who were brought up from Minnesota a few years ago. They are part of a heritage breeding project that is seeking to restore old-style Alaska Native dogs. I do not know the story of how this woman in Minnesota ended up involved, but all three of the ones that came up from her now belong to different friends of mine. They are very good-looking, very attention-motivated, and like to shove themselves between you and any other dog you try to pet.

This one is Sage. He is much smaller and much gentler than his brother Cedar, but he's just as pushy to get All The Attention. He is very muddy at this time of year!

This is sweet Luna, a rescue who not only accepts hugs, but hugs back! She's also very gentle with her hugs. Cedar might punch you in the face with his giant paw while he hugs you. Luna would never! Well if you know anyone looking for an active companion dog as sweet as Luna is, let me know!

Happy Muddy Spring!

I got this book, which I am quite enjoying just for the soothing voice and lovely prose. It sort of reads like the scent of lavender, if that makes sense. However, its actual supposed premise is teaching us how to use kitchen scraps instead of throwing them away.

But the girls and we are already on top of this! Mmmmm kalestemz!

OK this is not a "scrap", but themlovesBELLPEPPERZ!

OK here is my latest attempt at Supporting Our Local Food Systems: Pizza crust made with 1/3 Alaskan barley flour:

It rose nicely.

But when I rolled it out, I could already feel that it wouldn't be very tasty, alas.

I mean, pizza can never be too bad, because it's pizza.

But it was sort of gritty. I believe I will reserve barley for other uses.

Last weekend we took one last clean, mud-free walk.

Now alas, our world has turned into mud:

Do you see a fuzzy face in this photo?

Look! Matching symmetric schnozzle rests!

Cricket and I had our Official Therapy Dog Portrait taken last week. This is the proof I chose:

This is my buddy Boo. He used to be the star leader among the resident dogs at Sirius Sled Dogs and Rescue. But he developed a heart condition and now can't run very far, so he was retired young, which is really sad. But, he still gets to utilize his talent as Best Hugger. He loves hugs! I take him for walks sometimes when there are no rescues who need walks.

Boo sez, "You've got a fren' in me!"

A lot of the recent rescues have been experienced sled dogs, so they just run with the resident team and help entertain tourists. Right now, there is a set of Greenland/Inuit-type dogs that were rescued from a severe neglect situation. They have gotten very friendly over just the past two weeks, and give little fingertip kisses. One has already been adopted! But I may start walking the others. This one we are calling Jill:

Here is bratty resident puppy Aubrey. He is about 5 months old, enormous, and spoilt. :D He was a singleton puppy, which is why he is so big. His mama is a very dainty, very pretty Siberian. Aaaaaaanyway Aubrey has developed the habit of following people all over the dog yard and demanding to be held, even though he is now 45 pounds.

I laughed so hard when my friend sent me these photos. I mean, he's a big puppy, but these photos make him look even huger!

Well, fortunately he does have cousin-dogs almost the same age as he is, so he won't develop single-dog-syndrome. His brattiness gets kept in check! Aaaaanyway, despite the mud, our morning runs are still nice, because we are still dropping below freezing at night, and the mud is frozen. Frozen mud is just about my favorite surface to run on. It has the BEST traction! And look at this pretty blue sky! During our run just today, we heard swans honking! I had seen reports that both they and geese had returned, but this was my first time seeing them.

Happy spring to all 14 of my loyal readers!

Cancer-Free :)

After Miss Thistle had her spleen removed last fall, the vet said we should do a follow-up later to ensure that the cancer had not metastasized to her liver.

Cricket, ever my constant companion, waited with me while they did her ultrasound.

Cricket has spent so much time waiting here with me. :)

Doo doo doo doo doo...

Sigh...

And finally Seester Thistle is back with happy news!

We can celebrate with BROCCY STEMZ!!!

MMMMMMM BROCCY STEMZ!!!

And BELLPEPPERZZ!!!

MMMMMMM BELLPEPPERZZ!!!

Thanks to continuing cold temperatures and another small snowstorm, we are getting more trail time too. :)

Love my fuzzy girls!

Winter sighs and slips away

Only two weeks ago, temperatures came above freezing for the first time:

Warm-weather foods began showing up at the stores, too! I made my first guac and pico of the year!

The overflow on the creek crossing got wider and wider. Miss Thistle, ever a leader, is so great about navigating through the safe spots! (Note: This creek is very shallow, so the risk is not drowning nor even getting wet. The risk is slipping on the ice and banging up my knees!)

When we get to the narrow spur to our house, Cricket always yields the lead to her. Such well-trained girls I have!

And then just last weekend, the weather turned... to a Winter-is-over temperature:

I gave up skijoring, unhooked the girls, and skied freely with them running beside me. The snow is too fast to be pulled by dogs at these temperatures! The overflow was now impassible on skis. I took off my skis and walked across along the side, through the remaining soft snow in the woods.

Happy girls!

Not all of us are sad at the end of winter. Cricket loves sunbathing!

Thistle is less excited about warm weather, but she does enjoy her couch time, too. Boy, she sure is soft and fluffy. I'd sure love to squeeze her more often, but Her Royal Highness Does not Care to be Squozen.

Cricket, on the other hand, always loves a good squeeze. :)

That last cold day of winter?

Temps have climbed up to nearly thawing this week. They are due to drop again next week, but in March it's just not gonna get that cold any more, or if it does, it will warm up during the daytimes. The sun is powerful enough to have a real impact now. As always, I feel a bit melancholy. March is my favorite month, but I feel sad that it's so short. Here is a photo from our last cold morning, and my last dose of frosty eyelashes! Two weeks ago now:

As usual, Cricket is waiting for me on the porch while Thistle is wandering around sniffing things. And there is our tiny cabin. Most Fairbanks grad students give up their tiny dry cabin when they graduate and get a "real job", but this cabin is hard for me to let go of because it has felt like home from the minute I stepped in. And I will never forget that lovely young couple, smiling with their orange marmalade cat, their dog who looked and acted just like my Autumn, and their adorable toddler who reach up her arms immediately for me to hold her. I was leaving a long-term relationship, and this little cabin just felt like home.

Almost every woman I know of approximately my vintage (came of age in the 80's-90's) has a memory from our past that makes us cringe: when we made ourselves smaller and erased our own needs and desires so as not to inconvenience an unworthy man. Then one day we woke up--seemingly abruptly to those poor bastards--and walked away, leaving their mouths hanging open. For me, it was when I bought this cabin, packed up my stuff, loaded up the dogs, and left.*

That is why this cabin has always felt like home to me. It was my refuge (and of course the awesome trail access didn't hurt!) I knew DL was a keeper when he realized how much this place meant to me, and moved out of his conventional home with a flushy toilet and everything, to move here with me.

If God would offer me the opportunity to give any lasting lesson in the world to my young students, it would have nothing to do with engineering. It would be this: You are Good. You Are Worthy. You Are Enough. Do Not place any part of yourself behind the needs of a person who would not do the same for you.

*And you know what they tell their friends and family? "She up and left me out of the blue! For no reason! We had a perfect relationship!" Meaning, of course, that it was perfect for them as long as we never asked for anything, and bent over backwards to please them, and we were never an inconvenience.