Finally!

!

Apparently December was the coldest December since 1980. Temperatures have warmed up twice since then, enough time for a snowstorm, and then dropping again to -30s. While DL shoveled, the girls and I decided to go check out the trails for the first time in a month.

Nice temperatures! Perfect for us!

I didn't know if anyone had broken the trails, so I went via snowshoe, which is tiring! Today would have been a good day for off-leash recall training for Raven, but I actually wanted her help so stayed attached.

Cricket had a blast!

A very pretty day!

Selfie with Cricket!

Walked under a snow-laden branch.

The birch forest is my favorite.

Selfie!

I like dog butts and I cannot lie.

Rosie Creek is frozen and covered once again. Skiing will be fabulous!

Our narrow spur to the public trails.(cricketbutt for scale)

Quite a warmup from just a week ago! This was last Sat.

At those temperatures, we stay off the trails, which are low-lying and trap cold air. We just walk on the roads.

Look how frosty I got that one day! It comes from covering my face with my neck gaiter. Then my own warm breath rises directly and the water condenses onto my eyelashes and other "extremities" (those extremmities being only a few mm, apparently!)

Our neighborhood moose also have been staying in higher areas, like our yard. This is a mama and baby settling into the side of our yard to spend the night. I got curious so googled about the little one. Assuming she was born in May, that makes her 7-8 months old. At that age, she has a full set of milk teeth and is eating lots of browse, but she's still nursing, too.

And look at my smart sheppy! I have finally taught her there is no need to WOOF WOOF WOOF at moose outside. She ignores them now. Look how relaxed she is. I am so proud.

Of course, Cricket is an old pro at the skill "We Do Not Harass Meese".

Did you know that you can summon a Sheppy with an apple cronche?

Happy Pi Day!

Yesterday was pi day, so I made a peach pi.

From frozen peaches. It is DL's favorite.

It came out pretty good!

The girls prefer aaaaaaaapple.

Mmmmm! Aaaaapple!

They like aaaaaaaapple!

Aaaaaaaaaappple!

Mr. Orphaned Moosey Baby has been hanging around our section of the neighborhood for a couple of months now. He seems comfy and healthy and a good weight, and and has settled down since the first shock of losing his mama (she was hit by a car). The Alaska Department of Fish and Game literature suggests that a calf can survive without its mom as early as its first fall, so I hope this little guy makes it. The girls and I sometimes do extra-long runs, and sometimes do extra-short runs, to avoid him. He sees us and is not as short-tempered as he was a few weeks ago. I sure hope he makes it to summer and lives out a glorious moosey life and makes many moosey babies! I've decided to call him Ishmael. Ishmael was an outcast who became a father of great nation. So I think it's a good name for an orphaned moosey boy.

Distractions during Zoom meetings

Sometimes you glance up and see a MOOSEY in the front yard!

I had to sneak away from my meeting for a few minutes and snap some photos from the window.

"Oh moosey, you so fine, you so fine you blow my mind. Hey moosey!"

"Oh moosey, what a pity, you don't understand, you make my heart lurch when you eat my birch."

(At this point, DL says, "It will be nice having those trees neatly pruned 7 feet high.......")

"Oh moosey, you're so pretty, can't you understand? It's meese like you, moosey!"

"Oh what you do moosey, do moosey, don't break my heart, moosey!"

While moosey hung around, the fire died down, and I didn't want to go out to get more wood from the porch. I'm pretty sure he would not have come attack me on the porch, but I didn't want to stress out poor moosey, nor disturb his already lean and meager meal. Finally he left, and I could rebuild the fire! Brrrrrr!!

The world keeps turning, and the light is returning

Due to the deep snow and ice that happened earlier this winter, the moose are very stressed and aggressive, so I don't think it is safe to ski on the trails for the rest of this winter. I know multiple people, and multiple dog teams, who have been attacked by moose, which is not normal behavior at all. It is true that moose attacks are more common than bear attacks, but really, both are rare. Moose are rather phlegmatic. They usually just... hang out and do nothing. But now they are attacking people, so!

There is only one place that is safe for us to go, and that is the wide, wide Tanana. It's wide-open, and has great visibility.

The girls lovelovelove to run! Especially on these flat-open spaces. Here is a video I accidentally took when I was trying to take stills.

Whenever I get frustrated that we can't ski the trails behind our house, that I actually have to load the dogs into the car and drive to the river, I remind myself that (1) The river is only 10 minutes away, and (2) The meese are fighting for their lives, while I am only complaining about convenient fun. Also (3) A friend has pointed out to me that by avoiding them, we are also reducing their stress levels and increasing their odds of surviving a very harsh winter. Finally, (4) Another friend has pointed out that those trails will be there next year. :) Almost everyone who lives in this neighborhood feels similarly. Those trails are why we live here, after all, so it's sad to lose the use of them. But it's good to give the meese a chance at survival, and of course we don't want to put our own lives, or the lives of our beloved companions, at risk.

We also have...

Warm clothes...

A comfy couch...

Grilled cheese...

Apples!

Mmm, apples!

Yay, apples!

And COLLARD GREENS!

And BOK CHOY!!

And the returning daylight!

And a warm fire...

And frosty eyelashes!

And DL snuggling with us!

And frito paws!

Sofff, fuzzy frito paws...

In other news, the last new moon was the Lunar New Year. Our second Pandemic New Year. Oh well. I made a small quantity of jiao-zi:

And also did a stir-fry of nian-gao with pork sausage and bok choy.

Happy Year of the Tiger to all 14 of my loyal readers!

Good Eats

I made lion heads using bok choy:


It came out nicely!


Roo and Cricket, my loyal supervisors, always making sure I cook properly!


Mmm!


Oh, this is with moose instead of pork!


Here are photos of my second attempt at pho! I simmered moosey pieces on the stove:


Mmm!


Noodles and fixins!


It was perfect this time, and I even had purple basil!


The moosey pieces I used for the broth, we had over rice a different day. As an accompaniment, I made a cabbage salad like Vietnamese chicken salad, only without chicken:


Here is a western salad from a different day. Mmmmm!


Another example of how flexible you have to be in Fairbanks in winter: slicing teardrop tomatoes for sandwiches!


Do you think they are comfy?

I sure hope they are comfy!