This is Interesting!

Today's Anchorage Daily News has an article on a 1956 pocket guide to Alaska, from the military. The military apparently used to issue these pocket guides to their servicemen being sent to faraway places. The Alaska one is pretty factual and even culturally not too dreadful, considering how bad exoticism and racism were during that unenlightened era. Yes, there are references to Alaska as an untamed wilderness until its "discovery" by White people, but it does also say "So far we have been discussing white Alaskans. The original Alaskan population is important, too." On the whole, the way it talks about Alaska Native people is surprisingly modern. The mass slaughter of Alaska Native people by Russian settlers is noted with a hint of compassion, and it says to treat modern Alaska Native people with respect. "You should accept your new fellow citizens — just as they are — and they will accept you.” Regarding Alaska Natives, employ the correct term for individual Indigenous populations and never cheat them. As the guide says, “Some Alaskan natives serve in the Armed Forces. Maybe a few will be in your outfit. Get to know them.”

I am especially taken with this illustration:

Source: 1956 Pocket Guide to Alaska

I also like this illustration here:

Source: 1956 Pocket Guide to Alaska

You can view the whole thing here.

Whoops! Plant ID correction!

I submitted my photo from the last post to the Local Environmental Observer (LEO) Network as "the earliest blooming fireweed I had ever seen". Katie Spellman, one of the ecologists who manages the LEO Network and one of the liveliest researchers I know, emailed me in response that I might have made a mistake.

"... the typically prominent stigmas are missing, the corolla is too tightly packed, the four dark pink sepals are missing, the leaf joint on the stem is too sheathed... I think this is a species of Cardamine (which usually does bloom before fireweed). Those mustardy long seed pods and the color can masquerade as fireweed!"

This cluster is along our morning run route, but it's hard to make careful observations when you are trying to outrun mosquitoes! But I observed it more closely, and yes, it's sure not a fireweed! I took a better photo today, a low-mosquito day:

Here is an actual fireweed, which are just now starting to bloom, right about on time.

Look! My first columbine of the year!

It hit the peak of its beauty and then dropped its first petal in two days. Harsh life, columbine!

These will produce flowers for the first time this year. I started them from wildly hybridized seeds, so I don't know what colors I will get!

It's too hot to bake bread or boil potatoes, and sometimes even the rice pot seems to hot. Noodles are our primary starch on hot days.

From Orient to Occident. Pesto shrimp with tomatoes for the next pasta.

We hardly ever eat non-Alaskan seafood. It seems like a waste of money and climate change gases. Not to mention, Alaskan seafood is extremely tasty anyway! I mean look at those spot shrimp in the photo above! But every now and then, I do crave an ahi staek. My sister says avoiding ahi is good for avoiding mercury, too, but how tasty it is!

I got a lovely bunch of radishes from our CSA last week. I made a pseudo- do chua. It was really tasty!

The girls love our stir-fries most of all because they have so many veggies to sample--carrots, bell peppers, bok choy...

Mmmmm BOKCHOY!!

IALSOLOVEBOKCHOY!!

Summer keeps rolling along

This is the earliest I've ever seen a fireweed bloom! This is the prettiest Cardamine I have ever seen, blooming right on time, and it's not in fact a fireweed!

The World's Most Neglected Doghouse got very prettily decorated by Mother Nature.

Wild Jacob's Ladder. Very pretty, is it not? I think this year I'll collect some seeds and put them in my yard.

As after every winter with high snow accumulation, the mosquitoes have been horrible!

Summer has blasted in

It seems that we didn't get much of a spring! The difference between groaning under a record snow dump and bone-dry cracked earth, radiating sun, and buzzing insects was two weeks! The first flowers to show up were dandelions. DL always wants to weed-whack them, while I try to promote them not as weeds but as flowers! At this time, they are the first and only food for the bees!

And I am done trimming dog toenails until September! The road files them on our runs and walks. They don't have dewclaws, or else I'd have to trim those. Mushers remove dewclaws so they don't interfere with booties. There is a very narrow window to do it--when the pups are 2-3 days old. If you wait any later, it becomes a very invasive and painful procedure.

I love trains! So I took a photo of the train as it happened to cross in front of me.

Look at the brilliant green and blue! It's visually very beautiful, isn't it? I, however, am quite uncomfortable due to record birch pollen. I have never been allergic to any kind of tree pollen before; only the flower pollen that comes much later in the year. However, this year ugh! I don't know whether it is permanent, or just this year because there is so much of it. It's coating cars, windows, and all outdoor surfaces with yellow dust. But when I squint through my itchy eyes, I can perceive that the world is very beautiful. :D

Far less couch time nowadays! The floor is much cooler in the cabin.

Poor Miss Thistle! She has the thickest coat, and she sheds the latest! She is finally starting now in earnest, so I comb her daily. She used to hate being combed, but I think she trusts me more now to do Annoying Things to her. We've been together just over two years now!

I have a BELLPEPPER!!!

Cricket LOVES BELLPEPPER!

Thistle LOVES BELLPEPPER!

Thistle gots the crazy eyes!

My Lazy Person's Garden is coming along nicely. I have a patch of fireweed, a patch of bluebells, and a patch of wild delphiniums. The planted stuff is all low-maintenance perennials: Columbines, rhubarb, lilies, and um... I don't recall, but I'll see when it comes up!

These columbines are second year, so I'll see what color flowers they are for the first time!

Roses have appeared Very Abruptly! They are very sweetly fragrant.

And these are my new lilies! I'm super excited!

This photo popped up in my "memories" box today. My favorite outtake from the official photo session of the therapy dogs.

I sure miss my soft, special Starbuck-A-Roo Bear. It has been over two years now, and I still feel a dull ache when I think about her. I've tried to reason my way through the pain, but I cannot. I think there is no way out of it, and that's just how life is. The only ways to avoid pain are:

• Do not love. (Not desirable)
• Forget about your loved one. (Not desirable)
• ??

So, it seems that the pain is inevitable, and everyone who lives a loving life knows it. It's part of living a good life, where we love all we can, even knowing it'll hurt at the end.

Puppy photos!

One friend of mine has a kennel, and also does sled dog resscue and placement. Last week, she put out a call that she needed help as she was expanding her dog yard so she could accommodate four Siberian huskies who had been at the local Animal Shelter since February! Our animal shelter strives for minimal euthanasia rates, and often keeps dogs and cats for a very long time. But they often depend on local private rescues to offload dogs and cats that have been there for a a while.

So on Saturday, after I took the girls for our morning walk on the trail (yay for being able to walk freely without fear of meese!), I grabbed a pair of work gloves and headed over. The job was about as pleasant as dogyard work ever gets. The trees had been cleared, and she just needed help moving and spreading this pile of wood chips. The weather was also really perfect: Cool, sunny, and mosquito-free.

The yard on the right is done. The yard on the left is still on the to-do list. Those sibes will have nice digs until they find homes!

Shot of the front yard. This is a hodgepodge of rescues and retirees who are very friendly and cuddly.

This is Polar! Polar's mama was rescued from a severe neglect situation when she was pregnant with Polar and his four sibs. The pups are all well-socialized and have homes lined up, but Mama is looking for a home, too.

I stole these photos of Polar and his siblings from N's Facebook feed:

Above photo by Jen Owen

So cute!

Here is a photo of Mama Topaz. Topaz is sweet and loves other dogs, but is still a bit shy around humans. She's come a long way though since she was rescued! She let me pet her. N is looking for a home for her where she will have another dog for companionship.

While I was poking around in there, I found a photo of old man Clyde. I love this boy. He is sweet and cuddly and reminds me of Roo. He was solid black with just a few white markings when he was younger, but now he has old man white ticking. A lot of tourists think he is a wolf hybrid, but he's so cuddly and personable, it's very obvious he is not.

Above photo by Jen Owen

Clyde a few years ago. Love this big sweet boy:

Above photo by Teh Han Lin

I squoze Polar!

The next day, I went to visit MK, who also had puppies. I did not offer any volunteer work in exchange. I just squoze puppies.

Mama's name is Kona. She has beautiful wolfie-colored eyes. I stole this photo from MK's facebook feed. I think she looks slightly horrified here. ("Seven puppies??? How did this happen to me??")

This litter is being named after Lucky Things: Wishbone, Sparrow, Rabbit, Tortoise, Dragon, Clover, and Seven. Here is a photo of their dad, Cedar. Cedar is a big draft dog. You'll notice how he's comfy in a bed while Kona is being mangled by seven puppies, who are still nursing despite having fangs.

MEN!!