Signs of Spring

As I have mentioned, spring is well on its way. Our 70 inches of snow is almost gone, the ravens have left town, moose babies and bear cubs are coming out. Here are just a few of the recent events marking the changing of the seasons:

Sunrise this morning was at 6:15am – sunset will be at 9:30 or so tonight. In only 8 more weeks we will start to lose daylight each day as the sun travels south again.

Per a previous post, the bears are awake. We had friends hiking this weekend who saw a mother and two cubs and this article contains more information on the bear mauling mentioned last week. This is an amazing story. The hunter chose his partner well for his shooting ability. Very few people could put three .22 caliber bullets in a bear’s head in that high adrenalin situation.

The first guns only show of the season was Saturday (and we had to stand in line to get in the door). We now own a bear gun for when we hike off of the beaten track. (Ok – it isn’t an official “bear gun” but that’s what we are calling it.) Robert wanted to know what I thought of it and I said I’m not carrying it – too heavy – but it looks very nice and loads/unloads like a dream. Now we will have to see if it knocks me over when I try to shoot it.

Spring Carnival at Alyeska was also this last weekend. This is the “last hurrah” for the skiing crows. The big event for this carnival is the Slush Cup. If you look at the pictures, people ski/snowboard down a steep incline towards a giant pool of icy water to see how far they can get across before sinking in. Many of them have costumes on as part of the creativity element of the contest. Other events include taping a lawn chair to your skis and seeing how far you can go downhill without crashing. (Sit back and picture this in your mind – it had to be funny.) Helmets are recommended for this event!

And to top it off, we went for a walk the other night (sans Squirt) on a “not ready for prime time tennis shoes” trail. This translates into, we had never been on this path before and it was muddy, muddy, muddy, slushy and there were large ponds at the bottom of hills with a small covering of ice. One of these was deceptively deep and we got soaked walking through it. (I know how the slush cuppers felt.) The neat thing was we saw two ducks swimming on one of the puddles…very happy (which is why we went the other way – we didn’t want to disturb them). Our tennis shoes are still drying out!

Squirt is doing great although he is rather perturbed at his dog food only diet! Stitches come out next week.

Another Day in Paradise!

There I was, on Friday afternoon, busily working away the hours to the weekend. I had been working on one of those problems that should be ever so simple but was giving me a devil of a time and I needed a break. I got up, stretched, paced, looked out my window and saw a couple walking a really big dog in the park strip. My internal conversation with myself went something like this…

“Wow – what odd coloring for a dog – looks like a caribou.”

“…kind of a collie marking but the colors aren’t right … I don’t think it is a collie…”

“..no long tail – hardly any tail at all – I’ve never seen that big of a dog with a docked tail”

“…no long snout.”

“Hum…the dog sure walks with his nose to the ground a lot, look at those long skinny legs and what a wide stubby nose for a dog…”

“Wait a minute – it is a reindeer!!!”

Of course at that point I had to get confirmation from fellow office mates I wasn’t seeing things and luckily one of them had a pair of binoculars available for verification.

Sure enough – it was a reindeer on a leash. Not a dog leash mind you but a good solid thick piece of rope and he(?) was enjoying his walk through the park, nibbling some grass and getting frisky now and then.

And where was my camera – in the car of course…Time to leave work to see if I can catch them!

I LOVE living here!

At last report....

Squirt is doing fine. Due to his surgery taking place so late this afternoon, he had to stay at the hospital. We will pick him up tomorrow evening. Wednesday's activities will consist of

1. Get up
2. Go to work
3. Go to vet
4. Hold Squirt (this makes him heal faster)

The huge flocks of geese have moved on. They actually go to the North Slope with the Trumpeter Swans for the summer. Luckily we get to spend a week with them as they travel through to their final desitnation.

The sun is rising in the northeast now. A fellow Southern Midwesterner (very young - not like the middle-ager writing this) asked me today how I knew which way our house faced if in the summer the sun rises in the North and in the winter it rises in the South. "That's easy! Mountains on the east. Water on the west!"

Our first whale watching cruise of the season is coming up soon. (We only have 3 scheduled so far.) I am so looking forward to it. Hopefully the whales will choose to come by the boat and wave.

Plus, the bears are waking up and are hungry. The first hunter mauling of the season was reported tonight on the news. He shot one bear and didn't realize the bear had a friend nearby. Luckily, he wasn't hunting alone and his partner killed the attacking bear before the gentleman died. Bears have also been spotted along Seward Highway around Turnagin Arm - I guess waiting for the salmon. Makes you wonder about the hikers that carry dog treats in their bags for fellow hiking pups....it is an extremely nice gesture, but I would think maybe dangerous during this time frame??

Errands today!

Today is “run errands day” and one of the errands was go to the vet. Yes, once again, Squirt has a bladder stone. We saw it on the x-ray. Size-wise, it appears it is between a pea and a marble. Tuesday he goes in for surgery and a dental cleaning (might as well do both ends at one time). Unfortunately, he has had stones removed twice before and while we generally know what to expect when he comes home, they will put a 4-5 inch incision in him which is really big for such a little boy. Look for a very pampered pooch over the next couple of weeks.

Yesterday morning, we could see daylight while heading to work at 6:10am and it did not get dark until well after 10:30pm last night. The swing in the sun’s setting position is incredible between winter and summer. After dinner, we moved our patio furniture to the western deck and sat outside watching the scenery. Still had jackets on but it was wonderful.

Soon it is off to the gun shop. Robert is interested in getting a bear gun…whatever that may be…for when we walk and if we get an ATV and go to the back country. I’m OK with that as long as the kick doesn’t knock me on my butt. I have heard that if you actually do kill a bear due to defense of life and property (DLP for short), you have to haul the hide and skull back and give it to the state. Guess that requires a knife….oh and there is LOT of paperwork to fill out. I just hope we are never in that position.

The State of Alaska is allowing residents to vote for the design on the state quarter to be released in 2008. I, of course, voted for the dogs. :)

Easter Hiking

On a side note - the geese are back in the park strip today. Spring is well on its way!

Easter dawned bright and beautiful in Anchorage this year. Robert was up at 4:00am (jet lag) and started banging around for coffee by about 5:00am. (I went back to sleep.) At 7:00am, the pots and pans started rattling and soon I smelled sausage. Time to get up!!! I wondered downstairs about 7:30 and Robert cooked a wonderful Easter breakfast. I grabbed the last cup of coffee (from the 8 cup pot) and sat down to eat. Before finishing, Robert (who has been up for 3.5 hours and had 7 cups of coffee) was ready to go for a hike. We were on the road by 8:00am.

We went to Chugach State park, specifically the Flattop and powerline trail area, put on our jackets, grabbed the camera, put Squirt’s bear bell on him and were off. We have not been hiking in this area since the heavy snows had fallen but lots of other people had so the trail was fairly easy to follow plus we had the handheld GPS with us.

Since it is still below freezing in the higher elevations at night, there was a nice crusty ice layer on top of the snow. This made it much nicer walking for Squirt as he really doesn’t like to walk in slush. However, it was rather uncomfortable when one of us would miss the path and walk on some snow that hadn’t been packed down. There was more than one time I ended up thigh deep in snow, wondering if I was going to get out by myself? Robert couldn’t come help me as it would break under him also. Sometimes, I would be able to walk across the snow and then Robert would sink down. Of course the capper was when we were both looking at the GPS instead of paying attention to where we were walking and I walked off of the trail into a really deep drift with both feet breaking through. At least it was walking and not in the car driving off of the road. Squirt waited patiently wondering why the alpha dogs were having such a time.

I have to admit, the walk was a great idea and a very nice way to start the day.

Happy Easter!

We saw our first Bald Eagle of Spring today. I don't know where they go for winter but they don't stay here.

A year ago Easter, we were in Anchorage for a short vacation. Hard to believe we moved here 7 months ago. Time is flying.

We wish you a Happy Easter! May the EB bring you lots of chocolate!

What was that???

Robert’s current job requires him to occasionally travel for work. (Occasionally is much better than at least 50% of the time which is what he did formally.) Robert circled the world – literally – in the last two weeks. He zipped off of Norway (heading east) and then zipped off to Singapore (still heading east) and will be home in a few hours (finishing the last leg by going east). It will be a slow, relaxing weekend as now that we are middle aged (see header description), jet lag recovery time is MUCH longer now than several years ago.

Regardless, while he is gone, things are different at our house. Normally something significant happens/breaks/dies in or around the property. Luckily, the only significant things this time were taking Squirt’s Limo back to the dealer so they could snap on the luggage rack bracket they lost during the repair work and getting the taxes mailed before the mad rush to the post office. Squirt gets tons of attention (mostly waking him up from naps) because I don’t have anyone else to bother. Sometimes, there is a noticeable rise in phone calls during these weeks.

One thing I can count on every time Robert leaves for an overnight trip is:

(Drum roll…tension building…)

SQUIRT the WONDER GUARD DOG appears!

Translation: When I am home alone, for every noise, 24 hours a day, Squirt barks, growls and runs to the door/window.

This is actually a pretty interesting phenomenon. When Robert is home, Squirt hears very little and rarely barks at night but when he is gone, Squirt gets feisty.

Our Anchorage house is different from every other house I have lived in. It is quiet. There is no popping (settling), no traffic noise, no forced air heat, no ceiling fans, no air conditioner, normally minimal to no wind, and no tree limbs hitting the house, etc. etc. Totally quiet except for the periodic airplane flying overhead. I really like this for the most part. The only trying time is at night when attempting to sleep and Squirt the wonder guard dog is present.

I now know exactly what time the paper delivery person pulls in the driveway to toss the paper near the door. (Bark) When the late or early joggers run by (Bark, Bark). When a car drives by the house too slowly for Squirt’s taste (Growl, Bark). And the gravest invasion of all, when there is a temporary paper delivery person and they WALK up the steps and toss the paper on the front porch. (WOOF, WOOF, RUN DOWNSTAIRS and BARK BARK BARK at the front door). Of course the irony of this is I have to tell him he is a good boy for protecting me and to go back to bed. Someday there may really be a threat (bear on the porch, etc.) and if he scares the threat off, he has done his job rather well. I am good with the fact he practices his job with such diligence. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Then there are some nights he is so worn out from all of the previous days and nights of guarding, he doesn’t hear a thing. Those are the nights I hear something and think – well – Squirt isn’t up – must not be anything to worry about. And, of course, I think he naps all day to make up for the hard night patrol.

I like to call him on such days and let him know I miss him after an especially active guarding night.

The Nenana Ice Classic

I am not sure of the gambling laws in this state…there is bingo but as far as I can tell, no casinos or other games. Each year though, the entire state has the opportunity to join in on giant pot guessing when breakup officially occurs. Of course – we’re all over that!

For the last 91 years, a giant tripod has been placed in the middle of the Tanana River with a clock and when the tripod falls over (due to ice breakup and not an earthquake) the date and time is registered. This is called the Nenana Ice Classic. Residents can go to a local grocery store, liquor store or other participating restaurants, bars and vendors and purchase a ticket. If you are the closest to breakup, you share the $$ in the state wide pool. We now have 4 tickets. Last year the winners shared $270,000. That would be a nice Spring gift.

Speaking of breakup, I have been wound for sound this week. Energetic, “honery”, ready to go, you name it. I believe it all has to do with the sunshine (it is getting light at 6am now and is not dark until 9:30pm), the warmer temperatures (mid 30s during the day, 15 at night), and the melting snow. I truly believe break up has arrived. We will have 2-3 weeks of sloppy, black, gravelly, muddy mess where I have to clean the headlights each night after getting home but Spring is coming! The car needs washing every 2 hours but breakup is here and parts of the yard are showing dormant grass! Squirt’s feet actually touched concrete on our walk yesterday. That hasn’t happened since November!

BTW – if you watched any of the US downhill skiing championships this weekend, that is where I learned to ski. Alyeska hosted them this year. Just in case you are curios – I didn’t go that high or that fast.