Changing Season

28 August 2012
8:43 PM

Sunrise at	6:21 AM	in direction	65°	East-northeast
Sunset at	9:21 PM	in direction	294°	West-northwest

Duration of day: 15 hours (6 minutes, 45 seconds shorter than yesterday)

This is not the reason it is called Fireweed, but
it sure could be

I grew in California, mostly Southern California.  August was the best beach month.  The ocean was warm; the air was hot; people were evening out their tans. There was no thought of winter.  The season changed from summer to SoCal winter, subtly.  Winter rain, more fog, cooler temperatures were the norm, but there would still be plenty of warm, sunny days in December.

Autumnal Snow Flower and berries

Yesterday there was just a hint of yellow in one section of the hillside as I walked the dogs between 7:30 PM and 8:00. Today, some sections are now pale yellow.  Last Friday, there was a suggestion of red in the fireweed leaves and understory.  Yesterday evening, when the photos were taken, the change from green to gold to red was well underway.

August and early September is brief autumn.  The change is fast, and as with most things in the Interior, spectacular.

Autumn view of Fireweed in meadow near our house

Fanny Quigley and Kantishna

27 August 2012
4:51 PM

Sunrise at	6:18 AM	in direction	64°	East-northeast
Sunset at	9:25 PM	in direction	295°	West-northwest

Duration of day: 15 hours, 7 minutes (6 minutes, 46 seconds shorter than yesterday)

I have a weekly desk calendar that I keep to the left of my computer at work and under the Blue-Max lamp so true colors reflect from its pages; my eye catches the photos each time I look that way.  The pictorial calendar's subject matter is, well, Alaska.  You'd think living here I'd get enough of the views of this state, but apparently that is not the case because there it is, each week providing a different glimpse from intimate close up shots to panoramas (The Original Alaska 2012 Calendar, Weekly).

I flipped the week over today to find the entire photo was a close up of some rough hewn boards, a metallic lock and two flower stems in bloom. One stem held the deep pink of Fireweed in bloom, the other Monkshood's rich violet petals.  The simplicity of the photo, and stark contrast between the two blooming plants and the background reminded me of the Southwest.  I read the caption to find I was looking at the exterior of one side of Fanny Quigley's cabin, taken by Alissa Crandall. 

I had no idea who Fannie Quigley was, but clearly, a story was afoot and I wanted in on it.  At the top of the list of Google search results, I found a thorough, but brief description of Fannie Quigley and her contribution to mining on the pages of the Alaska Mining Hall of Fame.   I had it in mind from the start that her life would parallel that of Baby Doe Tabor of Colorado in some way, and I guess it did in that they both died alone in their cabins, they died within a few years of each other, and their fortunes were made and lost in mining.  But there the similarity became more sketchy because Fannie worked for a living, and worked hard.  While Baby Doe had to be cared for by the community in Leadville and provided a home on the mine because she had no other, Fannie earned the comfort of her tidy cabin.  While Baby Doe's story reads like that of woman who withdrew from the world, Fannie's was filled with friends and acquaintances who remembered her fondly.

She was raised in Nebraska during unbearably hard times, leaving home at 16.  She found her way to Dawson City, married, divorced, ultimately moving to Kantishna, Alaska where she mined, married again, divorced again, and lived until her death.  In the Yukon, she started by cooking for the miners, hiking back into the hard to reach claim areas.  She learned to trap, hunt, and work claims.  She survived winter after winter in the Yukon  and territorial Alaska and raised wonderful gardens above tree-line in summer.  She was a wonder and by the photos I saw credited to Searching for Fannie Quiqley: A Wilderness Life in the Shadow of Mt. McKinley, very striking in her youth and as she aged

In the process of reading about her, I stumbled across a destination in Alaska I hadn't heard about before, the Kantishna Roadhouse.  I knew of Camp Denali, started by Ginny Wood and Morton Wood, along with friend, Celia Hunter.  I mentioned Morton "Woody" earlier this year when I remembered Les Viereck as one of the four climbers who walked from the railroad to the south buttress for their climb of Denali.  But I had no idea that the community of Kantishna, fully contained within the park was there, 95 miles from the park entrance.  Although on a road, cars are prohibited in the park past mile 14 at the Savage River. Kantishna can be reached via one of two ways, by one of the buses contracted by the park or community to make the trip or Kantishna Air Taxi.

Possible plans for a trip next summer are hatching.  

Enchanting Lichens

25 August 2012
4:57 PM

Sunrise at	6:11 AM	in direction	63°	East-northeast
Sunset at	9:32 PM	in direction	297°	West-northwest

Duration of day: 15 hours, 20 minutes (6 minutes, 47 seconds shorter than yesterday)

What I think is Parmelia and Beard Lichen

I spent a fair amount of time this evening identifying the lichen I found growing on dead branches from the oldest spruce tree we removed from the lot.  Although I wouldn't bet the bank on it, I think Parmelia is the leafy lichen, while Beard Lichen (Usnea) is the feathery lichen growing with it. Because the colors are similar and they seemed to grow together, I thought I was seeing two different stages of the same lichen.  But as I searched and compared, whenever I found the leafy lichen, there would be no feathery member.  Upon closer inspection, I could see that one Usnea was attached to the tree limb without surrounding Parmelia.

Old Man's Beard, as Beard Lichen is sometimes called, grows abundantly in south central, but is not as populous here in the Interior.  The climate is warming, here as it is everywhere, and plants that traditionally did not thrive due to our winter low temperatures are cropping up.  Maybe that is why I am seeing more of it, but I have not been here all that long to compare past and present.

I read an intelligent blog entry that made the distinction between Beard lichen and Spanish Moss (titled Old Man's Beard). The author noted that lichens are not one plant, but two - algae and fungus.  While the number of plants species is limited in Alaska when compared to warmer climates (including deserts), fungi, moss, and lichen are plentiful in the moist soils of the Interior.  One class at the university is devoted to identifying the edible fungi as opposed to the many inedible growing around us.  We had more growing in our back yard, but the dogs have changed the soil by running through areas of it, but there are plenty growing elsewhere on the lot.  Each year I see different mushroom looking fungi.

Lichen can be delicate looking even though they truly are hardy.  Lichen exhibit diverse characteristics and can display surprising, even ornate, color and formation.  Lichen is an important food source for residents of the arctic regions, where it grows thick as grass in places.  The following link, AK Lichen , downloads a PDF file with photos and brief descriptions of representative species of lichen and their uses.

Native Sounds - Pamyua

23 August 2012
7:17 PM

Sunrise at	6:05 AM	in direction	61°	East-northeast
Sunset at	9:39 PM	in direction	299°	West-northwest

Duration of day: 15 hours, 34 minutes (6 minutes, 48 seconds shorter than yesterday)

Early each year as the light is past the three darkest months of November, December and January, but before winter has fled, the Native Arts Festival is held in Davis Concert Hall.  They had to put a stop to potlatch BBQs in the Great Hall, but the Native Veteran Honor Guard, days of drumming, singing, and dancing, and crafts for sale more than make up for its loss.  Native dancers of the far north distinguish themselves by emphasis on hand motions and story telling over foot work.

Regional dancers and drummers come to participate, each representing the subtle differences of their village, ethnicity, and cultural history.  Alaska is home to five cultural/regional groups, Northern Bering Sea (Inupiat Inuit ), Southern Bering Sea (Yup'ik Inuit), Interior (Athabascan), the Aleutian Island ring (Unangax & Alutiq), and Southeast Coast (Eyak, Tlingit, Haida & Tsimshian). Eleven languages and twenty-two dialects are spoken among native people in Alaska.

I thought of it today because I noticed NPR had an interview with Pamyua founder, Phillip Blanchett.  When John Baker won the Iditarod in a spectacular and fast run, 2011, he was greeted from Unalakleet on up the coast by Inuit villagers, proud of his achievement.  When he arrived in Nome, Inupiak native drummers were at the finish.  He commented on how good it was to come in and hear the sounds of drums from his people's history.  Phillip Blanchett and his brother developed harmonies based on the drumming tradition and songs of the Inuit.

YouTube excerpts showcase this group's wonderful blend of western harmony with Inuit tradition:

Gathering of the Nations - Stage 49

Intimate Setting & Remarkably Clear Diction - Overtones of throat singing

Behind the scenes view - Notice the stationary placement of feet, and subtle graceful, while vigorous, movements of body, arms and head.

Traditional Inuit Throat Singing - delightful Canadian sisters

Drum Dancing at the Muskrat Jamboree Festival 2010, NT - This video of Northwest Territory group gives you a feeling for the Native Arts Festival.  

Enjoy!

Sand Crane Festival

22 August 2012
8:39 PM

Sunrise at	6:02 AM	in direction	60°	East-northeast
Sunset at	9:43 PM	in direction	299°	West-northwest

Duration of day: 15 hours, 41 minutes (6 minutes, 49 seconds shorter than yesterday)

Creamer's Field is a reserve for migratory birds, kept free of development so geese, loons, and cranes can stop in their historic rest spot.  They gather here in the spring, rest for a few weeks and then make the last leg up to the arctic tundra in small groups.

Each Fall Fairbanks holds the Sand Crane Festival at Creamer's Field because going south is a whole different enterprise.  I am not 100% sure about the order of migration for the large birds, but in the spring the geese are first, followed by the cranes and I find myself waiting patiently for the song of the loon each year.  I think it is reversed going south, although the loons do not seem to gather and prepare for the flight in the same way.  Right now the cranes are combining flight groups as they begin to match strength and skill for flying formations.  They test the waters by forming long V formations.  On the first real day of muster, Tuesday, I saw some were struggling to keep up.  They will rest longer and go with the last groups, but all will be gone soon - too soon.

One part of me is in awe of their beauty, intelligence, and determination as they sort through who is best in what grouping.  Then the vanguard will leave, followed by several other waves.  Then those who have tarried north will finally come in.  Somehow it seems a few strong, experienced ones remain to guide them south again.  Once the cranes are gone, the geese go through the same process, but I don't see their planning for the flight nearly as elaborate and I also think their migratory groups are smaller.  It's an amazing, amazing time of year.

The other part of me feels sad because soon it will be just us, the Chickadees, Grouse, Gray Jays, and Ravens.  There are others, but in the Interior, these are the hardiest that endure strongly through the winter.  The gulls have already left and the last robin I saw was probably the first week of August.  The smaller birds only rest for a day or two and then take another comparatively short hop south.  Because they don't cover the same distance, they must time their migration to ensure insects, seeds, and berries are still available. They are the not the marathon flyers.

A wood thrush, probably on its way south, fell into our yard two days ago.  I wonder if it didn't see the fence and flew into it it.  I don't think it was the dogs; I would expect them to have killed or maimed it and there was no blood on its body.  I discovered it lying quietly and thought it was dead.  I was about to move it when it attempted to fly.  That got the dog's attention. It flapped up for a short distance and couldn't breach the fence, falling back to the ground.  I kept them away, moving it to the other side of the fence.  I then went and got a cat carrier to keep it warm and safe over night, hoping it could mend.  It seemed viable and very brave, to let me handle it without having a heart attack, attempting to eat, trying to recover.  But, its little legs stuck straight out the back.  By the next day there was no improvement - something was not quite right and it was clear it wouldn't get better on its own.  We have good wildlife rehabilitation efforts here in Fairbanks, so I took it to Mt McKinley Animal Hospital where the avian vet does intake.  If the results of the x-rays determine an injured animal can be helped, it is then transferred to a rehab home.  Our wood thrush had a broken back, an injury beyond the skill of avian vets.

I grieve for that little bird that let me gather it up to get it away from the dogs, tried to eat from the seeds I put in a safe cage away from cats, but whose brave, brave little spirit was greater than its damaged body.

Wood Stove Fire - Interior Forest Fire

19 August 2012
10:09 AM

Sunrise at	5:52 AM	in direction	57°	East-northeast
Sunset at	9:54 PM	in direction	302°	West-northwest

Duration of day: 16 hours, 1 minute (6 minutes, 51 seconds shorter than yesterday)


Last blog report on wood cutting, wood splitting, and winter wood supply - I promise.  I wrote this 8/19 and am just now took photos to include.

A start - Half the birch and 1/5 of the spruce from trees felled
early last week; next year's wood

Wood is a fuel, whether we want to see it consumed in fire or not.  I could smell smoke early yesterday (8/18) and then it abated.  Today (8/19), the air is thick with wood smoke.  I checked the Active Fire Map (Alaska Interagency Coordination Center -> Alaska Fire -> Fire Information).  The Dry Creek Fire has kicked up in response to the warm, dry temperatures we had last week.  I have windows and doors closed today.

For our part, we continue to accumulate our store of winter fuel. You can see by the photo below that we have two cords of spruce to split under the brown tarp.  One cord of split birch is under the black visqueen plastic and we have another one coming. What you can't see is the 1/2 cord of birch behind the split birch that needs to be split before stacking.  2 1/2 cords will take Gary and me one entire weekend to split.  We will have to stack as we have time after that.  We are in good shape for winter; now all we need is the good weather to last through August and some of September. 

And miles to go before I rest ...
Wood to be split and stacked

There is the rub.  Good weather for us could mean good weather for the Dry Creek Fire.

8/21 Update ... As it turned out, the fire wind shifted and apparently died back down as there has been no strong smoke for the last few days.  The red beetle I photographed earlier is called a birch shield bug.  It is native to the region and also a borer, sucker.  How the amber birch leaf miner survived the winter to affect so many trees is a mystery; they are not native and it was cold last year.  The birch shield bug is native and why they were so thick this year is also a mystery.  I am told I should fertilize my trees.  That could be challenging, spreading nutrients across an 1.5 acres of forest.

Suggestions?

Four Piles More and Visible Progress

18 August 2012
1:08 PM

Sunrise at	5:49 AM	in direction	56°	East-northeast
Sunset at	9:58 PM	in direction	303°	West-northwest

Duration of day: 16 hours, 8 minutes (6 minutes, 51 seconds shorter than yesterday)

After a few hours of work, I am willing to post an update photo and take a short break.  I also took photos of the insects infesting the birch trees we felled.  When I go back out, I will take my small chain saw and begin to cut 4' sections until the trunk becomes too large.

Progress

Although I didn't intend to originally, I am now going to cut the kindling pile into smaller lengths.  It will make it easier to stack for drying.  I have searched through the web more times than I care to admit looking for the red/black beetle in the last photo.  I dropped off a sample at the UAF Cooperative Extension Gardening Department.  They will probably be able to tell me what the insect is on Monday.

Possible aphid residue

Stink bug and unknown insect egg sacs

Leaf Miner damage

Beetles that appear to like birch seed clusters

Ten Fewer Trees - Seven Loads of Branches

17 August 2012
8:28 PM

Sunrise at	5:46 AM	in direction	55°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:01 PM	in direction	304°	Northwest

Duration of day: 16 hours, 15 minutes (6 minutes, 52 seconds shorter than yesterday)

I would take a photo to show the progress we made in trimming branches from the trees and hauling them away, but I am not sure you would see much difference.  First, I did not take a photo of the spruce trees and the one birch that were on the far side of the driveway where we been most effective.  Secondly, there is still A LOT to do.

I worked on the trees closest to the house Tuesday and Wednesday.  I made piles of clipped branches and stopped when I could not get back any further down the tree trunk.  I also couldn't reach branches that were under those I'd trimmed, so it seemed a good stopping point.  Thursday, both Gary and I worked on the trees at the other side of the driveway.  Our reasoning was that we needed to get the spruce trimmed and cut first since right now, they are lying across the pallets where we will store them.  I don't know how Jamie felled them so they landed there without crushing the aging pallets, but he did. 

We made several piles of branches between both locations and my goal today was to haul away all of the branches that had been trimmed.  Seven loads later I am three loads short of that goal.  One is in the truck waiting to be hauled away tomorrow. 

I am averaging about one load an hour.  That seems really slow, doesn't it?  But, I load up the truck making sure I have it packed tight in the truck bed. I didn't the first load and had to reload it from four lanes of Farmer's Loop Road.  A nice military man helped (I could tell by the way he called me Ma'am and the hair cut).  Then I drive into the transfer station, back up to one of the large containers and unload by tossing selective branches back into corners.  Most who are dropping off construction material or branches like me don't do that and the containers fill up fast right at the container opening.  So I try to toss them into sections that are nearly empty but require my throwing branches over the top of the large containers.  It's good exercise, but time consuming.  Then I drive back home and do it again.

Daunting to think that I will work for three hours tomorrow and still have to come back to trimming more branches before we can begin to saw logs.  We agreed log length will be 4 feet (48"), a multiple of 16" and the size that fits most easily in our wood stove.  Even though I tend to be an optimist, I doubt I will get to that tomorrow.

State of the Household Report

16 August 2010
9:03 PM

Sunrise at	5:43 AM	in direction	55°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:05 PM	in direction	305°	Northwest

Duration of day: 16 hours, 22 minutes (6 minutes, 52 seconds shorter than yesterday

Cutter continues to adjust.  He is now exceptionally happy to see me when I return home from work.  I think that must be because it means it is time to eat.  Tonight we trimmed branches from trees, and the dogs watched from the deck.  As I went back to the deck, he was exceptionally excited.  I invited him to come out with us.  He could not bring himself to leave the deck without a lot of coaxing. He is not afraid, but oddly, like the dobermans has a clear idea that this is the limits of his space.

I finally got him down, but then he immediately strayed toward the back.  He would come when called, but not as promptly as he did for Aliy nor as quickly as he did for me when he first got here - hmmmm.  So, I put him on the retractable lead.  He immediately explored the length of the lead, but would not pull beyond it.  He was then very content to be out in the rest of the yard with me because he knew where he should be - what his limits were. 

He is smiling a lot now. 

Regarding the tree project, each night after work, I have been working on trimming branches off of trees.  Tonight Gary had to help because I am getting to the point where I would either need my chainsaw or the bow saw to cut the branches.  He has a power blade that works like a bow saw but without the human muscle power.  He worked for over an hour and still has two full trees to go.  I have managed to clean out all of the smaller branches and twigs off the birch trees. 

We have two infestations on the birch.  One is the Amber Birch Leaf Miner which I have never seen before.  They are the cause of the brown spotting on the trees in our yard and other areas around town.  There are some trees that appear to be entirely free of them and some totally consumed.

The other is a little beetle that looks like a lady bug, but isn't.  They are usually found on the seed clusters.  I am taking a sample into Cooperative Extension tomorrow to see what they are.  They definitely are feeding off of something in the birch because that is the only place I have seen them.  The Interior climate spawned two insects interacting on the birch in the same year.  I was assured the beetle was not eating the Leaf Miner because they found their way into the inner lining of the leaf and the beetle would not be able to get to them.

We are both pretty pooped.  I think it must be good that Gary and I can still do hard work at our age, but my body thinks I am just plain stupid for pretending to be 20 - heck even 30 or 40 would be nice.

Ten Fewer Trees

15 August 2012
6:46 AM

Sunrise at	5:39 AM	in direction	54°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:08 PM	in direction	306°	Northwest

Duration of day: 16 hours, 29 minutes (6 minutes, 53 seconds shorter than yesterday)

Trees partialy denuded

Five birch and five spruce were sacrificed on Monday evening.  At my request, Gary and my son-in-law, Jamie, opened up the lawn area by taking out 3 very healthy and very large birch trees.  They also removed one that was in a poor place for backing out of the garage.  I identified 6 spruce trees, five of which block winter mid day light.  One of those was especially large for spruce in this region.

Each one was a sacrifice to Gary and me, but we made our peace with it and let them go.  I welcome the light in the front yard, although we have so many immediately behind those we removed, that we are still securely surrounded in my forest.  It was a minor change.  Just enough to encourage lawn and flowers and to allow better access to the septic system if it fails for any reason.

Last night I removed branches from two of the trees, but you can see this is not a quick process.  I remove all branches that can be clipped off with my pruning shears.  Then I strip the thicker of those of smaller branches and twigs.  These I have placed to the side for curing over winter.  I then carry all the remaining plant material to the back of the truck to be hauled to the transfer station.  I will be working on these each night and into the weekend.  Then I wil get out my small chain saw and cut log segments up to the point where the diameter is too big.  Then Gary will have to take over.

We are debating if we will try to dry these out more for this year or let them winter for use next year.  We have placed pallets on an extension to our driveway that the former owners used to park their boat.  We will place the spruce covered to dry.

We have been debating whether we will attempt to use the birch this year. They were near the end of the growing season as many of the trees have entire branches that are yellow now.  That means leaving the leaves on to draw out the moisture is not going to help much.  They will be very green for a long time yet.  I have been told we could possibly use them in January or Feburary if it is very cold and dry over the fall.

In the meantime, Gary is cutting dry wood from one of the local businesses that are rejects for his miling enteprise.  My daughter's kitchen cupboards are made from wood milled there.  They are exquisite.  But what he doesn't want, we can cut up and haul home for as little as $150 a cord.  We could get three cords that way since it is relatively dry and also purchase two cords of spruce.

I intended to buy five cords of birch from a supplier in Salcha, but he has been delayed so long this year due to the rain and also due to migratory birds that the wood will be as green as what we just cut down.  I am putting us on the list for the first load in May after break up.

So, we sacrified trees - we have debated that for the entire time we have been here.  There are more we should remove.  We have several in the back yard that are a little too close to the house, but for now we have done all we an bear. I especially grieve the loss of the spruce.  They are a fire hazard and keeping all of them far from the house ensures our home is less ikely to burn and our insurance remains reasonable.  Insurance companies do inspect properties regularly for fire hazards and then give notice to owners of what they must remove, so I suppose I can rationalize that I was doing it to protect our property.

Dog Cart or Dog Sled

12 August 2012
6:38 PM

Sunrise at	5:30 AM	in direction	51°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:19 PM	in direction	308°	Northwest

Duration of day: 16 hours, 49 minutes (6 minutes, 54 seconds shorter than yesterday)

So, I have this sled dog living at my house, see?  And I was sure I would not take him out on sled runs because I need more dogs for effective mushing.  Every experienced musher echoed that observation. So, I'd given up on the idea of mushing him and made sure my daughter and son would give him weekly exercise of some sort in winter.  I resigned myself to being sensible about it all, or so I thought.

Then he came home and first thing I do is take him out on the bike.  This is pretty funny, since I resisted doing that bit of exercise for myself and JayJay many days over the summer.  But, it was different.  Here he is; he is trained; he prefers a steady pace to steam rolling; he needs the exercise.  What can I do about this?  I thought, "What if I don't need to go on long trips.  I just need to get him out there and exercise him. And if the weather is not too ridiculous, I can exercise my doberman bitch at the same time."

Brilliant!

Allen mentioned dog carting as a solution.  That is how his girls got started, which drew him into the sport as well.  He said a medium sized to large dog could pull a cart easily.  That seemed like a really good possibility.  I could do dry land mushing in summer and still run the cart along the bike paths in winter.  All sites concurred that one or two dogs could easily pull a cart.  The trouble was they are nearly impossible to find and when you do find them, they are nearly impossible to afford.  Prices ranged from $500 for a very small cart with virtually no braking system, useful only on flat roads, to $1999 for deluxe, seating, steering, braking, and maneuverability.  I am not joking!  That doesn't include shipping costs.  

So, I spent much of yesterday's surfing time, looking for better deals, shipped from closer.  No luck.  Every vendor I found started at $950 to $1000.  Clearly this was not going to work.

"I just need to get him out there and exercise him. And if the weather is not too ridiculous, I can exercise my doberman bitch at the same time," I grumbled to myself.  Would there be any sled, made by anyone that was designed for just that purpose and didn't cost a month's salary to ship?

I found a sledding equipment website and started going through them systematically.  I found several light weight sleds, but none that were affordable until .. ta da .. Affordable Dog Sleds.  They have a sled they named the Seeley Slider which is designed for beginning mushers with teams of one to three dogs.  Perfect.  The sled must be assembled, which reduces shipping costs.  Great!  The cost is $249.  Okay, finally something in my price range considering I am not young and most likely will not be using it daily.  

I just need to run it by Gary to see if he is okay with it, but I feel hopeful and a little excited.  

Cutter Adjusts As Do We

11 August 2012
7:11 PM

Sunrise at	5:26 AM	in direction	50°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:23 PM	in direction	309°	Northwest

Duration of day: 16 hours, 56 minutes (6 minutes, 55 seconds shorter than yesterday)

We are adjusting to a dog that has been a kennel working dog his whole life.  If I recall correctly, Cutter is 5 years old.  I don't want to draw any conclusions based on my observations of him yesterday because he is in transition.  He is learning what is expected of him in his new life and has not yet began to ask for what he wants of us, but he is beginning to define his relationship with the girls.

I decided to have him sleep in the garage in a pen with a crate.  The crate does not have hay in it, but a dog bed and rug on top.  I have not seen him use the dog bed.  He was very happy to see me @ 5:00 am when I let them all out.  While I was standing outside waiting for them to finish - because I wanted to be sure to watch him instead of assume all would be well - he jumped up to say hello.  He used to jump up on me all the time when I visited him at the kennel.  Here he does that rarely.

I went back to bed and he was allowed to remain upstairs.  He did not approach the bed, but every time I checked, he was lying on the carpet looking toward me.  We have dog beds around, but he has not used any of them, nor has he gotten on the furniture.

He put his paws on the railing to the deck once, as if he were considering the possibility of making an escape, but has shown no interest in leaving since.  The weather is very warm, so we left the front door open to the deck.  He has gone in and out with the girls at will.  When inside, he chooses a place near the open door to lie down.

My plan is to give hime time out in his pen when it looks like he might be getting overwhelmed with the girls.  Yesterday, I noticed a few of the empty, orange plastic pill containers that I saved for reuse by our vet were in his pen.  I figured he hit the bag and they spilled out accidentally.  I picked them up and put them back in the bag, leaving them next to the pen.  When I came home today after errands, the bag was in shreds and the pill containers, intact, were spread out around his pen.  Apparently, they are a good toys for a bored dog.  I moved them farther away.

He is a counter surfer.  He did not live in the house at SP Kennel.  He was in the garage at times, but not in the house.  The counters are tempting.  We watch him and tell him to "get down" or "off" each time.  He obeys, but it's possible he will explore when we are not around to stop him.   The counters are usually clean and clear of clutter, but we are redoubling our efforts so no mishaps occur.

I trained him to run next to the bike today.  When I attached him to the flex trainer on the side, his reaction was exactly like JayJay's was her first day.  He would go forward, realize the bike was following him, get scared and stop, then try to go back only to realize the bike went with him.  I made him stay right with me and walked him around the circle of trees in the center of the driveway a few times.  Instead of training him to haw and gee, I only had to say it for him to go in that direction.  That was fun!  When I trained JayJay, I walked her about the same number of times and then biked her around those same trees, but after the walk, he seemed willing to go at my pace, so we walked down to the bike path.  I didn't want to risk taking him down hill in case there was scree at the bottom near the road.  

We went up McGrath about a mile and it seemed to me I was working harder than I do with JayJay.  I noticed he was not pulling ahead of me, nor was he pulling to the side away from the bike. He stayed right at my pace.  We came back and still he stayed right at my pace.  I took him down to the bottom of McGrath where it meets Farmer's Loop and the sun was warming considerably all of a sudden.  I worked as hard up the hill as he did.  I remembered I should encourage him as we climbed and that helped, but near the house, I just walked with him.  I let him off the flex leader so he could return on his own to the house.  He surprised me.  I walked straight toward the house, but he ran along the outer edge of the driveway.  He looked a little worried that I wasn't coming the same way and I was definitely worried that he would not come to me until I realized he was running in the track that I had just trained him in.  He completed the circle around the trees and returned to the man door of the garage.

Although the outcome was roughly the same as when I taught JayJay, the way in which they responded to the instruction felt different to me.  I felt that JayJay was willing to do what I asked, but was not especially tuned into the mechanics of traveling together.  But Cutter seemed exceptionally sensitive to what I wanted, to the point that since I'd praised him for staying right with me, that is exactly what he did.

If I move somewhere in the house.  He follows.  The dobermans are very people oriented.  They will always be within 10 feet of the human in the house.  I did not expect that from Cutter, but if I were to get up and move right now, I am pretty sure he would follow.

Yesterday, he would not look any of the girls in the eye.  Today, JayJay tried to put her neck over his - silly upstart.  He let her know that was not appropriate and I doubt she will try again.  The other two have made no attempt to be top dog with him, but he seems to respect both Mira Bai and Aria.

He has not mistaken the house for a toilet.

When I brushed him yesterday, he stood patiently and waited until I was ready to release him.  He turned this way and that to let me comb out the remaining scraps of winter underfur and dander off of his back and sides.  He seemed to actually enjoy it, like it felt good.

When JayJay first came to us and realized she lived in a house with two other dogs instead of a kennel with lots of other dogs, her whole demeanor changed.  She was a puppy, so her energy level reflected her youthful exuberance.  She grinned non-stop for days.  Cutter is more stoic.  I have heard him sigh as he relaxed into a prone position, but no joie de vivre, rather calm acceptance and gentle touches to my hand when I come near.

He does not appear to be completely comfortable with the way the girls dash outside at the slightest noise like there are going to tear whatever is out there apart.  He won't join in that game and can be startled awake when they get excited. He looks a little confused then - what are they doing?

He growls when he is chewing on a bone and another dog wants to muscle in, but will let me take his bone without issue.  He does not recognize, though, when they are close because they are interested or close just because they are.  Our dogs each focus on the bone I give them for a while; after they have had their fill of the first go at it, they casually gnaw on whichever bone is handy.  What is whose is pretty casual.

When he got a little too concerned and there were three warning growls, I put him down stairs with his bone.  He didn't want to go down there - a conundrum.  I isolated him so he is not so defensive, but he didn't want to be isolated.  I could hear him move the pen around and the crate with it.  Eventually he began to whine, so I brought him back up and put all the bones away for now.

He has growled twice when they all gathered around me.  I have had no problem stopping it with one sharp word.  I don't know if they are invading his space or he thinks they are invading mine, but I will definitely keep an eye on that to be sure it does not progress into more than a simple assertion of his space while he adjusts.  We do have baby gates that we use to separate any of our dogs when there seems to be a bit of irritation between them; right now the three dobermans are upstairs with Gary and Cutter is down here with me.

I think Gary hit upon the subtle difference between his former life and the one he is moving toward.  At the kennel, he was called in to be part of a working team.  When work was done, his time was his own.  Here, he will need to blend into our unit, a shared living arrangement.  Our dobermans do have their jobs - to protect us, protect the house, and to offer the comfort of their cuddles.

What will Cutter's job be?  He and I, and the other dogs will define that over time.

SP Kennel and Bringing Cutter Home

10 August 2012
7:30 AM

Sunrise at	5:23 AM	in direction	49°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:27 PM	in direction	310°	Northwest

Duration of day: 17 hours, 3 minutes (6 minutes, 55 seconds shorter than yesterday)

Introductions have been made; a small welcome snack of Kibble has been eaten. The male cat has been encountered and determined to be taboo. The back yard has been explored and used appropriately. He is interested in my food. He fits right in.

Riverboat Cruise on the Chena

9 August 2012
8:12 PM

Sunrise at	5:20 AM	in direction	48°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:30 PM	in direction	311°	Northwest

Duration of day: 17 hours, 10 minutes (6 minutes, 56 seconds shorter than yesterday)

The Chena River as seen from the Discovery Riverboat II while moored

One of the most relaxing ways to spend an evening is to cruise up and down the Chena River with a group of friends or colleagues on a three-level riverboat.  The bottom level serves dinner, the second provides cabin seating, and the top level sports a canopy open to the air.  We did just that last night, joining attendees of the International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH15) for dinner and a cruise.

Fairbanks' first non-native settlers were miners looking for precious metals.  Because gold had been found in the Yukon, an enterprising man, E.T. Barnette, came up the Yukon River and then branched off into the Tanana River hoping to reach the point where the trail built by the Army crossed the Tanana River above Big Delta.  The road ran from Valdez on Prince William Sound to Eagle on the Yukon River (still does although no longer the main thoroughfare).

Guest at Pike's Landing watching us while we watch them.

He had made various attempts to get to the gold fields or that crossing by boat, and each time, he failed due to poor planning which led to breakdowns, running aground as the glacier fed rivers became shallow in late summer, or becoming immobile as the river began to freeze.  His last attempt was late in the summer of 1901.  They could not make it to the Tanacross, turning around at Big Delta.  Barnette had noted the Chena River and thought they might be able to bypass the Tanana River Rapids and make it to the Tanana Crossing that way.  He persuaded the captain of the Lavelle Young to make the attempt.  Alas, he was not correct about the Chena's path.   It originates roughly 150 miles from where it feeds into the Tanana River.

Very soon, the riverboat hit sand and Captain Charles Adams refused to go any further.  In fact, he dumped E.T., his wife, and all of their supplies onto a bluff on the south side of the river.  Prospectors in the area has seen the steamer's smoke and arrived, asking to purchase supplies.  Barnette decided to winter over, and built a trading post and cabin.  The following spring, he and his wife, Isabelle, mushed by dog team to Valdez and then traveled on to Seattle to buy supplies and invest in a flat bottom boat that could sail further up the Tanana River.  While in Seattle, gold was discovered in the Interior and Barnette dropped plans to go up the Tanana and stayed  - at least until he was run out of the territory.  It turns out he was resourceful and capable of surviving in harsh conditions, but not an honest, fair man.

Nevertheless, Fairbanks became a settlement because of him and his determination to reach areas of the Interior by boat.

Wooden water wheel adapted to the shallow waters of the Chena

The Tanana River, sand bars, multiple channels and
permafrost forests to the south

Boats have always been an integral part of life in the Interior and upper Yukon reaches during the summer.  But it was not until 1950, when Charles Madison Binkley (known as Captain Jim) was persuaded to take his knowledge of riverboat commerce on Interior Alaska rivers and put it to use, that large tour boats became a common summer sight on the Chena River. Binkley and his partner designed a boat that recalled the MIssissippi style river boat, but with a functional flat bottom to negotiate shallow waters.  His family's business, Riverboat Discovery, provides daily tours of the stretch of river from the Mitchell Parkway bridge to the mouth of the Tanana River.  The link I provided is a flickr stream posted by a visitor that captured Captain Binkley's home along the river, one of the Discover riverboats, and additional views of the river.

Last night, the weather was cool, and the light was excellent.  It was a fine night on the river, having dinner, visiting with other guests, and enjoying the view of homes fronting the river.  Most have steps down to the river, many have dmoorings and last night, some had boats at those docks.  There were even a few planes floating along the banks.   Dave Munson, widower of Susan Butcher who was a four-time Iditarod champion, provides river side introductions to kennel life and their philosophy and approaches in living with and training sled dogs.

Being on the river is one of the special highlights of Interior life. For those interested, Visions Event Planning out of Anchorage has organized the conference and entertainment events.  They are an Alaskan company doing great things.

Expected and Somewhat Unexpected Successes for Alaskans

8 August 2012
11:09 PM

Sunrise at	5:16 AM	in direction	47°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:34 PM	in direction	312°	Northwest

Duration of day: 17 hours, 17 minutes (6 minutes, 56 seconds shorter than yesterday)

Among Olympic events happening, it's worth mentioning that two former University of Alaska, Fairbanks students won metals in shooting.  Matt Emmons, who won gold in 2008, took the Bronze for men's 50 meter, three position event while Jamie Gray captured the gold in the women's 50 meter, 3 position event. 

The UAF Rifle team is traditionally in contention for national recognitions. At the NCAA champions, 2012, they achieved their goal of being in the top 4 by taking bronze. Dave Johnson, Jamie's coach when at UAF, was recruited by UAF in 2000.  UAF puts takes shooting seriously and works to keep top coaches for the team.  Dave has since left to coach for the Olympic team for the last three summer Olympics.

It is not too much of a stretch to see why excelling in that sport would naturally appeal to residents of the Interior.  Guns are still very much a part of life on the frontier.  Many still provide winter food for their families by using their state permit for subsistence hunting  Excursions into the Alaskan wilds can mean a black bear or grizzly bear encounter that turns unfriendly.  The fit is a natural one for this region and this campus. 

What is not as expected is that UAA, University of Alaska at Anchorage, holds the number two spot for debate in the nation, right behind Yale.  That debate team is among the top debate teams in the world.  Steve Johnson, who has brought his passion for debate to the Alaskan Campus with the greatest number of undergraduates, speaks about his love of debate for APRN.

Excellence abounds in the 49th state.

5% of All Food Consumed

7 August 2012
8:16 PM

Sunrise at	5:13 AM	in direction	47°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:37 PM	in direction	313°	Northwest

Duration of day: 17 hours, 24 minutes (6 minutes, 56 seconds shorter than yesterday)

Gary is supporting the International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH15) meetings this week. ICCH describes itself as ...

"The International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH) is a unique international meeting that brings together health professionals, researchers, and indigenous representatives from Canada, Greenland, Denmark, USA, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland and other countries interested in circumpolar health".

It's focus is ongoing challenges that face health care professionals in this region.  One of those challenges is finding ways to increase local food sources for balanced, appropriate nutrition.  Gary listens to many of the proceedings as he is in the hall attending to sound and lights.  He told me this morning that of all food consumed in Alaska, only 5% of it is from local sources.

Surprising, because I eat more locally grown food here than I have anywhere else in addition to local meats and fish. I am thinking of this because Gary and I had hamburgers tonight and the meat is from Delta, raised locally without hormonal interference and pesticides.  Yet, only 5% of all food is consumed locally.

It is true that our growing season is very short, but it does produce high quality food quickly in that short time span.  The garden where we pick up vegetables on our way home is planted sometime in early June. They are harvesting carrots, peas, lettuce, bell peppers and squash in abundance right now.  We could all be doing that to a least feed ourselves over the summer. I am also thinking that I could resurrect my grandmother's skill at quick frozen foods.  We are still capable of preserving summer foods for the rest of the year.  I just need to cultivate patience to do it.

I started composting our raw vegetable matter last winter.  It was a pretty rough to start; I put it in black plastic bags and let it freeze outside. We moved all that stinky mess to an actual compost bin this spring while I repeatedly assured Gary the smell would dissipate once it was mixed with air and soil.  Fortunately, that is the way it played out.  We keep these scraps from rotting in plastic bags at the landfill. The next step is to make good use of it. I need to think about this more .. it means taking out trees.

It always comes back to cutting more trees, drat it.

Flower Power

6 August 2012
8:11 PM

Sunrise at	5:10 AM	in direction	46°	Northeast
Sunset at	10:41 PM	in direction	314°	Northwest

Duration of day: 17 hours, 31 minutes (6 minutes, 56 seconds shorter than yesterday)

August Flowers

Flowers go crazy in Alaska.  You wouldn't expect it - or at least I didn't.  I lived among flowers year round as a child in San Diego and there were many blooming plants that were comfortable with the temperate regions of Central and Northern California.  When I moved to Colorado, I missed flowers and green plants more than anything else through the winter.  So, of course my house was filled with plants, many of them flowering (still is - actually).

While living in Colorado, I planted tulips for spring and native wildflower gardens for summer.  Some summer gardens were wonderful for many years; some never took off.  What I could rarely do with success was plant a really nice flower box.  Invariably, the sun would get too intense, the air too dry, and since I was unable to water continuously, they would flounder.  I would get blooms, but nothing I was really pleased with.  Actually, there was one potted plant that did wonderfully, a geranium that I had for 8 years before it gave up last year, but it was the only one that flourished indoors and out and the pot was large - not a window box or hanging basket. 

What astounded me, and still brings great delight to my days, is the way flowers will poke along through May and June and then suddenly there are profusions of blooms everywhere you turn in Fairbanks and Anchorage.  Anchorage, in fact, calls itself - Anchorage, City of Flowers.  As I drove into Anchorage to visit my mother the weekend before last, I knew I should stop to take photos of the square by the art center and convention center, but was never in the right place at the right time to do that.

Have you seen the wonderful 1950's film, American in Paris? In one of the dance numbers (a daydream actually), they are passing through a stylized version of Paris, painted scenes suggested from the many artists who flourished there before World War II.  It is one of the best art/dance numbers of all time.  In the American in Paris, Flower Market scene,  they dance through the flower vendors.  Flowers are everywhere, thick with blooms of every color imaginable, falling out of pails and carts as well as those growing along the sidewalk.  This arrangement, taken by an attendee at the Philadelphia Flower Show was inspired by that sequence and gives you just a suggestion of the rich colors possible.

Flowers in the center of downtown Anchorage are like that.  When I was sitting in my car, waiting for the light to change, I noticed the blooms were so thick I couldn't see bare ground anywhere and one patch of pink reminded me of pink, silk organza, sewn to create lovely skirt hems and ruffled flowing sleeves.  But, don't take my word for it.  Here are links to images of the care with which Anchoragites encourage their flowers to bloom.

Art.com - Photo by Stuart Westmoreland

Praises for Anchorage from Travel with Steven blog

About.com - Flowers at the Visitor Center

Our own botanical gardens, outdoor gardens, are a wonder as the photo below attests ... click the link in the caption and you can see a clearer image along with other great shots of Alaska.

From Alaska Scenes