Flowers

Day by day more flowers are " Spring-ing" up! Hard to get good photos with my small digital.

Dens and Flowers

The flowers are popping up all over now, bloodroot, Mayflowers, Dutchman's Breeches and Trillium leaves, but haven't seen a Trillium blossom yet.

Quite a few dens are visible and I've included a photo of one of them ... fox? skunk? not sure.
My game cameras are getting something... have one focused on a dead tree that something has been clawing ... that one has the most photos... hope they're not all of me checking the camera.

Ticks are abundant.

Brave Kayaker

A Swedish woman, Renata Chlumska, started solo paddling in Seattle last fall and has paddled all winter, down around the Gulf and now up the Atlantic Coast. I've been following her since her first day in the water. Pretty amazing that she can meet those challenges and now has made it to New York City. This link is to her website...http://www.renatachlumska.com/, a journal in which she chronicles her trip each day. Very inspiring and the photos are beautiful.

My Swedish grandmother arrived at the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, many years ago and it's fun to watch Renata arrive there now, too.

Renata will be in our area sometime in late August , according to her plan. She will travel via
the Copper Country on Lake Superior.

Kodiak , Alaska

Can't remember if I mentioned in my Alaska notes about the woman from Kodiak whom I met in the airport. She and her husband live remotely on Kodiak and have a wonderful homestead and lifestyle. Their daughter is a bear viewing guide and I just love her website...
www.seahawkair.com .

It is self explanatory and the bear photos are spectacular. I hope to go there some day. In the meantime, I enjoy sharing the info here and love to hear from them about their daily lives. Mine seems a bit humdrum in comparison, but of course the dogs are not humdrum. always up to something.

As I'm looking out down by the birches I see a small doe, last year's fawn, eating the carrots I put out tonight. I won't feed them anymore now that there is grass, but occasionally I leave them treats.

If you go out in the woods today....

Last night my son and daughter in law had a visit from a black bear. They said it's the largest bear they've ever seen, almost certainly a male. Their late bird feeder was his target and he made quick work of it. They live two miles down the road from here. I haven't seen any signs around here.

When I was young I was fascinated by the song, The Teddy Bears Picnic.... " If you go out in the woods today, you'd better not go alone..." , etc. I don't remember being afraid from the song, but my granddaughter did not like the song.

This is another view of the 'widowmaker' tree... definitely will need to be taken down.

My two house dogs love to hunt together and this morning they were particularly following a scent. I didn't see or smell anything, but every so often they'd air scent and then take off together. Both dogs are older, the Lab being about 13 (a rescue) and the husky (with a large hematoma on her belly) is twelve. They don't show their age when they're motivated.

Trees

Have been checking my trees along the trails and in the back woods. Found an old ironwood that has been down a long time... there are about eight new sturdy trees growing out of the old trunk.

There is a large hemlock newly down over the trail. Reminds me of the ones loggers call "widowmakers". It cracked at its base and fell over the trail, being held up only by another tree across the trail. I'll have someone look at it as it's in a precarious position right over the trail.
It is in the second photo. The first photo is of a large old white pine that I've actually measured to see if it's a record holder in the state. It is wide enough but not tall enough.... it must have been topped off when it was young. It's a beautiful old tree and I hesitate to clear around it as it's doing so well as it is.

About eight deer leaped up ahead of us on our walk yesterday. They were in the field where they usually have their fawns. Dogs did not get excited. It tried to get a photo of all the white tails but it was blurry.

We lost parts of many and a few full trees this winter to the bad winds and ice storms. Yesterday we had another wild wind... the dogs were scared as their newly hung shade tarps were flapping wildly. Will go out on the trails and check the trees yet again today.

Actually it's cool enough this morning (27) to run dogs, but expected to warm up again.

Spring on hold

Today felt like Spring is on hold... damp, penetrating cold, and then a few rays of sunshine.
Went to visit the Barrens Natural Area today. Every time I drive in there I'm reminded that it would be a great place to run dogs in the winter and I never get there.

Each time I visit it has a different look. Not just seasonal changes but something different every time. Today the ravens were all over the place feeding on carrion. There was a beaver carcass on the road and I'd bet that is from a local trapper who had offered the meat to me for the dogs a few years back.

There are hints of green in the hills; LePage Creek was meandering through the lowland and no sign of other animals. The creek surrounded by willows looks as if a grizzly should be wandering around down there.
I did get some photos of wildflowers but they're not very good. More signs of flowers today and for once my daffodils are blooming in April. They are always mid to late May. Not sure if that foretells anything.

Wildflowers on dog walks

While the dogs are searching for the great smells of Spring, I'm lucky to find wildflowers.
The first one I spotted, I call Hepatica, but now I'm looking for the difference between Hepatica
and Bloodwort (red juice in stem). Will get some photos when they show their faces again on a sunny day.... today is rainy , and we need it. I see signs of Dutchman's Breeches, leaves are poking up from the leaf cover. Also looking for signs of Jack in the Pulpit on my back trail.
We do have the odd little Indian Pipe, devoid of chlorophyll, but that will come later, usually in rotting leaves under some pines.

Screech Bam Crunch

As I took this peaceful photo on one of our several walks today I heard, simultaneously with the photo, 'skid! screech! bam! crunch!' , in that order. There had obviously been an accident, guessed one car, so I hurried the dogs in and drove out to see if persons needed help.

Young girl must have been driving way too fast, she was fortunate... when I arrived police were arriving and the girl was out of car. Her car had traveled about 50 feet off the highway, had hit a very large metal utility pole head on and was resting smashed to smithereens in a ditch. Hard to believe she walked away from it. That curve is notorious for smash ups.

It was a great straw hauling day... hauled many, many loads from the back pens... looking like I will find an end to straw eventually. Tonight it is drizzling, hope it pours as we need it very much. This photo shows the dry grass, but doesn't show the very dry moss... it crackles like paper when you step on it.

Day Starters

Well, at 4:13 AM the dogs were all kicking up a storm. I went outside to find a stray dog from six miles down the road wandering around the pens, completely unfazed by 39 dogs barking at him. He's been a visitor in the past, always in the dark, so he knows me. Wagging his tail at me, he wandered over to my truck, so in my pajamas, I drove him home . Guess he knows I'm his taxi (lots of practice taking that dog home)... the wild road to his house is usually full of creatures, but this a.m. saw only one deer and one rabbit. Actually the first time I 'met' this dog, I was sleeping on my deck on a hot night. I woke up with his furry face in my face... that was a surprise... too startled to be scared at that moment and right away I realized he was a dog.
Oddly, my usually noisy Lab just let him climb over her to reach me. Guess she knew he was no threat, and he is very sweet, but a nuisance!

When I went outside to feed the dogs, right in front of me was a large beheaded rabbit. I don't know if the dog brought it in but there were also quite a few bird feathers in the spot with the rabbit. Something was starting it's day with a wild breakfast.

Had to cover the spot of the rabbit with sand to keep my dogs out of it and disposed of the rabbit way back in the woods... hope something takes it further away.

Wild Things

Yesterday I sawed dead jack pines with my hand saw ... easy to saw as they were fried by last summer's heat (I had never seen that before, sap ran freely as they fried and the trees turned black) and then they were broken by an ice storm in November. They're just a danger around my propane tank and an eyesore in the driveway. At first I thought I'd haul them with my truck, but then rigged up my bedspring to the ATV that I use for trail dragging and it was the perfect 'trailer' for hauling them away. Then I went out to drag trails as long as I was hooked up. It was a beautiful day and one doe leaped in front of me on the trail.

On a walk later, I saw a snake slithering through the grasses, and tried to catch a photo, but it was too fast (blurry). We have grass snakes and pine snakes... I don't think they're the same... grass are small and pines are fairly large. That prompts me to move more quickly on getting the straw out of pens and houses as in the past the snakes(pines) have taken up residence in the 'comfy' straw... I don't particularly like finding them in a dog house. Surprises, I'm not too keen on that kind of surprise. One dog, Power, is a snake catcher... very quickly grabs them and runs around with his trophies.

The wood ticks are also out... have found a few on me, another not too enjoyable surprise. The house dogs have already had their first treatment.

No wildflowers yet, but the mosses are really greening up, trees are budding more each day.
Saw more wild turkeys yesterday. Started my seeds of Alaskan wildflowers yesterday... fireweed,blue flax, Alaskan poppy, etc.

The birches are always beautiful, any season, so am including a photo of my view from my house. One of the many reasons I love living here.

Old Woman Pond

There is a large yellow birch that has fallen across the pond. We had hoped to get it cut for firewood this past winter, but it lost out in the priorities of dog training. All of the animals and birds frequent this pond in early summer. There are numerous deer beds around it in the winter. It is relatively undisturbed as this view is from our dog trail but we do not go down around it with teams.

Pens on the hillside

The Spring schedule starts at 6AM... feed the house dogs, then go out to feed the kennel dogs.
As the morning light comes earlier we adjust the feeding earlier.

After feeding, each of the pens is cleaned, and as I clean, the dogs get free runs... they can run outside the pen up and down the trail as long as they don't take off. Most are pretty good about it, but a rabbit running through is a lure.

After all of the dogs are run and the pens are clean, I clean each water bucket and then add clean water. Then I haul the buckets of waste back to our pit. Each day I scoop more straw out of the pens and it is used to cover the winter waste pile. I'll add lime as soon as I have most of the straw out, but that takes a long time... each pen has straw and each house has straw.

Midday I take the house dogs for a long walk and check the trails. I usually check the game cameras at the same time to see how many photos we've captured. Today there were six on one camera and I replaced the memory stick on the other, but the 6 volt battery had died... short life.

By 4 PM , it's time for a snack, either ice cubes made of salmon or each a dog biscuit and fresh water. Then it's another walk with dogs, or more raking or sometimes a 30 mile trip for groceries.

This photo is a view of some of the pens from the valley. Last year the cougar was roaming in this area so we cut a lot of brush. I hauled a bit of it today. I wanted the dogs to have a clear view and not have a predator able to sneak up on them.

Scents Sounds Sights

It's green , green , it's green they say on the far side of the hill.... and, here on the fox den side of the hill there is still snow, although after today's rain it will be mostly gone. We saw a small fox yesterday but not near the den. Perhaps she has already vacated as there are two new dens visible nearby as well.

As I took a long walk on the trails yesterday with two dogs, we heard and saw the whooping cranes, the woodpeckers and the many geese. Then, along on the breeze came the smell of skunk which you cannot outrun... suffice it to say I needed two showers and can still smell it in my hair. One of the dogs must have surprised it in the woods... happens every year in the same place. You'd think I'd learn. I hesitate to boast that we saw no porcupines as they, too, are out there.
I also saw an otter scurrying along the other day, but not on my land.

The pond is just starting to melt around the edges and by the end of summer it will be a black mud bath, much desired by the dogs.

The ferns are green and the trails are still wet, deep mud in some places, so it is not yet time to
run the dogs with the ATV as we would get stuck. I have not yet seen the first wildflower although it may be out there.

I lost ALL of My Pictures, including the site itself on Windows, so am busy trying to retrieve it.
Right now I can only retrieve by number so it's a guess about what I upload on this site for now.


Fortunately I have this blog with some of the preferred photos of the past kennel year.

Trails Closed

With the official closing of the snowmobile trails, we have kept our trails, but now they are mostly melting down. The backwoods still has some very deep snow (two feet in spots) but we have put the sleds away and are already hauling straw. This is a bit early and perhaps we'll have another blizzard , but not enough for using it with dogs, I'm sure.

This is a photo of Sulatna, a retiree, as we checked out the trails yesterday. She and her Lab buddy, Chena, were loving the opportunity to free run all over the hills, after snow, pre tall grasses. It will be trail mowing time before we know it.

Neighbors have seen bear prints, but I haven't seen too much wildlife, other than rabbits, eagles, deer foraging and enjoying the new grass. I did see a single white swan flying over. It seems the wildlife is active at night , however, as the dogs have been a bit noisy .

Mushing Articles

MUSHING magazine , Mar/Apr, 2006, has numerous good articles this month.

"A Fan's Guide to the Iditarod", by June Price, is very informative and covers the basics of the race as well as some inside tips when attending an Iditarod. This is a photo of June in front of the 4th Avenue Theater sign, the theater a landmark in Anchorage, on the verge of 'extinction'. Each year photos of the Start of the Iditarod often have this landmark sign .

Gunnar Anderson has written an interesting article on the Jackpine 30 as well. I believe he's writing about 2003 but can't determine it from the article, will check on that.

Unfortunately I can't find a direct link to the magazine articles, although you can find MUSHING and SLED DOG SPORTS magazines via Google or Yahoo.

The second photo is of our team in the chute of the Jackpine 30, 2006, photo credit to Stan Rajala!

The magazine also features a write up on the movie "Eight Below" and information on how the dogs were trained, etc.

Spring Forward and Meltdown and Kennel Schedules

Today is the change to daylight savings time and this is the sunrise over the meltdown.

Any dog kennel in Spring meltdown is a busy place. We always start by digging trenches. The mud becomes deeper and more difficult to navigate and the mud boots get a workout. After we trench, we start pitch forking straw out of the pens. Hauling becomes a major chore and goes on into June.

The dogs seem to take the mud in stride and we try to get their kennels to dry as quickly as we can. The entry gates are often deep puddles.

Our schedule changes, too. All winter the dogs look forward to being harnessed and going for long runs. As racing season ends, then we allow them to free run two at a time, outside their pens. We have to shift away from that when the Spring smells are just too tempting and lure them off the trails . Now we are curbing the free running except for the very reliable
older dogs. Once the summer trails are re established we can start the free running again.

We always measure the coming of Spring by how long we have a snow trail. We still have navigable trails (if you are a dog or a deer), but the grass showing around the trails is very tempting as are the birds chirping and the wandering wild life. I think the latest we've kept a snow trail is April 10th, so Spring is just about here.

A few last photos of Iditarod 06

Long Lake out of Willow is a great place to watch the 'real' start, the re start of Iditarod.
We hiked out and set up and that also happened to be where the KTTU photograher, the official Iditarod photographer and the European contingency chose to view. The Europeans rigged a tripod for cooking and waved flags when their mushers came through.

While I couldn't take photos, I was flagging off snowmachines to protect the mushers/dogs as they entered the lake on the narrow trail. At this point, the mushers and dogs are very happy to get away from the crowds, finally.

The fur photo is of one of the many fur vendors along the route, including in the villages.
The whole Iditarod is a bit of a fur fashion show with the viewers wearing their best.