Signs of Spring...

 With the warm weather starting in March this year, it shouldn't be surprising that the snow has disappeared so fast. Just last week I started to clear the snow cover from the upper dog yard.

Now the dogs are all moved out of the sloppy snow and mud of the winter winter yard into a much drier spot for the summer.

Last week we were still hauling birch logs from the ridge top with the Skidoo.

Now we're starting to split and stack the split firewood to get it drying out.

And the mosquitoes are already out in force; not all the signs of spring are welcome!

End of the Trail...

For this year anyway, the dog runs are over. Hard to believe that last year we ran until late April (Last Dog Run?  4/19/23). This year we had our last outing on March 20, just after the vernal equinox. I took the Ski Doo out last week to check the trails. The warm spell in late March, 40-50° F,  had taken its toll. Besides the icy trail, bare spots, exposed roots and alder stubs. there was extensive overflow (aufeis) at the creek crossing.

The pond at the creek crossing is filling with overflow, flooding the trail.

All that's left to do is put away the sledding gear.

The sleds are hauled up to the shed and hung, upside down, under the overhang in back. Then we'll be hauling in a few loads of logs to buck up and split for firewood.

There's plenty of trees down along the trail, the problem is finding ones that are still good for firewood and not buried in snow or frozen to the ground. Once you find a few good down trees, it's just a bunch of grunt work to buck'em up, load the sled, haul'em back, and stack the logs. Once there's a decent pile of to logs to split, it'll be time to hook up the splitter to the tractor. Too much fun!

April No Fool...

 There should be a day after April 1, all fools day, when there's no fools; maybe it should be today. I went to to the Dr. for my shoulder, the fifth different one. Even tho I said what I thought I needed when I made the appointment, the Dr said he couldn't do it. Then he referred me to another Dr. So who's the fool? 

Here's a pic of the instrument of destruction that took off the tip of my thumb the other day.

Given the amount of safety warnings they put on tools today, you'd think they'd put a warning on these things. BTW, my thumb's healed up fine, so maybe it's better to be lucky than smart!

Too Warm...

It seems like just yesterday, even tho it was a few weeks ago, when we were complaining about the cold. Now it's warmed up into the 40's, the snow is melting, and the forecast is for continued warming. So it looks dog driving's about over. It's hard to believe that we ran dogs until almost the end of April last year. 

Here's a shot from earlier in the week. It's on the trail coming home, just before it steepens to climb the back side of the ridge, so at least it's in a different place from the previous pics. The dogs are running great, so it hard to give it up, but you never really know when the last dog run will happen, until it's over.

Thumbs Up...

 On the days we don't run dogs, it's often a time to head out on the Ski Doo, if it'll start, to check out the trails. There's usually spots that need work, smoothing out with the trail groomer, or shoveling snow in the dips or overflow at the creek crossing. It's not real hard work, but after being out in the cold for a while, you look forward to getting back, relaxing, and getting a bite to eat. After I got back inside the other day, took off all the winter gear, and headed upstairs. I really had a taste for some cheese. So I got out a block of colby jack and a cheese slicer. Now normally I'd use a knife, but for some reason, dug out the slicer. As I tried to slice the cheese, the slicer wouldn't cut, so gave it a good hard pull. That's when it popped up off the block of cheese and sliced off the tip of my thumb. Surpised wouldn't have covered what I felt. Astounded, blown away, and pissed off. So after stopping the blood flow, took the flap of skin hanging from the tip of the thumb and stuck it back on. Put on a bandage, but it kept bleeding, so Andy got out some sticky gauze and wrapped it up tight, then taped it.

So far it's staying on and not bleeding through. Never did get that cheese snack.

Here's a pic from one of last weeks dog runs.

I should find a better place for a photo. Now I have to wait for the dogs to slow down on a straight, level stretch of trail, so I can take the camera out from under my parka, and that's usually the same general area on the trail back home.

Couch Potatoes...

 Back when we first got Mac, the MacKenzie River husky pup, we wanted to raise him right. We hadn't had a litter of pups in many years, most of our dogs now are rescues from the animal shelter or CL ads. So he got to come in the house a lot. Andy thought he needed to feel at home inside, so she taught him to jump on the couch. Well it wasn't my idea, but "sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree."

So here he was at about three months. The ears and feet were a preview of what was to come.

And here he is at three years old. He takes up half the couch now. With the colder weather, we've been bringing the dogs inside, a few at a time, to warm up and get some socialization. Mac takes his place on the couch whenever he can.

Here's a recent dog run. It's been clear and cold with the trail real icy and fast after the latest warm spell. So we only take five dogs to keep the speed down and we rotate the older dogs to give them a day off. Mac is in the middle on the right next to Earl. As much as he's grown, Mac still kinda dwarfs him.

Out and About...

With the warmer weather, it's a lot better outside doing chores, running dogs, and just enjoying the winter. While it 's hard to appreciate how cold the weather was just a few weeks ago, the dogs, at least the fuzzy ones like Gus and Mac,  don't really care for the warmth either. The airport just set new records with temps. in the forties above. It's supposed to cool off and be below zero by next week, so at least those dogs will be happy again.

Here's a shot from yesterdays dog run. We had some snow overnight, so it's hard to see how much the yahoo Skidooers shredded the trail during the warm spell. They sure know how to have fun!

February Runs Hot and Cold...

As noted, January ended very cold and February started off the same way. Other than a few days in the minus teens, it was thirty to forty below for the first week or so.

Jack Black hung out by the wood stove upstairs or the Toyo heater downstairs during the cold spell. Other than feeding and letting the dogs off for a brief free run, we mostly stayed inside too.

The thermometer seemed stuck at minus 33 for more than a few days. Even the giraffes were cold.

But as luck would have it, a chinook blew through this week and we've been above freezing the past few days. Before this it was too cold to run dogs, now it's almost too warm, go figure!

Cold Ground Hogs...

 If there were ground hogs in Alaska, they'd been smart to stay in their burrows, cause it's been real cold today. The official high at the airport was -30, after a low of -49, so a ground hog smart enough to predict the weather would certainly have stayed inside. While it had warmed up to the teens below zero earlier in the week, then we were able to get out a bit more, run the dogs, and a few trips to town for shopping, it didn't last and the cold is back again. But we did get unexpected visitors one night...

The dogs started barking a little after dinner, so we turned on the outside light and saw a cow and calf moose munching on some low birch branches. Eventually they moved over to the mountain ash near the house. Andy turned on the back light and they were right next to the deck, stripping off the dried leaves and branches, not ten feet from the house. After they finished off the lower branches, they wandered around back and up the driveway, munching on the birch there. Apparently getting tired of the dogs barking, they ambled up to the road and disappeared. Just another Fairbanks moose encounter. 

Cold and Colder...

 It had been a pretty mild winter until last week when it started to cool off. Since then it's been down to -40° at the airport and -35° up here in the hills. Not looking like it's going to change anytime soon. We've mostly been sticking close to home and other than a run to town for groceries, not too much excitement here abouts. Since it's too cold to run dogs down in the valley, where it's usually 10° colder, we've been letting them off once a day for their free run.

The dogs love to get off to run, especially when Andy has a pouch full of dog biscuits.

The sunsets are decent this time of year and the low angle of the sun keeps it going for a while.

It's hard to resist a selfie at these temperatures!

Happy New Year?...

Started off the New Year with a dog run out into the valley. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but bounced off a small spruce tree coming out of the turn around loop, and flipped the sled on its side. I hung on for a while as the dogs careened down the trail, but eventually lost my grip. It was a long walk home. I definitely need to work on their stop commands. They made it back fine with no damage to the sled, but Andy sure was surprised. The next day woke up with a nasty sore throat, which slowly evolved into a head cold. So spent these last two weeks on the couch taking aspirin, vitamin C, and hot tea with Yukon Jack. Probably not the best cure, but worked for me.

Today we got out for the first run since New Years. Had to put in a new turn around to avoid the ubiquitous trees, so then we had a decent run with only minimal angst.

Made it around the new turn around in spite of some skidoo jockeys tearing up the trail.

Back in the dog yard, everybody's happy this time, especially the dog driver!

Christmas Run...

 Spent Christmas day getting all the gear ready and then taking the dogs out for their first run with the sled. Nothing exciting happened after we got'em hooked up and left the yard, that's always the circus part,  so an unremarkable run's a good thing. Spent most of yesterday pulling a groomer with the Skidoo and fixing the bad spots on the trail so that made for a smooth run.  Here's a video Andy shot crossing the road on the way home.

Went to our neighbor's place yesterday for a Christmas eve dinner. It seems to get smaller every year as some people move away or others pass on. Times change but life goes on. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!