Jean's Northern Niche

Alaska Sunrise in January

 

Absolutely the BEST Snow Toy EVER!

That's right! A FROZEN APPLE!

One day an apple fell out of my groceries in the back of the pickup and I found it a week later, all frozen. I put it out by the bird feeder, thinking they might enjoy a little fruit. They are smart about pecking at things, but this was beyond little chickadee beaks, apparently. So on the way to the dog yard I picked it up today and thought Ole, the Dog Who Eats Everything, would enjoy playing with the apple.

He did! He was having a ball with it! He'd push it around, chase it, pick it up and do a tentative bite but then put it back down because even though -10 felt pretty warm to all of us, it was still one hard apple!

Then Sofia found it and OMG! She pounced it all OVER the yard, picked it up and teased Ole with it and would NOT let him have it back. It's smooth, round, hard and scoots across the snow just wonderfully! Plus it smells yummy! She went nuts over it!

I knew I should have brought my camera outside today! Darn!

I finally had to put it up on the windowsill, because she was adamant that it was HERS and poor Ole was following her around barking and barking. He was annoying the crap out of both of us, poor guy.

I guess I'll have to freeze another apple so they can both have one. Of course that doesn't guarantee they'll both play with theirs. One toy/bone of two identical will always be the one they both want. You know how that goes!

More Snow Play

Bishus Dogs! (They're just playing!)

Run, Ole, Run! Sofie's gonna get you!

Sofia the Beautiful

That was new snow about a week ago. We got two more inches at my house last night. It's all packed down in the dog yard from all the play. In the rest of the yard it's a few feet deep. Sofia and Ole have been hunting voles like mad. Sofia does some very cute bouncing into the snow headfirst.

Happy New America Day!

Inauguration Day is too formal and too long and doesn't say anything at all. What is today? Today is the day we start anew. We step out of the old patterns and bring light and friendship to the world again.

There is hope for us and the world again. Happy New America Day, folks! Pass it on!

Anyone For An Eighty-Degree Temperature Swing?

It's 40°F out there now. ABOVE zero. We've got a Chinook that won't quit, and it's going to melt things like crazy...and then it's going to freeze up again, what you want to bet? We'll have black ice before you know it. I'd better get outside and get into town to get my laundry done before another day goes by.

When Forty Below is the High for Days on End

MIDDLE TANANA VALLEY-
INCLUDING...FAIRBANKS...FORT WAINWRIGHT...EIELSON AFB...ESTER...
NORTH POLE...MOOSE CREEK...TWO RIVERS...FOX...CHATANIKA...CHENA
HOT SPRINGS...SOURDOUGH CAMP
357 PM AKST SAT JAN 3 2009

...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM AKST SUNDAY...
.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. AREAS DENSE OF ICE FOG. LOWS 40 TO 55
BELOW...COLDEST IN RURAL AREAS AROUND NORTH POLE...LOWS AROUND 20
BELOW ON THE HILLS. NORTHEAST WINDS TO 10 MPH ON THE HILLS. LIGHT
WINDS OTHERWISE.
.SUNDAY...MOSTLY CLEAR. AREAS OF ICE FOG. HIGHS 25 TO
40 BELOW...EXCEPT AROUND 10 BELOW IN THE HILLS. LIGHT WINDS IN
VALLEYS. NORTHEAST WINDS TO 15 MPH ON THE HILLS.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. AREAS OF ICE FOG. LOWS 35 TO
50 BELOW...EXCEPT AROUND 25 BELOW IN THE HILLS. LIGHT WINDS
IN VALLEYS. NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH ON THE HILLS.
.MONDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. AREAS OF ICE FOG. HIGHS 25 TO 40 BELOW.
LIGHT WINDS.
.MONDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. AREAS OF ICE FOG. LOWS 40 TO
55 BELOW. LIGHT WINDS. 
.TUESDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS NEAR 40 BELOW. 
.TUESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS NEAR 45 BELOW. 
.WEDNESDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS NEAR 40 BELOW. 
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS NEAR 45 BELOW. 
.THURSDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS NEAR 35 BELOW. 
.THURSDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS NEAR 45 BELOW. 
.FRIDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS NEAR 40 BELOW. 
.FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS NEAR 50 BELOW. 
.SATURDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS NEAR 40 BELOW. 

I've been in my house since Wednesday. I went into town on Tuesday, 
and before that I was last in town 
on Christmas Eve. 

You could say I have a little cabin fever.

You folks down in the Lower 48 felt so put upon with the snow and 
cold temperatures the last couple weeks. 
You wrote to me and said, "Take it back! We don't want it!"

Well you get to keep what you got, because we've got 40 and 50 
below for weeks here and it just keeps
on coming! For a few hours today I was all happy because 
I thought it was going to "warm up" to -20...and then
the forecast changed. The range of temperatures
 that is the warmest for the week will be tomorrow: 
"highs 25-40 below." 

It's been 40 below for quite a while now. I get to put 
on so many clothes to walk the dogs that I feel like
Ralphie's little brother in A Christmas Story. Worse, 
I also have a balaclava on, so I look like a terrorist. The 
dogs still know who I am, though! Thank goodness! 
I remember when I was a kid in Michigan and Nebraska, 
having fallen down in a snowsuit and having to yell for 
my sister to pull me up. It's true, you really can't get 
up if you are stuffed into two snowsuits!

I'm going into town to buy dog food, put gas in the truck, 
go pick up my mail, and other errands, no matter
what the temperature is. I have been feeding the dogs 
moose meat since I ran out of dog food. They certainly
don't mind! But I really think it's better to add the meat 
to some good Evo kibble, just to be on the safe side.

Well, I said no matter what the temperature is, but if it's
 -70 I'm not going anywhere. Car tires break
like glass at -70.