Inktrails from Alaska

Sofia Reveals a New Talent

Last night around 3:45am Sofia suddenly woke me up by bouncing, pouncing, chuffing and basically telling me in EXTREME body language to GET OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW!

Okay, okay! I thought. I asked, "Do you want to go outside?" She dashed down the stairs and then dashed right back up and bounced. Alright, so she has to pee.

I went downstairs and she led me around and around the house, looking at the windows and then FINALLY led me to the door. I put on my coat, a ski mask, my boots but I still had on my super-thin flannel PJ bottoms. I clipped the leash on Sofia and stepped out the front door.

Right in front of me there was a HUGE aurora spiral just going wacko up in the sky! Sofia and I just stopped and watched it....there were major northern lights last night!

Sofia didn't have to pee. She wanted me to see the lights! She must be a Northern Aurora Hound!

Unusual Conversation

I wish I had a picture of this.

While walking back to my truck from the grocery store, I heard a big ruckus going on involving a dog and...what? Quickly scanning ahead, I could see that it wasn't Sofia, thank goodness, but that she was watching whatever it was, too. Looking one row away from my truck, I saw a red Toyota pickup with a raven in the truck bed, and a cattle dog in the cab. The dog was going ballistic, because the raven was a inch or two from him, separated only by the cab glass! The bird was calmly going through the garbage and picking out treasures, while the dog roared and scrambled at him like mad. While I watched, the raven did his best to ignore the dog. This went on for a minute or so and the raven was obviously having more and more trouble ignoring Mr. Blue Heeler. That dog was raining on his parade, big time! At first he looked at the dog and grumbled, then squawked a little, and was I watched the dog and the raven finally put his beak up to the glass and talked for a few minutes, getting grumpier by the minute! Finally, fed up with this rude interruption of his enjoyment of the garbage, he flew off with a disdainful "rrrrrrraaaaaattt!" The dog sat down, QUITE satisfied with himself. Another job well done!

Fairbanks Celebrates Lance Mackey

I went to the town reception for Lance Mackey last night. If you don't follow dog mushing at all, you may not realize that Lance won the two most grueling races in the world: the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. He DEMOLISHED the record time Frank Turner set in the Yukon Quest some years ago.

It was a congenial gathering of like-minded folks. There were free hot dogs, sodas, chips and candy. Whole families attended, and we all ran into all our friends. Fairbanks is a small town, and even people I don't know, know someone who knows me, and visa versa. The Yukon Quest folks had a table and were selling posters, books, DVDs, shirts and other stuff. I bought a poster and waited 45 minutes to have Lance sign it. Mind you, I was ten feet from the table that entire time except for the last three minutes! Why did it take so long? Because there was so much yakking and visiting going on, not just by Lance and whoever was engaging him at the moment, but between everyone in the "line." I put that in quotes because it wasn't a line, it was a crowd fanned out in front of the table where Lance was signing autographs and talking and having a great old time.

When it was my turn I chatted with him briefly, told him I hoped his hands were feeling better, (he's got some nerve damage from the cold), and one of my new friends in line took our picture. He asked to see how it turned out, so she flipped the camera around and pushed out the digital screen. He made a face and said, "C'mere! That one's not so good, let's do another!" And we did!

I'll add the photo to this article when it is sent to me.

Pete Peter and his Band of Brothers played their unique rock'n'soul (and covers!) for three hours during the reception. I was bouncing around the whole time and really enjoyed it. I'm glad to see that Pete has gotten a CD out and is getting some national attention because they certainly deserve it! It's not every day you hear rock and roll in Native language.

The Squirrels Are Awake!

I've been feeding the birds all winter. The feeders are right by the windows and are visited by red polls, chickadees, and the occasional pine grosbeak. But recently the squirrels have started gathering the sunflower seeds those messy red polls throw on the snow.

This is something Sofia has noticed....

...resulting in some statue-like behavior.

While the main culprit preens and scratches himself right outside the window.

Are There Any Norwegian Elkhounds in Alaska?

Since Stevie died Sofia and I have been lonely. We have each other, true, but she has no other dog to play with. I miss having another dog to hug. It's just not the same.

After much thought I have decided that our next dog friend should be an elkhound, or perhaps an elkhound mix. Alaska has much the same climate as Norway, and Norwegian elkhounds are perfect for Alaska. Unfortunately, it seems to be that the last reputable breeders have long ago moved south, leaving Alaska elkhoundless.

It seems incredible to me that I can't find an elkhound pup, or rescue dog in the entire state of Alaska. Are you out there? Are you reading this with your curly-tail resting his head in your lap? If so, please do drop me a line and let me know where you are!

We have huskies up the wazoo! Sofia is half husky. I love her dearly and she is ever so well-behaved with but one flaw: she will never be a dog I can let off-lead, and most huskies are that way as well.

The perfect fit would be one of two:
a) a young male less than five years old that gets along well with other dogs
b) a pup of either sex

If you can help Sofia and I find our Alaska elkhound, please write to us!

We'll be making a trip Outside (to the Lower 48 in common lingo) in early Fall, and will bring home an elkhound during that trip if we can't locate a good match up here in Alaska. But I would much prefer to find a dog close to home!