Inktrails from Alaska

Those Wacky Elkhounds

Okay, so it's -40°F today. Nevertheless, dogs must pee and poop so out we go! I figured we'd be out only ten minutes, so the dogs were barefoot, not even any bag balm...

Sofia pees the second we get out the door. Ole PULLS toward the back yard.

Now if I were alone with  Sofia she would potty the instant she got outside in the closest appropriate place and then we'd go back inside. But not Ole. NoooOOOOoooo he has to go into the backyard. So down the trail we go, in the gate and I cut both dogs loose.

Sofia is done within 2 minutes and curls up on the snow with her feet tucked up under her.

Never mind that Ole pulled like heck to get to the yard, as soon as I take off his leash he stands there, picking up his feet and going, "EYOW this hurts!" No duh, you silly dog.

He s-l-o-w-l-y picks his way across the yard to the potty area. He stands there.

"Better go now, Ole. Better go now!" I remind him. He takes some time to look at the birds. I swear!

Then he picks his way to a spot to pee. Then he just HAS to rub himself on the fence back and forth three times.

My legs are starting to really get cold...I have two pairs of pants on, three shirts and a jacket, mukluks (my feet are nice and warm) and two hats on.

Meanwhile Ole finally does a few circles and gets his business done.....pauses...gets that predatory look in his eye and POUNCES on Sofia to get her to PLAY!

I've never had Sofia play at temps this low but Ole is a NUT and just conned her into it! Back and forth for about five minutes and then I made them go back in the house (Sofie came and stood by me and looked at Ole like he was totally crazy).

Ole is a housedog, but he sure does very well in the cold! Plus, he's a NUTCAKE!

Going Home Through the Ice Fog

It's deep freezer time here in Fairbanks. It's -40°F (which is exactly the same in Centigrade, btw, that's where the two converge, and then diverge again above and below -40) and the town is covered in ice fog. Luckily my home is above the ice fog, which is nice and lot less depressing. I get to see crystalline stars at night, and if I'm lucky, the aurora borealis. Though it's been a chintzy winter for the aurora. I've only seen it twice so far this year.

As the days' highs are listed as, variously, -40, -35, and -30 for the next few days you can imagine what the lows are. Minus 55 degrees is expected.

I'm heading to the grocery store now that my day of teaching is done. I'm getting milk and half and half and all that sort of necessary stuff and staying home, cleaning house, reading, watching Dr. Who DVDs and eating the halibut chowder I made the other night. I hope I get some aurora to watch, too. With temperatures like this, I think we deserve it!

Nothing Like a Christmas Eve Public Barfisode

Ole went shopping with me today. He did great at Lowe's and got lots of pets. He walked very nicely on the leash and loved up to everyone he met!

The next few places I went I had to leave him in the truck...each time it wasn't long, maybe 20 minutes, max.

Finally, I was starving and the Boyfiend and I went to Carl's Jr. for some good chile burgers. After eating about 1/2 my burger I suddenly said, "Where's my hat?"

Being in and out of HOT stores and having to take hat off, put hat on....did I leave it in the truck?

UH-OH.

It's dark here in Alaska right now. Many of us go around with small LED headlights on the bills of our caps. I had mine clipped to my Carhartt knit cap...HAD being the operative word.

I'd left the cap in the truck and sure enough, I dashed out of Carl's only to find Ole with a pile of plastic parts, the six or seven LED lights intact (thank doG for that!) and ONE battery.

The headlights take TWO batteries.

I looked EVERYWHERE. It was a repeat of the "Where DID that razor blade GO?" Only this time the Boyfiend didn't swear that he didn't eat it....

Back into Carl's for the salt shaker.....which would only let salt out in tiny dribbles and wouldn't unscrew, it was one of those disposable ones. I kept shaking it out into my hand and tossing the salt down Ole's throat. He thought this was a WEIRD game and about the seventh time backed up. MOM, he said, I've had ENOUGH!

Walking back and forth in front of Carl's telling your dog to throw up....I got more than a few weird looks! Back and forth, back and forth...it seemed like HOURS.

But he still wasn't barfing and I was starting to panic. A BATTERY, in stomach acid, AAAACCCKKKK. I put him in the truck, and ran back in to talk to the Boyfiend.

Boyfiend was no help. Dogs aren't really his department, anyway.

Ran back to the truck and OF COURSE he'd barfed in the truck!!! I got a bunch of napkins and handed Ole off to the Boyfiend, who had come outside, finally. I searched the barf. No battery. (If I'd put Ole in the truck he would have eaten the barf back up, of course! )

NOW WHAT?

Off to the e-vet (if they were even open) for an X-ray? I decided to check the truck ONE MORE TIME.

And lo and behold, I FOUND THE BATTERY.

I'm home now, and both Ole and I are rather limp.

Whew.

Greetings to All!

Alaskan Keywords

Just like anywhere else, Alaska has its jargon, slang, and things that people have to do and think about just to live here.

For instance, in Florida people have to think twice about walking close to the edge of a lake or slough because of alligators that lie in wait for an unsuspecting animal of just about any kind to walk by and give them chance at dinner. People in big cities have to be alert to gangs and their colors. People in Eugene, Oregon have to ignore the rain!

I have to take a good look around before the dogs and I venture out of the house just to be sure there aren't any moose in the yard. Finding a bear in a my neighborhood is not unheard of, but rather rare. A few wander through every year in one or two places, and are generally shot, unfortunately. The moose is probably the most dangerous animal to the most people in Alaska. and definitely the most dangerous to tourists, who routinely think that Bullwinkle is a big, friendly pet. In reality he or she will stomp the living daylights out of you!

It isn't just watching out for big animals, it's seeing my neighbors out with their dog team every day on my way to work. It's the cold, it's the lights, it's the bugs...

So here are a list of keywords that Alaskans will recognize. Others, maybe not so much.

1. Bunny boots
2. Sugar snow
3. snow machine
4. Uncle Ted
5. Camp robber
6. Red poll
7. four-wheeler
8. ice fog
9. sled dog
10. Yukon Quest
11. Blue tarp
12. Outhouse
13. "Cabin"  (doesn't have water)
14. "House" (does have water)
15. Has water (has plumbing)
16. Plug-in
17. sparkle snow/glitter snow
18. light box
19. Solstice
20. Oly pop
21. Toyo
22. Monitor

There are plenty more, but it will be interesting to see how many non-Alaskans know what these are! Post your guesses below....many are obvious, and not necessarily unique to Alaska...in those cases guess why that item is on the list. Happy guessing!