More moose! I've seen more moose in the past week than in the past FOUR months! They've all been on the side, or in the road, luckily my encounters haven't been TOO close. Seems as though they've come out of hiding with the warmer weather. Peek-a-boo moose!
Well, Belle has departed from my company:( It was really nice having a pooch friend to hang with, and certainly her boyfriend-dog from across the street misses her...
I only had to spend one lonely night however, as I brought home my new kitty yesterday!
Hadley April Frost...
She's pretty much the opposite of Ernesto... small, gray and super affectionate. He's still a grump, but I think if anyone can melt his heart it's Hadley! She's even so bad-ass she has a TATTOO. MEOW.
The drive down to Anchorage to pick Hadley up was pretty harrowing to be sure! Snow, snow and lots of it. I even brought a bunch home with me...
Meet the unofficial mascot of Anchorage... Star the Reindeer!
She was just given a delicious treat of... snow? Mmmm, my favorite!
And... OCCUPY ANCHORAGE! Or, more like... occupy, um, Anchorage?
I FINALLY found a sweet nordic ski trail by my cabin. I guess this is pretty much the best time of year for skiing anyway since it's not ridiculously cold these days.
For my last puzzle, I tried adding some challenge to it by mixing the pieces together from two 500 piece puzzles that kinda looked similar. Huzzah!
I need a nap after the TWELVE hours of driving I did...
First things first... MOOSE! Yes, I FINALLY saw moose in more than just a passing way on the side of the road at night. Albeit, the moose were by, and then IN the road, however it WAS during the day AND I got to stop and commune with them for a time. MOOSE!:)
I'm glad these beautiful beasts weren't hanging out in the road when I drove on the highway last night. I guess it must be nice to walk on the asphalt after trudging through four feet high snow drifts though.
As for other wildlife, a snowshoe hare stopped by my cabin earlier, all dressed in his white winter formals...
And a new bird stopped by my feeder... I think it's a female red pole, as the male with his red splashes was in a nearby tree.
Today was another clear, amazing day in Interior Alaska, so I decided to take Belle out on the Triple Lakes Trail. I think maybe dogs aren't allowed, but who could tell?
We only got as far as the first of three lakes, but it was a lovely hike!
We just followed the ski and caribou tracks to keep on the trail. I was thankful for the skiers that preceded us, as the caribous decided to take a shortcut that I might have attempted to follow through three foot deep snow...
I did my best to keep Belle from tearing up the trees on the trail, but that dog will NOT be stopped! She's a stick addict if ever I've met one...
The sun has set, and now we're home relaxing. I finished my latest puzzle... Anchorage, Alaska as a cartoon map!
It has pretty much every business in the city, as well as fun facts such as this...
Random stuff...
This boat afloat on a sea of snow made me laugh on my last walk...
The snow drifts at my summer job are pretty crazy... good thing I won't have a fuel delivery for a few more months!
In sad pinball news, Steve Kordek passed away today. So go out and enjoy multiball, drop targets and motorized flippers in his name! POP!
In less sad news, I recently came across the Rabbit Ears audio book of Davy Crockett as read by NICOLAS CAGE. Ya, it's pretty much the greatest thing EVER. Find it, listen to it, laugh yourself silly!
And finally... MOOSE!
... and Valentine's Cupcakes! With milk, white and butterscotch chocolate chips and lemon icing... yum!
Tonight at about eight PM, Belle wanted to go outside. So I let her out, and I decided to empty my under-sink bucket while I was up. I noticed Aurora was out, so I got my camera to take some pictures. It was a pretty nice display, but nothing too amazing. Then as I was shooting, the lights brightened and started darting across the sky. Leaping up and down and around in intense blue and green and pink! It turned into the most insane display of Aurora I've ever seen! I absolutely LOVE the juxtaposition of the dark clouds with the colorful bright lights... like, WHOA. Then after about five minutes of intense lights... she died away to just a star filled sky. Check it out...
I don't usually even bother checking for Aurora until after ten PM, so I'm so glad Belle roused me from my knitting. The night sky after Aurora dies away reminds me of a house just cleaned up after a wild party. It's hard to imagine that such an event just occurred...
Okay, that's all! North to the future!
