Charlie... Riga's partner in crime, squirrel hunting enthusiast, moose chaser extraordinaire and top ranked food connoisseur of k9 cuisines. Riga has had her day in the spot light now it's Charlies turn. We got him about four years ago from the Fairbanks shelter. If we had the motivation a great book could be written about all of his near catastrophic adventures. I'm sure you are probably thinking right know, "all dogs have adventures, what's so special about Charlie?" Let me tell you. Every six months he seems to get into some form of trouble that we could not have imagined in our wildest dreams. It started out simple like getting too interested in porcupines and having his face loaded with quills (along with Riga who got the majority of them). Fortunately Becky was around to have them pulled out. With his strong affection towards large ungulates he's been kicked by both a moose and horse. A few summers back he and Riga feel into a stream with swift current and step banks that they could not climb. Becky once again had to same their asses. Last winter while we were skiing along the frozen Chatinika River Charlie pounced like he was going to land on a small snow borrowing rodent only to punch through the snow and ice and land three feet down in the flowing river. He came very close to being swept under before having his human chaperons pull him out. While we were saving Charlie, Riga came over to see what all the excitement was about and fell through the ice herself giving us two dogs to rescue. Two winters back Becky was walking the dogs on one of the ski trails in Fairbanks when she noticed Charlie missing. She called and backtracked but he would not come. She finally noticed him whining off in the woods. When she found him he was caught in a snare left by a trapper. Once again... Becky to the rescue. Last winter while wrestling with Riga his paw got caught sideways in the carabiner on his collar. Try as we did, Becky and I could not get his foot out so we drove to the local fire department to have them cut the carabiner off with their gigantic bolt cutters. I felt like the classic "my cat is stuck in a tree" person. About six months ago Charlie and Riga were wrestling outside as they normally do. Some how Charlie's lower jaw got caught under Riga's collar, Riga twisted locking Charlie's jaw tight and cutting off her airway. Neither of the dogs knew what had happened but where very freaked out. Becky, once again, saved the day by calling out to the neighbors for help and getting them untangled. It scared both the dogs so much they avoided each other for a few days after. I'm leaving out some of their adventures but this should give you some idea of the type of adventures these dogs (especially Charlie) get into every so often. Never a dull moment.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Charlie Dog
Charlie... Riga's partner in crime, squirrel hunting enthusiast, moose chaser extraordinaire and top ranked food connoisseur of k9 cuisines. Riga has had her day in the spot light now it's Charlies turn. We got him about four years ago from the Fairbanks shelter. If we had the motivation a great book could be written about all of his near catastrophic adventures. I'm sure you are probably thinking right know, "all dogs have adventures, what's so special about Charlie?" Let me tell you. Every six months he seems to get into some form of trouble that we could not have imagined in our wildest dreams. It started out simple like getting too interested in porcupines and having his face loaded with quills (along with Riga who got the majority of them). Fortunately Becky was around to have them pulled out. With his strong affection towards large ungulates he's been kicked by both a moose and horse. A few summers back he and Riga feel into a stream with swift current and step banks that they could not climb. Becky once again had to same their asses. Last winter while we were skiing along the frozen Chatinika River Charlie pounced like he was going to land on a small snow borrowing rodent only to punch through the snow and ice and land three feet down in the flowing river. He came very close to being swept under before having his human chaperons pull him out. While we were saving Charlie, Riga came over to see what all the excitement was about and fell through the ice herself giving us two dogs to rescue. Two winters back Becky was walking the dogs on one of the ski trails in Fairbanks when she noticed Charlie missing. She called and backtracked but he would not come. She finally noticed him whining off in the woods. When she found him he was caught in a snare left by a trapper. Once again... Becky to the rescue. Last winter while wrestling with Riga his paw got caught sideways in the carabiner on his collar. Try as we did, Becky and I could not get his foot out so we drove to the local fire department to have them cut the carabiner off with their gigantic bolt cutters. I felt like the classic "my cat is stuck in a tree" person. About six months ago Charlie and Riga were wrestling outside as they normally do. Some how Charlie's lower jaw got caught under Riga's collar, Riga twisted locking Charlie's jaw tight and cutting off her airway. Neither of the dogs knew what had happened but where very freaked out. Becky, once again, saved the day by calling out to the neighbors for help and getting them untangled. It scared both the dogs so much they avoided each other for a few days after. I'm leaving out some of their adventures but this should give you some idea of the type of adventures these dogs (especially Charlie) get into every so often. Never a dull moment.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race
The 1,000 mile world famous Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race started in Fairbanks this weekend. What an event to watch! If you ever want to see an enthusiastic dog, watch the start of a sled dog race. I was taking photos of most the mushers as they were leaving the start this year. By chance I happened to catch this shot of Lance Mackey (he is the Michael Jordon/ Lance Armstrong of the mushing world). Last year he won the Quest and the Iditarod back to back. That was a feat no one thought possible until Lance and his amazing team of All-Star dogs came along. Let's keep a close watch to see if he breaks any new records this year. Many of you are probably saying, "Damn, I forgot that started this weekend. How do I keep up with the race results?" I'm glad you asked. Visit http://www.yukonquest.com/ for all the important answers I'm not going to give you here.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Sun is Coming
It is safe to say... the sun is coming back! February often brings interior Alaska a mixed bag of tricks. On the one hand the sun starts rapidly reappearing giving the visual impression that spring is on the way with a gain of over 6 minutes of light a day. On the other hand temperatures often start dipping to record lows. All week we've been waking up to the radio reporting, "..curent temperature -44F at the Fairbanks airport with the highs today reaching between -25F and -20F. No change in sight until the weekend." Sure it's cold being 76 degrees below freezing but it is a dry cold and you tend to get use to it after a bit (or is that the numbness from the cold setting in?). On the plus side, the combination of the sun coming back and the cold temperatures brings an amazing quality of sunrises and sets. This photo was taken at 9 am from the university over looking Fairbanks south toward the Alaska Range. On warmer, clear days you would see the community of Fairbanks just under the blanket of ice fog enshrouding the trees. On cold days like this there's often a temperature inversion where the cold air settles in low areas trapping smog, fog and pollution particalls. It can be as much as 15 degrees warmer on a ridge or hill top and sunny. I'm heading for the hills today. Stay warm.
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