A pile of puppies is definitely a good day
This was the winter that kept on giving. We had a great snowfall throughout the winter. In April, when our days are typically warm and above freezing, mother nature decided to continue with her winter work. After getting over two feet of snow on April 20th and 21st, it continued to snow every day.
Each morning we would look out at 3-5 new inches of wet snow. Usually I love to get snow, but at some point in the spring, the snow becomes too wet, and some places are too muddy, and it starts to become preferable to actually lose the snow entirely. Compounding this messy slush was the fact that Mike was busily trying to get the kennel ready for summer tours. His plans of painting dogs houses were thwarted by freezing temperatures and falling snow. He laughed telling me that I might have to improvise the part of the tour where I usually say, “Imagine the whole world is white.”
Finally the sun did come back and most of the snow piles are (nearly) gone.
Summer really feels like it is here when the puppies arrive. We are excited to announce Zirkle’s litter, the Q puppies. They are super cute and lovable. Max has been spending lots of time with them. There are 7 puppies in the litter. He likes to crawl in their puppy house with them. He got in there the other day and pretended he was a puppy as well. “Now there are 8 puppies,” he said. As he rolled around with them, they were nuzzling his belly, neck, and hair, making him giggle. “I’m not a milk carton, “ he laughed.
Spring has made its way everywhere. As I drove home the other night I saw a mother moose with her newborn calf He was so small, he might have been born that very day. He stood under her body and hustled after her as she moved on by.
The school kids are out for summer. We had no graduates this year. Driving up and down the highway, I have seen lots of moose, porcupine, swans, and sheep. However, the other night as I was driving I saw a wolf. He was running along the side of the road. I was able to nearly go along side him. It was awesome. Retelling Mike, he asked where I had seen him. “Where the caribou always are” I said. At which point the lightbulb turned on for me. The day before I had seen that a caribou had been hit crossing the road. In Denali there is a Road Kill Hotline. If you are at the top of the list, the state troopers will call you when an animal is hit so that at least the meat can be salvaged. I had seen someone at the site, harvesting the animal. Not doubt there were remnants that had attracted the wolf to that area. It just wasn’t until I said it out loud that it clicked for me. I think that living in Alaska I feel a little closer to the cycle of life and death. Our food doesn’t come separated from the fact that it was once a living animal. Max loves to watch nature shows. We often see animals who's young do not all survive. But some make it we say. And some make it possible for other animals to survive.
Now that I am driving up and down the road for tours, I come close to the grocery store that opened an hour North of us. I stopped by the other day. I cannot begin to describe the feeling, to just stop by the store. I didn’t know how to shop or to behave. I found myself acting like a kid in the candy store just grabbing a little of this and a little of that. How could it be practical to only buy two gallons of milk at a time? I know that the majority of my shopping will still need to happen in Fairbanks or Anchorage. But it makes me giddy to feel like I could just zip to the store and get something.
The puppies getting socialized with a remote control car.
We have started to welcome visitors to our kennel again for the summer. I have been proud of Max. He helps to clean between tours and is doing a great job of talking with guests during their visit. In fact, I may have to convince him to stop talking. The other day I caught him giving one grandma a private tour of all of his play spots, the puppy area, and even the outhouse! We have been pleased that our efforts to provide a professional tour with genuine hospitality has impressed so many guests. We were recently recognized in USA Today as the Most Under-Rated Attraction in all of Alaska and we continue to rise in the ranks at Trip Advisor. Thank you to all of you who have shared a good word about us online or in person. Your recommendations mean a lot to us.
Until next time, I hope you are all having as much fun with your dogs as we are with ours. Mike, Caitlin, and Max