Winter is here... well sort of.

Well, it has been about three weeks since Jade's accident and, I'm happy to say, she is well surpassed my expectations on her speedy recovery. I was kind of hoping I could keep her but, unfortunately, Mike wanted her back. He is planing on reimbursing me for the sum amount of the vet bills which makes me happy in itself. I was also happy to hear that Mike is planing on breading Jade again in the future. Such an awesome dog for pups!

I have learned that anything can happen in the sport of dog mushing. You always have got to be on the lookout for moose or, anything else for that matter, expect the unexpected, ect. My boss Jon told me a story about one of his friends in Organ a few weeks ago having a huge standoff with some rancher's cows while he was out training his dogs with his four wheeler. I guess the whole standoff lasted about two hours. The poor guy ended up loosing about four of his dogs because some angry cattle charged his teem and trampled some of his dogs to death. I guess in the midst this whole ordeal one of the cows managed to lift up his entire gang line with all his dogs still attached, swinging and thrashing the dogs all over the place. Sheesh! And this is the day he forgot his gun. I can tell you, I would be eating beef for a long time if this ever happened to me!

Things are good for me at this time, I've got plenty of things to do, places to go, people to talk to, and most importantly, work. Next to mushing and taking care of dogs, I've got a part time job maintaining a few weather/science stations close by to where I live. It's looking like it's going to take a little more work then I had expected to keep things up and running but, that alright with me. I've got the time.

Me making sure the sensors are free of ice

Distance view of the station.

A very heavy generator I have to carry out. Next time I'll use the sled.

Me hooking up the battery chain to be charged. Aprox 8 12 volt batteries

Part of the station is run off of solar energy.

This is the data logger. All the information collected by the instruments and is stored on a card much like a SD card for your comp.

   

A week of hardships

At this time, I am sitting down with a beer at my side reflecting on this week and what I should of done better. I guess, I can't help but feel a little bit guilty about the recent drama with Jade. Jade is a very strong-willed sled dog. If it had been me in her position, I probably would of died at the mercy of my open wounds. I will be forever humble over the resilience of man best friend. 
To get to the story, It had been a long week already with dealing with the death of my boss Jon's dog Picard. Picard was an old brownish sled dog with a very good working mentality, and a great disposition. Unfortunately with his sudden illness there was not a lot I could do for him. When jaundice sets in there is a good chance that your out of luck. Though, I did not give up on trying to save his life, it just was his time.

Just when I thought everything was said and done another disaster happens. After a long day of doing my regular chores, I though my day would be finished on a rather productive note. Right when I pulled up to Mike's house I felt something just wasn't right. There was a sort of a feeling of confusion in the air. I knew at that point something was wrong. I looked to the puppy pen to see a bloodied dog covered in mud and dirt. It was Jade. I felt a feeling of disbelief when I saw her. At that moment the reality of the situation took hold. I jumped form the truck and ran right for her. Most the dogs in the pen where all covered in her blood. I picked her up and rushed her to the After Hours Clinic in Fairbanks. The guy that helped us out was really friendly and supportive but, I couldn't help but see the look of uncertainty on his face. I too was uncertain she would make it threw the night.

I sat down in the vets office while Jade wounds where being mended. I thought back to the tantrum I threw in the dog yard and was thanking myself I took my frustration out on a broken dog box instead of the culprits. I knew for sure it was the biggest tantrum I've thrown in many years. I'm a very reserved fellow but, that for some reason got the best of me. Jade is one of my most favorite dogs in Mike's yard. She is a very loving sweet dog and a very good sled dog. I couldn't let her go.

It was a very long night, I found a Supper 8 motel and had some frustration there as well. The clerk gave me a room with someone already in it. It was a very aggravating experience. After the third time trying to get the damned door open the clerk came and opened the room with his master key. That was when I heard a ladies voice yelling incoherently from 'my room'. By this time it was already about 3:30 AM. The clerk decided to upgrade my room to a suite with king sized bed. I didn't give a damn at that point, I just wanted a room to get what little sleep I was going to get, if at all. By the time I got in a room it was almost 4:00 AM. I decided to take a bath to try and get rid of the stress I was feeling. I ended up falling asleep after a really hot bath. It felt like an hour of sleep.

I was half expecting to get some bad news from the doctor on Jade's behalf. I was grateful that she was alive, it actually put a smile on my face. The doc told me if I had been one hour more, she would of most certainly died. It was a huge wight off of my back until the doctor told me she was not out of the woods yet. If she makes it to 72 hours she will be okay the doc told me. Long story shortened, she whimpered in pain for the first two days. Today she ate her first big meal! I was so happy for her.

Right now she lays down recovering on the bed I made for her. She is loving the comforts of the inside world. A friend and I removed her catheter from her front leg yesterday. She still need to have some drains taken out. I will probably do this myself tomorrow. I still need to keep an eye on her ear, it looks somewhat infected and has a acrid smell to it. All I can say right now as I look at my empty beer is, what a difficult week it has been, god, I hope I get some good karma from all this.

Happy Jade before her accident

 First night home

 Looking much better!

 Tonight's sky

   
     

Picard

Poor Picard is not doing so hot. Not the one from the USS Enterprise. One of the older sled dogs is sick, he looks really bad and, he won't come out of his dog box. I do hope he'll pull threw this. I gave him some canned chicken breast in hopes that he'll drink the water that I mixed in with the chicken chunks. No luck yet. I hate to say it but, he is getting to that age. It's never a good feeling to loose a dog, even if the dog isn't yours. I lost one under my care this summer. Simba was his name. He was a old guy and it was his time. The only thing with Simba is that I never found his body. He left to die on his own accord. I guess he wanted to find the most peaceful place to let it happen. Kind of strange; I guess it's just another lesson about life and death.
 

And so it starts...

Well here I am with another fine winter to look forward to in the interior region of Alaska near, Denali National Park. At this point of my life, I can't think of a place I'd rather be. Far from the reaches of the big cities and mayhem of everyday life. It's been over eight years, I've been bouncing back and forth in all that time. Now I have not left for the past few years. Amazingly enough, you can open your heart up here without being afraid of having it taken away, you can also open yourself up to the creativity and let the music flow. For me music is a huge part of life.

I have met the most amazing people in this part of the world. People that are now a big part of my life. I opened a gateway for now opportunities that further my experiences in this life. There will be new places I will see this winter, new experiences that I will never discount and forget. I am thankful for my life here and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the best friends in the world! I invite you into my world. I will do my best to keep a record of it and not let the deterioration of memory take its course.

If you do come across this blog, just remember, take a fresh breath of air that is free of dioxins and remember back to when...