Happy Birthday Dave!!

Today is Dave's 9th birthday!  Last year, both he and Duncan were gypped (I had to look up how to spell that) out of birthday celebrations (I was busy packing this time last year so Dave missed out and I was on a plane to CO this past December on Duncan's birthday).  In the past, they have each received a 'store' bought birthday cake from the local pet bakery, but that gets a little spendy and there are an abundance of recipes available on-line, so this year, I decided Dave would get a home-made cake!

 Happy Birthday Dave!!  :)

 They both exercised self-control for these photo ops (taken last night)...and were rewarded with cake 'samples' from the pieces carved out of the sides to make the bone shaped cake...

Peanut Butter Carrot Cake for Pooches:
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp. of baking soda
1/4 cup of natural peanut butter
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/3 cup of honey
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350* F.  Grease an 8x4" loaf pan.  Mix together the flour and baking soda.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until everything is well-combined.  Pour into pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  "Frost" cake with peanut butter if desired.

Colorado Visitors

When I told people I was moving to Alaska, many people expressed interest in coming up for a visit, but I know it's not the easiest (or inexpensive) place to get so I didn't expect to have many people follow through on their wishes.  However about 10 minutes after getting off the phone with my friend Denise, she called me back and said, "We're tentatively planning on June 2012."

And here they are...

Brad, Damion, Denise & Joleigh

We kept it low key the first day since they were short on sleep after a long, late night flight and early morning arrival - downtown Anchorage has an outdoor market on the weekends which is always fun to wander through.  And the following day we went for a hike to Thunderbird Falls (where I'd visited last fall) and then to a Reindeer Farm in Palmer, AK.

Joleigh

 The reindeer farm also had elk who liked to eat the tall grass around the farm

 they weren't exactly shy...

 many of the reindeer (caribou) had new babies...

The farm was in a beautiful valley, the mountains in the background reminded me of being in Austria or Switzerland...

 heavy sets of antlers

 more babies

 they also had a bison on the farm...

 as well as a moose...the bison and the moose are buddies

We contemplated doing another hike, but decided to just explore the area a little and see what we could see...there were a lot of 4 wheelers along the beach along the Knik River area...

 D&D came along for the hike and the ride, and enjoyed exploring the riverbeds as well...

 nothing like some good old fashioned rock throwing, right?

 Dave quickly plopped down and got comfortable, rocks and all...

 Duncan had a great time too

Joleigh & Damion

 naptime

 we saw a lot of signs that were used for target practice and were amused by the signs prohibiting firearms riddled with holes...

They left Anchorage Monday morning to do some exploring on their own down to Seward and Homer and then we met back up at the week for part 2 of our adventure...

May Updates

A lot of these updates were shared on Facebook but for those that are not on Facebook, I'll do some quick updates here...

- I felt my first earthquake - measured 4.7 on the Richter scale - there was a loud rumbling sound and then the house shook back and forth a few times - I had just woken up and felt the bed shake back and forth a little - at first I thought it was the wind, but then realized it was an earthquake...no damage was done - kind of a cool experience!

- The contractor working on the house called me a few weekends ago to report a mama bear (black bear) and 3 cubs were on the back deck...and one of the cubs was attempting to climb a tree that grows up out of the deck...I thought they'd be long gone by the time I returned home later that day, but I did catch a glimpse of the mama and one of the cubs from a distance off one of the neighboring roads...the cubs were TINY.

- Then just last week, the contractor called for me to come downstairs and 'see the bear'...we saw this little guy running through the trees/shrubs...but no sign of his mama or any siblings.  I also read an article last night about a neighboring community that has been advised to be on the look out for up to 4 brown bears (grizzlies) that have been reported in the neighborhood.  They killed a homeowner's llama and have been attracted by trash left out...it's a good reminder to be mindful when out and about for sure!

- We'll be at our peak soon for # of daylight hours...we're at approximately 19 hours right now...the sunset is supposed to be 11:30pm tonight.  I'm sitting out on the deck right now, approximately 8:30pm with the sun still shining high in the sky...a beautiful night!

- Am seeing more and more small planes flying every day - Dave appears to think they are some kind of bird and barks at them.

- I also saw my first porcupine driving home one evening - it was attempting to cross a busy street but stopped, raised the quills on his back and turned around when he found  himself in the path of a cars headlights.

- And finally, saw my first owl as well - it perched up in the tree one night a few weeks ago, I think it was trying to decide if the dogs were worth pursuing for dinner...but considering their recent vet visit, I think it would have been a challenge for the owl to haul either one of them away as Duncan is 30 lbs and Dave is 34 lbs...guess I wasn't the only one that filled out over the winter! :)

Wanderlust

Remodeling projects have been going on in the house since shortly after the holidays.  Dave, the contractor has been here almost every day working hard on the many projects on his to do list.  Other contractors have been in and out as well, so the dogs have had more opportunities to be outside 'exploring.'  Yesterday the following scenario took place:

My cell phone rings (unknown Anchorage phone #)...
Me: "Hello?"
Unknown Alaskan: "Do you own Dave?"
Me: (think to myself...well Dave is WORKING at the house but I wouldn't say I 'own' him)... Say out loud.. 'Um...'
Unknown Alaskan: "I mean do you own a dog named Dave?"
Me: (lightbulb goes ON) Say, "oh, YES, yes I do..."
Unknown Alaskan: "Well, he's sitting on my porch..."

The little turd decided to go on his own little jaunt down the road to the house at the end of the street...I told the nice 'neighbor' I would be right there and proceeded to drive down the road to get him...when I arrived at her home, he was happily following her back and forth as she unloaded groceries from her car.  When he saw me, he came strolling over with his tail wagging like this is something he does every day.  He has been known to wander but never this far, so as of now, his 'roaming' privileges are revoked indefinitely.

But at least I know his new dog tag works! :)