Keeping busy as winter winds down...

It's March, and all over the country, people are experiencing signs of spring. We are, too, but not like a Southern springtime. The temperatures are getting a bit warmer with highs in the upper 30s or low 40s. The snow melts during the day and freezes back up again during the night, giving us a good bit of ice that doesn't seem to be "right" for the long, mostly sunny days we've been having. There's still a generous amount of snow on the ground, but less new snow is falling, and that makes me happy. My brain still expects there to be green grass and daffodils, like back in Texas, and it seems odd to not have those things yet.

But there's still so much beauty around us. Remember this picture of Mt. Spurr from the Swanson River Bridge that Jim took back in September?

Here's that same view again, except it was taken last week on a bright wintery day:

Little Sweetie has also had his first taste of Alaskan snow. We drove around the storage unit parking lot to make sure everything was still working properly in the cold.

I've been working with fur since taking a fur sewing class with a local skin sewing instructor, and am working with another fur sewer to get her patterns published. I'm ghost writing the instructions. She also lets me do some of the tedious work for her in exchange for fur, which is nice, because fur can be pretty expensive. So far I've got three and a half hats finished, and a pair of slippers that I expect to finish tonight. Next up will be a pair of beaver mittens for Jim.

The dogs are doing well. Belle is still Daddy's girl and doesn't let him out of her sight much. She and Moya each have new pulling harnesses, and from what I've been reading, Moya should be old enough to learn to pull for real soon. We're not sure how serious we'll be with that, but she sure does love it.

Moya's started obedience school and has the teachers convinced she's a prodigy. She really is pretty smart, but if she doesn't want to obey, there's no way she's going to. She's the tallest puppy in her class, and her favorite part of school is recess! Six puppies having a free-for-all for ten or fifteen minutes before going home.

Tate has had a birthday. She's thirteen years old! Her health is deteriorating, but she's generally in a good mood and isn't letting life get her down. She survived to make the trip here and become a real Alaska dog, and we're proud of her for it.

Hm, it seems like there's something else big happening soon... What could it be?  Oh, I remember!

JAMES IS COMING HOME!!!

He'll be here the day after tomorrow for Easter break, and will be with us for eight days before heading back to college. We'll get to have him with us for Jim's birthday, too. I've been without him for a couple months now and I am certainly ready to have him back for a while.