Pupsickle

I’m feeling lazy, so instead of actually writing a meaninful post, I’m posting a picture of the porcupine that I saw while driving home from Anchorage last week. He was just sitting there, in the bar ditch on the side of the road in Denali Park.

Of course, when I got out of the car and started snapping pictures of him he puffed up. I was so close that I could hear his little unhappy snorts. It was neat. I just love their shape. They have a surprisingly cute, endearing face for such an un-cuddly animal.

Post Tags: Alaska, Alaskan, wildlife, Pupsickle

I’m feeling lazy, so instead of actually writing a meaninful post, I’m posting a picture of the porcupine that I saw while driving home from Anchorage last week. He was just sitting there, in the bar ditch on the side of the road in Denali Park.

Of course, when I got out of the car and started snapping pictures of him he puffed up. I was so close that I could hear his little unhappy snorts. It was neat. I just love their shape. They have a surprisingly cute, endearing face for such an un-cuddly animal.

Post Tags: Alaska, Alaskan, wildlife, Pupsickle

I’m feeling lazy, so instead of actually writing a meaninful post, I’m posting a picture of the porcupine that I saw while driving home from Anchorage last week. He was just sitting there, in the bar ditch on the side of the road in Denali Park.

Of course, when I got out of the car and started snapping pictures of him he puffed up. I was so close that I could hear his little unhappy snorts. It was neat. I just love their shape. They have a surprisingly cute, endearing face for such an un-cuddly animal.

Post Tags: Alaska, Alaskan, wildlife, Pupsickle

We spent the weekend ferrying my sister around (my parents were out of town, and she can’t drive yet) and spending time at the local dog show, with a bit of curling up around my heating pad thrown in, too. I have posted more about our first dog show experience here, on the other new blog that we’ve started to chronicle our lives with miniature poodles, Frozen Paws.

I got next to nothing done on my thesis, and I have a ton of extra stuff to do this week. My Mom ended up having to have a skin graft done because, while successful, the surgery to remove the skin cancer on her head ended up requiring the removal of a log more than they’d originally thought. So she’s not able to return until the end of this week, meaning that we’re still driving my sister the 15 miles each way to and from her first job. She’s been wonderful about being ready on time and telling us exactly when she needs to be picked up or dropped off, so that has made the whole process easier. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that I’ll be very happy when my Mom gets home, for ever so many reasons. I can’t wait to hug her and tell her that I’m thrilled that they were able to remove the margins and that she doesn’t have to do chemo or radiation. Hooray for the miracles that modern medicine can work!

We spent the weekend ferrying my sister around (my parents were out of town, and she can’t drive yet) and spending time at the local dog show, with a bit of curling up around my heating pad thrown in, too. I have posted more about our first dog show experience here, on the other new blog that we’ve started to chronicle our lives with miniature poodles, Frozen Paws.

I got next to nothing done on my thesis, and I have a ton of extra stuff to do this week. My Mom ended up having to have a skin graft done because, while successful, the surgery to remove the skin cancer on her head ended up requiring the removal of a log more than they’d originally thought. So she’s not able to return until the end of this week, meaning that we’re still driving my sister the 15 miles each way to and from her first job. She’s been wonderful about being ready on time and telling us exactly when she needs to be picked up or dropped off, so that has made the whole process easier. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that I’ll be very happy when my Mom gets home, for ever so many reasons. I can’t wait to hug her and tell her that I’m thrilled that they were able to remove the margins and that she doesn’t have to do chemo or radiation. Hooray for the miracles that modern medicine can work!

We spent the weekend ferrying my sister around (my parents were out of town, and she can’t drive yet) and spending time at the local dog show, with a bit of curling up around my heating pad thrown in, too. I have posted more about our first dog show experience here, on the other new blog that we’ve started to chronicle our lives with miniature poodles, Frozen Paws.

I got next to nothing done on my thesis, and I have a ton of extra stuff to do this week. My Mom ended up having to have a skin graft done because, while successful, the surgery to remove the skin cancer on her head ended up requiring the removal of a log more than they’d originally thought. So she’s not able to return until the end of this week, meaning that we’re still driving my sister the 15 miles each way to and from her first job. She’s been wonderful about being ready on time and telling us exactly when she needs to be picked up or dropped off, so that has made the whole process easier. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that I’ll be very happy when my Mom gets home, for ever so many reasons. I can’t wait to hug her and tell her that I’m thrilled that they were able to remove the margins and that she doesn’t have to do chemo or radiation. Hooray for the miracles that modern medicine can work!

Ryder made the flight out of Arkansas by the skin of his teeth yesterday, and arrived into Anchorage last night at around 12am. My drive to Anchorage to pick him up went well, if you exclude the hours lost sitting waiting in line while road construction blocked the highway. It made me especially nervous when I noticed that they were doing structural welding while I was driving over not ONE but TWO bridges. *sigh* I’d actually figured there would be more construction, which is why I left Fairbanks so early.

I arrived in Anchorage safe and sound and six hours early. I went to my favorite used bookstore and bought a bunch of books, ate dinner at Arby’s (Yep, Kim, Beef’n'Cheddar), and then I tried to take a nap in the car while waiting for Ryder to arrive. No such luck. So I read one of my new books, and the time passed sloooooooooowly.

The plane actually landed a few minutes early, but it still felt like it took forever to get in. I paced the floors while the nice Delta agent assured me that Ryder was fine, and that he’d be there shortly. When Ryder finally arrived, they made him sit on the other side of the wall, plaintively yelping, while the man tried to make the credit card machine work. Finally, they let me see him, and I signed the paperwork with him in my arms. My beautiful, sweet, happy boy strolled out of his crate as though the 15 hour journey was no big deal.

He did, however, crawl into my lap when I took him outside to potty on the lawn, and did NOT want to go anywhere near the dreaded crate. Then we went to the hotel and slept before hitting the road early this morning. Poor boy, I made him ride in the crate all the way back to Fairbanks this morning because it really is much safer than leaving him loose in the car. Not happy about spending another moment cooped inside of it, he let me know he was unhappy by ‘talking’ to me most of the way home. “Ah-ROO-roo-roo” indeed! We stopped for a nap at the Denali viewing area south of Cantwell on the way home, and took a quick hike up the side of the hill there. Ryder walked on the leash like a pro the whole way, even though his experience on a leash hasn’t been too extensive yet. The view of the mountain was amazing.

We made it back to Fairbanks this afternoon, and I introduced Bobby to Ryder. They’re doing alright, and although there’s a bit of a power struggle going on, Bobby seems to be conceding the role of alpha to Ryder. When Ian arrived home, he was inundated with kisses and spent lots of time on his favorite chair snuggling with both poodles.

Thus, his name is Impulse Midnight Glory, and his ‘call name’ is Ryder. In my family we’ve always called the halo that you sometimes see around the sun a sundog or a glory, rather indiscriminately. (Come to find out, it’s only supposed to be called a glory if you view it from above, like looking down at a cloud with a halo from an airplane) I liked the idea of incorporating the midnight sun into his name without actually naming him after it, even though the actual atmospheric term glory doesn’t mean what I grew up thinking that it did. Gah. Since he’s such a gorgeous inky color, midnight seemed to fit. While trying to decide on a call name, Ian reminded me that one of his all time favorite songs is the Allman Brothers’ Midnight Rider, and we decided on Ryder as a call name. Spelled that way for no reason, much like these people decided to name their children without the aid of a baby name book. And here’s where I reply to my MIL’s comment (and probably preempt umpteen questions) – it had nothing to do with Wynona Ryder. Really. Thus, his name is Impulse Midnight Glory, and his ‘call name’ is Ryder.

There was a halo around the sun for the entire drive down. They aren’t that rare, but usually they’re just a fleeting thing, much like a rainbow. This one followed me the entire way, all 36o miles. It made me feel like Ryder was meant to come into our lives. For more information about what a glory really is, go here. And below is a picture of the sundog/glory/halo that I followed all the way to Anchorage, where it disappeared as soon as I reached the Delta building.

Exhausted after his grueling cross-continent trek, he’s sleeping at my feet while I write this post. What a handsome, prancing, smart-as-a-whip new furbaby we have. And Belinda is right – he moves like he’s floating on air. He’s just amazing. Ian made a blog to chronicle the adventures of our two poodles in the heart of Alaska called Frozen Paws while waiting for the plane to arrive. Maybe this will be the impetus he’s needed to start blogging!

Ryder made the flight out of Arkansas by the skin of his teeth yesterday, and arrived into Anchorage last night at around 12am. My drive to Anchorage to pick him up went well, if you exclude the hours lost sitting waiting in line while road construction blocked the highway. It made me especially nervous when I noticed that they were doing structural welding while I was driving over not ONE but TWO bridges. *sigh* I’d actually figured there would be more construction, which is why I left Fairbanks so early.

I arrived in Anchorage safe and sound and six hours early. I went to my favorite used bookstore and bought a bunch of books, ate dinner at Arby’s (Yep, Kim, Beef’n'Cheddar), and then I tried to take a nap in the car while waiting for Ryder to arrive. No such luck. So I read one of my new books, and the time passed sloooooooooowly.

The plane actually landed a few minutes early, but it still felt like it took forever to get in. I paced the floors while the nice Delta agent assured me that Ryder was fine, and that he’d be there shortly. When Ryder finally arrived, they made him sit on the other side of the wall, plaintively yelping, while the man tried to make the credit card machine work. Finally, they let me see him, and I signed the paperwork with him in my arms. My beautiful, sweet, happy boy strolled out of his crate as though the 15 hour journey was no big deal.

He did, however, crawl into my lap when I took him outside to potty on the lawn, and did NOT want to go anywhere near the dreaded crate. Then we went to the hotel and slept before hitting the road early this morning. Poor boy, I made him ride in the crate all the way back to Fairbanks this morning because it really is much safer than leaving him loose in the car. Not happy about spending another moment cooped inside of it, he let me know he was unhappy by ‘talking’ to me most of the way home. “Ah-ROO-roo-roo” indeed! We stopped for a nap at the Denali viewing area south of Cantwell on the way home, and took a quick hike up the side of the hill there. Ryder walked on the leash like a pro the whole way, even though his experience on a leash hasn’t been too extensive yet. The view of the mountain was amazing.

We made it back to Fairbanks this afternoon, and I introduced Bobby to Ryder. They’re doing alright, and although there’s a bit of a power struggle going on, Bobby seems to be conceding the role of alpha to Ryder. When Ian arrived home, he was inundated with kisses and spent lots of time on his favorite chair snuggling with both poodles.

Thus, his name is Impulse Midnight Glory, and his ‘call name’ is Ryder. In my family we’ve always called the halo that you sometimes see around the sun a sundog or a glory, rather indiscriminately. (Come to find out, it’s only supposed to be called a glory if you view it from above, like looking down at a cloud with a halo from an airplane) I liked the idea of incorporating the midnight sun into his name without actually naming him after it, even though the actual atmospheric term glory doesn’t mean what I grew up thinking that it did. Gah. Since he’s such a gorgeous inky color, midnight seemed to fit. While trying to decide on a call name, Ian reminded me that one of his all time favorite songs is the Allman Brothers’ Midnight Rider, and we decided on Ryder as a call name. Spelled that way for no reason, much like these people decided to name their children without the aid of a baby name book. And here’s where I reply to my MIL’s comment (and probably preempt umpteen questions) – it had nothing to do with Wynona Ryder. Really. Thus, his name is Impulse Midnight Glory, and his ‘call name’ is Ryder.

There was a halo around the sun for the entire drive down. They aren’t that rare, but usually they’re just a fleeting thing, much like a rainbow. This one followed me the entire way, all 36o miles. It made me feel like Ryder was meant to come into our lives. For more information about what a glory really is, go here. And below is a picture of the sundog/glory/halo that I followed all the way to Anchorage, where it disappeared as soon as I reached the Delta building.

Exhausted after his grueling cross-continent trek, he’s sleeping at my feet while I write this post. What a handsome, prancing, smart-as-a-whip new furbaby we have. And Belinda is right – he moves like he’s floating on air. He’s just amazing. Ian made a blog to chronicle the adventures of our two poodles in the heart of Alaska called Frozen Paws while waiting for the plane to arrive. Maybe this will be the impetus he’s needed to start blogging!

Ryder made the flight out of Arkansas by the skin of his teeth yesterday, and arrived into Anchorage last night at around 12am. My drive to Anchorage to pick him up went well, if you exclude the hours lost sitting waiting in line while road construction blocked the highway. It made me especially nervous when I noticed that they were doing structural welding while I was driving over not ONE but TWO bridges. *sigh* I’d actually figured there would be more construction, which is why I left Fairbanks so early.

I arrived in Anchorage safe and sound and six hours early. I went to my favorite used bookstore and bought a bunch of books, ate dinner at Arby’s (Yep, Kim, Beef’n'Cheddar), and then I tried to take a nap in the car while waiting for Ryder to arrive. No such luck. So I read one of my new books, and the time passed sloooooooooowly.

The plane actually landed a few minutes early, but it still felt like it took forever to get in. I paced the floors while the nice Delta agent assured me that Ryder was fine, and that he’d be there shortly. When Ryder finally arrived, they made him sit on the other side of the wall, plaintively yelping, while the man tried to make the credit card machine work. Finally, they let me see him, and I signed the paperwork with him in my arms. My beautiful, sweet, happy boy strolled out of his crate as though the 15 hour journey was no big deal.

He did, however, crawl into my lap when I took him outside to potty on the lawn, and did NOT want to go anywhere near the dreaded crate. Then we went to the hotel and slept before hitting the road early this morning. Poor boy, I made him ride in the crate all the way back to Fairbanks this morning because it really is much safer than leaving him loose in the car. Not happy about spending another moment cooped inside of it, he let me know he was unhappy by ‘talking’ to me most of the way home. “Ah-ROO-roo-roo” indeed! We stopped for a nap at the Denali viewing area south of Cantwell on the way home, and took a quick hike up the side of the hill there. Ryder walked on the leash like a pro the whole way, even though his experience on a leash hasn’t been too extensive yet. The view of the mountain was amazing.

We made it back to Fairbanks this afternoon, and I introduced Bobby to Ryder. They’re doing alright, and although there’s a bit of a power struggle going on, Bobby seems to be conceding the role of alpha to Ryder. When Ian arrived home, he was inundated with kisses and spent lots of time on his favorite chair snuggling with both poodles.

Thus, his name is Impulse Midnight Glory, and his ‘call name’ is Ryder. In my family we’ve always called the halo that you sometimes see around the sun a sundog or a glory, rather indiscriminately. (Come to find out, it’s only supposed to be called a glory if you view it from above, like looking down at a cloud with a halo from an airplane) I liked the idea of incorporating the midnight sun into his name without actually naming him after it, even though the actual atmospheric term glory doesn’t mean what I grew up thinking that it did. Gah. Since he’s such a gorgeous inky color, midnight seemed to fit. While trying to decide on a call name, Ian reminded me that one of his all time favorite songs is the Allman Brothers’ Midnight Rider, and we decided on Ryder as a call name. Spelled that way for no reason, much like these people decided to name their children without the aid of a baby name book. And here’s where I reply to my MIL’s comment (and probably preempt umpteen questions) – it had nothing to do with Wynona Ryder. Really. Thus, his name is Impulse Midnight Glory, and his ‘call name’ is Ryder.

There was a halo around the sun for the entire drive down. They aren’t that rare, but usually they’re just a fleeting thing, much like a rainbow. This one followed me the entire way, all 36o miles. It made me feel like Ryder was meant to come into our lives. For more information about what a glory really is, go here. And below is a picture of the sundog/glory/halo that I followed all the way to Anchorage, where it disappeared as soon as I reached the Delta building.

Exhausted after his grueling cross-continent trek, he’s sleeping at my feet while I write this post. What a handsome, prancing, smart-as-a-whip new furbaby we have. And Belinda is right – he moves like he’s floating on air. He’s just amazing. Ian made a blog to chronicle the adventures of our two poodles in the heart of Alaska called Frozen Paws while waiting for the plane to arrive. Maybe this will be the impetus he’s needed to start blogging!

Our new puppy has arrived. He came trotting out of his crate happy and beautiful and he prances like he’s a superstar. Complete details tomorrow.