More Pet Stories..

Marty and I went camping this last weekend in Ninilchik with Autumn, Stacie, Jarrett, Amber and their boys. We dug up razor clams on Saturday which was so much fun. Except poor Stacie overdosing on marshmallows Saturday night the entire weekend was a blast. I'm so glad they invited us along.

On Sunday we stopped in Soldotna and went to church. Tony Cloud had a great lesson reminding us how important it is to read Gods word.

Not long after we got on the road we came upon a sheep dog mix running down one of the busiest highways in Alaska. It crossed the road a few times so we immediately tried to call it over to us. The dog wanted nothing to do with us and kept running doing anything to avoid us. After several attempts at calling it and trying to deter it from the road it finally darted off into a swamp and we lost site of it. We even had a trooper join in and try to help out. I really wanted to follow it home and speak with the owner but at least it got away from the highway.

So we get back on the road and not 15 miles down the road in Sterling on the 5 lane highway yet another dog comes darting out into the road. Not only did we nearly hit it but 2 other cars as well. We stopped just before we hit it and the dog stayed in front of our car. I got out and tried to call it over but the little dog just ran under our car to the other side. I continued in trying to call it but it just ran. I followed the dog determined to find it's owner, over to a church. It ran right up to the front door and looking inside as if it knew it's owner was inside. So instead of trying to get the dog I figured I'd go inside and see who I could find. The dog went under a ford truck parked near the door and stayed put. The church was still in session, the person I spoke with wouldn't make an announcement but instead came outside to help. I wish he would have just made a quick announcement. He decided his dog would be helpful in getting this little dog to come, I knew it wasn't gonna work. I went back to the dog with treats Marty found and was trying when something spooked the dog from behind it (I think the other guy with his dog). Yet again this little dog tore past me, across the parking lot and into the middle of the 5 lane hwy yet again. It just stood out in the center lane, so I ran after it shooing it out of the road. Thankfully nobody was driving by at that moment. We followed it home. I'm sure it was home because the dog once in the driveway had enough courage to stand it's ground instead of running. Nobody was home so I let the dog into the pet door, jammed it closed and left a note asking them to be more responsible in the future.

So you'd think this would be it wouldn't you? 3 Dog stories in a month! I usually end up finding 2 or 3 in a year!

This is not the end though. On Tuesday Marty and I were driving up Lucille when I see a horse a mile up the road. It's coming straight towards us and had a line of traffic behind it. A vehicle was driving along next to it, trying to get it to stop. I am sure it was doing around 25-30 miles an hour in speed down the pavement totally freaked out. So I holler at Marty to stop and I jumped out ran out in front of the horse and started waving my arms frantically saying Whoa! It actually worked, I got the horse to stop and Marty brought me a dog leash. The horse had NO halter on so this was all we had to hold it. I then hear the person who had been driving next to it and see it's our neighbor. She has 4 horses and her and her daughter are very experienced with them. They rescue animals a lot so I assumed this was maybe a new rescue of theirs. I gave the horse lead over to the daughter and she began trying to make the leash into a halter but something spooked the horse, it reared and the girl was almost hit in the head with a hoof. She let go of the leash, it fell off the horse, and the horse took off again. It turns out this was not our neighbors horse, like us she was just out on an errand and came upon a loose horse.

So we turned around and followed it hoping to get another shot at catching it. I called 911 and reported it as it was headed for the 5 lane parks hwy and was sure to be hit. Just before the hwy it turned off onto a dead end so I let dispatch know and got off the phone and followed the horse on foot through someones front and back yard and into a graveyard. It was going to fast to keep up on foot. We saw a police officer and started talking to him when he got another call, the horse was 5 miles down the road already!! We all drove over and another police officer had caught it. The owner was contacted because a neighbor had seen the horse get out and followed it the whole way. The poor horse was a beautiful Tennessee Walking horse, had gotten a minor cut on its back leg and had gone lame from an over 6 mile dead run on pavement. It was heart breaking. When the owner finally got there 5 of us and the officer were still there. Everyone was very nice to the owner, we were all just so glad the horse was not hit and was going home to recover. The officer pointed out the cut and she was glad he did. I then told her just before the horse was caught he looked like he had gone lame with such a bad limp. I said it in a very friendly way and all she did was glare, turn her back and ignore me. Nobody was within 10 feet of the horse so we wouldn't spook it more but she took the horse and walked even further away to make calls for someone to come help her with a trailer or a saddle to ride it all the way home. She never said thank you to one person except the police officer. If it wasn't for all the people standing there she wouldn't have an alive horse. She had no idea what had taken place and never asked. She didn't even thank her neighbor.

It turned out to be the second time that day the horse had gotten out. And strange enough the second time that particular police officer had caught it.

FRUSTRATING

Yet Another reminder to take good care of your pets.

Camping

With summer finally getting here Marty and I are starting to think about good camp spots we can hit during his off time.

I just called the Kenia Peninsula Borough office in Soldotna (714-2200) and found out they have maps that have a couple trecherous 4x4 trails we use to go out on in high school and one other in Ninilchik I've never been too. Anyone can stop by their office on Binkley street and pick up a map for $3.

"The Watermelon Trail" just off of Ohlson Mountain Road
"The North Fork Trail" aka "North Fork Hills Trail" out of Anchor Point
And "The Ninilchik Dome Trail" out of Ninilchik I guess.

There use to be a privately owned cabin way out on the north fork trail I'd love to find again. The lady who owned it was never there but welcomed anyone the use of it, as long as they left it in good condition and respected the place. The area was referred to as "Blueberry Hill" It was really a neat cabin and a great spot to spend a few days. There were several other old homestead cabins out there that hadn't been lived in, in decades too. I'm hoping the map will give me a better idea how to find the place again so we can go out there sometime this summer. The only thing I remember was that the trail (over 14 miles long) started in the village of Nikolaevsk went for miles, passing the Christian Community Church kids camp, at which point the trail got much worse for miles and miles until we finally arrived. I'm not sure I could find it again.

Another place I want to go is Valdez. Fishtaxi has been gracious enough to offer advise on places to see and after reading her blog for the last few years I really want to see a few things she's posted about.

Old Richardson Hwy - She first did this post back in July, then this one in September of 2006. It's an old Highway built back in 1957 no longer used or maintained. Seems like a super fun place to camp, or at least explore. These are her pictures from those posts...






I'd also love to see the town of Valdez, have lunch with Fishtaxi, check out the harbor, boatyard, and old town. This place, this place, and this place all look like good spots to go see too. Any other idea's?

Oh while I was looking to find the pictures above I ran across this post I haven't heard anything about in ages, how do those willows look now Fishtaxi? I keep meaning to do that with some of my trees but keep forgetting.

Anyway, Valdez and Blueberry Hill, those are the places I'd love to go so far. I'm thinking a trip across the bay would be fun too. Do any of you have some great places you suggest?

Responsible Pet Ownership...

Meet "Bear", a loving and attentive Weimaraner/lab mix. Bear spent the weekend with us after we found him out on the highway. I really want to tell you the story but it's really long and not nice of me to publicly slam his owner, soooo....

Let me just take this opportunity to remind everyone of an ideal setup in kind and responsible pet ownership...

• Microchips are fantastic and inexpensive - I think around $25 nowdays
• A Collar that they can't get out of...
  
• Some people worry that if the dog chain or cable gets bound up the pet could be strangled wearing a choke chain or a collar that isn't loose enough to get out of, but leaving them unattended on a chain while your not home is just not the safest of options. Leave them in the house, garage, kennel, or in a fenced in yard which are all safer options. They could still get out but not strangled, and they are protected from other stray/wild animals this way too. - and just to clarify I don't have anything against using a chain from time to time while pet owners are home because if a dog is in trouble they'll make enough noise for you to come to their aid.
  
• Dog tags - with the dogs name and owners contact numbers should be on every dog, even with microchips, and even if they don't run away. It's better to be over cautious and they only cost around $5.00. You can get them made instantly at Walmart, Petzoo, Fred Meyers, or plenty of other stores selling pet supplies. (Bear was found after hours with only a license tag on. My only option was let him go, and possibly be hit - or bring him home for the night. Not everyone would have had the option to bring him home.)
  
• Licensing tags - Required in the Mat-su Valley but not required in all boroughs or towns. Should be on their collar if ya have one.
  
• Rabies tags - again, should be on the collar, not in the file box.
• Dog Obedience classes - Your pet does NOT own you, YOU OWN IT! If your not able to control your animal don't give in. EVERY animal can be trained in the time you should already be spending with it. If you can't afford training, let me know and I'll send you some great stuff so you can get started at home.
  
• Spay/Neuter your pets!!! I know it's expensive but if you can't afford it your not ready to own a pet yet.
  

We think of our pets as part of the family. We just don't think a dog should be allowed to roam as it pleases, ESPECIALLY one than isn't fixed; and life tied to a chain can be a lonely life.

Now go give your pet some luv...

More spring cleaning.

I spent a few more hours this afternoon out in the yard. There are too many leaves to mix into the compost pile so I just decided to burn some. Wood ash is great for a compost pile anyway. It was a little windy so I kept the fire smothered and the hose near by and it went fine.

I still have a really long way to go though haha..

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These picture are from Seattle. There are so many great old buildings everywhere. The crazy part is you don't even have to be in a rich neighborhood to find an old treasure.


This house was next to a Fred Meyers grocery.


The brick building on the right is the Fred Meyers building.



This was at the back of Freddys parking lot.


I've never been anywhere with cable cars - or in Seattle's case, cable buses. Theres just a mosh of wire mess everywhere to get those things around. Rocky kept joking about earthquakes bringing those things down and shocking the life out of us. haha

Yard Work

I started to rake my yard yesterday. Man I have sooooo far to go still.

I worked for about an hour more after I took this shot yesterday. It took me longer that it takes most people because I'm mixing all these leaves into my compost pile as I go. The compost pile rocks for filling in dips in the yard (which are everywhere), dirt for planting, and things like that. Much cheaper than buying dirt for the same purposes.

As much work as it is, I am super jazzed to be able to hang out side after the long winter. I love working in the yard too, so this IS a blessing! Now if only the brown and dead grass would turn green a little quicker!

Anyway, I still have to rake every inch of the rest of it. I feel like it's gonna take forever! haha








Pete is ecstatic about all this work.