happy august!

Collected some fireweed blossoms tonight to make jelly with. Not an easy task with two dogs romping around your feet, but more fun that way. I found some ripe blueberries last weekend by the pond; I'm thinking of taking a trip up to Hatcher's to see if I can find some more growing along the mountain side.  I might walk the Craigie Creek Trail up to Dogsled Pass. I love the Talkeetna Mountains and love being able to access them by foot or dog team right out the backdoor. I came back from Norway feeling so privileged that our kennel is located in the place that it is. We have trails for fall training right from the dogyard, and unlimited access to the backcounty in winter. Many mushers in Norway are hemmed in by roads and neighbors, and have to drive many kilometers everyday just to train, sometimes even after snowfall. Ugh. I've always known we are lucky in our location, but now I'm downright thankful that my grandparents had the foresight to move out and away from Anchorage in the '60s.  

I had a big disappointment yesterday-- the printer made a mistake on the t-shirts, so they have to be reordered and redone and it will be another week or two before they are ready :(  I do have some stickers and totes on the way--hopefully they turn out better!  So, still no merchandise. On a happier note, I'm excited to head back to Talkeetna this Monday. I'm going to host a "Meet the Musher" event at Dave Totten's Wildlife North Art booth at the Talkeetna Artisans Open Air Market. So a big THANK YOU to the Denali Arts Council for allowing me to take over Dave's booth for a day! I plan on being there every Monday until the end of the season, talking with tourists, selling my merchandise, Dave's wonderful pastels, and hopefully drumming up some support for my Iditarod run. If you plan to be in Talkeena during a Monday this month, please stop by and say hi! The Artisans Open Air Market features Alaskan-made art and handicrafts, sold directly to the public by the artists themselves. It's rare to find a venue that features exclusively Made-in-Alaska products and I'm happy to support it!

Building doghouses at work.

Delicious & such beautiful cans.

Harvesting fireweed.

My helper, Robber.

Going to make fireweed jelly.

These can be dried and used for cake decoration too.

Mom's 1986 Iditarod Brochure.

Lazy evening at Howling Dog Farm.