My sister says it's annoying when I take large breaks between blogging and don't announce it, so that you check back daily and just see the same thing over and over. So this is for her! I am taking a little break for the holidays. I am excited about going to New Zealand with the family over Christmas and trying to prepare mentally to start the Master Cleanse. Other than that, life is fairly routine and I'm going to save the blogging for what I'm sure will be spectacular NZ pics! Have a great holiday, everyone! I'm enjoying all of your blogs and hope you don't take a break like me!!

yep...more moose...

I saw this momma and calf two days ago down the street from my latest petsit in the Jewel Lake area of Anchorage. I walked over to take a few pics at a safe distance. This girl was trying to walk home from school. She was very respectful and waited for them to move on, which they certainly had no intention of doing. I found it delightful, but she was a little irritated by the wait. She told me that they are regulars in the neighborhood. Finally, a mail truck drove up, and that got them moving. These are issues I never had to face walking home from school in LA.

How do you choose just one or two when you're talking about sled dog puppy pics? These are two week old pups, owned by the neighbor of a petsit in Fairbanks. The momma looks a little overwhelmed, but she's doing a great job. She really reminds me of Blue Dog.

I woke up at around 2:30 in the morning because I heard some strange sounds directly outside the bedroom window on a recent petsit in Wasilla. A huge moose was browsing on branches and leaves right outside the window. Like, I could stand there and look into her eyes and only glass was separating us. The pics didn't turn out very good, but there's no zooming or anything, she was RIGHT there. She ate to her heart's content for over an hour. The dogs freaked out a little, but realized she wasn't something they wanted to go up against, and resigned themselves to trying to get back to sleep.

A first!

I actually thought this was a sled dog trotting down the Parks Highway between Healy and Cantwell. When I realized it was a wolf, I scrambled for my camera and managed a few quick shots before it darted back into the woods. A car pulled over behind me, and we both watched to see if it would come back. The car behind me took off before me, and while passing me, the woman gave me a big smile, as if to say, "Do you believe we just saw that?!"
This was definitely an Alaskan first for me!