*#!sprung*&??

yeah, right.

spring means not having to wear mittens, or a hat, or having to start your car 10 minutes prior to departure.
this is not spring.

all you bastards in colorado, (you know who you are) quit torturing me with weather reports. quit bragging about raking out your flower beds and wearing sandals. stop trying to make me feel bad about leaving every fantastic thing in colorado.

you dont get to ski until 8:30 pm with your sunglasses on, with foot warmers and hand warmers. you dont get to wear long johns under your professional attire while at work. you dont get to put your kid to bed with the sun high in the sky.

man are you missing out.

happy spring

an alaskan update.
the sunset is now at 8:20 pm. i am seeing a sneak preview of summer and putting a 4 year old to bed- under the midnight sun. thankfully the blackout shade in his room works well.

iditarod news: the red lantern award was won by ellen halverson early this morning as her team was the last to pull into nome wrapping up the great race 13 days after it began. 58 out of 82 teams finished. as pointed out by a colorado friend, there has been a recent account of alleged canine abuse by one musher who has been disqualified. i wont go into detail because i do not know them. officials at iditarod arent commenting or writing about it. there is plenty of speculation out there on the web if you are interested. during the race i read about one lost team (dogs only) and havent found any info on whether the team was found.. also know of one dog who died ):

lance mackeys finish was pretty amazing. lance is a cancer conquerer and his race was on the heels of another huge race called the yukon quest which was run 2 weeks prior to the iditarod- an unheard of feat. lance was also the 3rd mackey to have won the race, his father dick won in 1978 and his brother rick won in 1983... all wearing number 13 and all on their 6th attempt.....the link over there to the right will take you to pics and details.

in slightly more depressing state news today, it seems state game managers here in alaska are have put a bounty on wolves in an effort to boost the "predator-control program".
goveror palin (remember her?) announced yesterday that hunters will be paid $150 cash for turning in legs of "freshly killed wolves". this is on top of the $200-$300 wolf pelts usually fetch.
the state defends the practice by saying the program promotes increases in moose population which many people living in rural alaska depend on for sustenance hunting.
did i mention that the state will be resorting to using state employees and airplanes and helicopters (as a last resort) to reach quota? now thats what i call sport! heavy sigh.

the first day of spring here brings us snow and slippery roads. after nearly 6 dry, cold weeks it seems people have forgotten how to drive on the stuff. i hear there are flowers blooming in my colorado back yard.

we headed up hatcher pass and went snowshoeing on the ridge line across the bowl from snowy independence mine on sunday and monday i headed up went skiing. the picture doesnt do it justice. here are my artic explorers.

check this out

for a truly amazing read and some insight on Yupik culture, check out tundra p.a.'s latest blog entry at: http://tundramedicinedreams.blogpot.com

thanks corey for the link clue.... duh! not too technically savvy am i??

clinic thoughts

so the evening rush at the clinic generally brings in mothers or fathers with sick children in tow. 8pm seems to be the magic time of evening after everyone is fed and ready for bed and as the dust from the day settles, that someone notices little johnny or katie is running a fever. so, they come to see me, or whomever is working the late shift.

tonites 8:40 train wreck broke my heart and then followed me all the way home.
a clearly tired and overwhelmed mom wheeled her 2 month old infant and 16 month old toddler into the clinic with big sister (all of 3 years old) bringing up the rear.

baby boy had been congested and coughing which, according to mom was making him gag, although he had not vomited- that is until he powered down several ounces of formula while sitting in the exam room.
mom got the brunt of the mess, the floor and walls taking a close second. this boy had some power behind the burst.
he was smiley and made good eye contact with me when i examined him, it seemed as though his belly felt better after his explosion. he was afebrile and had clear breath sounds, by all accounts he looked to have a cold, nothing more.

gentle questioning found mom had been putting rice cereal in baby boys formula upon the advice of a relative-although she didnt say why. he was also consuming 6 or so ounces at a time.
so at this late hour with the children howling i proceeded to teach mom;
stop the rice cereal, your baby is too little to digest this right now. feed him small amounts frequently, no more than an ounce or two at a time. make sure he sits upright for 15-20 minutes after feedings to ensure he doesnt vomit. burp him often. use the bulb syringe frequently to clear his nose.

what i wasnt prepared for was this: i asked mom, who do you have at home to help you? giant tears, red face, big muffled sobbing, "nobody. my husband is in iraq."

at the beginning of this american occupation, i lived in the blissful democratic bubble of fort collins. i had not had personal experience or contact with anyone even remotely serving the united states armed forces. my friends and colleagues were largely in disagreement with how our nation premeptively attacked a nation and now has destroyed a country, killing thousands of our people and many more innocent iraqui men women and children.
now, i work in a clinic which is a preferred provider for the military. and as far as i can see they are so short staffed, there is no one left on base to provide care. we see dozens of patients daily referred over.
i now have conversations with men and women who have spouses serving in iraq or who have recently returned. i am not shy and i ask questions. i have confirmed what i have read. soldiers who return are angry and are often described as having "a short fuse," or "having a quick temper". most, i am told, refuse counciling and there are many wives are attending instead.

sadly, i want to be uninformed, i want to go back to not knowing anyone who is terrified they will be left a widow. but, this is simplistic and unrealistic.
so i am left with this memory of this young mother, packing her children up and getting them home to put them to bed alone. i wonder how she will take them all to the grocery store and manage to hold it together as she picks out produce. i wonder if her husband will come home or if he has ever met his baby boy.

anyone know?

1. why are there different post numbers showing up on archive than is really in an archived month?... this seems to have happened after switching to this beta version of blogger where i have been now for a few months.

2. why cant i post an address within the body of a post, such as www.npr.org and have you, the reader link to it? again, this was possible in earlier posts- see august or september for example. holleh, i tried your advice, it didnt work. ):

3. who are you juneau reader? jeff will be visiting your fair city next week. i notice you stop in frequently. do you have a blog i should be checking out?

visual d.n.a

i got this from molly. you can find her at somewhat refined. she's a very funny palmer blogger, check her out sometime.
thanks molly!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

pinot noi-ahhhhhhhhhh

all is well at weeks beginning here. its a lazy "second-sunday" for me and i even managed a nap- a very rare event for me.
the family and i have just returned from a weekend in girdwood. this time i was there to attend a conference and get some "ski-m.e" or continuing medical education. how nice it was of the alaska academy to hold the conference at alyeska. its a beautiful place.

jeff and jade got some time in the pool and we all got a little time on the slopes. jaden is really getting the hang of going down the hill and man is that scary! him in his little helmet and goggles, me yelling "PIZZA, PIZZA!!", jeff yelling "FRENCH FRY, FRENCH FRY!!"
for those of you who need an explanation, we were not hungry and begging jaden to take a break, but instructing him on ski positioning. (imagine you skis in a pizza shape and then in french fry position). i am much more comfortable seeing his little helmet head over the hill when he is all pizza.

while there, we managed to hire a babysitter and have an extraordinary dinner at seven glaciers which literally teeters on the side of the mountain. check out this place here: http://www.alyeskaresort.com/page.asp?intNodeID=10903

after our shmancy dining experience with very good company, i can recommend the 2003 archery summit, pinot noir. its a deep, dark, giant pinot.
jeff typically dislikes pinots because often, they lack of body and soul and can be thin and watery.
i routinely gave the pinot speech long before paul giamatti made it popular in "sideways". in fact, i wrote that scene.

apparently since that movie, sales of pinot have increased greatly. this could be interesting to watch over time as there are only a few very specific regions (or terroirs) in the world where the grape is really grown successfully.
the pinot grape needs just the right temperature (on the cool side with a long growing season), just the right soil (preferably poor and well drained-limestone is a bonus), some sunshine and very little rain.

until recently, cultivating the pinot noir grape has been a failure just about everywhere except for a small region in burgundy, france. now, winemakers are successfully growing in several small areas including; oregon's willamette valley and washington state, the alsace region- also in france, southern germany (where the wine is called spatburgunder), in northeastern italy (where it is called pinot nero), and in switzerland.

the grape is also important to the champagne region of france where it makes sparkling wines that are white not red.

herein lies the beauty of this finicky little grape. it is typically a very thin skinned grape and not deeply pigmented. but under the right circumstances, the pinot noir grape can make one of the most delectable red wines in the world. (really, im not kidding). the very good ones tend to be supple, low in tannin with tart berry fruit and a long velvety finish.

now, once you get the bug, may i also add that red burgundy wine comes from eastern france and is thusly named because unlike american vinters (who name their wines by grape varietal), european vinters name their wines from their point of origin. red burgundy wine is in fact made from the pinot noir grape.

why not try one tonight?

the serum run

so we joined the thousands of other well-wishers, gawkers and even the proselytizing scientologists (another post, please) to see the start of the thirty-fifth annual iditarod- also known as the last great race on earth.

the day was picture perfect with blue skies and sunshine. not a lick of that terrorizing wind was present, although its back today.

the iditarod trail had its beginnings as a supply route from the coast to the interior of the state. in 1925 the tiny northwest village of nome was stricken with an epidemic of diphtheria and thus the name the "serum run" began. dog sled teams made the journey 1150 miles to nome to deliver the vaccine.

this years race has 82 active teams, 55 veteran racers, and 27 rookies. there are 70 male mushers and 12 female. although we only stayed to watch several of the 82 teams depart, here are some of the teams i will be tracking via the link posted over there on the right:

#27 deedee jonrowe- deedee is a veteran competitor and at 53 years young she is an inspiration. she is a 4 year breast cancer survivor and has had 13 top 10 finishes! in 1998 she finished second overall and her time was the 5th fastest finish in history. go deedee!! check out her pretty in pink team.



#23 bruce linton is a rookie from the east coast, most recently from vermont. his goal is to finish the race (truly a reasonable goal to me) and learn what he can from the veterans. he is a 3 time iron man contender and a type 1 diabetic. when interviewed, he stated that his goal was to show people with diabetes that living and thriving with the disease can be accomplished. you go bruce!


#45 cindy gallea is from seeley lake montana and she has been a nurse practitioner for 16 years- how could i not be excited about that?? i dont have a picture of cindy or her team but will be tracking her progress.

#19 is a favored musher from big lake, alaska. (not far from here). his name is martin buser and he moved to alaska from switzerland in 1979. he's got one mean lookin' team!! you can click on this photo below to check out his lead dogs, they mean business! its no wonder this team is in the lead this morning.



#20 is mitch seavey. he is 46 years young and won the race in 2004. he resides in my favorite town, seward. this is his 12th running of this race. he has a strong looking bunch of dogs.



so i will admit that the reality of how this race affects these dogs is troubling to me.
a month or so ago we had dinner with a former competitor and now handler at the race and i learned that the care of the dogs during the race has evolved over the years and has reached a level of professionalism that ensures the physical well being of the animals throughout the race.


each team may begin the race with 16 dogs. if at any point along the route a veterinarian feels there is a problem with a dog, that dog is then out. the musher may not add or replace that dog on his or her team. i was told that the dogs are checked at each checkpoint. it is pretty obvious that the dog team is the reason the race is run. every musher seems to look at these animals as incredible athletes and as family. they appear well loved and highly respected.

i did ask and was told that yes, every year dogs do die. wow. this is pretty hard to hear. it was pointed out that anytime you get 1500 dogs together there is the opportunity for injury.

so i guess my point here is that my family and i are experiencing an alaskan tradition. i am not trying to promote or defend the running of the race, instead i am remaining open to all that alaska has to offer.
this magnificent bald eagle was spotted on our ride home.

iditarod madness!!!

GO, DOG. GO!
(i did not take this picture. it is a stock photo. please do not sue me.)

we are finishing some raspberry pancakes and watching the ceremonial start of the last great race on the mindless box. its a beautiful sunshiny day in anchorage. we are planning to descend on the little town of willow (population 1300) along with approximately 15,000 others to watch the actual start tomorrow.
people are pretty pumped up about this stuff.

the official iditarod website is pretty informative if you care to peek in: www.iditarod.com
there is a nice interactive map which shows the route and tells a bit the mushers, the dogs and about each checkpoint.

i'll post some photos of the real deal tomorrow. until then j and i are handcrafting a sign inspired by his favorite book. "GO, DOG. GO!"