Pictures from Montezuma

Here are a few of the many photographs that I took while out birding on Thursday at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and the Montezuma Audubon Center.

I like the look of cattails and phragmites flower heads in early spring before they begin to be torn apart by age and birds looking for nesting material. The cattails in particular remind me of the old fashioned fireworks rockets and seem to be celebrating the rapid growth that is about to happen in the marsh. The little bit of fuzziness present in these two photos can be attributed to the slight breeze that was blowing.

Cattails Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

Phragmites Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

The carp from the Seneca Canal really, really wanted to get into the shallow ponds of the refuge. Unfortunately for them a wire mesh gate will make their attempt futile...tiring, but futile just the same. They were whipping the water into a froth.

Carp Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

A muskrat popped up on the edge of the mass of carp. It seemed unperturbed by the presence of the photographers only a few feet away and swam around the edge of the boiling mass of carp.

Muskrat Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

Finally, decidig the shortest distance between two points was indeed a straight line, the muskrat walked over the backs of the carp to get to the other side. As one on-looker put it, "It looks like a logger on an old-fashioned river drive walking a mass of floating logs."

Muskrat walks on Carp Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

Finally, two shots of flying birds that came out relatively well. First three Tundra Swans that flew past us at a reasonable altitude--twice--while we were at the Audubon Center. It was nice of them to give us a second chance!

Tundra Swans Montezuma Audubon Center

And finally an immature Bald Eagle that wasn't so kind. Once we got out of the truck to start taking pictures, it and its partner, headed further and further away. It would have been better if it had circled once over the truck before heading out across the ponds, but, alas, it was not to be.

Immature Bald Eagle Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

This was the first time I attempted to photograph flying birds and it's damn tough! Just trying to get them in the view finder is difficult enough but the the auto focus kept whirring in and out trying to latch onto some image. Still, that's what we went to the refuge for. Gary's giving a talk at the combined meeting of the Photography Club and Audubon Society about bird photography and he wanted to add to his slide show. With the Snow Geese already headed north and even Canada Geese somewhat low in numbers, we didn't get many chances. Perhaps if we had brought some duck calls....

Iditarod Report, March 19, 2010

The Current Standings show that 40 mushers have now crossed the finish line in Nome with 16 still on the trail. The 40 include the oldest (Jim Lanier at age 69 finished late on the 17th AKDT/early on the 18th EDT in 24th place with a time of 10 days 5 hours 21 min 10 sec) and the youngest (rookie Quin Iten, age 18, finished in 38th place with a time of 11 days 5 hours 23 min 34 sec).

The first rookie to finish this year was Dan Kaduce in the 21st slot with a time of 10 days 0 hours 50 min 0 sec.

The two Scotsmen (McDonald and Stewart) are still on the trail as is Jamaican Newton Marshall. McDonald and Marshall should be finishing their race later today.

At the tail of the pack are two rookies who seem to be egging one another along. Jane Faulkner and Celeste Davis have been leaving the last few checkpoints together (although, since Davis has two fewer dogs, she's been arriving a half hour to an hour after Faulkner). It looks like they've made a pact to finish this thing together.
The winner may have crossed the finish line but the race is far from over.

Montezuma Bird List

First yesterday's bird list. I've listed species only since the numbers of each ranged from a countable one or two (the Robin, Bluebird, Great Blue Heron, Grackle, Starling, Killdeer, Pileated Woodpecker) to an impossible thousands (many of the ducks). Most were seen at the Refuge proper. Only the Pileated and Great Blue were unique to the Audubon Center some miles north.

Location: Montezuma NWR--Auto Loop
Observation date: 3/18/10
Notes: Nearly windless, cloudless, warm spring day with temperatures in the 50s and low 60s.
Number of species: 27

Canada Goose X
Tundra Swan X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Green-winged Teal X
Green-winged Teal (American) X
Canvasback X
Redhead X
Ring-necked Duck X
Bufflehead X
Hooded Merganser X
Common Merganser X
Great Blue Heron X
Bald Eagle X
Red-tailed Hawk X
Killdeer X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Pileated Woodpecker X
American Crow X
Eastern Bluebird X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)


Some pictures are coming. (Not many--it's surprising how you can shoot 70-75 photos and find only half dozen keepers! Thank goodness for digital!) I've been experimenting with Photoshop Elements 7 and have still to learn how to use it properly. Getting those immense RAW photo files down to manageable size has become one of my immediate needs! With both Photoshop Elements 7 for Dummies and The Photoshop Elements 7 Book for Digital Photographers on hand (as well as the online help sources from Adobe), I may be able to figure out all the editing and resizing by this evening. Life, as always, will interfere, however, as I've got a couple of chores I need to do that will take me out of the house for a few hours today. So be patient.

Birding Report:Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge

Back from Montezuma. A 200 mile round trip from Mansfield. Gary and I had a pretty good day although it wasn't the one we expected.

Last week he saw reports that there were in the neighborhood of 15,000 snow geese on the ponds. A day later the report was that nearly half had moved on. Today we didn't see one damn snow goose! Clearly my fisherman's luck ("You should have been here yesterday!") has been extended to birding.

There were, however, lots of ducks on the water. Black Ducks, Redheads, Canvasbacks, Green-winged Teal, Widgeons, Mallards, Common and Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads, Shovelers, and Ring-necked Ducks were there. But we nearly didn't see many of these since when we first arrived the gate to the viewing road was closed! A hundred mile drive was nearly for naught because they were working on the road and had closed it to the public.

After a short stop at the (closed) Visitors' Center and the restrooms (blessedly open!) adjacent to the parking lot we headed up state Route 89 to the Audubon Center north of Savannah where we took a short walk around one of the ponds. Then it was back to the Wildlife Refuge to see if they had opened the gate. Nope. So we ate lunch on the Visitors' Center deck hoping some birds would fly over so we could get some birds-in-flight shots. When we finished lunch we were resigned to calling it a day. One more stop at the restrooms and ---HOLY COW! They had opened the gate! You still couldn't drive all the way around the loop and out to Route 89, but you could get to the distant ponds and almost to the road that parallels the NYS Thruway. So off we went--along with about half a dozen other vehicles that happened to be there.

The viewing road has the ponds on one side and the Seneca Canal on the other. While the water levels in the ponds were much lower than they had been last spring (they had been drawn down over the winter in an effort to combat purple loosestrife, an invasive marsh flower species), it was still higher than the canal water. As a result the slightly warmer water of the shallow ponds was pouring through the drain pipes to the canal.

And the carp in the canal wanted to get into those warm ponds in the worse way! Hundreds and hundreds of two foot long fish were trying to jam through a one foot wide pipe. They can't get through since there is a wire mesh grate in the darn thing but it didn't stop them from trying! It was a seething mass of fish flesh! It was a hell of a spectacle rivaling the migration of spawning salmon except think fish built along the lines of sumo wrestlers instead of sprinters.

The canal held the carp. The ponds held the majority of the ducks I listed above in equally huge numbers. And over head wheeled two immature Bald Eagles.

Opening that gate prevented us from having a very disappointing day.

I'll post some pictures after I've gotten to "fix" them a little. The birds, although numerous, were still very far away even for a 300mm lens. Hopefully I'll have a few I deem worth posting. I'll also post the entire species list from today's outing.

Aerie/Iditarod Report, March 17, 2010

What a glorious spring day it was today. A fitting day for St. Patrick if there ever was one. You could almost see the grass turning green under the bright, golden sunshine. Although it started near freezing here at the Aerie (and even colder down in the valley) it warmed nicely in to the mid-60s in the afternoon.

******

Tonight Terry and I attended the Tiadaghton Audubon Society where we had guest speaker Bill Russell from Penn State. Dr. Russell is a physicist by trade but a mycologist by habit. He is the author of Field Guide to Mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic. He is considered an expert in identifying mushrooms and this must be true for he also claims to have eaten over 200 different species and (although not liking all of them) he is still alive and kickin'!

His talk was extremely informative and aided immensely by slides of the more common edible mushrooms (and some not so edible!) that he has taken over the years.

******

I spent some time this morning trying to catch up on all the events happening in Nome and points east along the trail. You saw some of the over night stuff in this morning's post. Well, it's now just after 10 PM EDT and there have been a total of 22 men and women and their dog teams across the finish line on Front Street. The 22nd was DeeDee Jonrowe who is quite a remarkable woman. Most of her story is here on her Wiki page. She's been running the race almost every year since1980--including one year when she was still recovering from an auto accident that hospitalized her and her husband and killed her grandmother and another when she was just completing chemotherapy for breast cancer. She holds the record for the fastest race run by a woman. Her 9 days, 08:26:10 run in 1988 was good enough for second place. While she has never won the Iditarod, she has finished 2nd three times and been in the Top 10 fourteen.

One thing that is not there is the fact that just as the race started this year, she learned that her elderly mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and would undergo surgery while DeeDee was on the trail. Another item not mentioned is that by the time she left Cripple (about 1/2 through the race) she was down to just 8 dogs and had nearly 500 miles to go. When she crossed the finish line this evening (afternoon in Alaska) she had all 8 of those dogs stepping proud.

Like I said, one heck of a woman.

******

With 22 racers and their teams in Nome, there are still [does some rough calculations, with scratch pad, pencil, calculator--why doesn't this damn computer have a calculator any more?--and comes up with] 34 mushers and their teams heading to Nome. Lots of action yet to come in the days ahead. You can follow the leader board here.

******

Well, that's about it fro tonight. I've got an early date in the morning to go up to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge on the north end of the Finger Lakes. The ducks and geese are making their way north and congregating on the ponds. Supposed to be great weather so we're hoping to get some good pictures.

FOUR CONSECUTIVE WINS!!!!!

Whew! Busy day yesterday with the safe driver course given by AAA (anything to help lower the cost of insurance!), the Photoshop Elements workshop given by a member of the photography club, and the Iditarod. The former two certainly interfered with the latter! Big Time!

I just managed to miss viewing the live feeds of Lance Mackey crossing the finish line at 2:59 AKDT (6:59 EDT) for his fourth consecutive victory by about 40 minutes. (KTUU story here.) I had to leave the Aerie to get to Wellsboro for the workshop and waited as long as I could before packing up the computer to go. "His time of 8 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 9 seconds is the second-fastest on record, behind only Martin Buser's record of 8:22:46:02." If he had gone just a little faster, I could have seen him win and he could have set a new record.

I had to explain to people all day what the Iditarod was and just how momentous a fourth consecutive win in this endurance race was. I mean, it's comparable to an NFL team winning the Super Bowl four consecutive years. Maybe tougher.

Second place went to Hans Gatt who arrived in Nome a little more than an hour later. Four time winner, Jeff King ran the fastest time in his career, yet managed "only" to come in third.

As I type this, there are 7 mushers in Nome--just one tenth of the starting field--with two more rapidly approaching. The race is far from over, however. Once Dallas Seavey and Hugh Neff come down Front Street, there will still be 47 mushers out on the trail. Some will surely scratch as they are down to so few dogs remaining active in their teams, but most will continue on. This is not a race just to see who can come in first--it is often a race within oneself to see who can come in at all.

******

Then there were 56....

Over night, there was one more scratch. Rookie Hank Debruin (Bib #45) pulled out of the race at the Nulato checkpoint. He had been running alone many hours to the rear and, though he had 13 dogs in harness, he opted to pull out since they were no longer competitive. (That sometimes means the dogs just won't go any more.)

And they're into the home stretch!

Lance Mackey pulled into White Mountain (mandatory 8 hour rest) last night at 20:43 AKDT (that's 43 minutes after midnight EDT). Hans Gatt arrived at 22:40, nearly two hours later. Mackey will have a two hour head start this morning as he makes the last 70 mile run to Nome.

Could be a close finish as Mackey tries for an unprecedented 4-pete.

And I have a full schedule today, dang it!

AAA safety course this morning runs until 1 this afternoon and then a Photoshop Elements workshop this evening just as the lead mushers pull into Nome.

Still 57 mushers and their teams on the trail. No new scratches during the night.

Gattout of Elim, King stays.

Hans Gatt left Elim after a brief rest. He's some 2 hours and 41 minutes behind Lance Mackey. Four-time winner Jeff King continues to rest his dogs and seems to have conceded this years top spot to Mackey. ADN story Here.

(Updated 3:40 p.m.): Hans Gatt has just pulled into Elim and will keep right on going, which means he's about to take over the second position from onetime leader Jeff King.

King, who has been in Elim for just under an hour, says at this point, the race is leader Lance Mackey's to lose. Unless Mackey makes a serious mistake, King said, it looks like he'll be this year's Iditarod champion. King said he's not willing to exhaust his dogs in a bid to reclaim the lead.

Spring is here!

Just stepped out on the deck and heard "Peeent....peeent...peeent," of a woodcock. Fist time this year. Several robins were also calling as it's not quite dark yet.

Rain is finally stopped although it's overcast. The winds are out of the north and are very light.

Never got above 43 degrees today so it remains quite raw.

57...

Rookie musher Emil Churchin (Bib #53) has ended his run. The Current Standings board has him scratched at the Ruby check station. He was running well behind even the second to last musher, fellow rookie Hank Debruin (Bib #45).

At the top of the list is Lance Mackey (Bib #49) who has been in and out of the Elim check point after taking just 15 minutes to drop one dog. Lance is now running with 11 dogs.

Closest behind Mackey is Jeff King (Bib #15) who left Koyuk 2 hours 6 minutes after Mackey and Hans Gatt (Bib #20) 3 hours and 19 minutes behind Mackey out of Koyuk. neither has reached Elim yet.

Aerie/Iditarod AM Report, March 15, 2010

Rain overnight will eventually stop today--I hope. This Nor'easter has really been creating havoc in New Jersey and points north. Wind and rain have caused innumerable power outages, road closings and flooding conditions. While all the snow around the Northern Tier has pretty much melted away beneath the rain like the Wicked Witch of the West, I'm not so sure the same has been true up at the Bolt Hole where as late as last weekend there were three feet of dense, packed, icy snow on the ground. It's not been nearly as warm up there as it was here last week (Got to 67 or so here, just 40s there) and it's been down into the 20s at night every night while here it has remained above freezing since last Wednesday night.

******

Back to the Iditarod.

The good news is that they finally corralled runaway three-year old Whitey back at the McGrath checkpoint. He and his musher Justin Savidis are reunited and back in Anchorage with the rest of their team.

The leaderboard at 2:52 AKDT looks like this:
out of Shaktoolik and nearly at Koyuk

1 Lance Mackey Bib # 49

2 Jeff King Bib # 15

3 Hans Gatt Bib # 20

4 Hugh Neff Bib # 56

5 Ken Anderson Bib # 51

There were no additional scratches from the race over night so the total number of mushers and teams on the trail remains at 58.

Welcome Back

March 15th is a momentous day in Hinckley, Ohio. After months of winter spent in parts to the south, the most famous residents return--The Buzzards.

Traditionally, the Buzzards (or Turkey Vultures if you prefer) appear annually at Hinckley on March 15th. No one knows exactly why but some say that they gather in remembrance of the Great Hunt of 1818.

Various hunts were organized as residents came in sufficient numbers. One known as the Great Hinckley Hunt was organized at the home of Mrs. Seth Paine in December, 1818. The roundup was in Hinckley Township, Medina County. At the meeting to organize the hunt, Carey Oakes was appointed captain for Brecksville, John Ferris for Royalton, Judge John Newton for Richfield, and 'Squire FYeyer for Brunswick. This day has become historical, the day of the great hunt. The posse of men under strict discipline, surrounded the township of Hinckley and gradually drew in the line until every animal either was killed or escaped through the firing line. The net result of the hunt amounted to the following in animals killed: Deer, 365 ; bear, 17; wolves, 5.

(From A History of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, by William R. Coates, Volume I, pg 51. Published by The American Historical Society, Chicago and New York, 1924 (pdf file HERE. Caution: It's huge!)

One heck of a deer drive, guys!

Certainly with that many animals downed even the entrails would provide a most memorable feast for carrion feeders such as the Turkey Vulture. I mean seriously, I count 387 gut piles! Good thing it was December or the place would have reeked!

Anyway. March 15th is the day the Buzzards are supposed to arrive back in Hinckley and they make a big stink out of that, too.

(Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So sometimes the Buzzards are early and sometimes they are late. But you know what? THe folks in Hinckley don't really give a... hoot. After all those weeks of winter they want to PAR-TAY!)

58...

I missed it a little earlier, but Judy Currier (Bib #72) scratched while at the Galena checkpoint. She injured her back along the trail and, despite having 11 dogs remaining on her team, decided she could not continue.

Fifty-eight mushers remain on the trail with the leaders (Mackey, King, Neff and Gatt) bearing down on the Shaktoolik checkpoint.

Iditarod Letter vis-a-vis Iditaddiction

Posted on the Race Talk Forum on the official Iditarod site is a letter for all those enthralled with The Last Great Race.

Post by sandia on Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:31 am

This is a letter to whomever or whatever you may not be giving enough time and/or attention to, or are in other ways impacted by your Iditaddiction. Amend as appropriate to your situation.

it reads in part:

Letter to whomever



Dear ______________(sweetheart, child, boss, co-worker, students, dog, garden, tax forms on the desk, book club,… - fill in name here)


I am sincerely sorry that I have not been as attentive to you as I usually am. I am not sure that I can explain to you the pull that tracking this amazing race across Alaska has on me. I can tell you that I am not alone in feeling its attraction and following the urge to check GPS readings, forum discussions, blogs, official standings, on-line newspaper and TV coverage, race photos, and more.
...
No one questions someone’s interest in putting aside their chores to, say, follow the Superbowl or the World Cup; these are widely televised, promoted, and sponsored events. This Last Great Race, however, does not enjoy such popularity – and I do not think I would want it to! This event that has caught my heart is about honoring traditions and culture that were never part of mass culture. But because of this, time is not given for enjoying it, and I am expected to carry on with my usual obligations.

Please know that you are as important to me as always and I will be back to fully functioning in 10 days or 9, or, well, depending on the weather conditions along the coast, soon. I thank you for your patience and understanding.

It is quite good and useful if you need it to be. Should you wish to read the whole thing, be sure to click the link above and go over to the forum.

(Do you think some of the silliness being displayed by posters to the various Race Talk Forums might be a sign that A) they are taking this whole thing a mite too seriously and not getting enough sleep B) it's now some 6 days into the race with a few more to go (the leader is still some 350 miles from Nome) C) cabin fever has been more of a problem this winter than the swine flu D) all of the above.)

Aerie Report, March 14, 2010

Another gray, wet day here at the Aerie. The temperature overnight dropped to near freezing. Enough so that there was a dusting of snow on the ground and truck this morning. That didn't last long as the rains continued and the temperature rose, though it never got above 44 degrees all day. One good thing, however is that the wind is nonexistent--as in zero, zip, nil miles per hour. For most of the day that has allowed the clouds to settle all the way into the valley leaving us in a fog. That fog finally rose above the ridge top an hour ago (5:30 PM EDT--you did change your clocks, didn't you?) so that we can once again see a mile or ten to the northwest.

******

I've been inflicted with Iditaritis. Following The Last Great Race on the computer is addictive and there is no known cure. I didn't splurge for the "Insider" program or I'd find myself going 24/7 or trying to mimic the cycles of one racer. (And if I had picked Lance Mackey to follow, I probably wouldn't take time to eat either. The man is a machine!) As an "Insider" there would have been more videos and GPS reports to follow. Talk about information overload! Instead, I've been checking the leader board, cruising the discussion boards, reading comments, making comments, checking the leader board, ....wash, rinse and repeat.

I'm exhausted just following what's going on and trying to figure out the head games being played.

Worst thing is, this looks like it will end (at least for the leaders) some time on Tuesday. Terry and I have an AAA Safe Driving class from 9 AM to 1 PM on Tuesday over in Wellsboro. Then Tuesday night one of the guys in the photography club is giving a workshop in using Photoshop Elements over there. My day is pretty well scheduled up so I'll probably miss the big moment as the winner goes up Main Street and under the Arch. At least I'll be able to follow the Red Lantern (the last musher) as long as he/she doesn't get to Nome on Wednesday night. (That's the Audubon meeting.) Right now, it doesn't look like that lantern will swing into Nome until the weekend. But who knows.

Catch 'em if you can!

Late yesterday, Lance Mackey, winner of the last three Iditarod races made a break for it. He and his team left the Kaltag checkpoint at 12:35 AK time. The next competitor to leave Kaltag was Hans Gatt at 14:45 a full 2 hours and 10 minutes later.

Mackey has reached Unalakleet first at 3:32 this morning. Being first in to Unalakleet garnered the Wells Fargo Gold Coast Award: a nice little gold cup and $2500 worth of nuggets.

Jeff King was third out of Kaltag at 15:33.
Hugh Neff fourth at 16:09.
Mitch Seavey fifth at 17:25.

(Full and current listings are here.)

There are just six more checkpoints between Unalakleet and Nome and one mandatory 8-hour rest must be made at White Mountain (75 miles from Nome) by all mushers.

59....

I see that overnight two more mushers have withdrawn from the XXXVIII Iditarod leaving just 59 mushers and their teams on the trail.

Ryan Redington (Bib # 25) and Warren Palfrey (Bib #27) both pulled out at Galena. Redington's team was down to 11 dogs, several of which did not feel well, and Palfrey was reduced to 10 dogs and did not feel they were competitive any longer.

Aerie Report, March 13, 2010: Blah

moar funny pictures

It's been a rainy (about 75% of the time), windy (REALLY windy out of the southeast), cold (not frigid...just 38 to 44 degrees), raw (like the clammy feel of a fish fresh out of the cooler slid down the back of your shorts kinda raw) day here at the Aerie. I probably should have started a fire.

In short, it's been a very yucky, blah sort of day. Not nice at all.

******

Terry did get over to Wellsboro for another EGA meeting this morning. Small power outages all over the place. The blinking light in Covington on old Rt. 15 wasn't. And the traffic lights on Main Street in Wellsboro weren't working at all. Wal-Mart in Mansfield had to close for a few hours when their power went out. We experienced a short power outage during the night and a very brief one around noon today.

61....

As expected/feared Rookie musher Justin Savidis (Bib #10) has had to withdraw from the race at McGrath as he continues to search for three year-old Whitey.

It's got to be heart breaking to have trained all year for with a team of dogs who supposedly know what is expected of them only to have one rascal decide to take off on his own and ruin the party. There have been one or two reports of sightings around the airport at McGrath and the Iditarod air force has been keeping their eyes open as they fly along the trail, but all has been for naught.

I wish Justin well in finding Whitey...and don't be too hard on him. After, all Whitey is 3 years old, that's almost like a teen in human terms.

******

Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, Jeff King continues to lead Lance Mackey and Hugh Neff by about one and a half hours (approximately 12 miles) as they head from Galena toward Nulato on the Yukon River. Neff is right on Mackey's tail, leaving Galena 5 minutes after Lance. Mitch Seavey and Hans Gatt are about an hour and a half behind that pair.

(See all the current standings here.)

62...

Tom Thurston (Bib #68) has withdrawn form the race at Ophir. His team had been reduced to 9 dogs and he decided, for the well being of those remaining, that they had had enough.

******

Meanwhile, at McGrath, Rookie racer Justin Savidis (Bib #10) has been stalled by a runaway dog. Whitey bolted yesterday afternoon and efforts to locate and capture him have, so far, proven fruitless. Rules require mushers to account for all their dogs so Savidis is forbidden from moving on until Whitey is back under control. Time is running out. Savidis has less than an hour before his 24-hour rest is up.

Aerie AM Report, March 12, 2010

It started raining overnight and is still misting a bit as I write. The temperature never got below 43 degrees and combined with the rain this means a great deal of the snow that was on the ground around the Aerie has melted away leaving behind a sea of mud. The clouds are down around 2200 feet obscuring the tops of the windmills on the hillside across the way. Looking down into the valley there's very little snow on the fields and pastures that are visible. Mud Season has arrived.

The raccoon came back to the deck last night and this time knocked the tray off to the far side. If the coon was on board at the time it had a drop of about a dozen feet to the ground below. I hope it enjoyed its flight!

Saw the first Chipmunk of the season when I looked out at the bird feeders this morning. It was poking in and out of all the rock crevasses as it tried to avoid the much larger gray squirrels that were already present.

Terry halted her northward trip around the Richmond, VA, area and should be home this afternoon in plenty of time to attend the church dinner this evening. Sounds like it'll be pierogies for supper!

Some places area still wild.

Reading over some of the stories on the Iditarod at the Anchorage Daily News, I came across this headline:

Teacher likely killed by wolves, troopers say

Candice Berner, 32, appeared to have been killed Monday evening during a run along a remote road outside the Alaska Peninsula community, according to troopers.

The state medical examiner concluded, following an autopsy Thursday morning, that the cause of death was "multiple injuries due to animal mauling." Based on interviews with biologists and villagers in Chignik Lake, troopers concluded wolves were the animals most likely responsible, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said in a statement.
...
Berner, a special education teacher based in Perryville, was originally from Slippery Rock, Pa., and arrived in Alaska last August. She stood about 4 feet 11 inches tall and was an athletic person, an avid runner, according to her family. Officials from the Lake and Peninsula School District said Berner, who rotated among five villages and arrived in Chignik Lake on Monday, left work at the end of the day to go for a run.

A group of snowmachiners found her a short time later. Her gloves were in the road and Berner's body had been dragged off the road down a hill.

Then there were 63

Karen Ramstead (Bib #29) out of Alberta Canada scratched at the McGrath checkpoint last night sighting personal reasons.

Well, well. Look who is leading.

When I went to bed last night Dallas Seavey was sitting in Cripple admiring the gold nuggets he won for being the first to arrive at that checkpoint. He got their without taking his 24-hour rest, however and so sat in place as (as of now) 13 mushers who had stayed at Takotna came and went.

Now, with the 24-hour rests and time corrections having been taken, position starts to mean something even though there's a long, long way to go to Nome.

So, who's on top of the leader board right now?
That slot belongs to four-time winner Jeff King. But he can't rest easy! A half hour or so behind him out of Cripple was the winner of the last three Iditarods, Lance Mackey.

Top Five

1. Jeff King
2. Lance Mackey
3. Hugh Nuff
4. Mitch Seavey
5. Aliy Zirkle

The current standings can be found here.

Fatalism

moar funny pictures

Down to 64

Linwood Fielder (Bib #2) has dropped out at McGrath. He was down to just 11 dogs in his team with a long way to go, so, for the health and well-being of his team and partners, he cashed it in.

That leaves just 64 mushers still on the trail.

A little brisk.

Oh. And it's minus 18 F in Nome at the moment. Approximately 10 AM AKST. Fine weather for a camping trip.

In contrast, it got up to 66.9 at the Aerie at 2 PM EST. eat your heart out Rev. Paul!

A little Sibling Rivalry at the Iditarod, too.

You really have to dig around in the mushers' profiles to discover things. Like the marriage between Allen Moore and Aliy Zirkle. They don't even make it easy when the last names are the same--in this case with what appear to be brothers.


Cim Smyth Big Lake, AK, Bib Number: 3

Cim Smyth, 33, was born in Alaska and is the son of Iditarod veteran "Bud" Smyth.

Ramey Smyth Willow, AK, Bib Number: 21

Ramey Smyth, 34, was born in Alaska, the son of Iditarod veterans Bud Smyth and the late Lolly Medley.

At least for the Smyth boys the blurbs tell you they have a father in common.

It is less clear with the Redington men:

Ryan Redington Wasilla, AK, Bib Number: 25

Ryan Redington, 27, was born and raised in the Wasilla area. He's been mushing since "I could hang onto the sled," says Ryan....
Ryan has a long family history in the Iditarod. His grandfather was the "Father of the Iditarod," Joe Redington, Sr. Ryan grew up watching his father and grandfather race in 33 combined Iditarods and knew it was something he wanted to do.

Ray Redington Jr Wasilla, AK, Bib Number: 9
Ray Redington, Jr., 34, was born and raised in Alaska. The grandson of Iditarod co-founder, Joe Redington, Sr. and son of Iditarod veteran, Raymie Redington, Ray says that he's been mushing since he can remember.

Common Grandfather but the clear link of a common father is not given. I'm guessing that they are brothers since it says Ryan watched both his grandfather and father race 33 times and it mentions that Ray, Jr.'s dad was a racer. But there's a chance they're cousins.

Iditarod: The Old Timer & the Youngsters plus a Father & Son match

Jim Lanier, 69 of Chugiak, AK wears Bib # 43

He studied medicine/pathology at Washington University in St. Louis and the Mayo Clinic. After receiving his medical degree, he moved to Alaska in 1967 to serve at the Native hospital in Anchorage with the United States Public Health Service. A pathologist for 33 years, Jim is now retired from his work as a pathologist and says his current occupations are musher (since 1977), singer (all his life) and papa (41 years).
...
He completed his first Iditarod in 1979. He has now entered and completed thirteen Iditarods, including at least one in all four decades the race has been in existence. His goal is to make it five decades and in a competitive fashion. "After that, who knows?" He says.

(Emphasis added.) Let's see 1979 to 2010. Jim has been running the Iditarod for 31 years!?!!?!!! THIRTY-ONE! And it sounds like he'll be back next year (God willing) to make it five decades.

That first race of his took place before any of the following youngsters were even a gleam in their papas eye!

*****

Quinn Iten (Rookie) of Kotzebue, AK, wears Bib Number: 28

Quinn Iten, will be 18 in December of this year [2009 which means he was born in 1991] and the youngest musher to enter the 2010 Iditarod and one of the youngest ever to run the Iditarod. The son of Iditarod veteran, Ed Iten, Quinn said he thought it was "only natural" that he would run the Iditarod before he leaves home.
...
Quinn is a senior in high school and will graduate in December of this year. Next year, he plans to attend the University of Alaska at Fairbanks but says "I have no clue what I will major in."

At 18 years of age, Quinn is the baby of this year's group. That last line sounds so typical of a 18-year old. Right now, his goal is Nome.


Peter Kaiser (Rookie) from Bethel, AK, wears Bib Number: 67

Peter Kaiser, 22 [born in 1988], was born and raised in Bethel, Alaska. He graduated from Bethel High School in 2005 and has worked on a tug boat for Bering Marine Corporation for the last two years. He says, "Our family has always had dogs, and I've been mushing since I was a kid. Watching the Kuskokwim 300 every January sparked my interest in long distance racing, and a few years ago, I decided that I would give the Iditarod a try." Peter says he enjoys boats and the great outdoors.

Dallas Seavey Seward, AK,with Bib Number: 41

Dallas Seavey, 22, was born in Virginia [born in 1988] and his family moved to Seward when he was five. He is a third generation musher who grew up helping his dad, Mitch, the 2004 Iditarod champion, train his racing teams. In 2005 Dallas became the youngest musher in history to run the Iditarod. He also wrestled for Sky View High School and spent one year training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He is a High School State Champion, a Jr. National Champion, and was on the 2005 Jr. World team. He is owner/manager of WildRide Sled Dog Rodeo in Anchorage. Dallas is married to Jen, a veteran of the 2009 Iditarod.

Currently in First Place as he sits in Cripple, Dallas has--or perhaps is currently taking--his 24-hour rest. He has a a small team of just 13 dogs at the present, but they have shown remarkable speed on the trail. If he is to have a chance at a first place finish, he's going to need that speed. Former winners are at Cripple with him and several, including his dad Mitch Seavey, have finished their 24-hour rest and are on their way!

So, there you have it. The Old Guy and the kids. Plus a father and son match.

Iditarod: Wife leads husband!

No not by a ring in his nose. ...I don't think.

Allen Moore (Bib Number: 54) and Aliy Zirkle (Bib Number: 50) are both veterna Iditarod mushers. And they are married to each other.

She is currently running in 15th place and has taken her 24-hour rest. He is back in 36th place but has not made the requisite stop. Aliy is out of Ophir heading to Cripple. Allen is still in Takotna where he is probably taking that 24-hour rest.

If/when she beats him to the finish line, I'm sure the dinner table talk will be about how he let her have the better team!

Fisher Cat

Another critter attracted to the smell of fresh (or not so fresh) meat around the Bolt Hole is the Fisher.

Fisher at the Bolt Hole

Mark had strewn a pound of ground beef that had gone bad when the power went out for a day or two. It then snowed a few inches but that didn't deter the nose of this guy. He dug up every little bit of the meat.

A couple of years ago, after I had killed and butchered a deer, we held onto the bones until late winter and then put them out. That was when Mark found a deer leg up a tree where the Fisher had dragged it as though it were a leopard.

Isn't he handsome?

My buddy Mark went up to the Bolt Hole for a couple of days (his cabin is across the street) to check on things. He also checked a couple of game cameras he set up a short distance from my garage. Besides the expected snowshoe hare and lots of fisher pictures there was this one of a Red Fox.

Red Fox at the Bolt Hole

I had a family of Gray Foxes living beneath the workshop section of the garage a few years back. They kept me free of mice but I didn't appreciate them using the gravel floor section of the garage as their "indoor" toilet.

When you put out a dead mouse (or a red squirrel) it would be gone the next morning thanks to the clean-up crew.

Aerie AM Report, March 11, 2010

How can you tell warmer weather is arriving? The raccoons are back.

I was laying in bed last night doing my nightly crossword puzzle (I had to cheat again *sigh*) when I heard a thud. I didn't investigate to see what the cats were up to since I didn't hear any caterwauling to go with the noise. This morning I found the tray on the front deck had been knocked askew and the seed spilled. There was also a small deposit of shit (more formally known as "scat") left on one side of the deck. Coons have naked feet and don't much like the cold of the snow but it's mating time and I guess all that activity makes them hungry, too.

******

The overnight low was just 38.8 degrees here at the Aerie. It probably got colder down in the valley since cold air tends to sink when there's little or no wind to keep it mixed. And right now there is only enough surface wind to keep the windmills spinning but not enough to move a twig on the trees. And the winds are kinda weird. At the surface they continue to blow out of the southern direction but up above, the clouds are moving very slowly out of the northern quarter.

Rain is supposed to arrive late today or tonight and last through Saturday. That, along with the warm temperatures should remove the last of the snow except where it has been piled up during shoveling/plowing/blowing.

******

At the photo club on Tuesday someone mentioned they thought they had heard phoebes calling. These insect eating birds will appear as soon as the bugs do and it's easy to see why they might have been here already. The warm sun has caused the cluster flies to come out of hiding. Not only are they batting against the inside of the glass (along with the lady bugs) where they provide plenty of entertainment for the kitties, but they are all over the outside of the house when the sun is shinning.

Yesterday, I heard the tentative song of a single robin when I stepped out on the deck at noon to watch skein after skein of geese high over head flying north. As soon as more of the fields are exposed, I expect to see flocks of robins searching for bugs and worms. And when the robins show up, the woodcocks will not be far behind so I'll have to start listening carefully for their "peent" at twilight and the whistling of their wings as they do their mating flights.

[UPDATE: Going down to get the mail at 9 AM I saw another skein of geese heading north. Passing fields previously thinned by the wind and now bare as well as fields where the dairy farmers have spread manure causing more rapid snow melting, I saw several Robins in among the European Starlings and even a few Red-winged Blackbirds. Coming back I spied what I believe was an Eastern Bluebird sitting on a power line. Ah! Spring!]

******

Terry will be leaving Sumter, SC today heading north. She's not supposed to be attempting the entire trip in one go and should be stopping somewhere in Virginia for the night.

A different kind of "24" at the Iditarod

As expected, Kathleen Fredrick (Bib #46) had to scratch yesterday at Rohn with equipment failure. That leaves just 65 mushers on the trail.

******

A number of mushers have taken their mandatory 24-hour rest at Takotna and have headed out on the trail to Ophir. That would be Jeff King, Hugh Neff, Sebastian Schnuelle, and Mitch Seavy. There are a slew of others still sitting at Takotna who are probably also taking their 24. (Current Standings)

It's only after they have taken the 24-hour rest that you really get a feel for who is where in the standings. It's during this rest that they make the time adjustment to compensate for the times lost during the start back in Willow.

See, the first musher (bib #2 since #1 is reserved for an honorary musher) started the race at exactly 2:00 PM AKST. The second racer (bib #3) left the shute at 2:02 PM, the third (bib #4) at 2:04 PM, and so on at two minute intervals. The 70th racer wearing bib #71 didn't get out of Willow until 140 minutes after the first one or around 4:20 PM AKST. That's quite the handicap!

So, when they take their "mandatory 24-hour" rest, the actual time may be somewhat longer from each racer. The racer with bib #71 need only stay at the station for precisely 24 hours. If you're wearing bib #70 you tack another 2 minutes to your "mandatory 24" and stay 24 hours and 2 minutes. Bib #69 stays an additional 2 minutes and so on until the poor schlub who had bib #2 and got to leave Willow first has to stay an extra 2 hours and 10 minutes (140 minutes).

Only once they have all taken their "mandatory 24" the starting handicap is gone and the position on the trail is the real position in the race. That's one of the reasons I haven't posted much about who's ahead. It really doesn't matter--yet. But, as for those who have had to scratch--that is real. Once you're out, you're out. And so far, six (6) have had to pull out of the race for medical or equipment reasons.

For your listening pleasure

Five more Women of the Iditarod (The last, but not least of the 17 who started.)

Wearing Bib #29 is Canadian Karen Ramstead She and her team pulled into Nikolai at 10:23 EST

Karen Ramstead, 45, was born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Alberta. She began running dogs in the early 90's after obtaining her first Siberian husky.... She says, "This is just a part of who I am. I love this race." "Our love for the breed has continued to grow and we now share our lives with over 50 purebred Siberian Huskies. Our team has set many ‘firsts' for Canada - we are the first CKC registered team of Siberian Huskies to compete in and complete the Iditarod and many of our dogs are Canadian Kennel Club champions and group placers. I am continually inspired by the history, spirit, and presence of the purebred Siberian Husky."... She says she has many interests but no time.

That last statement seems to fit almost all of the contestants! If you've ever set eyes upon a pure bred Siberian, you can understand her love of the breed. They are just gorgeous animals who can be not only intelligent but faithful to a fault. I once came t-h-i-s close to owning one only to have the poor pup run out of the house by some very dominant cats I had at the time. But that, as they say, is another story.


Bib #39 is being worn by Cindy Gallea She, too is at Nikolai as of 2:50 EST

Cindy Gallea, 58, grew up on a farm in Minnesota where she experienced the pleasure of the outdoors and the good feeling of interacting with animals. She began mushing in 1987 and moved to Montana in 1990 to mush dogs, enjoy the beauty of the State and for work. A graduate of St. Olaf College with a BS in Nursing in 1973 and from the University of Washington with a Master's in nursing in 1990; she now has been a nurse practitioner for 19 years. After seeing the 1996 finish of the Iditarod, she knew she wanted to run the Race. "I am a long-time dog musher, a mother of two adult sons, and a nurse practitioner. I cherish each of these aspects of my life and try to find a good balance for all of these."

Leaving Nikolai at 8:20 AM EST was Judy Currier wearing Bib #72

Judy Currier, 46, was born in New Hampshire and graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1984 with a degree in Business Administration. In 1992 she and her husband, Devan, began mushing and quickly realized that their destiny was to live in Alaska. They moved to Alaska in 1995 and settled in Two Rivers in 2002 where they enjoy living "near the end of the road" and right on the trail. When she is not on the runners or at work, Judy enjoys running, fishing, camping and knitting. She is employed as Senior Accountant by Brice Inc. in Fairbanks.

The call of the wild is forefront in many of these personal histories.


Bib # 61 belongs to rookie musher http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/musher/racemusher_356.html another gal born in Pennsylvania.

Colleen Robertia, 33, was born and in Pennsylvania and raised in Massachusetts. She received her B.S. degree in 1998 in New York, with a major in Environmental Biology and a minor in African Studies. She then worked as a zookeeper caring for threatened and endangered species of large hoof stock (elephants, rhinos, giraffe, antelope) and big cats (lions, leopards, jaguars and cheetahs) in Georgia for the Wildlife Conservation Society and then for the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida. ... Since coming to Alaska, she has worked as a youth counselor. She began mushing in the fall of 2003 and says, "Having worked several years for a former Iditarod champion, Iditarod has always been the ‘BIG FINISH' of the season. As a handler I would train dogs all season only to see them get leased to others for the Race. Now with my own kennel, running thousands of miles with my own dogs, Iditarod is OUR end goal." A Yukon Quest finisher, she has won some mid-distance races in Alaska and has received the Humanitarian Award several times for her devotion to her dogs. Colleen says, "My dogs are my family and best friends. For me the appeal of the Iditarod is to travel with them as one unit, working together, to travel across Alaska as competitively and humanely as possible. As with all races I compete in, my team will be made up of several rogues, to include many runt, rescues and rejects from animal shelters and other mushers. I have worked hard to overcome many of the physiological/behavioral issues of the dogs in my kennel, and I take pride in all the work my husband and I have put into them - without the aid of handlers or helpers and while both are maintaining full time jobs. I don't define my success by how well I do against other mushers. Rather I define it by how well I do with my own dogs and how well my message reaches race supporters and spectators. My message is simply yet comes from the fiber of my being which is: you can have a competitive team and live by a humane philosophy. Perhaps I'm not considered to have the best of the best in terms of canine athletes, but I try to do my best with the dogs I have, and they do their best with me."

Whatever she's doing, she's doing it pretty well. She and her team left Nikolai at 10:02 EST heading for McGrath.



Finally, wearing Bib #36 is another rookie, Michelle Phillips of Canada.

Michelle Phillips, 41, was born and raised in Whitehorse, YT. Growing up she was a competitive figure skater. As a young adult, she traveled the world until she decided to stay in the Yukon. "Once I started mushing I became addicted. We have become a dog mushing family. We work with our dogs year round. I am looking forward to a new challenge with the Iditarod." Michelle has run the Yukon Quest five times, finishing in the top eight every time and winning the Vet's Choice Award in 2009.

Michelle and her team pulled into McGrath at 6:49 EST. They are currently in 32nd place.

Doctors, nurses, lawyer, biologists, model, competitive figure skater, mothers--all with one thing in common a desire and drive to run dogs and race in the Iditarod. They come from all over North America and some have quit their original home just to be where the action is. And here they are at the pinnacle of sled dog racing. Some have already had to drop out and others are in the hunt. But most will continue their quest for Nome and the personal satisfaction of saying, "I did this!" and, perhaps, "but I can do better nest time."

Three more Women of the Iditarod

While the leader board has changed again and again over the last 12-plus hours as mushers who have cleared Nikolai make their way in and out of checkpoints at McGrath, Takotna, and Ophir, those who are at the tail end haven't fared nearly so well. I mentioned earlier that Jane Faulkner (22) was running dead last in 66th slot. She and fellow rookie musher Tamra Rose (26) are still sitting at the Rohn checkpoint having arrived there yesterday afternoon. It wouldn't be surprising to see that they and Sam Deltour (66) were soon to scratch.

With that in mind, let's take a look at a few more of the women who are racing in the 38th Iditarod.

Wearing Bib # 26: Tamara Rose

A Rookie musher,

Tamara Rose, 46, was born in Washington and spent most of her life in Northern California. She did her undergraduate work at Humboldt State University, and her graduate work and doctorate of veterinary medicine at UC Davis.
...
She currently has her own solo mixed animal practice and is part owner of a bakery in Fairbanks, Alaska.

They are not just her team, they are her patients! I bet they get real good care and return the favor.

Another rookie wearing Bib # 58: Celeste Davis

Celeste Davis, 37, was born and raised in Montana. Her parents are Bill and Liz Smith and she's the fifth out of six kids. "I was the one tagging along and annoying everyone just trying to keep up. When I was really young, the whole family was involved in running dogs in sprint races around Montana and Idaho. When we later moved to Deer Lodge, my father became involved with mid-distance races, which led to less involvement with the family as a whole in the sled dog world." She graduated from Montana State University in 1995 with a nursing degree. Her first job was at the Deer Lodge Hospital and she is still there today.... "...So why not run the Iditarod!!! There isn't anywhere else I would rather be! Freezing, hungry and sleep deprived while loving every minute of it, enjoying it with man's best friend. Everyone should try it, what a privilege."

Davis is currently running 61st but is on the trail out of Rohn and heading to Nikolai.

Leaving Rohn an hour or so ahead of Celeste Davis was yet another rookie, Kathleen Frederick wearing Bib # 46. Kathleen is a former Pennsylvania girl.

Kathleen Frederick was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and spent fifty years in southeastern Pennsylvania before relocating to Juneau, Alaska in 2002 to pursue her passion for outdoors activities. In Pennsylvania, Kathy was a teacher and a librarian before becoming an attorney. Since moving to Alaska, Kathleen has practiced law in Juneau and in the Mat-Su Borough, has served as a mediator for the Alaska Court system....

A single mom who postponed her dream until her kids got out of high school. A former teacher, librarian and currently a lawyer and kennel operator. You wonder how she makes the time to do all that she does!

Aerie AM Report, March 10, 2010

Went to the photography club meting last night. It was supposed to be about what all the buttons on your camera are for but it turned into a discussion about white balance, f-stops and aperture since there are such a variety of cameras out there that trying to discuss each model and make would have been nearly impossible in the time allotted. There was a huge turn out with guests form the general public out numbering club members.

At the end of the meeting we had a critique session of a dozen or so photographs submitted by club members. These are usually helpful in learning what makes a good photo.

All in all it was a learning experience. Now all I have to do is spend lots of time with the manual and camera in hand to apply what I learned.

******

When I got back to the Aerie, I heard hundreds if not thousands of geese flying north and this morning I figured out why. The winds (what little there are at the moment) have shifted around and are blowing out of the south. The geese are taking advantage of these tail winds and heading to their nesting grounds. I imagine those I heard are probably up near Lake Ontario by now. Spring is definitely in the air--in more ways than one.

******

The over night temperature at the Aerie was again above freezing. That's two consecutive nights. If it doesn't get colder at night soon there's going to be a very short maple syrup season.

The strong sunlight also means things heat up quickly during the day. it jumped almost 10 degrees from 7 AM to 9 AM going from 36 to 45 degrees in just two hours.

Weather.com is saying it's only 34 degrees and AccuHunch says 31. Makes me wonder--yet again--where they are getting their data from. At least they both agree that the winds are from the ESE and very light; just 1-2 mph. AccuHunch is also calling for over an inch of rain beginning tomorrow night and going through Sunday morning. That should get rid of almost all the snow still clinging (bitterly) to the mountain. The valley is almost devoid of snow now.

******

The most recently pulled tooth turns out to be much less painful than the one pulled last week. Thank goodness. Still, Tylenol is my friend! Oh, and it'll be scrambled eggs, hash browns and soup on the menu today. Much less chewing than anything else.

Five more Women of the Iditarod

Sixteen of the 71 mushers that left Anchorage were female.

Two have had to scratch: Zoya DeNure (5) whom I discussed yesterday and Karin Hendrickson (23) whose sled broke up on her.


Bib #23: Karin Hendrickson

Karin Hendrickson, 39, was born and raised in California. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1991 and has lived in Idaho and Colorado working as a teacher and college student. She now works in Environmental Regulation here in Alaska, where she moved in 2003 to run dogs.

Karin sees the race as a calling; a chance to see the wild Alaska in a unique way. Although running near the end of the pack she had hopes and dreams to finish the race--an achievement in itself. When her equipment broke down on her she was heart broken.

******

Currently carrying the Red Lantern (last in the race) and wearing Bib #22 is Rookie Jane Faulkner

Jane Faulkner, 49, was born in Oregon and raised in the Bay Area in California. She received her A.D. in nursing at the College of Marin and has been a registered nurse for 20 years. She moved to Alaska on Christmas Day in 1990, "following my heart."

******

Still running with the big boys--although she has dropped down to 13th place is Aliy Zirkle wearing Bib #50

Aliy Zirkle, 40, was born in New Hampshire. She went to college at the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in biology. In 1990 she came to Alaska to volunteer with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. ... She began mushing in 1993 and said she started by running a trap line, then ran (and won) the Yukon Quest and now she's doing the Iditarod. For the last nine years, she has been a dog musher and a carpenter.

******

Bib # 31 belongs to DeeDee Jonrowe who currently sits in 19th place.

DeeDee Jonrowe, 56, was born in Frankfort Germany while her father was in the military. The family moved to Alaska in 1971 where her dad was stationed at Ft. Richardson. DeeDee has a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences and Renewable Resources and now lists her occupation as kennel owner and dog racer. ... She is a triathlete and bike racer.

******

About two hours behind DeeDee at the last checkpoint (McGrath) is Jessie Royer wearing Bib #6

Jessie Royer, 33, was born in Idaho. She grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana where she lived for 21 years. She worked on ranches as a horse wrangler & horse teamster. She says she got her first sled dogs when she was 15. ... She now has a kennel north of Fairbanks with 65 dogs. Jessie has extensive mushing experience including having won Montana's Race to the Sky when she was only 17 and she was the winner of the invitational La Grande Odyssey in France in 2005.

These women (like the men) come from all over and have remarkable backgrounds. But they all have one thing in common: they love their dogs and the chance to get on the trail and go mushing with 16 of their canine friends. Big time! They have all heard the call.

Pat Moon out

Chicago native, and rookie to the race, Pat Moon (17) had an accident on the trail and has had to be evacuated via airplane. Early reports are that he ran into a tree. While he suffered injury, his dogs are fine. Any injury for Pat is serious however:

At the age of 15, Pat was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an auto immune disease that targets the intestines and kidneys. Although afflicted with these health issues, he does not allow it to curtail his life or activities. When asked about running the Iditarod, Pat says, "Although having an illness is physical, being sick is a state of mind."

From the Anchorage Daily News: Musher Moon injured, flown to Anchorage for treatment

Down to 66 teams.

Four down...

We've had our first withdrawls (scratches) from the Iditarod. Four racers have halted their attempts at Rainy Pass.

Karin Hendricksen (23), Zoya DeNure (5), Michael Suprenant (30), and Kirk Barnum (34) have stopped for this year. All had been in the race before and will likely return in the future. But for this year....

Hedricksen suffered a broken sled.
DeNure had a medical reason for dropping out--a breast infection.
Suprenant also pulled out for medical reasons.
No word on Barnum.

From the Anchorage Daily News: Four mushers drop out of Iditarod

There are still 67 mushers on the trail to Nome.

A third of the way to Nome

The leaders have pulled into Nikolai--officially 347 miles from Anchorage and 765 miles from Nome--so they are about 1/3 of the way through the race. The first three are:

Sebastian Schnuelle (35)
Mitch Seavey (19)
Jeff King (15)
(Numbers in parentheses are bib numbers.)

Schnuelle was last year's second place finisher.
Seavey won in 2004.
King has won the race four times: 1993, 1996, 1998, and 2006.

They say the trail to Nikolai is the worst of it. If you get to this point, you've an excellent chance of finishing. So far, no one has had to drop out (except for a dog or two on several teams) and the full compliment of 71 mushers and their teams are in the race.


UPDATE: Jeez, all I did was blink and look who shows up!

4 John Baker (8)

5 Hans Gatt (20)

6 Hugh Neff (56)

7 Sven Haltmann (42)

8 Lance Mackey (49)

9 Gerry Willomitzer (55)

10 Aliy Zirkle (50)

11 Zack Steer (47)

Women of the Iditarod

I was spending some time going through the musher list and checking out all the gals that are entered in this year's Iditarod--and there are a lot of them. I mean, I heard on the radio that this was National Women's Month and all, so I thought I'd see what the backgrounds of the women in the Iditarod were.

There are doctors, nurses, lawyers, runway models, business woman and women who do or have done everything in between. Most have their own kennels of dogs after having worked with those of others. Some are young some are in their 50s. (Which is still "young" to me!)

But I think I'm in love with this gal who is wearing Bib #38: Kristy Berington

Kristy Berington, age 25, was born and raised in Northern Wisconsin. Kristy says that together with her twin sister, Anna, the pair started handling and running dogs at a neighbor's sprint kennel. Their first dog team consisted of a Great Pyrenees and a Border Collie, pulling a sled they built out of a pair of downhill skis and a milk crate. The two continued to share their love of dogs and the outdoors, and eventually were drawn to Alaska because of these interests.
...
On her rookie run to Nome, Kristy will be running a team of Gebhardt dogs, and hopefully a more sophisticated sled than she first started mushing with.

Good looking (go see for yourself), a member of the Army National Guard, adventurous and a twin. What's not to like?

Oh, and she's not the model. That would be Zoya DeNure in Bib # 5.

Zoya DeNure, 33, was born and raised in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. She worked as an International runway model for twelve years, working in such place as Shanghai, China and Milan, Italy.

Also a gorgeous woman, but she's already taken.

Aerie AM Report, March 9, 2010

It's been spring weather still with last night not even getting below the 32 degree mark. (The maple syrup folks won't like that. They need those freezing nights to keep the sap going up and down the trees and hold the buds from growing.)

******

My day is about to be ruined by another visit to the dentist. Need to get one tooth's filling repaired and then another molar--this one on the opposite side from the last--pulled. Since the left side is still tender, chewing is about to get real difficult. Soup and liquids seem in order.

The good news is that I've dropped a couple of pounds since last Wednesday's extraction. Not my preferred diet plan by any means, but if it works....

UPDATE: 10:45 AM Well that went well. I arrived at 8 AM and was in one dentist's chair getting a filling/broken tooth repaired by 8:05. She did a fine job.
Then it was on to having another dentist yank the bad molar on the upper left. He claims to have worked out all week in preparation but this tooth came out real easy. He hardly broke a sweat. I was out of the office by 9:05. No pain from the extraction...yet.

******

I've been refreshing the leader board for the Iditarod so many times it's getting ridiculous. I finally figured that they're bringing it up to date about every half hour or so which means my clicking every 10-15 minutes is worthless. Besides, the mushers are only about 1/4 of the way to Nome and most still have those mandatory rests to come. Lots of racing ahead.

Hardest part is trying to figure the time. The site gives it in AKST AND 24-hour/military style. My computer clock is in EST and 12-hour mode. So first I have to subtract 4 hours from my clock and figure the 24-hour equivalent. Not so easy for one who has never really dealt with that 24-hour stuff.

******

Well, I'm off to the dentist.

Aerie Report, March 7, 2010

A couple of just fantastic days here at the Aerie with Saturday's temps getting into the high 40s and to Sunday's getting up to 58 degrees! Virtually no winds either day to detract from those warm temps either. Add the plentiful sunlight beneath nearly cloudless skies and it was positively Spring-like. So much snow was melting and water vapor forming that the valley actually had a bit of a haze this afternoon. It looks like we'll have one--maybe two more days just like these.

******

The official Restart of the Iditarod took place this afternoon with the mushers leaving Willow at two-minute intervals starting at 2 PM Alaska time (6 PM EST). The dogs are just starting to get warmed up and the mushers to get their sea (sled?) legs for the long haul ahead.

******

Speaking of travel. Terry's SAGA classes ended in Baltimore today. Now she's heading to Sumter, SC to visit relatives. She promises to be home by Friday night's church dinner since they are having pierogies. And they do them well. Almost as good as her Mom.

(Besides, she's a member of the ladies auxiliary.)

Sunday is Susan Butcher Day in Alaska.

Susan Butcher was not the first woman to win the Iditarod, that honor belongs to Libby Riddles who won in 1985. Butcher had to pull out of the race that year when, despite her efforts to fend it off, a pregnant moose killed two of her dogs and injured six others. No, Susan Butcher didn't win that race, but she did win in 1986, 1987, 1988 and again in 1990.

She was the first to win the Iditarod in three consecutive years, the first to win it four times in five years, and the second to win it four times. (Rick Swenson was the first to win four races. He has since added a fifth victory.) Starting in 1986, she finished in the top five 12 consecutive years, a feat that has not been duplicated. She flat out dominated the Iditarod for that period.

Sadly, Susan Butcher passed away in August of 2006 having suffered from acute myelogenous leukemia and complications from a bone marrow transplant. She was just 51 years of age.

You can probably walk from Germany to Sweden over the Baltic Sea right now.

A number of years ago, Terry and I went to Nantucket Island with a teaching buddy of mine, Tom, and his wife. We took his car out on the ferry and stayed at a B & B that was a short walk from the center of town. He and I went birding along the coast while the ladies went to town and peeked in the store windows. A good time was had by all and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

It was a cold, cold winter and there was lots of snow on land and ice in the water. Looking down from the lighthouse on the Atlantic side we could see ice floes with seals on them heading south. Tom got all concerned that if the harbor on either the mainland or the island froze up, we could be stuck for longer than we wanted to be. That didn't happen (dammit!) largely because the Coast Guard ice breaker in the area wouldn't let it and because the frequent movement of the ferries back and forth prevented the ice from getting too thick between trips.

I mention this story because of what's happened in the Baltic Sea:

50 ships stuck in Baltic thick ice

STOCKHOLM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish Maritime Administration said on Thursday that about 50 vessels are stuck in the thick ice in the Baltic sea off Sweden's east coast.

Among the vessels, there are six large passenger ferries which are in total carrying more than 2,000 passengers, the administration said in a statement.

Two of the ferries, including the large Isabella passenger ferry carrying 1,322 passengers and crew, have been freed.

Four other vessels, including the Amorella, another passenger ferry with 753 passengers and 190 crew members aboard, are still stuck.

I don't imagine there's much in the way of provisions on these ferries. Those who board are not expecting more than a cruise of a few hours, not days. Should they have to remain where they are much longer, I'm sure either food drops will have to be made or evacuation via helicopter and/or hovercraft will occur.

How is this possible in these days of AGW fear mongering? (Remember, the Arctic Ocean is supposed to be experiencing record low ice levels according to the computer models. In fact, the ice extent has increased every year since 2007.)

Sweden has suffered an unusually harsh winter this year, with temperatures across the country almost continuously lying well below freezing since December.

Where's Denmark again? Oh yeah, it's on the northern shores of the Baltic Sea just to the west of Sweden.

I'm betting right about now the folks in Copenhagen are wishing they had never heard of the IPCC and Al Gore.

Heh, they're off, mon!

I've no idea what happened to my brain last night. When I went to the Iditarod musher list not only did I miss #49 Lance Mackey, who has won the last three races, but I forgot to mention a young rookie I will definitely be following: #14 Oswald "Newton" Marshall of St. Anne, Jamaica! (No, not Queens in NYC. Jamaica as in rum and coke, sunny beaches, Caribbean waters, etc. Not exactly a hot bed of dog sled racing.)

Newton has been sledding since 2005 and has done well in several shorter events finishing in the middle of the pack. He finished 13th (out of 29) in the 2009 Yukon Quest--a race that is 1,000 miles long--becoming the first Jamaican to finish the Quest. It looks like he may be ready to make the leap to the Big One. In preparation for the 38th running of the Iditarod, he's stepped up his training under the mentorship of Lance Mackey. It will be real interesting to see how he does.

Aerie Report, March 5, 2010

One fantabulous day here at the Aerie. The kind of day that holds the promise of spring. Bright sunlight all day long and temperatures near 40 degrees saw thin snow on the driveway turn to slush and the thick stuff on the lawn compact another two inches. It'll take many more days like today to get down to bare ground and start the grass growing again, but the forecast is for at least three more just like it or even better so hope springs eternal.

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We (Terry, Joe and I) were sitting over coffee this morning after the cats woke us early when the sound of the propane truck backing into the drive caught our attention. We hadn't gotten a delivery since around January 20 so I knew we were due, but at 6:45 AM?

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Joe stayed overnight and headed off to Wellsboro this morning to accompany his hired home inspector as they looked under the hood of the property north of that town that Joe and Pat have struck a deal on. If all went well, the deal will go on as planned and there will be two more ex-New Jerseyites soon.

Not long after Joe left, Terry headed down to Baltimore. She ran into some trouble on Route 15 in the town of Liverpool, PA where she got caught in a 45-minute traffic backup caused by a serious accident. She says there were two helicopters on the road which isn't a good sign as it indicates that a medivac was a necessity. She was eventually forced to head back north and seek an alternate route to get down to I-83 south of Harrisburg. I haven't been able to find out anything about what went on via the internet...yet.

Terry will be gone for a week.

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UPDATE: Corrections thanks to Rev. Paul who is on the scene in Anchorage.

Tomorrow Anchorage, Alaska will host the ceremonial start of The Last Great Race--The Iditarod. The first sled is scheduled to leave the start line at 9:30 AM Alaska time (that's 1:30 PM EST). After Saturday's brief jaunt to Checkpoint #1 at the Campbell Airstrip on the Eagle River, there will be an official restart at Wasilla Willow Lake at 2 PM (Alaska Time) on Sunday afternoon.

This year's race will be following the northern route and is listed as 1112 miles. Despite the distance--and God, dogs, and weather permitting--the first racers will reach Nome in 9 or 10 days. Even that time, brief as it may seem, includes mandatory stops of two 8 hour and one 24 hour layovers. The speed record was set in 2002 by Martin Buser. He and his team of dogs completed the race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds. Last year's winner, Lance Mackey finished in 9 days, 21 hours, 38 minutes, and 46 seconds. It was Lance Mackey's third consecutive victory. He will not have a fourth as he is sitting this one out. CORRECTION: Lance is going off at #49 as he looks for a four-peat.

I've been looking over the list of mushers and there are a few well know veterans in the mix this year, but I'll be looking to see how rookies, #4 Wattie McDonald of Stonehaven,Scotland and #69 John Stewart of Aberdeen, Scotland make out.

New Photo Blog

Erica has got a new blog in which she has taken to the camera. Her beat is New York, New York...specifically Brooklyn. Go on over to see what she's up to. It's quite interesting. She's been at it for a while so there are lots of photos to peruse. (Look to the little word "Archive" at the very top of the page to see a gallery of thumbs.)

Erica's Photo Blog.

Heh.

I just Came upon this quote posted over at Maggies:

The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false face for the urge to rule it.

H.L. Mencken

Seems to be right on the money.

Aerie PM Report, March 3, 2010

With just over three inches of wet, heavy snow accumulated on the ground when it finally stopped at 12:30 PM, Terry and I manned the shovels instead of the snow thrower to clear the deck, the driveway and the short trails to the propane tank (delivery is overdue) and the bird feeders. Terry worked for an hour and a half--until she could no longer toss shovels full of snow high enough to clear the mounds ringing the parking area. I was out there for my usual two and a half hours.

Although it fell as a light powder, the snow rapidly compacted as the temperature rose above the freezing mark. As I mentioned earlier, the weather is supposed to approach near spring like conditions during the next two weeks including four days of mostly sun forecast for Saturday through Tuesday.

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Terry prepared a nice broiled lemon-peppered fillet of cod, some mashed potatoes and peas for dinner. A good hardy meal that I could enjoy even with the pulled molar. Dessert was the ever popular Jello in cranberry flavor.

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Tomorrow, Terry takes her Jeep Compass down to Williamsport to have the oil changed and get the 7500 mile service done. I'll be staying home doing some cleaning and straightening up.

Terry's cousin (and my buddy) Joe will be coming out tomorrow evening. He has an appointment with a building inspector set for Friday morning. Joe and his wife, Pat, have had their offer for a home over near Wellsboro accepted and if the inspection doesn't show any major problems, they'll be closing on it some time in April. It will be good to have company even for just the night.

Aerie AM Report, March 3, 2008

Time for some real "hope" and "change"!

If you are one of those fanatics (skier, snowmobiler, student) that likes to "pray for snow" you better not have a bumper sticker to that effect on your car if you drive through the northeast.

And should you--skier or snowmobiler or student (or teacher), be "praying for snow"--please STOP!!!

Terry and I woke up this morning to a fresh inch on the ground and it's been snowing steadily all morning. Close to three inches now at 11 AM. With luck it will slow and stop early this afternoon.

Looking at the 15-day forecast at AccunHunch does hold some promise. First: it will get up to near 50 degrees by this weekend. Second: we are in for four (4!) consecutive days of sunshine starting Saturday. Third: once passed tonight's "flurries" the nasty snow does not appear in the 15-day forecast.

One down. One to go.

Got a molar yanked this morning. Kind of enjoyed watching the young dentists strain to get the tooth out. ("You've got some good bones there!" he grunted.)

Almost two hours later and there's no very little pain.

Tylenol, soft foods, gargle with salt water, yadda, yadda.

With luck this will heal up quickly and I'll be ready for round two next Tuesday.

What did you say?

The regular use of pain killers can lead to hearing loss in men.

For aspirin, regular users under 50 and those aged 50-59 years were 33% more likely to have hearing loss than were nonregular users, but there was no association among men aged 60 years and older. For NSAIDs, regular users aged under 50 were 61% more likely, those aged 50-59 were 32% more likely, and those aged 60 and older were 16% more likely to develop hearing loss than nonregular users of NSAIDs. For acetaminophen, regular users aged under 50 were 99% more likely, regular users aged 50-59 were 38% more likely, and those aged 60 and older were 16% more likely to have hearing loss than nonregular users of acetaminophen.

Aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen were all found to increase the chance of hearing loss among regular users.

Age does seem to offer some protection against the effects, however as those over 60 years old were at less risk than those under 59 years of age.

That 99% figure for users of acetaminophen under 50 years of age should be a huge red flag.

One thing not mentioned in the article, however, is the careers of the men involved. I'm sure the doctors running the study considered that in their findings. After all, a guy who's been working around heavy machinery for thirty years or so is likely to A) experience some hearing loss and B) have need of the daily use of one of those pain killers just to get to work.

This is not the kind of thing I like to see especially with my bad back, knees, and assorted aches and pains. Not to mention the forthcoming tooth extractions. Then again, I turned 60 last September.

(h/t to Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds and FuturePundit, Randall Parker.)

I wonder....

Will this story be getting as much play in the MSM as the Toyota recalls?


GM to Recall 1.3 Million Cars for Steering Problems

DETROIT (March 1) -- General Motors Co. said Monday it will recall 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail.

The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico.

There wouldn't be a double standard for Government Motors. Would there?

Summer's almost here...

....we can now see the deer moving around in the back yard.



Yep, won't be long.

(Terry got this via email this morning.)

Could you repeat that?

Watts Up With That posts a flashback article from 1989 in which scientists for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that the U.S. Temperature data shows NO WARMING since 1895.

A quote:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25— After examining climate data extending back nearly 100 years, a team of Government scientists has concluded that there has been no significant change in average temperatures or rainfall in the United States over that entire period.

While the nation’s weather in individual years or even for periods of years has been hotter or cooler and drier or wetter than in other periods, the new study shows that over the last century there has been no trend in one direction or another.

The lead scientist was Dr. Kirby Hanson. Of course, he and Dr. James Hansen are quoted as saying that this study does not rule out global warming.

Tying themselves in knots even in 1989.

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Also on WUWT today is another example of twisting in the wind. Spring, sprang, sprung Three weeks ago in the UK's Daily Telegraph there was an article about spring arriving three weeks early, on average. (Three weeks early would be around now.) Today there's another talking about how spring will be late this year.

When you hop aboard a band wagon, it's important to know if it has any finite destination or if it's simply going in circles.

Aerie AM Report, March 1, 2010

Terry made it back to the Aerie last night from Princeton where she had two days of classes with the Princeton Pleaters SAGA chapter. She says she had a fine time visiting with her Mom and daughter in Linden and with the folks she knew in Princeton.

The instructor for the classes she took was from just outside Sydney, Australia. having experienced the near blizzard and two feet of snow, she swears she will not be coming back unless it's 55 degrees and sunny.

Terry took off this morning for more stitching. This time with a local group from EGA.

Friday she's off to Baltimore for another stitching soiree. When that ends she'll head further south to visit for a few days with her aunt and cousin in Sumter, South Carolina.

Have needles will travel, is her motto.

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I finally got the official notice of recall for my Tundra in today's mail. Called the dealership's service department and I'm scheduled for 1 o'clock this afternoon to have the accelerator mechanism "corrected" so I don't accidentally speed off at mach 1 or something. It will take me almost as long to drive to the dealer's as it will to have the service performed. Then, of course, I have to drive home. Figure a 2:1 ratio for travel time: service. *sigh* The joys of rural living. Everything's twice as far as you think.

UPDATE: Just got back. It's 1 hour and 15 minutes each way. It took just 30 minutes to do the repair. The ratio of time traveled to time for repair was closer to 5:1. *double sigh*
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On the positive side, the weather seems to have taken a break. March has entered as a lamb--at least for now and at least for here. Temperatures are going to "soar" into the mid 30s today and there's no more than a snow shower or two on tap. Those two storms AccuHunch was trumpeting last week appear to be either further east or further south than anticipated. Hence, Maine and the Carolinas will get snow but we won't.

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Another "oops!" moment in the IPCC report. Remember how they were saying hurricane frequency and strength were directly tied to Global Warming? How as the earth got warmer we would see more and stronger hurricanes? Well, a recent peer reviewed study (a real peer review, BTW) says it ain't so.