Happy Birthday

Today marks the third anniversary of my blog ...

And the 292nd post.

Who knew when I was poking around blogspot on a whim that "From North to South" would become such an important outlet for sharing my thoughts and staying connected to the people in my life?

Cheers!

The ultimate blunder

The Alaska Star made its worst blunder yet since it's been under my guidance ...

We killed the wrong person ... or more specifically we reported the wrong name of the victim in a fatal fire.

Needless to say, I fielded some pretty unhappy phone calls today. Major ooops! I'm still investigating how it happened.

A little stressed out from the day, I went to a yoga class this evening. The teacher was great, and the class has the feel and pace I'm looking for. That calmed my nerves a lot. I plan to continue.

Later, back at the cabin, I was drinking tea and recalling a tip a neighbor gave me last night: the Eagle River Nature Center planned to groom a portion of the trails this evening.

I grabbed my skate skis, boots and pools, which I recently picked up at a ski swap, and headed out the door.

To my delight I found fresh corduroy with not even one track sliced through it. The full moon peaked in and out of the clouds, illuminating the area.

I clicked into my skis and before long I was cruising around on the trails, figuring out what I was doing as I went. I had so much fun ... even with the few face plants I took!

I'm going to try to find someone to give me some pointers on how to actually skate ski ... and then I can get on the frozen-over Eagle River and just go.

I live in an incredible place!

With love, from Alaska,

Amy

Skiing at Hatcher

Ben and I went out for some early season turns today (actually this afternoon, we didn't leave the car until 2 p.m.). The snow was a bit crusty, but there was good coverage, beautiful blue skies and not even a hint of wind. We skied a face next to Microdot (see red line below).

On the approach to the face next to Microdot... we ended up skiing the line I marked in red

Ben putting on his boots at the car

Making our way up ... Mircodot is in the background

Ben laying in the skin track

What a beautiful bluesky day

The view from the ridgeline
Up on top ... time to pull the skins off and head down
Our tracks bathed in alpenglow
Ben pointing out where we skied

Skiing off into the sunset
Peace

Whither

Here are the photos from the hike Xela and I took (with Tomba) exactly one week before Xela's passing.

We went out the cabin door and up the side of a mountain to a beautiful hanging valley, called Ram Valley. We hiked right through the cloud cover into bluebird skies. The low-angled, soft light made it perfect for photography.

As any adoring mommy would do, I made Xela sit for a photo shoot. At the time, I think Xela felt it was a little unfair, since Tomba got to run around while she had to obey my every command.

The snow on that Sunday was light, dry and fluffy ... perfect for glacading down. It took the three of us a half hour to get down the mountainside that it took us two hours to climb - well, at least me two hours to climb. Between all the running back and forth, Xela and Tomba probably climbed that mountain five times over.

Back at the cabin, Xela curled up in her chair and took a long snooze. Tiring her out was a major accomplishment for me. She got so used to her daily runs that they became the equivalent of a stroll in the park for her.

Underneath the photos below are the lyrics to "Whither," a song I frequently hum to myself (the first half is from Psalms).

All the photos can be enlarged by double clicking.

Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit

Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence

If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there If I make my bed in hell Behold, Thou art there
If I take the wings of the morning
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea

Even there shall Thy hand lead me And Thy right hand shall hold me

Grace unto you

And peace from above

Peace from on high to Thy spirit Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know that I am God

Grace has come to us today

Grace has come, let it stay

A tribute to my beloved Xela

Snow falls, covering Xela's paw prints on what would be her first birthday
My powder hound who loved fresh tracks just as much as I do ...
Velvet black leaping through white crystals - a few clinging to her muzzle
My Xela
My sweet, beautiful, playful, faithful Xela
May you have mountains to climb, dirty laundry to sniff and peanut butter to fill your belly

"Please take me home"
"I like these mountains Mommy take me to"
"My yellow football is my favorite toy, I even snuggle with it at night"
"Why would you want to work when you can play with me instead?"

Best friends

Shadow and Xela
"Mommy, I have no idea how your book bag got wrapped around me"

Snuggle time with Joshua"Nothing like a good foot to rest your head on" Mommy and Xela
Happy Dog

"This is what I do while Mommy makes newspapers""I'm not so sure about not having all four paws on the ground"
"Will you throw my stick, mommy?"
"Look, I found a good size stick"

On Sunday Xela got hit by a car and passed on while we were driving to pet emergency. A neighbor dog came to play, and in the joy and excitement of the moment Xela leaped out onto the road just as a car came around the corner.