Sun-worshipping

Goodbye sunshine....

On Tuesday the sun officially 'goes' from Tromsø for a couple of months..... 

This was a Goodbye Sun 'topp tur' on Saturday... by climbing high enough we could see the sun - for an hour! 

Sun up, 12:10

Vasstinden topp (880m), 13:34

Sun down, 13:50

Tromsø lights

The Real Deal/Legless on sleds

We went out sledging today.  The Real Deal. No tourists mind you, just us and some very keen canids.  The snow is fresh and deep and quite lumpy bumpy with wet marshy sections.... not easy for a rookie like me (who is trying to take pictures at the same time as steer, brake and remember what this dog-driving on snow is all about since she last tried it in April :)).  Ha ha -and you should have seen me 'take air' quite spectacularly upon departure as the dogs raced over an ominously large hummock of snow and the sledge soared after in a puff of powder leaving - somehow - my legs behind. Mind you, the "6-beer bet that you fall off Helen" didn't transpire... I held onto that sledge for dear life (and because I am skint). 

This sledging has made the training make more sense - at times it was tiring and sometimes tedious to drive the noisy quad bike up and down the road after the dogs... the beating of the dogs when they howled at night or went crazy barking when they were being harnessed, fed, etc., the 'despatching' of new-born pups in the middle of the night coz they were born the wrong time of the year and to the wrong parents, and the constant shouting at dogs... this hasn't been so fun.  But driving the team today was fun, and a good 'send-off' for my imminent departure.  The dogs are overwhelmingly enthusiastic at their job - a good day in the office for them, I think!

Anyhow, the whole mob of dogs have all been out racing in the fresh snow now. The first tourists arrive tomorrow, and maybe they will be less mad to run and easier to stop tomorrow....maybe?? 

Also, the dogs all have houses now.  And I am sort-of living in the dogyard! As you can see, my cabin overlooks the 'dog garden' (as one of my bosses calls it).  It is nice to see them warm and comfy in their houses - less so to hear them singing under my bedroom window!

One nice morning, when the sun was still here!

End of training

Winter has arrived - it is getting dark and has been cold and snowy, and slippery and slidey for the quad bikes.... The brakes don't work so well at minus temperatures (have had -16C already which was a bit parky) and the job gets harder as water freezes inside the cabin.  So, the dog teams have come 'home' to Kvaløya (Tromsø) from Målselv yesterday afternoon, and the dogs are out in the dog yard as we speak, curled up in husky-shaped balls. We are building new dog houses for them this week, and not all are finished so there are a few wet dogs out there as it's raining tonight. Next time these dogs train it will be pulling sleds (maybe even tourists):  The real deal.

However, it's a small family business and there is not really work enough for me to continue here.  It's my last week of work here.  I am on Howling Duty tonight ;)  - don't think I will miss this, but I will surely miss the dogs.