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.  

Husky myth

Ha ha, I just rediscovered this quote from a list of 'Why Canada Is Awesome' that I once sent a Canadian friend:

"... The average dog sled team can kill 

and devour a full grown human in under 3 minutes"

Not sure Castello would do a good, clean job (pictured, with stolen food bowls, as is her habit). She leads the team often, and on encountering this full grown human she would need to harden up a bit to fit the bill and start the devouring job properly to get it done in 3 minutes. Grrrrrrrrr, Castello, grrrrrrr!

Fairly frosty/Nicely icey

It's getting colder now. Most mornings are below zero, (we've had a couple at -5C already so far) with snow on the mountain tops all around.  Makes for a fresh start to the day as you step out of an unheated cabin. But when the sun emerges between the nearby peaks as you drive along the icey riverside tracks... well it ain't too bad!  It's ideal for the dogs as the colder the better as far as they're concerned.  We are driving the teams about 17km daily now; this is nothing much - these huskies are born running machines and capable of up to 30km daily, no problem, if trained for it.  

When the snow comes proper I'll be moving to pastures new - not sure in which direction yet, but I'll keep you posted :)

I'll try and post an icey pic to accompany this - seems the best shot is still on my camera and since I left my jazzy USB pic loader in the cabin in the woods when I headed to the city this weekend....blah, blah, sorry no pic... watch this space! ....(there you go: frosty pic duly added ;))

Cream

Yes, I have a favourite: Cream. Here he is!

Babysitting dogs

I am learning the varied vocabulary of dogs - they not only howl, but squeak, whistle, moan (normally preceeds a howl) and bark, whine.... It's interesting to hear all 80 of them interact (or so I think!) but the neighbours across the valley disagree.  So, much of our day (and night!) is spent on the canine equivalent of 'babysitting' - i.e. keeping a close eye and ear on things. Makes sense, as noise levels get hysterical if they continue to intice one another to howl endlessly, and if one husky slips its collar in the madness and gets loose then concludes being caught ain't fun then... Havoc In The Woods surely results (and more problems with neighbours). The long and short is, that huskies would long-since have a UK ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order) slapped on them by the local coppers.  (ASBO is a British thing, normally reserved for fining/threatening mad noisy people when the neighbours complain!). I like the howling of a pack of dogs to be honest, but neighbours are neighbours, I guess: frequently two colliding worlds in terms of taste.

So, we are busy with Crowd Control in the woods. Stern words, harsh discipline, and maybe the dogs will get our basic message across to them: "please guys.... zip it!"

We have had great autumn colours this past 3 weeks; however, frosts and the nip of winter pending is here now, and the leaves are mostly off - the forest is thinning out as a result. Perhaps the increased visibility is dandy for moose-hunters...there has been the annual moose-hunting fest in the woods this past 10 days.  So, lots of cars slowly 'patrolling' the forest tracks near our place since moose were sighted IN THE DOG YARD.  Yes, 80 rather over-excitable huskies did not stop two adult moose and two calves from wandering in to have a gander. Norwegian moose are fearless, I tell you (it was a bad move though, as one of the calves then wandered into a nearby meadow where someone was waiting for it, leaning out of the bedroom window to take aim....). 

Here are some pics of dogs, in the yard and in training traces. Should offer some impression of the fall colours. It has been glorious :)

First Snow

.... and the dogs can't wait. The first week of training went well, but the dogs are hard-wired to work, and it was really noisy and tough to get the job done without bursting ear drums.  They have had the summer off, and now run about 9km a day, pulling a quad bike at slow speed to build muscle and get into shape for 5-day trips with tourists later in the season.  As we found out, the quad bike is too light - 12 dogs can haul the thing with brakes fully on.  Makes for exciting training runs!...to ask them to STOP is not really an option at this stage of training. Run, run, run, run, run harder, run harder is their default! ;)

Beach hut - Hjelmsøya, Spring'08

Vi snakkes senere

I am back from summer, and whatever else I got up to.... email and internet was scarce this summer. Very. Cabins on uninhabited islands tend not to get wireless connections...

But there it was, a summer of (sort-of) sun in the North (I would SWEAR it is called MIDNIGHT SUN coz it came out mainly, er, AFTER midnight .... save a few crazy dazzling nights work on the oh-so-scary puffin cliffs in mad golden light).

So, Summer 2008 was 5 weeks on Hjelmsøya, an island far north in Finnmark (Norways most northern county), after a few weeks dodging snowstorms on Hornøya.... Then, wonderful times with friends: thanks to Randi for her looovveely sofa ;) Tomas, Anna-Katrina & The Boys for good times in the mountains in their secret valley ;) to Ane and Jan for just about the Best Eggs that a free-range chicken can lay (and so much more, including a very sober introduction to Odd-Inga, MY HUSBAND-TO-BE... cheers guys, and yes, I am embarrassed if he is reading this! Sorry Odd-Inga but the set-up was all too crazy for me!) ;) thanks Tore for treeplanting times (... so... making me an Almost Lumberjack now!) and Maret for a blueberry-tastic 6 day Lyng-ing trek in the big hills (worth every last hobbling step!, and each time we threw ourselves flat out on those super comfyLyng-ing patches.... oh! How I 'Like Long Lynging Lazily Lion-Like (eating 'Lion' bars!)' - I recommend lying on Lyng to anyone ;)).

This is starting to sound like an Oscar speech... so I'll quit while you are still listening (perhaps too late??).

Seems I have a few people to THANK big time after I finished work for NINA this summer and was out and about visiting new places in Norway and getting to grips with just being here and soaking up the trees, mountains, and a few Isbjørn beers. I missed the family, but hey, Christmas is just around the corner!!! And I can't wait to see how Nephew 1 is sprouting, and see if Nephew 2 has any clue who Aunt Helen might be! (likely NOT).

Regretfully, I find life gets in the way of blogging these days. I have so little free time that generates good blogging success (i.e.stuck in front of a computer and wishing for distractions...) and seeking out computers in libraries, begging access off friends etc., for the sheer sake of it just ain't my thang, as those who know me know.

I will post a few pics, etc., at times, as I really want to chitter and chatter away to those who want to hear my ravings!.... but please bear with me. It will not be frequent!

My New Job Til Almost Xmas is training sled-dogs in a camp in the forest, no shower or fancy trimmings, but with sauna and woodstove. I'll never make a million at this game, but you should join me there. It's pure magic.

Vi snakkes senere (..."we'll talk later"...)

Much love

Hornøya highlights

Spring blizzard on the island shortly after my arrival - kind of messed up our work plans and buried a few nests... swept away a few low-placed kittiwake nests... made life a bit exciting for a day or so!

And midnight sun....

Hornøya

I spent the last 2+ weeks on another island: Hornøya is a small Nature Reserve off Vardø's coast. That's pretty close to Russia, for those who wonder where the heck the small town of Vardø is - Vardø is almost as far North and East as you can go, for towns in Norway. It's a nice town, with a fabulous backdrop of the Finnmark plateau - snowy, gravelly hills stretching forever with not a lot of human life out there (plenty of reindeer and lemmings mind you).

I was helping out with Greater-Black backed and Herring gull work.  Shitty... noisy...but fun!

Here are a few shots - the lighthouse is where everyone stays, and there were researchers from all realms gathered there. The social life was great - ask the others... I couldn't take the pace!

And whilst I was up there, I became second-time Aunt!  Yes, my sisters clan are growing. Charlie Matthew deserves a special mention, and was born about the time that the Black-backed gull chicks started to hatch (....a dubious honour perhaps!).