Happy Thanksgiving

 We have had lots of snow these past few days.  We are also about to start training our 2 moose calves Gilly and Nelson.  However, I am not so sure I can even call them calves anymore.  They are taller than me!  Gilly was very interested in following me and my camera around.  While I was trying to be patient and get pictures with the 2 of us; Doug Lindstrand was passing by.  He quickly hopped out of his van and snapped a few photos of me with Gilly and Nelson.  Gilly is the lovable one.  He even gave me a few kisses.

Nelson, is the more physical calf.  If we put our heads down he loves to push his head against ours.  I think he will be the more dominant Bull between the 2. 

This same day we had a surprise visitor.  We had done some filming a few days earlier with our 3 year old bull moose.  Vanessa Hudgens was even in the scene with Jack the moose.  Vanessa, her sister, and her mother stopped by the center for a tour.  Jordan gave them a tour of the center.  I also hopped into the yukon to give them some bananas for Jack.  They were able to feed Jack, snickers, visit with the moose calves, and also meet Shaggy and Taquka. 

 At the end of their visit I was even able to get a photo with Vanessa. 

The movie Frozen Ground is expected to come out later next year.  Hopefully I will be able to make it to the premier!  It was very nice to meet Vanessa and her family.  They were very sweet and interested in everything Jordan talked about.

Just 2 days after filming Jack actually lost one of his antlers!  Wow! Talk about good timing!  I don't even want to think about what would have happened if he lost it before filming!  Tomorrow, Friday, is a free day at the center.  I am working in the ticket booth.  Today Alyeska, the resort in Girdwood, opened for skiing.  I am really excited because I may go skiing on Sunday!  Hopefully, I won't be as bad as my first day on Alyeska in February!  I remember how soar I was after that.  Wish me luck!

The photos from this blog were taken by the wonderful Doug Lindstrand.  As always, very appreciated Doug...Thanks!!!!!!

Goodnight Lower 48,

ErIn

Now that's cold!

 These past few days I have felt what is like to be a real alaskan.  When I arrived in February the coldest temperture I experienced was about -10 degrees.  We had a warm winter last winter.  Now, however, this month is colder than a typical November I hear.  Today it was -18 degrees!  Now that's COLD!!!!  On wednesday we were supposed to use our 3 year old bull moose for filming a movie scene.  However, it was so cold that they had to actually push filming back a day. 

On my last day off I took this picture just as the sun was setting.  I loved the color of the sky.

 Purple is, and always will be, my favorite color.  The sunsets in Alaska always surprise me.  I have yet to get used to the beautiful colors in the skies of alaska. 

 In order to get Jack ready for filming I had to go in with him a few times a day.  He needed to get comfortable with walking in and out of the trailer.  Of course, I had to take this opportunity to get a snapshot with him.

 On every wednesday in November Jonathan and I have an hour to do some sort of presentation at Girdwood Elementary School.  This past wednesday we used Snickers for a presentation.  We taught kids ages 3-9 about porcupines.  After Snickers made his debut we gave every kid some playdo to make their own porcupine.  Then they used spaghetti to represent quills on their porcupines.  This coming wednesday we will be teaching about insulation animals have in Alaska. 

Friday it was time to use Jack for filming.  Mike and Matt went to Anchorage around noon with Jack.  Even though filming wasn't until at least 5ish Jack needed to get used to his surroundings.  Jonathan, Jeremy, and I headed into Anchorage around 2pm.  We then froze our limbs off until filming started around 4:30pm.  The excitement kept any of us from thinking logically about staying warm.  Jack is behind us in the trailer. 

Jack did very well in filming.  He was even in a scene with Vanessa Hudgens! 

Here I am trying to get Jack back into the trailer after filming was over.  Of course it was easier getting him out than in.  Eventually tangerines, bananas, grain, and a pie pumpkin was his treat once he got back into his trailer. 

I am very excited to get to start training our younger moose, Gilly and Nelson.  We need them to be able to be comfortable with filming if they are needed. 

 Goodnight Lower 48!
ErIn

Musk and an Elk?

I said that yesterday I would post pictures from the bear cubs' surgery.  This first picture is
during Shaguyik's surgery.  Melissa, on the right, is visiting from Montana.  She works for Bear Trust International.  She had to continually monitor Shaggy's breathing to make sure it stayed normal.  Also, we checked for any signs of waking up.  Meredith, my roomate is in the middle of the picture.  We were both in aw of our opportunity to work so close to a brown bear. 

Photo by: Doug Lindstrand

The hardest part seemed to be actually loading and unloading the cubs.  Here, we are unloading Shaggy into her recovery pen.  We made sure to provide about 3 bales of Straw for cushion. 

 We have been checking on her every few hours since to make sure she always has snow available for hydration. 

Tonight I gave her some tangerines to help with hydration as well. 
Photo by: Doug Lindstrand

This morning started off with some abnormal excitement.  The youngest male elk hopped the fence into the musk ox enclosure.  He then started challenging the musk ox.  Immediately we made sure visitors stayed in the gift store or that they didn't drive around to the area they were working to remove the elk in. 

Elk and musk ox photos by: Doug Lindstrand

Once the young elk was removed; it was decided that it was time to combine all the elk. 

You can see that even before they were put together the Roosevelt elk,on the left, was already trying to fight the breeding bull through the fence. 

Photo by: Doug Lindstrand

Then the action really started!  Brawny, the roosevelt elk fought the breeding elk all day long!

Photo by:Doug Lindstrand

I had a special treat left over for snickers.  It was the last avocado paid for through a donation. 

 Snickers wasn't the only animal to get a treat.  The Wood Bison were very excited to get some more donated pumpkins. 

Kuma also got a pumpkin, or two,  along with a few tangerines as a treat.  Later, Uli even made an apperance after a few weeks of hibernating.

I went to check on the bear cubs.  Taquka is finally beginning to act himself.  He is still a little sore, obviously, but he is coming around. 

As often as I am chasing away these pesky birds; I stopped to get a few shots of one particular Magpie. 

We have filming with Jack on this Wednesday.  We are loading him up in the trailer for practice.  We also want Jack to be used to the trailer. We loaded him up today and drove around the center.  He did very well.  I was able to visit him 2 times today with donated bananas and bread. 

Tomorrow is my day off!  I think I will be heading into Girdwood for a nice cup of coffee and a book to read.  We may even try to walk a nice trail.  I hope to get some good outdoor shots tomorrow.  Guess what....ski season starts in about 2 weeks!  I guess it is time to get the Go Pro camera out!

Goodnight lower 48 and Hawaii,

ErIn

What a Day!

First things first, I must correct my spelling error.  I spelled icecicles wrong.  You must forgive a texan that never has had to spell this word before.  The correct way is icicles...there I feel so much better for fixing that mistake.

We have had some snow these past few days!

Yesterday we had 6 inches of this fluffy white stuff called snow. 

I wanted to get some good photos with the snowflakes.  I first ran into Doug Lindstrand who was able to get some photos with me and snickers, our porcupine.  I also wanted to get a photo of Doug in action so that the blog readers could see who is taking these amazing photos that I occasionally post. 

The elk were just behind snickers.  I walked onto our observation deck and was able to get some good upclose photos of the elk. 

I have to go in with Jack, our 3 year old Bull moose, in order to get him used to me.  We are using him for filming on Wednesday.  He needs to be comfortable with going into the trailer.  I have been going in a couple of times a day and giving him his favorite food...BANANAS!

The big bears were also awake for a short time.  Mike, the executive director, went in on his four wheeler and dropped off some hay.  They love to use this for their den.  Patron was pulling the hay into her den when I pulled up. 

Last night we had an owling event at the center.  Kids came to the center to learn about the different owls in Alaska.  Then they went around the center playing owl sounds to try and hear if any owls replied back.  We did happen to hear 2 owls possibly 3.  2 of the 3 owls were Hooty and Snappy; the owls that live at the center.  Then we went back to the barn for Hot Chocolate.  Earlier in the day, Jonathan placed a fake owl in the tree just as an example for what the owls would look like in the trees. 

Today, Sunday, we had a busy day!  We actually got to help assist in the spaying and neutering of our Kodiac bear cubs;Taquka and Shaguyik!  I didn't want to post pictures just yet.  I think I may be able to get some really good photos from friends.  Until then I will leave my readers with this last photo.  This was the sunset at around 4:45ish.  It is starting to actually feel like winter with the shorter days.  At 6 PM tonight it was completely dark!  Riding around on the four wheelers and feeding bison felt like it was midnight!  I also start to feel sleepier sooner.  I guess I am getting ready for hibernation as well.

 

Goodnight Lower 48...and Hawaii, ErIn

P.S. Thanks to Mrs. Sharon for the awesome Poem about icicles...I loved it!

icecicles

I have been keeping an eye on one side of our giftstore.  I have noticed in one spot in particular the icecicles seem to be curling.  This may be nothing impressive for a typical alaskan, however, for someone that never sees icecicles it seems extraordinary!  I think I may have to start an entire photo album of the different icecicles I see this winter

 This is the spot where the icecicles are so long tht they have begun to curl!

 Today was a very windy day at the center.  If any animals didn't have snow on their face I would have been shocked.  When I went to feed the calves their morning grain I noticed that Gilly was just covered in snow....typical Gilly.   We will also start halter training the calves in the next few days.  This will be helpful if we ever need to use them for filming, or simply to load into a trailer.  I am looking forward to learning how to train a moose.....can't be much different than a camel I once trained right?  

 The bison love this weather.  I think they get the most excited on days like this.  Today I watched the young bulls just run around and fight each other.  They are always very energetic when we have wind and snow.  This male in this picture was just enjoying a nap.

 The musk ox where grazing on their daily hay.  Mukluk, the orphaned musk ox, was sitting right next to the heard also enjoying the sun peaking out of the clouds. 

 Here is an older female that was laying nearby also enjoying the weather. 

 As I drove around the center I was able to catch a young bison nursing from its mother.   It is hard to believe that this calf is only from this summer's batch!

A few days ago Doug Lindstrand took this picture just after Jonathan and I had fed the Wood Bison.  What you don't know about this picture was that 10 minutes before I got the four wheeler stuck in the snow!  I guess the snow machines will be coming out soon. 

Goodnight Lower 48...and Hawaii
ErIn

Pumpkins Galore!

Wow, sorry for the long absence.  Our internet has been completely out!  Once we got our first snow it was kaput!  Let me fill you in on what has been going on in Portage,Alaska. 

After Halloween we call around to see what pumpkins we can get donated from all the grocery stores in Anchorage.  Matt, one of the maintenance guys, went to Anchorage 2 days in a row and brought back 8 pallets full of pumpkins!

This picture is only half of the pumpkins we received.

I was told that the moose really enjoy the pumpkins the most.  I headed over to drop a few off to Jack and Chimo.

As soon as I placed 2 pumpkins on the ground Jack immediately started heading in my direction. 

                                           getting closer.....

                                ahhhhhh! the pumpkin is getting eaten!  I don't think the pumpkin was very happy!

 The next few days you could say we have had a bit of snow....This picture was taken as we were leaving Girdwood to pick up some mail.

A couple of days ago we had just fed the bears and I noticed an Eagle happened to get a scrap of moose.  The eagle flew to the trees only to get pestered by 3 or 4 ravens. 

                                          The Eagle was getting chatty with the ravens....

Finally, after the food was gone, he just waited around to see if there were any more scraps.

2 days ago we had crazy snow!  Well, crazy for a girl from Texas but normal for an Alaskan.  This was the drive back from Anchorage for a town run.

 We also stopped at Girdwood to check the mail...Oh did I mention I went to Anchorgae to get my Alaskan license! 

Ok almost up to date...
Yesterday, Saturday, was our annual pumpkin feeding to the bears.  Before the pumpkin feeding I fed snickers.  He must have been very hungry, because he shoved his face right into the bowl. 

 Right after we fed snickers, we hurried over to the big bears to watch the pumpkin drop off. 
Mike, our executive director was just pulling up in his tractor full of pumpkins. 

 He talked a bit to introduce the bears and make sure all the visitors had arrived.

ok time to toss the pumpkins....

           Joe Boxer was the first bear to really get into the pumpkins.  He had pumpkin all over his face!

 Then he went all in!  By the end of the hour both Joe Boxer and Hugo were covered in pumpkin.  Hugo was rolling in it.  Patron wasn't very interested in the pumpkins.  I believe that she will start hibernating any day now.  This may be the reason she isn't eating very much anymore. 

                                               Notice anything unusual.....

 The bears weren't the only animals that got treats on Saturday.  We had a friend donate $10 dollars that she wanted to see spent on treats for snickers and Jewelie.  I made sure to at least get some avocados for snickers.  I think he may actually love them more than corn or peanuts.  We brought snickers into our gift store and let him run around a bit.  Don't worry he didn't leave his smell on anything.


Goodnight Lower 48, ErIn