200 hundred eggs, 1 swan, and a bunny on a bicycle

first thing is first. This next week is going to require some extra caffeine.  check.  don't worry I didn't share with Zelda.

Next on the to do list...pick up ducklings.
check.

Every year we raise mallard ducklings at the center.  When it is time they fly off with the other wild mallards and join the migration.

Zelda was very curious what the strange sounds coming from the box were.

For our easter event we placed them in the gift store so visitors could see them at 1 week old.

Jeremy and Linda- (gift store) were posing with these ducklings.

Ok so on Easter sunday we held one of our biggest events of the year.  We had all been preparing for weeks getting ready for the big day.

Starting early in the morning we each set up our stations.  Kayla and Teal are posing at the craft station.  The crafts included egg dying and making some bunny ears to wear as a pin on your shirt.

The egg dying craft required that we hard boil 200 eggs!  We figured better over prepare than not.  Plus; when you have a fox, brown bear, black bear, and lynx that enjoy eggs there is never going to be any eggs wasted.

Now onto the other type of eggs we had to prepare.  Of course we had to have an easter egg hunt!  Sarah and kara were hiding the eggs.  don't worry; the easter bunny helped hide them too.

We stuffed about 1,000 easter eggs!

They look like they are having so much fun.....I think they were just mad that they couldn't find the eggs themselves.

Thug life on easter.

We also took advantage of the beautiful weather we were having by adding the hayride.

We were also showing off our new neon hoodies that we started selling in the gift store.  We also thought that they would be good uniforms to wear on easter.  With hundreds of people it would be easy to spot us.

Everyone agreed....it was easy to spot us!

Funny photo.  How could we resist?











Time for the show to begin!  We started the event with a couple of stories.  Kelly, our education director, also had some of her chickens to show off.
We then followed this with our annual easter puppet show.  

We even had a special guest arrive.  The Easter Bunny!  He even stayed and enjoyed the puppet show.

Next up; the Easter bunny hopped all the kids down to the egg hunt area where they all found the hidden eggs.

I think the Easter bunny loved posing for the camera.

Eggs aren't just for the children on Easter.  At the center, many of the animals enjoy easter.  Some of these animals include the lynx.  We set aside 4 raw, yet dyed, eggs for the two lynx.

Teal was cracking the first egg in the photo on the right.

This photo was taken just before we had an unexpected visitor join us.

This crow was paying no attention to the 2 lynx that were very intensely staring him down.

I was afraid we were going to watch mother nature in action in the middle of a lot of kids!

Luckily, the crow got smart and ski-daddled.

Finally the lynx showed some interest in the raw eggs.  I think the vinegar that we used to dye the eggs were not their favorite.

I will make note not to use vinegar next year.









We even had the lovely Kat join us and grill hotdogs for all the visitors.

Kara was on porcupine duty.  This year we decided to let snickers run around on the observation deck once we blocked the entrance off with hay bales.  I think he enjoyed being able to move around.




So after egg dying, bunny hopping, candy eating, puppet skits, story telling, hay rides, chickens flapping, and egg hunting; Easter was a success!

With Easter; we also know animals are going to be arriving soon.

The first signs of spring is when the birds are returning.  Some of the first returnees include swans.


A few days before easter Doug Lindstrand noticed a young swan on the side of the highway unable to fly.  Kayla, Teal, and I went out to observe the swan.  We decided that it was in an unsafe area and therefore captured it.  Now anyone that has worked with swans know that if it takes about 10 minutes to chase and capture a swan in a large open field.....it must be injured, tired, or sick.

I called Bird Treatment and Learning Center in anchorage and alerted them I was on my way.

Basically we believe the swan may have just been tired from migration and simply needed rest.

So after 3 days of rest we released him back into the wild.
In the below photo the 4 girls: Sarah, Kara, Teal, and Kayla were walking the kennel to the edge of the pond for release.




I snapped this photo of moose scat nearby just because I am a nerd and was excited to see a sign of wild moose in the area.  ok back to the swan.....

Doug lindstrand was also there to capture the release on photo.  I wanted to get a photo of him at work.

I am sure Doug has thousands of photos of people in action but not many of himself at work.

These next 2 photos show how talented Doug is at photography.  You can clearly tell the difference between his photos and mine.

The swan is back in the wild and hopefully enjoying the company of other swans at this very moment.

Time for another pup photo!  Zelda has surpassed the kennel in the truck.  she has now climed the passenger seat.  

We also explored the creek that runs through gird wood for the first time.

Good night lower 48.....although it doesn't look like night as much these days.  It is already staying lighter out later and later.

Bunny on a bike

"Zelda"

I have had one awesome week!  First off, my mom arrived late friday night on the 7th and I couldn't wait to see her!  Someone else also couldn't wait to see her....Jade, our red fox!  My mom was here last summer just a few months after we received Jade and added him to the AWCC family.  He was very excited to get some chicken from her as a snack.

 We still hand feed Jade daily in order to keep him familiar with us and to remain calm when it comes to food.

Every time my mom visits we also go to our favorite place for dinner.....or dessert...or both!  Jack Sprat is a delicious place to eat that is just a few minutes walking distance from my condo.

As you can probably tell we decided to have dessert on one of my mom's last nights to visit.  We like to split their bread pudding.  I had a cappacino while my mom had a huge hot chocolate!









   We also went for a daily stroll in the lovely moose meadows.......

 Well the fun had to end sometime and it was back to work :(

These 2 hard working gals were riding around all day putting up panels for something.  I don't really know what project they were doing but I am sure it was a tough one knowing them.

The snow is almost gone and I am ready for summer!





Speaking of summer; our brown bears are out of hibernation and have been getting daily feedings at 4pm.  the crowds really have been getting larger and larger each week.  it gets me excited for the summer time crowds.  After months of not seeing many tourists I am ready for th daily brown bear feeding programs to start again.

We went out to the feeding in my truck and Doug Lindstrand happend to catch the photo opportunity.  He also snapped the photo from above.

Well if you know me by now you may have heard that I have a new addition in my life.  When my mom was visiting we were on the prowl for a dog for me.  After going to the anchorage pound, and an adoption clinic I found the perfect match for me.  

We drove out to the palmer/Wasilla dog pound just to look.  Nothing really caught my eye until.....a woman that worked there mentioned that she had a puppy just become available for adoption.  Like most people that look at a puppy needing a home I couldn't leave without her.  

so here she is: meet "ZELDA"

Our second day together my mom and I went to Turnagain pass.  

Zelda likes to hangout in the ticket booth at work with her Aunt Kara. 

yesterday (3/31) Zelda and I went to Seward to just go somewhere on our day off.  It so happens that they were in need of some movie extras for a search and rescue scene.  Zelda and I made our first movie debuts as search and rescue person/dog.  I can't believe they let me have my puppy on set all day!  I even met cary Elwes (princess bride actor).  It was an awesome day off!

Zelda say "goodnight lower 48"

-Erin and Z

snow machines not snow mobiles

moose kisses. ok now onto the blog part.

When you start your day with this nose begging for a banana you tend to get slobbered on fairly often.

Hey I'm not complaining.

If you visit the wildlife center often times you find yourself ending up in Girdwood,Ak.  Girdwood is only 12 miles North of the center.  I actually moved here back in August.  I finally managed to get my skis dusted off and hopped up on the mountain a few weeks back on my day off.  It was so beautiful.  

It probably doesn't look this nice right now as it is raining for the next few days.  :(

One thing I look forward to each winter is gettingour snow machines out.

Oh wait we don't have any.  Why you ask?

because this happened.....

When you play with fire it tends to play right back.

This past summer our boss was burning some grass to re-seed.  Well, just when he thought the fire was out the wind picked up and happened to carry the fire all the way down to our snow machines!

So now thanks to Alaska Mining and Diving we have 3 brand new snow machines!

These next few pics are when they were actually delivered.  They were explaining the differences in the machines and which work better in certain weather conditions.

It is very important to have snow machines that are dependable.  Especially when you are herding a 2500 pound Wood Bison onto the neighboring pasture. 
 

Jade, our red fox was out and about waiting for his breakfast.  I think besides raw eggs he really loves chicken!

He even prefers to have a nice chicken breast over some fresh moose! 




                                  photo: by Doug Lindstrand
Speaking of moose,  I was feeding Teddy and Nelson a banana when Doug Lindstrand happend to pull up and snap a few photos for me.
I promise I was actually working and not just having a conversation with the moose!  Although, if you ask me, Teddy is the better listener between the 2. 

Teddy is on the left and has already shed his antlers over a month ago.  Nelson will lose his antlers any day now.                             photo: by Doug Lindstrand

YAWN!  Doug Lindstrand caught this great yawn by one of our lynx.  They will be turning 10 yrs old this summer.  They originally arrived here 10 years ago as victims of a forest fire.  They had severe burns on their ears and paws.

I wish they were friendly enough to touch.....boy I bet the fur feels so soft!

When Doug arrived he wanted to get some close ups of Jade.  Jade was a little hesitant as first, but as soon as Doug pulled some treats out he perked right up!

The musk ox calves are doing great with the herd!  We introduced them almost 2 months ago back to the herd they were born in at the center.  I still give them a daily bottle of water (3 pints to be exact).  This is just to keep them comfortable around us in case we ever needed to go in with them for some reason. 

Wrangle, in the photo on the right here was hoping I had more than just a bottle for him.

They must weigh about 350 pounds now!

                                                                                                       photo:by Doug Lindstrand

Mukluk, our 3 year old orphan from Dead Horse, Alaska, even tried sneaking up and stealing some bottle time!  Look at her beautiful horns that she is growing!

It is now March 6th and I am just looking back on last years calves.  Chugach and Wrangle were born April 14th and April 18th.  I can't believe I could be bottle feeding musk ox calves in as short as 6 weeks!



I should get my beauty sleep while I can.  Maybe the bears do know what they are doing when they sleep all winter and party all summer. 

goodnight lower 48,
Erin

Cotton candy for breakfast.

We call mornings like this cotton candy.  Do I really need to explain why?  Beautiful way to start my day at work.

Even though we still don't have much snow it could always be worse.

On Super bowl weekend I went to Wasilla, AK and did some cross country skiing.  The skiing was in Hatchers Pass.  Since there is no snow in Girdwood we wanted to try Hatchers Pass.  it was definitely in need of snow as well but it was nice to get out and about.  Hatchers Pass has some old mines that used to be used years ago.  You can still ski/hike up to the empty houses and read about the mines.  In this pic on the right is is the old mining area.  Don't worry we didn't go any where near this part.  

Meanwhile....

On the Education part of my job snickers has currently visited about 754 students this year so far.  

Kara Robinson is the intern on the left.  This was her first porcupine school program to attend.  

This was Aquarian Charter Elementary School in Anchorage.  

Remember these little guys from last summer?  Well they aren't so little now....   

Kara was getting some last minute pictures with them before we introduced them to our herd.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a little head butting with Wrangle and Chugach.  They are both just shy of 10 months old.  I can't believe how big they are!  I would say they weigh somewhere around 350 pounds or so.

                                                            Smile for the camera!

 

Goodnight lower 48,

Erin

a very weird winter.

Well these blue skies are becoming a common thing this winter.  The other common thing that we usually don't see.....BEARS!  With the warm weather and lots of rain the past few weeks; our 3 brown bears have consistently been active this past month or so.  As I was on my way to work a few days ago; we received a call from Challenge Alaska.  

Challenge Alaska is an adaptive ski and snowboard school.  This season I have been volunteering for them by cleaning their building twice a week.  It is a great cause that I love to support.  

Anyways, they received a road kill moose that they processed and had scraps for us to pick up.  I honestly wasn't sure if our bears were even going to be able to digest the meat or be interested in the bones.  Boy was I wrong!  

When I called the bears all 3 came running out of their dens and immediately snatched up their pieces.  

in the below pictures Patron is eating the scraps.  

You can tell that she has the ribs and loves them like a Texan loves their baby back ribs.

On my way to work earlier that morning I have never been so blinded by the sunrise.  It was gorgeous!

It is the strangest feeling to prepare for darkness for the next few months and snowy weather; but get sun and blue skies......and no snow!

Don't get me wrong, these blue skies and sunny days have been great; but I really would like for their to be snow on the ground.  The animals are liking the warmer weather but they do like snow to eat as well.  The musk Ox especially are missing their favorite time of year right now.


In the winter since the wildlife center is closed during the week I do a lot of school programs.  This winter Kara is working as the winter intern.  she just returned from Christmas break and I think some of the animals missed her.  what do you think?

Jade is so stinking cute!  he is getting big too!
i gave Jade a moose bone from that road kill moose and it was like christmas for him.

Imagine if you gave you dog a bone that big.  Their mouths would be watering!


Currently this year Snickers has visited 629 students in the Anchorage school district!
way to go Snickers!

   If you have been reading my blog for a while you may have heard me mention a musk ox named Mukluk.  Mukluk is a 3 year old female musk ox that we received when she was just 3 months old.  She was orphaned in Dead horse,Alaska when a brown bear killed her mother.  She was our first musk ox calf to ever bottle raise here at the wildlife center.  she is now in with the herd.  Since she was raised on our grain she is also the musk ox that eats the most of it which in turn causes her hooves to grow much quicker than the other musk oxen.  One time a year we have to dart her and trim her hooves.  She does have sharp horns so hence the reason why we dart her.  It is safer for her and the handlers.

This picture is me walking her after she already had her hoof trimming.  We just wanted to keep her up and moving to walk off the remaining drugs in her system before we left her to rest for the night.