The winter field season ended after many successful lynx captures, some close calls with bad ice, and the usual snow machine abuse. Back in Tok, the sun was heating up the world and the snow was starting to melt. Life was pretty quiet again. Then several things happened, all at once.
- My job at the refuge was suddenly cut due to budget constraints.
- I found a new seasonal job working for an outdoor education camp in Anchorage.
- We began the process of moving out of our duplex.
- I broke my fibula while nordic skiing (betcha nobody's done that before!).
- Two of my pet rabbits gave birth and we now have an additional 13 rabbits (albeit miniature ones) to transport. In my defense, these animals became pregnant before we were informed that we would have to move.
Needless to say, with a broken leg I was pretty much useless. Which may have been okay after all, since I was able to give Dash plenty of space to work his packing-magic. But even with the best calculations, it is difficult to fit the personal belongings of two people into a couple of subarus. We had a lot of moving assistance from generous friends.
Amani is faithful to his cage, even when the bottom has been taken away to be packed.
While my industrious boyfriend was busy packing, I finished some paintings. The outlines were in place, and I just needed to color inside the lines. I've been practicing with using isopropyl alcohol to give a mottled effect in my backgrounds, and I used it here on the yellow birch trees.
September, watercolor and pen
One of the many, many disappointing things about breaking my leg was no longer being able to join Dash on hikes to check on the trail cameras. I was hoping to climb up the ridge across from Hona Mt. and get the Mentastas from up high, one last time before we left. Anyways, there are a pair of coyotes that frequent the ridge top where we have put some cameras, and we always see their tracks running along the top. When we checked on our cameras back in January, the days were so short that it was often dark by the time we finished the ridge loop. On a particularly cold night, we were lucky enough to see the full moon rise, and with it a "moon dog" illusion appeared. And that was the inspiration for this watercolor, Moon Dog.
Moon Dog, watercolor and ink
While trying to think of with ways to entertain Amani, Dash came up with the great idea of using a "cut-out board" to "dress him up". Unlike forcing your pet to wear a costume (and let's be real, no animal likes to wear clothes), this is a completely humane way to have fun. By the way, this is now Amani's favorite box. How can we tell? It's the only box that he hasn't ripped to shreds, which I interpret to mean he has a certain level of appreciation for it.
For example, here we have a flaming lion...
... and here is the manatee side (his least favorite of the three)...
...And mermaid! (merman? Amani is neutered, so it shouldn't matter, but we should probably stick with the gender he was born with)
And here is my bandaged foot, photo-bombing a perfectly cute composition.
Amani has helped to teach me the virtue of relaxation. He is really good at it. He even fell asleep while grooming his leg.
I will have plenty of baby bunny photos to share soon! And not much else while my leg heals.
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