Six more days!! No not until my birthday. That is eight days away and don’t worry, I will remind you all.

On August 10th grouse hunting season opens. And Amy and I are going to go and get us some birds! I’ve been seeing them all over the place lately which means of course they will disappear on August 10th. Maybe we’ll bring Amy’s big sister Makayla with us because she’s like the grouse whisperer.

I realize that some of you who are reading this blog are still baking and melting in heat and humidity. But here, fall is well on its way. Leaves are starting to turn. Nighttime temps have been in the 40s. It’s been kinda damp and chilly here through the day. The dogs are restless. And you can smell it in the air.

I love fall. It’s my favorite season next to winter. For me fall holds so many promises. Cold crisp days. Freezing temps at night. Moose hunting.

I was looking at some photos of falls past. Here’s one of my favorites of Amy with Spud and Pee Pee after a training run. Amy looks so young in this one. She just turned 12 and teenagehood is on the horizon!

Spud, Amy and Pee Pee on a beautiful fall day!

Here’s my friend Ellen who is currently traveling across the country with her husband David. Next month they move to Peru!

Ellen after a training run with the mutts.

After growing up in the land of the sugar maples and all their vibrant fall colors, it took me a while to appreciate the beauty of the mostly single colors of the trees and plants in the North. But I’ve come to love scenes like this:

Here’s what greets the eye after rounding a corner on one of our trails!

And there is nothing like running a dog team through the woods on a cool fall day.

Um, yeah we’re not exactly lined out straight!

A river trip above the Arctic Circle in August:

Nobody around for miles and miles and miles. Just the way I like it!

I had to build my little stone Inukshuk when we stopped to explore:

My Inukshuk. Yeah I know, not so spectacular.

And finally the remains of an old cabin at the end of a very remote lake. I spent the afternoon poking around and wondering about the person who lived there. The rope bed, old cans, rusted barrel stove – all still there. I would have moved in if I could have!

The place of my dreams….seriously!

So while many of you are bemoaning the ending of summer, here in Fairbanks I am doing the happy fall dance and counting the days!