Smells like spring spirit

It started looking like spring around the 20th of March. But then another snowfall came, and it was equal to the most we've had this winter. One of the days the weather was lovely and I was not at work, so I took the dog with me out and made the most of the day. It was almost like traditional Easter holidays: snow, sun, chocolate and hours spent in the outdoors.

Usually summer here lasts from mid/late December to about late March, a total of 3-3.5 months. Last year the ground was coverend in white from 14 October onwards, and it's still white. Which means we've had winter for nearly half a year now – that's a lot, and it feels like way too much.

So therefore I am glad that spring has arrived for real this time. It started just a few days ago. Snow is melting faster by the day, the temperatures are warm and I can once again wear trainers instead of winter shoes. Soon every little forest path will once again be available for exploring without wearing skis. The walks with the dog will not have to be along streets but can be anywhere, anytime. In a month it won't get properly dark at night either.

Yesterday evening while out walking there were northern lights. There's been quite a lot of that this winter, and I've enjoyed it every single time. Yesterday's sighting might be the last one for the season. Although I'll miss it I'm not sad. It's moving towards summer time, and sunshine 24/7. Bring it on - I am totally ready for it!

My new best friend - 10 months later

I realise I've been ignoring and forgetting about this blog. I shouldn't have. So I'll try and update it more frequently from now on. Maybe. This is my dog - the puppy from the previous post is now 10 months old. His name is Emre, he is a very loveable dog and measures about 70cm on top of his shoulders. Big for his age and for the race, in other words, and he still has muscles to grow. I love it.

The winter is about to leave, spring is approaching and I look very much forward to being able to wander about in the nature here with Emre without having to ski or worry about where there's a hard track to walk on... Perhaps I'll update more here when we start roaming?

February: The Femund Race @ Røros, Norway

This is Røros, Norway. The town is on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its having large parts of the town preserved in its original form from back when Røros was a bustling mining industry town. It is particularly famous for its old wooden houses, which the entire town is full of including the town centre and the houses along the two main streets.

In the winter the temperature in Røros drops to 20 and even 30 below zero (centigrades) for long periods of time, and there is always lots of snow. No wonder, perhaps, that it's the home of the start and finish line of the Femund Race? The FR is a sleddog race that takes place every year in February, and this year about 150 mushers and nearly 2,000 dogs were signed up to participate! Unfortunately quite a few had to withdraw before even starting as they caught the kennel caugh (sick/caughing dogs, very contagious) so the numbers were a bit lower in the end. But nevertheless; it's an absolutely amazing experience to be able to follow the race here!

This is 'my guy' in the race, Per Mjærum of Jeppedalen Husky Trail. He started as #17 and finished #12. The race was also this year's Norwegian Championship in long distance sleddog racing, and due to two foreigners being above him on the list, he and the team made top 10 in the NC! Great job, Per! The race starts on a Thursday at noon and the winner - Sigrid Ekran - arrived at the finishing line Sunday afternoon. Per arrived late that night, three hours after midnight. I was there to greet him then, as were many of his friends and some other people. He was tired, of course, but also immensely proud of the dogs and their performance!

This is Tom Waes from Belgium. He is a TV star there, both as an actor and as his own show host. He had only two weeks of experience with mushing before starting the shorter Femund Race (there's one long race of 600 km and a shorter one of 400 km) and hardly anyone thought he'd actually be able to finish it - but he did! Tom did this as part of a challenge that is the foundation for his Belgian TV series 'Tomtesterom', where he takes on physical/mental challenges to test whether he can complete them or not. Makes me wish I could be in Belgium to see the show on TV! His 2nd season starts on the 6th of April and I believe the F400 Race was the second challenge (and programme?) of the series...but we'll see.

After the race I spend two days at a friend's nearby, just to chill and enjoy time with the dogs after the race. One of the days I took a dog for a walk, as my friend's house is located literally next door to one of Norway's largest national parks, the Femundsmarka wildlife area. There is also the Femund Lake, Norway's third largest lake I think. I and the dog ran into a Saami man (native Norwegian) who told us there were a few reindeer nearby, so we went to have a look up close. This one is being kept apart from the herd as it is to be tamed. Quite an impressive sight.

New Year's: Snow, sun and LOTS of dogs

I spent New Year's in the mountains of Valdres in southern Norway, together with some old and many new friends who are into sleddog racing (a.k.a. 'mushing'). The picture above is Marit Kasin of Kennel Vinterdans, who is out training her team. We were some 20+ people and about ten times as many dogs, I think. I took hundreds of photos. A friend also brought along a sled I got to borrow so I could try sleddog riding for the first time in life. Great fun! I definitely need more experience to be able to do it better, but I had fun going along a fairly easy trail. And fortunately my 'guide' was very patient with rookies! I had 6 dogs in front of the sled. Some people had 18 when they went out training - THAT was an impressive sight, I tell you. No wonder the lady on the sled was the reigning Norwegian champion...

One of my favourite huskies in the world, if not THE favourite at present: Amigo. He comes from Ketil Reitan, but is now owned and trained by Jeppedalen Husky Trail. He is an excellent lead dog and amazingly beautiful, I think, with one blue and one brown eye. I've met Amigo a couple of times before and we got on well enough. But this time he was off training for a few days due to an injury, and I took him for a walk twice. That was as if cracking a code - we totally connected and all of a sudden he was a different dog; very cosy and loving and ... I completely melted!

Old flatcoat retrievers look cute in 25 below zero degrees... Whiskers and eye brows turn white, just like my hair did, because of humidity freezing. I love his looks! He is one out of two flats who live with Jeppedalen Husky Trail and their 20+ Alaskan Huskies. And the flats are the only ones who formally live inside the house rather than out in the dog yard... ;-)

Cuba and Sunniva. The latter is a six-year-old girl who is crazy about dogs and dog sports. She had borrowed a kid's sled from one person, and Cuba + another dog from another, and got to race her own two-dog team around the kid's trail in the snow. Great fun! Here she's thanking Cuba for the ride. Later Sunniva got to be co-pilot on a 14-dog-team. No need to say she was high on adrenalin after that :-D Great girl, who will one day make a fine musher methinks.

Early afternoon in the mountains. The colours were absolutely amazing regardless of what time of the day it was, and with lots of clear sky we got to experience all kinds of colours both on the sky and in the landscape around us. No wonder we spent the larger part of the day outside...

Sunniva and BentO share a sled behind 14 dogs, all of which belong to the latter! It was an amazing sight, both for the joy in her face, for the beauty of a long team winding its way through the snow - and for the sun and the shade effects caused by snow clouds and near-sunset. Magic!

Winter magic! This is what a regular birch looks like around midnight when it's more than 20 below zero degrees... It's not a black-and-white photo; just a regular colour photo taken in the dark using standard flash. No wonder, perhaps, that I had to go out at night for a walk and for taking photos :)

Do you really believe it's dark?

Anyone who's not from here or even from Norway assumes that I now live in a place where it's dark 'half the year or something'. Well, I don't blame you, because you don't know better. I do. And now I'm sharing it with you :)

The picture above was taken around 2pm in the afternoon today. The sun is technically above the horizon every day, however, since Bodø lies on the mainland and there are mountains to the south of the city, we do not really see the sun in the city any more. For about a week the sun in the daytime has been hidden behind the Børvasstindan mountain range, which you can see in one of the recent posts (from Straumøya island). Looking at it from here you can clearly see where the sun is and where it moves, however, you only get to see the light it projects and not the source itself.

Around 8am you can start distinguishing the brighness that creeps in on the sky from its southeastern corner. It takes a while and the change in light goes very slowly, but around 11 a.m. it is bright daylight. On a cloudy day you will still need to use lamps in the house; on clear days you don't. It does not take long after noon before you notice the change in the light. It is as if there is less of it, but you can't point your finger to exactly why. And then, if you're lucky, the sky is clear except for a few thin clouds. At about 1.30-2pm the last of the sun rays hit the clouds and colour the whole world golden. It is as if the western sky is burning, and the contrast to the green-blue darkening surrounding sky makes the colours appear even more clear. And then all of a sudden it is over; the light is visibly fading and colours turn pale and get a hint of grey in them and... And then it's dark.

This time of the year it's generally dark from 3pm to 8.30-9 a.m, give or take. Sounds awful but it isn't as long as you make sure you actually SEE the light in the daytime, instead of just staying inside, in an office or something. I rather think of the days as colourful in many ways, especially if there are polar lights in the sky after dark.

Oh well. Just thought I'd share that.

Sorry about the poor photo quality! My camera is once again being repaired and I have to rely solely on my mobile camera for now.

Update soon - From weekend winter wonderland

Saturday's fireplace...

I spent the weekend in the middle of the mountains in a log cabin, together with a young, blonde guy. We went on hikes while it was still bright and saw glimpses of the sun, though soon we'll not see it for a couple of weeks. We also had an outdoor bonfire, crossed a nearly frozen river on a wooden hanging bridge, spent an evening hour sitting on an outdoor staircase watching the snow covered landscape in the moonlight around us, had to get water from another frozen river (crack a hole in the ice to get through to running water) and ... oh yes, our train back home was delayed because there were so many reindeer on the tracks.

My camera (apparently a new and neverending story!) wasn't too friendly, but my buddy had an iPhone and I used my mobile camera, so I'll be able to show you some of this shortly. It's just that since our train got back to town (1hr 20mins late!) I've been to a concert and then headed for work - I'm now working a night shift. Will update more properly and with piccies as soon as I get some sleep and my pics are available on the laptop at home!

Oh, and did I mention it? When I came back the city was white - snow has arrived again! Yay!