busy times

Wow, the last two weeks have been busy.

We had several ceremonies at work, including a garrison change of command, that required our attendance to escort reporters and take photos.

I went to the July 4th celebration in town, as our new commander was the speaker and we supported the event with color guard and flag bearers for the state flags. It was hot (80+) and there was no breeze. Despite the heat, the ceremony was very nice and there were several thousand people there. The only thing missing was the usual AF flyover. The speakers, color guard and flag bearers are all positioned on a drydocked sternwheeler, the riverboat Nenana.




The Alaska flag was the first one off the boat.






Between the work requirements, I did get some downtime.










I visited Pioneer Park (Pioneer Park , Fairbanks Alaska), a local park with picnic areas, playgrounds, a couple of museums and a lot of gift shops. Most of the shops are historical buildings that were moved from downtown Fairbanks to the park. They include a blacksmith's shop and a couple of "cribs" from the city's old red light district.


Interior Alaska's first Episcopal church and the home of Judge James Wickersham (James Wickersham) are also in the park.


We enjoyed lunch at Souvlaki, a Greek restaurant, in the park, and visited the aviation museum. The park staff plants gorgeous flowers and the place is cheerful and bright on nice summer days.



















And then there was Buddy. The animal shelter requires that all adopted pets be spayed or neutered, so I took him in for his surgery. Because of a medical condition, the vet had to go into the abdomen to neuter the poor little dog. I went to pick him up and was reading the report when I stopped short at the word "hermaphrodite." Yep, he had a full set of male reproductive organs, plus two small ovaries and an undeveloped uterus. So he was spayed and neutered for the price of one! He recovered quickly, but then developed a hernia. So he's back to the vet this morning for a second surgery. Hopefully he will recover from this one as quickly as he did from the first.

He is a fun little dog, but also a little strange. He doesn't like a lot of noise, and even the sound of popcorn in the microwave frightened him. His eyes got huge and had a wild look in them as he backed - ever so slowly - from the microwave. As soon as he felt safe, he wheeled in the other direction and ran. I offered him a couple of pieces of the popcorn, but he declined. He is also afraid of thunder and the squeaks from the toys I bought him. But he's an affectionate dog and loves being outside.

That's it for this morning. It's time to prepare for the vet and work.