16 jan 15 winter surprise

winter day surprise

when I lift cold frame to store

crisp taste of summer

7 dec 14 campbell creek gorge

Extravagaria

Now we will count to twelve

and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the earth,

let's not speak in any language,

let's stop for a second,

and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment

without rush, without engines;

we would all be together

in a sudden strangeness.

If we were not so single-minded

about keeping our lives moving,

and for once could do nothing,

perhaps a huge silence

might interrupt this sadness

of never understanding ourselves

and of threatening ourselves

with death.

Perhaps the earth can teach us

as when everything seems dead in winter

and later proves to be alive.

Now I'll count up to twelve

and you keep quiet and I will go.

 Pablo Neruda

13 apr 20 signs of alaska spring

Two weeks ago we were 20 degrees below normal, then 10 degrees below last week, and finally yesterday we topped 40. Spring is coming!

Spring snowfall - 12" on April 9th

Icicles on the berm along the driveway

seedlings in the living room window

snow biking wearing just a sweatshirt

30 dec 12 trail gnome

The clear cold fall left two days ago and warm drizzle replaced it.  Today I was trying hard to find the good in this turn of events.  My plans to ski/snowshoe/bike this long holiday weekend are on hold until this weather pattern moves out, which may not be until later this week.  Today we put cleats on our hiking boots and walked some mountain bike trails near our house.  There we found this trail gnome sitting outside his burrow playing his pipes.  He paused to smile at us as we walked past.  Thanks for the cheer on this gray day, little guy.  Hiking in the slush is better than many of the alternatives.

27 oct 12 ice patterns

Every year or two the conditions are perfect for ice skating in southcentral Alaska.  Temperatures dip below freezing before any appreciable snow falls.  The last twelve days have provided those conditions - clear skies, cold days and colder nights.  This past weekend we ice skated on 3 lakes around Talkeetna, and after work today we skated at Potter Marsh in south Anchorage.

I skated mostly with my eyes down so I could see the patterns in the frozen water. Cracks that curve instead of forming a straight line. Corkscrews and propellers along cracks. Bubbles trapped in action. Dark stars radiating into white ice*. Perfect circles on the surface. Hoar frost patterns under the surface. A new phenomena in every glide.

 

 

*Ned Rozell explained 'lake stars' in his Sunday Anchorage Daily News column.

22 apr 12 transitions

The snow continues to melt fast enough that I felt confident that any seeds I planted would have an outside home this summer.  Several flats in the living room window are sprouting with lettuce, cabbage, radicchio, broccoli, tomatoes, and a multitude of greens.

A foot of snow melted since last week!

4 apr 12 spring thaw

The snow retreated from the south foundation only two weeks ago and the tiny heads of the muscari are already pushing through the dead leaves.  Slowly the snow level is dropping in the rest of the yard.   The depth varies around the yard, from a foot in the south yard to three at the garden to four around the driveway.  The driveway is almost clear of ice except under the deck where it remains cooler and the sun can't reach.  Almost all of the snow slid off the roof in the last week.   Only a thin shelf on the flat dormer roof continues to simultaneously melt and inch its way over the eave, leaving us to wager on whether it will teeter off or disappear first.  Warm temperatures are melting this record snowfall quickly.  We've never seen a winter like this, though, so I'll try to track the thaw progress until it's all gone.

this flamingo will be tracking the snow depth by the garden gate - 3' today

Here's the yardstick for the rise and fall of the snow - compare to the zenith less than a month ago

7 april 2012 breaking the record

Just when it looked like spring was going to be dry and sunny, the clouds came in and the snows returned.  Yesterday we broke the record for the snowiest recorded winter in Anchorage by almost 2".  We've got something to show for all that shoveling and plowing.

18 mar 12 going for the record

There's nothing like a little competition for people to see the silver lining in a long, snowy winter.  Everyone is hoping for just another few inches of snow so we can break the all-time snowiest winter record from the mid-1950s.  The record is 132.6"and the official snowfall in Anchorage this winter so far is 129.4".  We're one snowy day away from the record.

As I mentioned in my first post about the snow back in January, we receive  more snow in our part of town because we're closer to the mountains than the official site, the airport, is.  I don't know how much snow we've received up here but I know how much is on the ground.  Below are two more photos of our yard for comparison to two weeks ago and January.  The above photo is the signage at the end of our street. 

The sky is cloudy this evening and the forecast calls for scattered snows this week.  Soon that record will belong to the Anchorage citizens of 2011-2012.  And all the slow commutes, aching backs, and narrow streets will be worth it.

Mount Snowmore!  Paul's overhead reach is 8'.

Now we've got a snow fence around the garden

4 mar 12 snow update

The snows continue to fall every couple of days, and Anchorage is nearing an all-time record.   Here are updates to the photos of our yard that I posted in January plus two new ones.

the vegetable garden.  Paul keeps a path open to the compost bins.  The top of the snow is at my chest.

The top of the pagoda is that bright snowy bump just right of center. 

Bhikkhu in the tunnel that is the path to our back door. His back is about 12" tall.

Bhikkhu in the driveway.  The far snow wall is chest height.  If I raise my hand , I can touch the top of the wall on the left.  The pagoda is to my left.

3 mar 12 iditarod parade

There are many unique aspects to life in Anchorage.  Dog mushing, arguably our most popular spectator sport, epitomizes that Alaska ideal of self-sufficiency against the harsh climate.  Thousands of people line the course of the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race as it winds 11 miles from downtown Anchorage to the Campbell Tract, just a few miles from our house.

Paul and I decided to get to the finish in an Alaskan way. We drove to a close trailhead and cross-country skied a couple of miles to the finish chute.  Despite the falling snow and low clouds obscuring the mountains, the climate didn't feel very harsh today with temperatures in the mid-20s.  Alaskans of all ages and a few tourists were hanging around trucks where the mushers who had finished were loading their dogs and sleds for the trip north to Willow and the real start of the race tomorrow.  The well-known mushers, most who finish regularly in the top ten, were answering questions and posing for photos.

Everyone wants to be close to the trail to cheer on the mushers.  The ceremonial start is more of a parade than a race.

We skied along the route, opposite to the mushers' progress, and stopped along the way to watch and take photos.  We eventually found ourselves on the other end of the Campbell Tract where the mushers were emerging from several miles in the woods with few spectators.  We watched and clapped until the last musher, a rapping rookie, passed. 

We skied to the Campbell Creek Science Center to play Iditarod trivia and listen to a long-time musher talk about the first Iditarod race 40 years ago.  Dan Seavey is mushing the trail this year to promote the race, dog sledding, and the trail.  His son and a grandson are also mushing dogs to Nome this year.

Happy Dogs! Though these leaders might have been a little warm with their jerseys encouraging the immunization of Alaska kids

When we left the science center, it seemed that everyone had gone home.  A lone moose stood on the trail near where we had watched the last mushers.  We saw no people on the ski back to the car.  That's life here in Anchorage on the edge of the last frontier, it could be 65 dog sled teams coming through town, or it could be the absence of any people on a trail within the city limits that contain a quarter of a million people, that reminds you that the wilderness and pioneers aren't very far away.

Karen Ramstead's team is always handsome though usually nearer the back of the pack on the trail to Nome.

24 feb 12 glen alps

The sun was shining in a blue sky as I shut down my computer late morning on Friday.  I was looking forward to a sunny snowshoe above treeline with Rose and Katey two hours later.  But while the sun was shining on metropolitan Anchorage, the clouds were hovering on the mountains behind us.  We drove up Toilsome Hill Road into those clouds and a snowy world in muted tones.  

Rose and Katey added a bit of color to a black and white scene

18 feb 12 more snow

Paul raking snow from the cabin roof to clear the chimney so we can start a fire after a three-week absence

4 feb 2012 winter heaven

Moose Ridge Trail, Far North Bicentennial Park

Perfect winter weather finally found it's way to south-central Alaska.  The weather this winter seems to swing between hurricane winds and arctic freeze.  The snow has been abundant but so many days and evenings it's been hard for me to motivate to get out into the cold or wind.  At the beginning of last week, the thermometer rose to the teens.  Then by Wednesday it was freezing rain.  Sanity returned with 20s and heavy snowfall all day on Friday.  By the end of the day we had 16" of fluffy white snow at our house and the nearby park.

On Saturday the skies started to clear and we headed to a trail network that we haven't skied yet this year.  It seemed like everyone else did, too.  Any sane Anchorage resident was out enjoying the perfect combination of fresh snow and mid-teens temperatures.  We had never seen so many people skiing here and were surprised at how packed the trail already was.  We were all smiling and friendly.  This is why we live in Alaska.

28 jan 2012 happiness in alaska

The good people of Kaktovik might have been disappointed in the weather this weekend in Talkeetna but I was perfectly satisfied that the thermometer only got 7 degrees colder than this.

22 jan 2012 pushing for fun

Paul and I have been riding packed snowy trails with our mountain bikes the past 2 or 3 winters. This winter I have a long-term loan of a fat tire bike. I wanted Paul to experience a 'snow bike' so I bought him a rental of one for Christmas. Yesterday we cashed in the gift certificate and loaded the Salsa Mukluks into the truck.

A week or so ago someone had mentioned that the new singletrack trails at Kincaid were in great riding condition. We hadn't had any snow all week so I thought it would be fun to take a new bike on a new trail. At the bike shop they said that parts of the trail were 'soft' and 'challenging' but they thought the parts that we would ride had seen regular use.

I won't go into the blow-by-blow of our ride. Let's just say that I was reminded of a phrase I heard when I first started mountain biking. If you aren't walking, you aren't mountain biking. Yesterday that became If you aren't pushing a fat bike, you aren't snow biking. The softest area was the farthest from the parking lot so as we completed the loop and headed back to the trailhead, the riding got better and better.

In the end, we rode a beautiful network of trails on a beautiful winter day. My snow biking skills improved and we got a great workout. Paul may not be ready to buy a snowbike but I'm ready to take the mukluk out again and see if I can make some of those hills that I couldn't before.

13 jan 12 mount snowmore

Towns around Prince William Sound are making the national news for the amount of snowfall they've received this winter. Here in Anchorage, we're on our way to setting records, too. As of today, snowfall is more than twice the normal amount for this date (89"). Almost 2' of that fell in the last two weeks. Those are the official numbers that are measured at the airport, which is about 8 miles west as the raven flies from our house. The airport is by the inlet; we are on the hillside of the Chugach Mountains and typically get more snow here than there. Paul is getting a little tired of firing up the snowblower and is having trouble getting the snow up and over the berms around our driveway and walkways. He's named the pile in the corner of the driveway and below the deck: Mount Snowmore.

Here are a few photos of our yard from June and from yesterday.
The vegetable garden ~

Paul's Torii gate

Paul's pagoda

8 jan 12 wood for the stove

Out biweekly trips to Talkeetna have found us snug and warm in our cabin while the thermometer struggles to top zero and the snow piles up outside.

1 jan 12 more snowy singletrack meditation

2012 begins snowy and cold in Anchorage this year. I resisted the urge to break one resolution on the first day and didn't let the cold stop me from joining a few Divas for a New Year's Day ride. I was glad I started the year with a two hour bike ride on snowy singletrack. I'm pleasantly tired this evening and feel less intimidated by the cold, which is good because winter isn't even half over. And with views like this, who wouldn't rather be outside than inside watching football?

dec 11 wintry images

This morning is supposed to be about catching up on photos -- printing those of my little nephews that my step-mom has sent; printing photos of other family members and friends from the past year; downloading photos from the last 2 weeks from 2 cameras; editing photos from the Divas trip to Eklutna in September; and editing everything since then. But I've run out of photo paper about halfway through and the number of photos to be edited is a little daunting.

It's the season for not only cleaning up the physical and digital space but also to sweep through the mental space to see what needs to stay, what needs to go, what needs to change. And I can't decide if my resolution for the new year should be to take a photo a day, keep up on the blog better (think I've tried that one before), lay the blog down, or just not get too hung up on any of it.

I'm going to contemplate all of that while tromping about this snowy world on snowshoes later today. In the meantime, I'll post a few photos from this month and feel a little satisfaction in getting a few photos printed, a few edited, and a few posted.

A spectacular sunset just after a snowfall between wind storms a couple of weeks ago

Snow biking on my birthday last week. Thanks to my friend Rose for loaning me her mukluk while her shoulder heals. A Happy Birthday indeed!

An early afternoon ski with Paul on Christmas Day in Talkeetna