Carters In Alaska

Week in Review January 16, 2012

2012-01-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

Wildlife in the neighborhood in January

Last Saturday when Doug got out of the bed, he looked out the window (as we always do - looking for wildlife and/or Northern Lights) and spotted moose tracks in the snow in our yard. The tracks were right beside our deck and patio door and led around the side of the house. We went from window to window and finally decided that the moose was no longer in our yard. When Doug went out later to scoop snow. he discovered the tracks led to the corner of the house right outside our laundry room window. The young (judging from the size of the tracks) moose had munched on what was left of our flower barrel in the corner. While the moose was dining in the corner by the house, he apparently got tangled in the extension cords of our outside holiday lights which Doug had placed "out of the way" off the sidewalk by the flower barrel. Doug found quite a tangled mess of cords on the sidewalk and the snow on the sidewalk pretty trampled down. It looked like the moose had quite a time extricating himself from the cords. Sorry - lots of evidence, but no pictures!

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On Sunday when the sun came up we found new visitors to our bird feeders. These are Bohemian Wax Wings. As you can see they are much larger than our regular customers, the red polls, nuthatches and chickadees. Doug saw one that was orange-red from his head to his tail. He did not stick around for a photo- op. We see pictures of them in the Anchorage newspaper every winter, but have never actually had them at our house before this year. A couple of them have been back a few times this week.

You can really see the red breasts and red caps on the red polls.

At first when the red polls were at the feeder, the nut hatches and chickadees flew away. But they are now sharing the feeder more frequently.

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We have had tons of birds, probably because we have had TONS of snow! Doug puts feed out every day. Sometimes we have 30-40 just on the porch feeders. They also feed on the ground under the deck. You can also see the red hanging feeder in these pictures.

Note the snow on the hanging feeder in the left center of this picture. The feeder is down the hill about 20' from the deck.

In this picture, between the porch railings, you can see the squirrel feed shelf on the tree about 40' down the hill. When the squirrel is not there, the birds help themselves to his feed.

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We have had some resident eagles in the tree on a regular basis. The first couple of pictures were taken 2-3 weeks ago. We went through about 3 weeks of gray,
cloudy weather. As you can see by the snow on the house roof, this was taken before our last couple of weeks of snow, snow, snow. But we do count our blessings. We do not have anywhere near the amount of snow that has fallen at Valdez and Cordova.

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These photos were taken on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Doug was outside chipping away at the ice on the driveway when he heard the eagles "talking" to each other. It is kind of a chittering noise. This house is four houses away from ours. You can see that the sun is out and the sky is blue. But it comes at a price. It has been about -15* all week and that trend is to continue this next week. It is VERY beautiful weather (if viewed from the inside). :>) And it is gorgeous outside if you are dressed for it. I have been substituting this past week and since it is not exceeding -20*, the kids still go outside for recess. They all bring their "gear" and out they go. Fortunately (for me), my current position does not require me to go outside with them.

Since the winter solstice (big party time here) on December 21, we have gained back 4-6 minutes of daylight each day. Actual sunrise is currently at 9:55 AM (it starts getting light earlier than that), and sunset is at 4:23 PM - 6 hours and 28 minutes -- not much less than a normal winter day in Nebraska. Of course, we will keep gaining until we are almost at 24 hours of light by June.

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Speaking of "Wild Life"

These photos are of the spot where I slid into the ditch on the way home from school on Friday afternoon. It wasn't really a wild ride. It actually happened in kind of slow motion. Those of you who know me know that I can usually easily drive my way out of something like this. Not this time.

It was snowing like crazy and I met a car in our neighborhood just two blocks from our house who felt that his half of the road was the middle of the road. I moved over to the right, not worrying about going too far, as there was a monster snow berm on the side of the road where the maintainer had made a ridge when he cleared the road. I figured I would crunch in the hard berm and know when I was over far enough. I forgot what I have been telling you - that Alaska snow is light and fluffy. The berm was not hard and crunchy. I got over just far enough that I started to slide down into the ditch, and there was no driving out of it--just sliding down and sideways. I ended up with my front bumper in the snow on the passenger side, tilted so I had to crawl up out of the drivers door, and with my wheels completely packed in snow so that I could not turn them.

Thank goodness for cell phones. I called my Knight in Shining Armor (aka Doug) and told him of my predicament and told him if he wanted to pull me out while it was still light out, he should leave the office immediately. (Note that there was not an option given whether or not he would pull me out, just WHEN he would pull me out).

Doug shoveled on the passenger side and I shoveled on the drivers side. Then I got back in the car, ready to try again. Suddenly Doug knocked on the window and told me to look out the passenger window. There was a young moose munching on the tree in the yard beside us (picture #2, tree at the left side of the photo. You can see how close he was. The two-rail fence would not even have slowed him down if he headed for Doug.

As we were digging, the school bus arrived and dropped off kids. There was a mom waiting to pick up her kids from the bus. As often happens here, she had all the kids get in her car, in case the moose decided to attack. No "don't get in with strangers" in this case. The moose started walking toward the bus and her car. It apparently looked up and saw all the activity and turned around and went the other direction (Whew!) Sorry, no moose pictures here either.

Pictures, finally!!!!

When we got up this morning, Doug did the normal check out the window and not only saw moose tracks, but the actual moose! He was at the house next door. The tracks showed that he had been in our yard right beside our house earlier. I did get a few quick pictures before he disappeared down the hill.

Christmas Eve, 2011

2011-12-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Treat

I arose early Christmas Eve morning to put some cinnamon rolls out to rise (since I had forgotten to put them out in the refrigerator to thaw the night before). Whenever we get up the in dark during the winter, we have looked out the windows to see if we can spot the Northern Lights. On my way back to bed I stopped by the bedroom which faces the Talkeetna Mountains to look, and THERE THEY WERE!!!! I hurried in and woke Doug and we went from one bedroom to the next looking out the windows. We could see the red, pink and green glow on the horizon in a 270* arc. They were not the large, dancing curtains which you see in photographs, or the ghostly swirls. They were just glowing area that grew brighter and then faded and changed locations on the horizon. After watching for just a few minutes we decided to get dressed and drive to a nearby hill to see if we could get a better view (the Schwabenhauf hill, for those of you who have visited us). We were at the hill in about 10 minutes. The reds had faded, and the greens were a little less. But we sat and watched them for another 20 minutes. Also, the range had diminished. We could only see them in one direction. As we sat facing the Lights, we could see an ice fog creeping up on us from the rear. It was still quite dark, but there were lots of highway and street lights that got fuzzier until they disappeared in the fog. Several hours after the fog passed the trees were beautiful, covered in a thick frost.

Sorry, I have no pictures of the lights.

A photo taken with our small cameras could not do them justice.

I do have a website, sent to me by a friend, that explains the phenomena of the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. What we have learned is that we should not just look to the north. They occur in any direction around us.

http://www.flixxy.com/aurora-borealis.htm

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Later in the day we drove a little north of our house to scout a skiing trail that we had read about. We have a lot of snow at our house, but there was a LOT of snow just 20 minutes away from our house. The elevation is higher and the temperature was about 15* colder than at our house too.

Note the snow on the power lines

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These pictures were taken from our house in late November. These are the mountains we can see from 3 separate sides of our house. For those of you who have visited, I have included the location from which the photo was taken, because the first one is the only view you can see in the summer. We can only see the other mountains once the leaves are off the trees.

Talkeetna Mountains

(photo taken from bedroom at the end of the upstairs hallway)

Chugach Mountains

(photo taken from our bedroom window, looking to your left)

Chugach Mountains

(photo taken from our bedroom window, looking to your left)

Pioneer Peak in the Chugach Mountains

(photo taken from our bedroom window, looking to your right)

Chugach Mountains

(photo taken from our bedroom window, looking straight ahead, toward Palmer)

You can see the fog which follows the Matanuska River in the picture - at the top of the tree line and the base of the mountains. The tall peak is Matanuska.

Feeding the Birds

2011-12-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

The birds have been regular visitors to our bird feeders again this winter since they discovered them. We have had red polls, nuthatches and chickadees. We have also have had a downy woodpecker. It is a very large bird and none of the other birds will come to eat when it is at the feeder. It is a very messy, particular eater. It flips a lot of feed out fo the feeder, so we shoo it away when we see it. One day it caught a red poll on the porch, after the red poll had hit our patio door. When I approached the door, the woodpecker flew away with the unconscious red poll in it's grasp.

The feeder is mounted on the feeder right outside our patio door. I took these pictures from just inside the door. We also have a hanging feeder and a shelf for the squirrels on a tree about 20' from the house. Some days there are 50-60 birds. It is fun to watch them that close.

RED POLLS

Chickadees

Chickadee & red poll

Nuthatches

Palmer Musk Ox Farm - May 2011

2011-05-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

Enjoying an ice cream cone after our tour of the Musk Ox Farm.

The Musk Ox Farm has free admission for moms on Mother's Day. So we made our annual visit a couple of weeks ago. It was a chilly day, but it was sunny. Generally the wind REALLY blows out there. This year there was just a gentle breeze. You can see that it was sort of cloudy off in the distance. The mountains in the background were not as clear and sharp as they sometimes are. Nevertheless, it is quite a place to be farming!!! Imagine that view every day as you look across your field. They had a record eleven calves born this spring.

After our visit to the Musk Ox Farm we did our annual Mother's Day greenhouse tour to shop for plants to put in our yard and our planters.

Knik Glacier Trip - May 2011

2011-05-18T08:41:00.001-07:00

We made our annual 4-wheeler trip to the Knik Glacier on May 14. It was a nice day, but somewhat windy. As we neared the glacier it got colder and the wind became a factor. You can see many dust swirls in some of the glacier pictures. The glacier dust is finer than sand. That is one of the reasons I wear my helmet with a visor. If you breathe in too much glacier dust it causes respiratory problems. I learned that lesson on our first trip. I did not have a face mask or goggles that first year. I suffered from a double dose of dust when the volcano was erupting and the volcanic ash came up the Knik River valley.

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PANORAMA VIEW OF THE KNIK GLACIER

NOTE DOUG'S FACE - HE DID NOT HAVE A FULL VISOR
- AND WE STILL HAD TO MAKE THE TRIP BACK IN THE DUST!

LUNCH BY THE GLACIER
YOU CAN SEE A RAVEN IN THE PICTURE FLYING OVER THE GLACIER

TWO OF THE GUYS WHO WERE LEADING THE WAY FOUND A BIT OF A DEEP SPOT. THE YELLOW DRY BAG WHICH YOU SEE ON THE SHORE ACTUALLY FLOATED OUT OF THE FOUR WHEELER AND HAD TO BE RETRIEVED.

GETTING STUCK FOR THE SECOND TIME! (YEP - SAME GUYS). WE WERE GLAD THEY WERE LEADING SO WE KNEW WHERE NOT TO GO!

THESE PICTURES ARE NOT ZOOMED IN.
WE WERE STANDING 25' AWAY IN THESE SHOTS.

THE VIEW AS WE LEFT THE GLACIER

IDITAROD IN ANCHORAGE - March 5, 2011

2011-03-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

We attended the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. We had a great location from which to watch. Nearly every team stopped right in front of us on the way to the start line. One team caught our eye. This is musher Wattie McDonald from Scotland. You can see that his team, his handlers, his color guard, and all his helpers are decked out in traditional Scottish regalia. Note: He did not wear his kilt the next day at the start of the actual race. :>)

(If you are new to my blog, there is an Iditarod post in my past postings.
You can see more race pictures there).

The person in the sled is an Iditarider.
You can bid at auction for the chance to ride in the sled during the ceremonial start.

IDITAROD RESTART 2011 - WILLOW ALASKA

2011-03-14T20:44:00.001-07:00

On Sunday March 6 a friend invited us to their cabin to watch the re-start of the Iditarod. Their cabin is about two blocks from the start of the race. The 62 mushers and teams, who started on Willow Lake, mushed right past the cabin. There was a lot of activity on the lake preceding the race. As we cooked and ate dinner the crowed on the lake began to grow and the activity increased.
As I post this, the two mushers below, John Baker and Ramey Smyth (seen here at the start of the race), are in a battle during the last 77 mile stretch. They will arrive in Nome in the next few of hours. No matter who wins, a new record will be set for the time it takes to travel from Willow to Nome. Race officials are anticipating a foot race between the two teams as they reach Front Street in Nome to see who passes under the burled arches first.

Ramey Smyth

John Baker

Just as we arrived at the town of Willow on our way to ur friends' cabin, we HAD to pull off the highway to capture this gorgeous view of Mt. McKinley. It was so clear we could see the top of the mountain, which is often obscured b swirling snow. They say here that Denali makes its own weather. So even if it is clear where you are, it is not necessarily clear at the peak of the mountain. We could also see Mt. Hunter and Mt. Foraker in the Alaska Range.

A zoomed-in view of Denali.

The scenery at the lake.
The mountain you can see over the top of the trees is none other than Denali.

Doug looking out over the lake from the cabin two hours before race time.
Note the spot out on the lake just above the porch railing post on the left side of the steps. That is an outhouse which someone has hauled onto the lake. You will see the crowd around the Outhouse grow as you read further.

Lots of good food, and plenty of it. Here we are grilling reindeer hot dogs.

A view of the cabin from the lake.

We walked out on the lake before the race started and observed all the activity going on. If you look closely, you can see Denali peeking over the tree in the background between us.

A look at Denali from the lake.

These two dogs and their master got a ride in a snow machine sled.

A look at the trail markers which are used to mark the trail the entire way to Nome. Also, people were cross country skiing on the lake.

This sign was hung above the race path. In the past years, those folks who lived in the Valley were referred to as "Valley Trash" by the more affluent folks in Anchorage.
We actually have our own group to watch the Husker football games in the Valley. We refer to ourselves as the VT4H - Valley Trash For Huskers). :>)

This stroller had its wheels removed and replaced with skis. They also replace the third wheel with skis so they can pull it behind them when they cross country ski.

Campfire at the cabin

The outhouse group is planning to stay for a while.
They have a nice fire going and plenty of wood.

They also put up plastic on the north side to block the wind
(which never was a factor on this day).

Other groups lining up to watch the race.
Note Denali over the top of the trees.

Our group walked from the cabin out to our chairs in preparation for the start of the race.

The whole family bundles up and goes....it's Alaska!

As I said, we were RIGHT beside the trail. This picture shows Doug giving five to musher Ally Zirkle as she mushed by. As he went by, one musher asked if I was hot in my fur coat.

Four time Iditarod champion Martin Buser.
You can see how anxious the kids are for each team to go by.
You can also see how excited the dogs are to run. They run with their heads up and are ready to race. They don't even look like they are exerting themselves. Most of the mushers were riding their brakes at this point to keep them slowed down. That's how "ready to run" the dogs are.

Musher Kristy Berington

Lance Mackey has won the last four races. He is attempting to be the first team to win five in a row. There is only one other five-time winner, Rick Swenson.
(Swenson did not win all five of his in a row).
You can really see the hot pink dog booties.
Note Denali in the background.

According to a park ranger, 90% of the people who come to Alaska on their vacation with "seeing Denali" on their list of things to do, leave without seeing Denali. Such a clear viewing day is actually such a blessing. Once again we had a wonderful opportunity to experience Alaska and the breath-taking sight of Denali all day long from so many different perspectives just added to our awesome day!

2010 HOLIDAY WISHES

2011-01-11T22:24:00.000-08:00

2010 -- OUR YEAR IN PICTURES

Trip to McNeil River to camp with and view the grizzly bears

Up close and personal -- the bears came right up beside our viewing space. This bear is about 5 feet from our chairs.

A view of Mt. Illiamna (volcano) from our bear viewing space. There is an eagle flying in the sky, lots of seagulls, and bears in the river.

Junior Iditarod at Willow, Alaska with NFL great Larry Csonka. Larry has a TV show on Versus called NAPA's North to Alaska. The episode that he filmed at the Jr. Iditarod will air on June 5, 2011. He will also have an episode about the World

Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks that will air on Feb. 6. I posted pictures of us at this event a couple of years ago. Larry lives in Alaska now and travels around doing shows all over the state.

Four Wheeler trip to the Knik Glacier

Hawaii with Melanie

Hiking Diamond Head

At Pearl Harbor

Hawaii - snorkeling with the amazing fish!

Sitting by a waterfall along the Seward Highway

Camping and hiking along the Blue Ice Trail - lots of glaciers to view along the 4 mile trail

On the boat viewing Portage Glacier

Visit to the Elk and Buffalo farm (one of Doug's producers)

White water rafting Class 3 & 4 rapids on Six-Mile Creek. Colleen almost flew out of the raft!

Halibut fishing

Watching people pan for gold at Crow Creek Mine - Girdwood Alaska

Hand Tram across the gorge. Two people fit in the basket and you pull yourself across the deep gorge with the rope.

FAMILY PHOTOS

Audrey Elizabeth and Sean Douglas - Parents: Dan & Mary

Audrey - Age 4

Sean - born Aug. 25, 2010

Cynthia Rose and Thane Finley - Parents: Matt & Stephanie

Cynthia - Age 3

Thane - born Nov 11, 2010

Dan & Mary ---- Chris & Melanie ---- Matt & Stephanie

Malones

Kelly, Jane, Pat, Mary, Bob, Colleen, Tom

Winter Trails Day January 9, 2010

2010-01-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

Views from our house a week before Christmas. These pictures are of our backyard.

A gorgeous December sunrise.

Tailgating - Alaska style. These folks are watching people sled down the hill at Hatcher Pass.

It's a family affair. We saw several babies in sleds being pulled behind their parents, and kids on little bitty skis.

We tried cross country skiing and snow shoeing. You can see what a beautiful day it was!

This moose was across the road from where we took oue picture (above).

This video shows some of the activities at the Winter Trails Day at Hatcher Pass. There was cross country skiing and snowshoeing. A local sporting goods store provided all the equipment. The local ski club provided instruction for skiing. They had hot chocolate and cider and snacks for everyone. They also provided warming barrels. But the day was so nice, not many people used them.

This little girl and her mom went down the sledding hill on their tube. About half way down the hill, a girl about 10 years old was stopped in their path, so the mom bailed off the tube so they didn't hit the girl. This little girl in the picture finished the ride by herself. She tried to get off, but she was on her back like a turtleon top of the tube. She was light enough that she really sped down the hill. Fortunately the bottom of the hill went uphill in the other direction, so the tube slowed down and someone was able to catch the runaway tube.

2009-10-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

My brother Tom sent this picture that he took in Omaha on Saturday. Thanks Tom, for reminding us why we moved to balmy Alaska!!!! Saturday in Palmer brought partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 54*. On Sunday it got up to 60* and lots of sunshine. Saturday afternoon we took our camper to Hatcher Pass (about 25 minutes from our house)and stayed overnight. We are currently watching the baseball playoff game in Colorado. B-r-r-r-r!!!

Armed with our bear spray, we hiked two miles up the Gold Mint trail. We met several hikers coming back down the trail as we headed up. When we returned, we were just one of two cars left in the parking lot. We passed several beaver lodges and beavers dams. We didn't actually see any beavers.

There are hundreds of little streams and waterfalls that feed into the Little Susitna River. It was running fast because the mountains had had LOTS of snow on them. We had Chinook winds on Friday night and Saturday that melted almost all of the snow on the peaks. Three days ago, the peaks you see in these pictures were completely covered with snow.

Little Susitna River --It was right below our camper. We could hear the river all night.

When we got back from our hike we started a fire and

sat by the fire for a couple of hours.

This is the view we woke up to on Sunday morning.
Again, note the absence of snow on the mountains.

The river is down a steep hill behind our camper.

Sunday morning we walked up the road about 1/2 mile and looked back on our campsite. Our camper is the one on the right. The other camper pulled in about 11:00 PM Saturday night. The vehicle on the left came on Sunday morning. Three guys got their bikes off the trailer and headed up the trail on their bikes. The building on the left with the green rook is an outhouse. The trail starts right behind the outhouse. There is also a large sign with bear warnings and wanring about being prepared to go off hiking (having water, adequate clothing, etc.) We saw lots of moose tracks along the raod on Sunday morning.

View of our valley from the Hatcher Pass road.

When we arrived home, one of our resident eagles was in the tree. They sit in the tree three houses away from our house. Note the blue sky and complete lack of snow (or termination dust as they say here in Alaska.)

4-wheeling for Mother's Day - May 9, 2009

2009-05-10T20:54:00.001-07:00

What a Mother's Day trip! This is the Knik Glacier, which you can see from our house in the winter (when there are no leaves on our trees). You can see it from our highways and roads year round. It took us about 6 hours for the whole trip. Our friend, Jimmy has been making this trip for many years. He said that this was only the second time that he has actually been to the ice at the terminus of the glacier. Normally there is too much water to get this close. (see the video below of how fast the water is running). As you might guess, the water is COLD. It has icicles floating in it. It was another gorgeous day, and the scenery was once again breathtaking.

Approaching the terminus of the Knik Glacier on four-wheelers.

AT THE TERMINUS OF THE GLACIER

This is where we had lunch.

The water didn't look deep, but it was!

Looking back down on the glacier after lunch.

This group is now sitting where we had lunch.

TRAFFIC JAM on the way to the glacier.

GLACIER MELT

Note how fast this water runs. It is only from the melting glacier. It is full of glacial silt, giving it a very gray opaque appearance. Without the silt in the water, it would be crystal clear. But there is so much silt, that you cannot see through the water to judge how deep the water actually is. It was running fast enough to knock a person off their feet.

I've posted these videos so you can come Fourwheeling with us!

THROUGH THE WATER

THROUGH THE MUD

OVER THE HILL

RUNS ACROSS THE FLATS

Denali Trip - May 3, 2009

2009-05-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

We drove the Parks highway to Denali National Park. During the normal tourist season, access to the road through the park is very limited. The majority of the people touring the park must ride on tour buses, which are old school buses. They hold a lottery for the opportunity to drive your won car through the park. Only a certain number of private vehicles are allowed in the park each day. This is so that there is a little as possible to disturb the natural habitat and habits of the animals and also to preserve the beauty of the land. During the pre-season private vehicles are allowed up to Mile 30. The road is open for about 90 miles during the summer season.

The day was a rare one in terms of visibility of the mountains and Denali itself. In three weeks of driving toward Denali on my way to school, I have only seen it once. It is generally either hazy or the snow is blowing on Denali and you can't see it or the rest of the Alaska Range. It usually clears up a bit by afternoon and I can see it in my rearview mirror on the way home.

This day the whole Alaska Range was visible from a long way off. We could see Denali from the south as we approached it, as we drove around the east side of it on the highway and again from the back side when we were in the park. by the time we got in the park, it was beginning to cloud up over Denali, but we got a quick look at it.

Photos taken from Willow, at Mile 68 of the Parks highway

(approximately 100 miles from the mountains you see here).

CHENA RIVER AND VIEW OF ALASKA RANGE AT DENALI VIEWPOINT SOUTH

(PARKS HIGHWAY MILE 135)

Notice all the twist and turns in the river. The water carries glacier silt with it until it builds up and the water can carry it no more. So the water leaves the silt and picks a different path. The process repeats itself over and over, which makes many twists and bends in the rivers. We are experiencing a lot of flooding in the interior regions of Alaska because of the ice jams on these types of rivers. Although you can still see some ice on this river, there is not much ice left and the river is flowing freely. You can read more about the flooding in the Interior at this site:

http://www.adn.com/news/environment/flooding/story/794868.html

Click on the link that say "pictures of flooding" to see some pretty tremendous pictures of the ice damage. Some of the chunks of ice from the rivers destroyed home when the flood waters carried them into the houses.

And, believe it or not, the fire danger in other parts of the state (including our area) is extremely high. We have entered the wildfire season and have some major wildfires going on already.

http://www.adn.com/news/environment/fire/story/794110.html

Meanwhile, back at Denali and the Alaska Range. You can see the largest glacier, Ruth Glacier, just to the left of center. It appears as a large snowy area toward the bottom of the mountains, just about the trees. We are still about 50 miles from these mountains.

Glacier coming down between the mountains. The Ruth Glacier is 31 miles long. It is over a mile wide and 1/2 mile deep. It travels through the Great Gorge, which is nicknamed the Grand Canyon of Alaska. Ruth Glacier has 5,000 feet peaks on both sides of the glacier.

Doug and Colleen with Denali between us in the background.

Denali (AKA Mt. McKinley) is over Doug's right shoulder.

Backside (north side) of Alaska Range, taken from our picnic spot in Denali National Park.

Backside (north side of Denali) from our picnic spot in Denali National Park.

NORTH SIDE OF THE TALKEETNA MOUNTAINS

Note how the Talkeetnas are not as sharp or towering as the Alaska Range is. This picture is taken from Broad Pass, which is the pass between the two ranges.

WILLOW PTARMIGAN

Taken in Denali National Park. They still have their winter colors on, making it hard to spot in the snow. I did not get a picture of the first pair we saw (we saw a total of six pair that day). We had stopped for lunch and we sitting in the car enjoying the view of the mountains. It was too chilly yet to picnic outside. A couple in the parking lot took their two dogs out for a walk in the brush and flushed a pair of ptarmigans right at our car. I thought they were going to fly in my window before they quickly veered up and over the car. They landed in the brush not too far from our car. The willow ptarmigan is the state bird of Alaska.

CARIBOU

Some of these were taken in Denali National Park. Some were taken on the highway near Cantwell. The large group crossed the road right in front our our car while we stopped to watch. The two crossed on the highway, again right in front of our stopped car.

CARIBOU VIDEOS

Baby Musk Ox - May, 2009

2009-05-08T06:37:00.001-07:00

We got a call a couple of weeks ago. The first baby musk ox have been born. A couple of them were taken from their mothers and are being hand raised. Here are pictures of one of them in the field with his mother.

This is Tsunami. She is being bottle raised. She is about 8 months old in these pictures. Obviously, she doesn't understand what a fence is yet. Musk ox are related to the goat family, so she bleats like a lamb. She did not want to be left alone and was content if she was just near someone.

We were a distance away and Tusnami was bleating. I came back toward her pen and she stopped. She kept trying to get near me, but didn't understand what was stopping her (the fence).

She was still trying to learn how to drink from the bottle, and I was trying to learn how to hold it just right!

Easter In Alaska - 4/11/09

2009-04-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday was mostly cloudy and in the upper 30s all day long. We looked out the window at 9:30 PM and this is what we saw. We could see it snowing in the mountains off and on all day. It finally moved to our neighborhood. Our snow had almost all melted, but it looks like we will have the chance to go through another "melt" cycle.

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We took this a couple of days ago when we were a the grocery store in Palmer. The "kids" are just waiting for dad or mom to come out of the store. When I took this picture, the owner was out of sight inside the store, even though you might guess that he/she was walking across the parking lot toward the truck. They were at attention like this for several minutes.

Note the mountains in the background. Those are the ones right outside Doug's office window. This is his view every day!

Jr. Iditarod - 2/28/09

2009-03-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, February 28, we went to Knik Lake to see the start of the Junior Iditarod. The lake is about 40 minutes from our house. It is a 145 mile race for kids who are ages 14-17. There were 21 mushers in this year's race. The videos and the pictures are a bit deceiving. It looks like a raging blizzard. In reality, it was a gorgeous day. The snow came in big flat flakes with absolutely no wind. It stacked up on a person if you didn't keep it brushed off. The temperature was a balmy 20*, so it really was a perfect day. The first musher left at 10:00 AM. The kids take a trail 82 miles and then have a mandatory 10 hour layover. Then the continue for another 63 miles to the finish at Willow (where the adult Iditarod race begins). The winning musher finished at 12:30 PM on Sunday, March 1st. The last musher finished about 7:30 PM Sunday. Some of the kids came from mushing families and others have no one else in their family who mushes or raises dogs. The winner is the stepson of Lance Mackey, who has won the Iditarod the last two years. Lance will be competing for his third consecutive victory next weekend. You can read more about today's race and about the mushers on www.jriditarod.com. If you would like to read about the Iditarod, check out www.iditarod.com.

(P.S. to Mr. Brooke: The snow was truly "wafting" down - perfect hot tub snow!!!)

Race Security Detail.
The lathes with the orange tips in the back of the first snow machine are trail markers.

More race security detail members.

Putting booties on the dogs prior to the race.

Dog kennels come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

Team out on the line before they are harnessed and ready to go.

Let's go!! Let's Go!!!!!

This sled dog's eyes were blue, like a Siamese cat's eyes.

Back-to-back Iditarod winner Lance Mackey is to the left of the guy in the orange hat. They are all standing at the start line waiting for a musher to take off.

5-4-3-2-1-GO!!

Concession Stand

This young man got bored and brushed away the 8-10 inches of snow off the ice. What you see at his feet is the frozen lake.

The ultimate multi-tasking mom -- a baby in the carrier on her back, one in her arms, one at her feet and taking pictures too!!

Jr. Iditarod Videos

The teams lined up in a circle before the start. We stood in the center of the circle to shoot the video. This is about 1 hour before race time. At this race spectators are allowed to wander amidst the dogs and mushers and take all the photos they want. That is one of the neat things about going to the smaller dog races. At the Iditarod ceremonial start in Anchorage and at the re-start in Willow, spectators are fenced off from the mushers.

This is about 40 minutes before race time and the mushers are beginning to get their dogs out and prepare them for the race. The dogs begin to sense this and you can hear a few of them barking.

The first team is called to the start line. Notice that the dogs are NOT quiet now. Every one of them wants to GO.

Another team is called to the start line. You can see how the volunteers help to catch the sled and stop it on the start line, so the dogs don't take off before they get the signal to go.

The dogs are ready to go, and another musher is off and running.

Melissa Osmar walking her team to the start line.

If you listen, you will hear the starter countdown the last 5 seconds before he says "GO!"

Driving to Delta with Doug - 2/25/09

2009-02-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

Doug went to Delta Junction for training at the north Alaska FSA office this week. Delta Junction is about 6 hours north of us, near Fairbanks. He took these pictures along the way, so you can feel like you are traveling along the Glenn and Richardson Highways with him.

So relax and take a drive with Doug!

Matanuska Glacier

This is the winter view with fresh snow on the glacier. It is about 9:30 AM. The sun is still behind the mountains. If you want to see what it looks like in the summer, check out my blog post entitled "Carter Kids at Matanuska Glacier", posted 7-31-08.

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Note that the trees are getting more sparse.

No trees at all.

This flat surface is a lake. You can see the snow machine tracks.

Alaska Pipeline

These are markers where the pipeline is underground.

Notice that the pipeline goes underground at the bottom of this hill.

Road clearing Alaska-style

I thought when I saw these pictures that this guy was throwing the snow a long way off the road. this is true, but he is throwing it across the road, from the left side of the road to the right side. If he threw it up the hill on the left, it would eventually just slide back on to the road in small avalanches.

These videos show how far he is throwing the snow!

Doug did not see the Northern Lights, even that far north. Every day the forecast for the lights is the same: quiet, low or minimum. Here is a story about why we are not seeing them this year.

http://www.adn.com/front/story/700194.html

Furry and Feathered Friends

2009-02-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

We have been feeding the local creatures this fall and winter. Here are a few shots of our visitors and a couple of videos. The shelf is about three feet outside our patio door and I stand 2-3 feet inside the door to take pictures. The birds don't seem to mind. This is one of the first times the squirrel has been brave enough to come to the porch. Doug usually puts feed on a feeder out on the tree. It was empty, so he had to come a little closer.

This is a large squirrel for here. They don't have the really bushy tails. They are not as large as the squirrels we had in Nebraska.

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Red Breasted Nuthatch

I had some really GOOD pictures of them. But unfortunately, I accidentally deleted them. We had lots of them here a month ago. They have not been around lately. These 2 pictures somehow escaped deletion.

We also had a few hairy woodpeckers on our suet, which is hung in the backyard. I'm afraid to report that not even ONE of those pictures escaped me when I went crazy deleting.

I know those of you who know me cannot believe that I would EVER throw anything away, be it physical or virtual trash! :>) I am trying to turn over a new leaf and stay clutter-free and organized. Then something like this happens and it reinforces my fear of throwing things away.

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Boreal Chickadee

These birds were pretty shy and did not come in the large numbers that the other species did. It was more difficult to get pictures of them. They tended to feed on what was dropped to the ground by the other birds.

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Black Capped Chickadee

We had LOTS of these guys about a month ago. Since the redpolls ( further below) arrived, our chickadee population has decreased. We still see some single ones occasionally. The species of birds do not feed together. So when the redpolls are here, the chickadees stay away.

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Common Redpoll

We have had a lot of these in the last month, sometimes 30-40 at a time. They are not shy at all. They really don't seem to mind if we are moving around inside the patio door.

A Drive With a View - February 12, 2009

2009-02-12T19:38:00.000-08:00

These first two pictures were taken at my school site. This is the senior housing next door to the school. This snow accumulated after it had all melted once this winter. It snows between 1/2" and 4" every day.

This is the electrical service box outside the student center at school.

These pictures were taken at I drove back into Wasilla. To get to our house, you just keep driving toward the mountains in this first picture. These are the mountains we can see from our bedroom and kitchen windows. Of course, the view from our house is not quite as majestic as this view.

I also saw Mt. McKinley in my rear view mirror several times on my drive home today. Unfortunately, I can't take a picture in my mirror that would do it justice. You'll just have to wait until it gets light enough in the mornings that I can take pictures when I am driving toward it instead of away from it.

A Peek at Our World - January 31, 2009

2009-02-01T21:10:00.001-08:00

These pictures were taken from our house. These are the trees in our back yard.

This picture was taken from the window in our spare bedroom.

These pictures were taken from our bedroom window.
The sun was shining on the new snow on the mountains.

Eagle Movies - Jan. 18, 2009

2009-01-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

These movies were taken in Homer at the site where the Eagle lady fed the eagles.

Eagle "chattering" after he landed

Man feeding the eagles

Eagles coming in to be fed and fighting over food

Eagles gliding in the wind

Eagles taking a bath

Eagles in Homer - Jan. 18, 2009

2009-01-20T06:10:00.001-08:00

There is a lady who has fed the eagles in Homer for many years. It is quite a sight to see hundreds of eagles in one spot. She died in January. Here is a link to a story about her, and also another link about the town continuing to feed the eagles.

http://www.adn.com/front/story/654023.html

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/665844.html

Doug and I went to Homer the week after she died because no decision about continuing to feed the eagles had been made by the city council yet. We were afraid that we would not get another chance to see the eagles. The weather was exceptional. All the snow was melted and the roads were fine. We did stop at a viewpoint on the way to Homer. We were able to see three of the volcanoes across Cook Inlet. Thank goodness Mt. Redoubt wasn't acting up that weekend, or we might not have gone.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. I took hundreds and narrowed them down to these "few" to post. Most of these were taken while we were sitting in our car, surrounded by the eagles. They literally flew right over our heads and in front of our car. I have added a few additional notes within the pictures. You can read them as you scroll down.

This one is sitting on a sign right in front of our car.
The white car hood you see in the bottom of the picture is our car.

The eagles "chattered" for 15-20 seconds whenever they landed.

This picture is kind of fuzzy, but it is the only one I got of the guy who was throwing food to the eagles. He has a dark gray shirt and a pinkish hat. The other people behind him are photographers with super cameras.
Doug and I were just using our little digital cameras, but we got some great pictures---and memories!!!

The brown/tan ones are young eagles.

They do not get their white head until they are a couple of years old.

Eagles taking a bath
If it wasn't for the fact that the wind was blowing and moving the water, this would have been a great shot of the eagles and their reflections in the water. We sat right beside these guys for 5 minutes and they weren't the least bit concerned that we were there.

About an hour after they were done feeding, most of the eagles flew off and we walked along the beach. These are pictures that we got of the eagles that were left. As they flew over the condos, they just floated sideways in the wind, without even flapping their wings.

You can see the kelp and debris to know how high the tide was.
Note the mountain and glacier across the bay behind the eagle.

These are the boats in the Homer harbor and it is not even summertime! A good number of the boats were not even in the water at this time.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

Dan, Matt, Doug
Melanie, Colleen, Audrey, Mary(Dan's fiancee), Stephanie(Matt's wife), Cynthia
6/08

Cynthia
6/08

Audrey
6/08

Audrey feeding the reindeer
6/08

Audrey feeding Ernie the Elk.
6/08

Audrey & Mary feeding the baby moose.
6/08

Cynthia meeting the baby moose. The moose is about 6 weeks old.
6/08

Melanie, Dan & Matt hiking on Matanuska Glacier
6/08

Lunch at the Long Rifle Lodge after glacier hike.

Matt, Dan, Melanie, Doug, Stephanie
6/08

Hiking up the Butte

Audrey, Dan, Matt, Cynthia
6/08

Cynthia in her kuspuk made by Grandma.
11/08

Audrey in her kuspuk made by Grandma.
11/08

Cynthia loves her bath and her daddy!
11/08

Cynthia Rose, November 2008

Audrey got the cat to follow her almost all the way home.
11/08

Audrey, November 2008

View from our bedroom window.
10/08

Photo taken 5 minutes east of our house.
10/08

Photo taken 5 minutes north of our house.
10/08

This is the view of Mt. McKinley Colleen has on her way to work (when it is light in the morning). This photo was taken on 9/28/08.

Colleen's first time salmon fishing. I caught two like this!

Carter Kids at Matanuska Glacier - June 2008

2008-07-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Ice Climbers

Long Rifle Lodge - lunch overlooking the glacier
The glacier is over Matt & Dan's shoulders.

Reindeer Farm - June 2008

2008-07-31T12:29:00.001-07:00

Audrey, Mary & Cynthia feeding the baby moose.
His mother had died and the Reindeer farm is raising him.

Bruce the Moose

Feeding the reindeer

Feeding the elk

Audrey's first pony ride at the carnival

Hatchery - June 2008

2008-07-31T12:07:00.001-07:00

Both Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base have salmon hatcheries. They are free and open to the public. You do need to show proper ID to get on the base at Fort Richardson when you go to their hatchery. They had millions of fish. Some were indoors and some were outdoors. They had salmon and trout (which, by the way, are the same family of fish). We even saw them "vacuuming" fish from an outside tank into a truck (via a very large hose). The truck would then go to a lake and stock it with the fish.

If you look closely, you can see the "rainbow" in these rainbow trout.

Audrey loved the fishies!

Cynthia and Matt in the rain at the hatchery.

Hatcher Pass & Iditarod HQ-- June 2008

2008-07-31T10:11:00.001-07:00

Family picture at Hatcher Pass

Iditarod Headquarters

Audrey and Cynthia touring the parking lot while everyone else is watching the movie.

Future Iditarod hopefuls!

Moose Sightings June 2008

2008-07-31T09:47:00.001-07:00

Some people come to Alaska and never see a moose. some who have lived here for years have not seen a moose yet. We saw all of these on the same day. We were at the entrance to Fort Richardson on our way to the fish hatchery on the base. This moose acted like he wanted to cross the road, but there was a lot of traffic from both directions. Thank goodness it was an access road to the base and not the main highway he was trying to cross. The four-lane Glenn Highway was not far away, as we had just exited it to go to the base.

He finally saw his chance and ran across the road in front of us. We were stopped at the time so we could take his picture.

We saw this big guy as we came out of the fish hatchery.
We did not stay very long to try to get a better picture of him, but he was BIG!

Two moose at Potters Marsh along the Seward Highway south of Anchorage.

Portage Glacier June 2008

2008-07-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

We took an hour cruise to the terminus of the Portage Glacier. It is called Portage because it is on a portage route between Prince William Sound and Turnagain Arm. We did not have time to stop at the newly remodeled Begich-Boggs Visitors Center near the glacier. If you come to Alaska, do plan time to stop here. It has tons of information about all kinds of things in Alaska, including wildlife, tides, earthquakes, glaciers and SO much more. The boat took us to the glacier and we floated back and forth in front of it in hopes that we might see some of the ice calve from the glacier. No luck with the glacier calving, but we did see some wildlife on shore and ice floes along the way. We did get an up close look at the blue ice and glacier dust stripes in the glacier.

Waterfall coming out of the rocks.

Hiking the Butte June 2008

2008-07-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

We hiked up the butte while our kids were here. We didn't make it quite all the way to the top. We did go up far enough to see some great views though!

Doug, Colleen & Audrey

The boys and the babies. Note Elton John on the right!

You can see the summit of the butte behind us. We have learned that everything looks closer than it actually is. So if you think you are getting tired, QUIT. Turn around and go back because you still have to have enough energy to make it back to your starting point. Notice Little Elton John is completely relaxed and taking her afternoon siesta.

Views of the Knik Glacier from the butte.

View of the reindeer farm from the butte.

What goes up, must come down!

Grandpa, Audrey & Dan after the long hike.

Kayaking - July 2008

2008-07-31T08:36:00.001-07:00

The Palmer Hay Flats lie along both sides of the Glenn Highway as you come into the Mat-Su Valley. The Hay Flats used to have open hay fields, grazing cattle, sheep and horses in Colony Days prior to the Good Friday 1964 earthquake. The earthquake registered greater than 9.0 on the Richter Scale. As a result of the earthquake, land that was once prime farming land, dropped several feet and became a 45 square mile complex of forest, wetlands, tidal sloughs, lakes and tideflats. Here is a link that shows a picture of the "ghost forest" created by the earthquake.

Wikipedia: Palmer Hay Flats

The Friends of the Palmer Hay Flats had an Open House and educational day at the Flats. They offered free canoeing and kayaking on one of the lakes. We took advantage of the opportunity to try kayaking. It's something we would like to do again, although we are not quite ready for the "white water" league.

Chugach mountains in the background, covered with clouds.
Even with the clouds, it was a great view.

The water was so clear that you could see the algae under the water.

The water search and Rescue Team did demonstrations at the lake. They could approach the victim in the water with their special inflatable boat. They paddled straight at the victim until the victim was in the area where you can see the hole at the front end of the boat. then they just reached down and hauled the victim in to the boat. No worries about trying to get the victim into the boat from the side and tipping over the rescuers too.

Little Susitna River - July 2008

2008-07-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Doug and I drove up to the entrance to Hatcher Pass, about 20 minutes from our house. This time of year is when the rivers are running the fastest and the deepest because the glaciers have warmed up and are melting so much. The water was roaring over the rocks. It was amazing. As you can see in the picture with the mountain in the background, the view was breathtaking. You can hear the water in the video posted below.

As I stood on the rocks on the shore and took pictures, I looked to my right to see Doug just stepping up out of the water. He had slipped in and gotten his shoes and jeans wet!!

Girdwood Rainforest- May, 2008

2008-06-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

We walked on a trail through the rain forest behind the Alyeska Lodge in Girdwood. It was unbelievable to see the trees and vegetation. You could see where the snow had come across the trail in small avalanches earlier. They were still skiing above the trail on this same mountain because they had just had fresh snow before we got there.

This is a picture of the log Doug WOULD NOT cross so I could get his picture on it!!!

Snow from the avalanche across the trail. It was obviously impassable for the casual hikers (like us) in the not-too-distant past.

Seavey Dog Show - May, 2008

2008-06-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Although the Iditarod and official dog mushing season is over, we were able to see how the dogs are trained, what equipment they use with the dogs and witness the strength that these dogs have. The Seavey family has a show in Anchorage that shows you all of these things. It was a rainy day, so the video is not as good as it could be, but you can still get the idea of how strong the dogs are.

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Notice at the beginning of both videos how anxious the dogs are to get going and pulling.

The dogs are pulling sleds weighted with concrete blocks and sand bags, totaling several hundred pounds.

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The dog team is pulling a pickup from a dead stop.

Animal Wildlife Conservation Center - May, 2008

2008-06-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

At mile 79 of the Seward Highway, we reached the Animal Wildlife Conservation Center. The center takes in orphaned and injured animals. You can find more about what they do at this web site:

http://www.awcc.org/web/home.html

We timed it just right and arrived at feeding time, so the animals came fairly close to the fence for pictures. We took a break for a picnic lunch too.

MAGPIE WHO CAME BY WHEN WE WERE EATING OUR PICNIC

ELK

GRIZZLY BEAR

SMALL BLACK BEAR

BLACK BEAR

PORCUPINE

Porcupine Videos

MUSK OX

Mothers are very protective of their babies. This cow kept her baby behind her when I tried to take pictures. Finally, the little guy peeked out on his own. This is how these animals have survived for thousand of years. They put their young and feeble in the center of a circle. The adults all face outward and stand shoulder to shoulder. Any predator has to deal with those horns to try to get at their prey.

Another thing that has helped the musk ox survive in theArctic is the extremely warm under coat of hair, called quiviut. There are actually three layers of hair. What you see on some of the adults is the quiviut working it's way from the underneath part through the guard hairs on the outside. The quiviut is very valuable. It is combed or collected, cleaned and processed into yarn. Then it is distributed to women in native villages. They knit the yarn in specific patterns to make hats and scarves. It is a way for the people in the villages to make some money.

The skull cap can weigh up to 65 pounds. The males butt heads when they are fighting for dominance of a heard.

Papa, Mama & Baby going to eat.
(video)

WOOD BISON

SITKA DEER

MOOSE

Russian Orthodox Museum - May, 2008

2008-06-03T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Russian Orthodox Museum in Anchorage was an interesting place to visit. It contains a chapel and many icons, and examples of needleworks and artifacts from 18th century Russian America to the present.

Kayak frame

Priest's garment - unbelievable bead work on it!

Chapel

Ceremonial banners

Miscellaneous artifacts and photos

This picture of St. Herman of Alaska is made entirely of small beads.

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GIFT SHOP ITEMS

Portage Glacier - May 25, 2008

2008-06-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

We went to Portage Glacier. The Begich Boggs Visitors Center which overlooks Portage Glacier is a great place to visit. It is newly remodeled and has tons of information about earthquakes, avalanches, glaciers, Alaskan wildlife and flowers and much, much more. It is the most complete source of information that we have found under one roof so far. And the video/audio presentation of the info is so interesting. The center is also quite kid-friendly, giving lots of examples and comparisons that children can understand (and therefore, the rest of us can too!)

LOTS of new snow on the route to the glacier!

Portage Glacier

This is a picture of the catamaran that will take you up close to the glacier. You can see how big the glacier is compared to the ship. The ship holds about 200 people. We hope to go back and take a cruise on this ship when their is not new snow on the glacier. It is easier to see the colors and the forms in the glacier without the snow covering.

Girdwood Moose - May 24, 2008

2008-06-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

We stayed two nights at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast in Girdwood on Memorial Day weekend. Each morning we saw this moose with her new calf right below our deck. The host at the B&B said that the calf was just two days old, so mom had hung around the neighborhood because she gave birth in the yard next door. She knew we were watching her and taking pictures from the upper deck, but as long as we got no closer, she stayed in the yard next door.

Dip Netting Along the Seward Highway - May, 2008

2008-06-03T20:56:00.001-07:00

As we drove along the Seward Highway, we saw many people "dip netting". They troll for fish with a net. The video at the bottom shows how it is done. It is a family activity, as you can see. We saw dozens of people trying their luck. Very few were catching any on this day. One of the fishermen allowed us to film his catch in the cooler.

Catch of the day: Hooligans. we are told they are very oily fish. You just cut off the head and cook the whole fish. There are small bones in them that you eat. You can see that they are not very big. These fish are in a picnic cooler.

Seward Highway - May 24, 2008

2008-06-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

We drove south on Anchorage on the Seward Highway on Memorial Weekend. Our mission was to check out some more tourist-type activities and to experience more of Alaska. It was gray and rainy when we left Anchorage and it wasn't looking like it was going to be a very nice weekend. But I read in one of the tourist brochures last year that you must go ahead with your plans because rain comes and goes constantly here. We are so glad we forged ahead. As you see from the pictures, we drove out of the rain into beautiful weather. It remained like this the whole weekend. The next few posts will show you some of the things that we did.

Lots of Daylight - June 2, 2008

2008-06-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

We currently have about 19 hours of daylight each day, and are still gaining several minutes a day until June 21. At that point, we will start losing minutes of daylight each day. I took these pictures of the sunset at 11:20 PM. This is the view that I see when I sit down to my computer.

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Someone made this Last Supper picture for our church. It has over 1000 pieces of wood in it. This photo does not do it justice. It is just beautiful!

Lance Mackey - May, 2008

2008-05-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

In 2007, Lance Mackey accomplished a feat that most thought could not be done. He won both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod sled dog races. They are both grueling multi-day races. Then in 2008, he and his team repeated this amazing feat when they won both races again. The name of Lance's Kennel is the "Comeback Kennel". Less than 10 years ago, he was not racing; he was battling throat cancer. So he has, indeed, "come back."

Colleen and Lance Mackey

Thinking Spring - May, 2008

2008-05-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

We are trying to "think spring". Doug planted about 100 flowers in our berm. He also planted several patio pots and we bought a couple of hanging baskets for our porch. Hopefully, I can send you pictures soon of them all bursting with blooms! Flowers here seem to be so vibrant and colorful. It does not get so horridly hot and of, course, all that daylight doesn't hurt either.

(NOTE: As I write this, it is 10:50 PM. I am gazing out the window of my computer room at a beautiful sunset. The horizon is a beautiful yellow and pink sunset and the clouds are a pink and lavender color. It gets light here at about 5:00 in the morning. Our bed faces the sunrise, so we have to make sure to shut the blinds before we go to bed if we do not want to wake up at 5:00 AM with the sun in our faces.)

I took these pictures at 11:15 PM with no flash. Each day will have even
more sunlight. Our longest day is June 21.