Oh Give Me A Home...

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here. Friday started a wonderful weekend by settling in the upper 60's. Since it was such a nice day I decided to take advantage of the weather and run into Delta to do a little shopping. I needed to pick up some things to get in the mail, and maybe one or two things for myself, too.

When I got home we grilled some pizzas and then settled in to watch a movie and decompress from the week. However, I had to catch a snapshot of this lovely moon hanging out nice and early above the trees. This photo was taken at about 8:30 p.m.

Saturday morning we had planned to head out to Fairbanks. Somewhere between the alarm clock and my rising from bed, Brent decided he didn't want to go along. So I got him settled, and I headed for the city to get my shop on. I scoured last minute closing sales at Gottschalk's, and then just hit the old stand by's. My main goal was to find hiking shoes, but I managed to space that mission all together. It wasn't on the list! Grrr.

After dinner Saturday evening we all piled into the Envoy and took a drive to survey water levels in the Delta area. I have to say that I'm very surprised at how fast the water is dissipating. While gravel roadways, like our driveway, are still challenging and mucky, they continue to improve daily. Hopefully soon I won't need to wear my boots to get to the mailbox.

On our drive we came upon this herd of bison. Okay, it's not a wild herd, so we knew that they'd be there, but I thought the mountains made a picturesque backdrop for this kept herd just outside of Delta. This farm also has elk, but they were too far back for me to snap a picture of.

When we got tired of driving we drove down Tanana Loop Ext. to the Bluff Cabin trail. While it was very wet, and pulsing with mosquitoes, we braved it and walked about a mile dow the trail. Unfortunately the skeets got the best of us, and we decided to wait until the trail dried out a bit.

All was not lost, however, Ches got a little chase in. She spotted a hare before we could stop her and they were both off to the races. Fortunately, for the hare, he was small enough to navigate under neath the brush, and Ches soon had to give up her chase.

Sunday morning we woke to what promised to be another glorious day. While there was plenty to do we put on our walking shoes and walked right out on the dishes and vacuuming. There's plenty of time for that Monday. While we had a lovely stroll down our local road, the neighbors pig decided to pay us a visit and take inventory of everything we, and our next door neighbors, had to offer. Luckily the owners spotted her and got "Ham" put away before we returned.

In the afternoon we were still feeling antsy and couldn't bear being locked indoors on such a lovely day. So we packed up and headed out to the Gerstle River again. When we got there I was amazed at how low the river was. Not only was it shallow, but some of the fingers had disappeared completely. We wandered out across the damp sand where water had stood only days, maybe hours, before. We picked rocks, threw sticks and soaked up the sun.

As always there were a lot of perfect pictures just waiting there for the taking. We spotted hoof prints, likely caribou and some moose, along the way. There were fresh traces of birds, as well as their footprints in the sand. We found unique rocks, a nickel- shiny and new, and before we knew it we stumbled on a tent that all of us managed to ignore. We didn't see sign of people, but I'm sure they were off exploring.

Ches, our water dog, had a great day retrieving sticks, wading in icy water, and just exploring. She nibbled on dead trees, why I don't know, and ran circles around us. You would never know that she's nearly 10 years old. Well, except for her slow moving body in the morning after. We have been giving her joint relief supplements and that seems to help, but she just pushes herself to the max. She's so much fun to watch, she just loves exploring every place we take her.

I couldn't resist this shot. It's of the drying river bed where the water has rippled the sand as it passed on its way to a new home. There were little spots like these all over, and I thought they were very fun.

We have been enjoying the warmer weather. I honestly think the sun feels warmer here. I don't even know if that's possible, but it definitely feels true. The warmer weather has brought out the winged friends in herds. Mosquitoes, flies, song birds, robins, geese, swans, and this morning we saw the most beautiful crane. Much to my dismay he was flying much too high for me to even think about snapping his picture.

While we have had 60's and 70's this past week, for the coming week we are supposed to cool a bit into the 50's. While it's not as warm, I'm looking forward to an equally beautiful week.

I also have to note that it's nearly midnight and there's still a winking of light outside. Oh, isn't summer grand?

Have a happy day!