Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Sunrise  6:03 a.m.  Sunset  9:20 p.m.

It's Break Up season.  Let me tell you, this may be more painful than late winter.  As you can see we're having lovely long hours of sunlight.  And we've been fortunate enough to have numerous days of sunlight, despite occasional snow showers here and there.  

The white is slowly disappearing, and yuck and brown is taking it's place.  Slushy roads can be frustrating, and fun.  With the 4 wheel drive it's pretty harmless.  My floors are muddy, the dogs are muddy, and Cash has a penchant for rolling in all things stinky.

The sun warms my face.  Enough to have me trekking through 3 feet of snow to plop my behind in the depths of it to soak up as much heat as possible.  I find myself wishing for the dusty trails of summer, looking forward to riding through the depths of night with the sun at our backs, and getting virtually no sleep.

In the past week we have seen the return of the geese, swans and even a small flock of cranes.  Soon all the water ways will be spotted white with swans, as well.  Song birds flit about, seeking the promise of more food to fuel their bubbly bodies.

The buffalo have moved back to the plains and fields behind Donnelly.  We haven't been so fortunate as to see them yet, but we've been tracking their movement through the things they leave behind.  I'm hoping they stick around for a while to have their young, I'd love to see them play in the meadows.

This winter has been long and hard for us.  I've heard mixed reviews of whether or not it was a harder winter than most.  The long-timers will think that perhaps this is nothing, but I know better.  Alaskans are tough.  

For now I'm imagining fields of wildflowers and endless trails to come.  Think Spring!

The Towel

When I woke up this morning my first words to the hubby were, "that's it, I've had it, we're moving"!  To which Brent succinctly replied "No".  That's it.  I got a lot of words in, unfortunately they were after he left the house.  The froze up, waterless house.

There's nothing like stumbling down the steps, blindly wandering through a dark house, tripping over toys and bumping into the table, use the bathroom facilities, flush, and nada.  Nothing.  Trust me, when you're expecting their to be a soft whooshing noise, followed by nothing.  You're suddenly WIDE awake.  WIDE. AWAKE.  Ugh.

After a little bit of a temper tantrum (on my part) and a swift retreat (on his part), I packed up my pity party and thanked God for friends with extra bathrooms, houses, offices, etc.  I found a place to shower, rushed home, went through my normal routine, and headed off to work.

This winter, and now break up season, has been challenging.  I'm thankful for the abundant sun light, rising temps, and even the dirty, melting snow.  I'm hoping, as in past years, that summer will revive my spirit and renew my love for this beautiful, bountiful state.

This morning wasn't the first time the well has frozen.  Our fire damage is nearly fixed.  I'm not really sure if, or when, the contractor's helper plans to come back to finish it up.  I can tell you this, I'm happy it's not my bill, because we'd be duking it out.  And I would not be paying.  The work is fine.  I've seen plenty of construction, and I won't say it's great, but it's fine.  The customer service, terrible.  As I said, it's not my bill, and I'm thrilled about it.

Sunrise  7:28 a.m.   Sunset  8:08 p.m.

The above, is the most perfect thing in the world. :)  I love the long days, the sun coming up high in the sky, light when I leave for work, light long into the evening.  

Yesterday I took my first evening walk, without a coat.  It was heavenly.  With temps nearing 40 degrees, and over night temps ranging between 5 and 20 above zero, we're inching, sneaking, toward break up.  Oh goodness, please let it come soon.

I'm hoping for lots of sun and warmth this weekend.  Perhaps Brent will take a little time off from chopping, splitting and stacking wood to play.  

Ooh, the possibilities are endless. 

Think Spring!

Preparing for Spring

Break up hasn't happened yet.  But I'm hoping, and wishing, and praying that it's close.  And that it gets over in record time.  Because I already I know what it's going to bring.  With a total of 12 feet in our household, I'm expecting a lot of mud.  I've already resigned to rolling up the rug, exposing the much-easier-to-clean bare wood, and I should probably break out some sheets for the furniture.  Just a little extra protection.  Uff da. 

We have been beautiful weather.  The evenings still dip low into the teens, but the days have been warming up.  The sun is shining and is sticking around long into the evening.  The hubby even goes to bed when it's still light out now.  It really is a nice break.  From the dark.  And  it makes the coming of spring, and Alaska's best season (in my opinion) summer, much anticipated.  The sun already feels warmer.  The parking lots, and our yard, have slick spots where the snow is warmed by day and frozen to slippery hardness again at night.  But it's all worth it. 

Brent was out this weekend, with the dogs and without the camera, driving in our favoritest of spots.  And spotted a lynx.   Broad daylight, perched on the side of the road.  He was pretty excited when he got home to tell me about it. 

Monday I was off to Fairbanks for a doctor's appt and he was out, playing, again.  He spotted 16 moose.  Yep.  16.  I swear, I'm wildlife repellant.  He has the best luck.  Ever. 

This week we plan to go look at pop up camper to improve our summer adventures.  When I say "look at" I really just mean that we plan to buy it.  Who am I kidding?  But it will be fun.  Brent already has Memorial Day (and every other weekend I think) planned out, for plenty of fishing, camping, and reading.  Yeah.  He threw in that last little bit for my benefit.  What he really means is I can bring a book along, in case I find a spare minute to bask in the sun and read.  Don't tell him, but I really don't mind.

The boat should be arriving in April.  Brent, for one, is UBER excited about this.  I'm looking forward to all the places we'll be able to go, but boats really do make me nervous.  Just another one of my chicken tendencies to overcome, I guess.  I'll let you know after the first trip, if I think I'll be able to do so. 

Hope that spring is coming to your neck of the woods. 

What's first on your spring cleaning list?

Happy March!