Happy 2009!
Happy New Year from the Stevenson family in frigid cold North Pole, Alaska! Our temperatures continue to plummet, and there is no sign of the arctic frost leaving us anytime soon. I am so thankful for a warm house, even though we’re sucking up the heating oil maintaining our 64F indoor temperature.
My Lower 48 family thinks 64F is mighty chilly for indoor air in winter, but when you consider that my house is 114 degrees warmer than the outside, I can assure you that it feels quite toasty in here. We do use an electric space heater to take the chill off the air first thing in the morning, but other than that, we’re quite comfy. Opening the front door, releases a thick puff of fog as the heat indoors rushes out to meet the air outside. We do that as little as possible!
Sedona is always in booties when we go outdoors - even if it’s just a short walk down the driveway. Despite the footgear, she still has chapped paw pads (my poor girl!) which I have to apply medicated ointment to on a regular basis. She gets them every winter, as the air here is quite dry, and the cold still works its way through the booties. At least they keep ice from getting between her toes.
I took this photo from my front window this morning:
As you can see, it’s reading -47F outside my front door, which is actually a warmer and more protected place than out in the middle of my yard.
The cold hasn’t slowed down the chickadees. They still visit my feeders in record numbers, eating the seeds they need to stay warm for another day. I’m still putting out peanut butter, even though it freezes in no time, and although Mr. Squirrel tends to stay in his den when it’s this cold, the chickadees have been enjoying the peanut-y goodness.
I had a friend ask me about the chickadees up here. Chickadees in general, eat enough during the day to give them the energy to shiver and stay warm overnight. Our Chickadees also hide seeds in different places (holes in trees, etc.) to prevent squirrels and other raiders from cleaning out their food cache. It’s called scatter hoarding, and these tiny birds will remember the location of each hidden seed for weeks to come.
So, even if my feeders were to go empty, the chickadees would have a little bit of food to carry them for a few days. However, I never let my feeders go empty - particularly in winter - as I know how important it is for my feathered friends to have a ready supply of food when it’s -40F and colder. Lately, I’ve been putting out the peanut butter every few days too. In fact, when we go to the grocery store, we buy a jar of peanut butter specifically for the birds (and squirrels).
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Today Alaska celebrates 50 years of statehood. Fireworks are scheduled for this evening up at UAF campus. They are supposed to be bigger and better than the display launched on New Years Eve. There’s a chance that they will be postponed until tomorrow evening if the ice fog is too thick. They’ll make an announcement this afternoon.
Today, I plan to spend the day with Lisa. I’ve missed her company, and I’m looking forward to seeing a movie (Doubt with Merle Streep), having dinner, and then attending the fireworks - if they go off as scheduled. We will definitely be dressed like the “Michelin Man” to survive these temperatures.
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I edited and cut two hours of old family vacation footage down to 35 minutes, and then split it into four parts to upload to YouTube. The video was shot in 1994, and is of our cross-country camping trip from Fayetteville NC to the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, etc. All four of our boys were with us. My sons, Chris and Brandon, were 15 and almost 11. Steve’s boys, Eric and Randy, were 13 and 12. Needless to say it was quite the adventure to be traveling by minivan thousands of miles with four very rambunctious boys.
I’m going to put the links to the videos here for my own records. If you want to watch, go ahead - but I’m sure it won’t be as entertaining for you, as it is for me and my family. I’m so thankful for hardware/software that makes it possible to convert old VHS tapes to DVD format. We only paid $49 for it at Sam’s Club, although I saw the program at the local office supply store for $20 more.
Part One (Lake Dardanelle Arkansas, Palo Duro Canyon Texas, Outside Grand Canyon Park - time 9:23)
Part Two (Grand Canyon, Monument Valley UT - time 9:51)
Part Three (Monument Valley UT, Driving to Green River - time 6:53)
Part Four (Deadhorse Point State Park Utah and commentary about our rafting adventure - time 7:52)
I sent the links to these video snippets to Kayla and Steve’s eldest son, Eric. My kids already have the full and unedited footage on DVD, as I recorded it and took it to them when I visited.
My next project is going to be to sort through the many, many photo albums I have stored in boxes in the garage. I plan to scan photos and convert them to digital format before the photographs degrade too much. I’m most interested in those photos from my kids’ babyhood and childhood. I think I have a bunch from my childhood in an album too. It’s bound to be a very long process, but so worth it in the end.
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Now that it’s January, our trip to Hawaii is just around the corner. In a matter of weeks, we’ll be soaking up warm sunshine and enjoying sandy beaches, turquoise water, and greenery! I’m so excited!
Until next time…
