Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

We’ve got a snowshoe hare who lives nearby. I’m going to refer to the hare as a “she” because she’s so pretty and looks like a girl.  I hope I’m not wrong, for the hare’s sake.

She’s been to visit our backyard quite a few times over the past several months. I’d see her huge back footprints (and little front footprints) after a fresh snow.  But I didn’t have any luck in actually seeing her.

About a week ago, I was up early - before sunrise - and routinely began opening the curtains and raising the blinds so I could watch the sky brighten as the sun came over the horizon.  When I got to the sliding glass doors, and the vertical blinds, I happened to catch some movement in the yard when the slats moved. I stopped my movements and peeked between them. And there she was! Our beautiful snowshoe hare was standing on the deep snow just off the back deck, and she was nibbling on some of the corn kernals and berries which the birds had dropped.

I switched on the outside light, fully expecting her to flee, but she merely glanced up at the light and then went back to her snacking.  I grabbed my camera, and began sliding back the vertical blinds.  She glanced towards me, and stopped all movement - standing so still, she could have been a lawn ornament.

After about a minute, she realized she wasn’t in any danger and went back to the business of nosing through the suet pieces and sunflower seed shells, looking for something good to eat.

I caught sight of the pineapple rind I had tossed out on the deck, half buried in the fresh snow.  I threw it out there hoping the birds, or the woodpeckers, would be interested, but they ignored it.  But Miss Bunny didn’t ignore it.  Her little nose twitched in the direction of this sweet treat, and then she hopped up on the deck to investigate.

I watched her gnaw on it, all the while taking photos. It was barely daybreak, so I had to boost my ISO settings on my camera (which causes grain), so the photos aren’t the crispest and cleanest, but they do tell the story of Ms. Snowshoe Hare.

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On Thursday, Steve and I made the decision to cancel our trip to Homer after news that Mt Redoubt erupted again. I am so thankful that we did, as the volcano has erupted several times since then, and has been spewing ash up and down the Kenai Peninsula. Then, to make matters even more dangerous, avalanches closed the Seward Highway near Girdwood - the route we would take to Homer. If we would have gone, as planned, we’d no doubt be stuck in Anchorage right now - with no way, or desire, to continue our trip to Homer.

We are both very disappointed, but also glad that we made the decision to cancel.

You can read more about Mt. Redoubt at the Alaska Volcano Observatory website here: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

So far, there has been no ash showing up in Fairbanks. Fairbanks is about 400 miles from the volcano, so we’re relatively safe - however if the winds shift, we could see trace amounts. Ash is bad for engines, mechanical equipment and lungs, as the particles have sharp edges. This is not good for anyone with breathing difficulties (I have asthma), so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t reach the interior.

We’re considering a trip to Homer during Steve’s time off in April, although the eagles will not be active then, as they will be nesting. We originally booked a gray whale watch out of Seward in April, but that was canceled because the highway into Seward will be closed for bridge repair. We just can’t win! I hope these early season disappointments don’t continue into the summer months. We’re scheduled to return to Homer in July, and go on a bear viewing trip to Katmai while there.

So, with Steve off for the next few days, I’d like to at least take a scenic drive. I’ve got cabin fever and the temperature has been above zero with a lot of sunshine lately.

Until next time…

I can’t believe it’s been nearly 10 days since I’ve written. It doesn’t seem like so much time has passed - in fact it feels like time has just flown by over the last week or so.

I have been keeping busy attending special events around town, and it’s taken me a long time to download photos, sort through them, and resize them for sharing. I think I’ve shot more than 1000 frames just over the past couple of days.

In my last entry, I wrote about the outhouse races in Chatanika that were coming up that weekend. Well, we didn’t go after all. We had all intentions of attending, but the weather took a nosedive, with below zero temps and strong gusting wind. At the last minute, Steve and I mutually decided that we didn’t want to have to bundle up and brave the elements. So instead we spent a nice quiet weekend here at home.

We had a visitor to our yard during the week. A cow moose decided that our yard was the perfect place to stop for a nap. We have two moose (cow and calf) that are regular travelers through our yard, so seeing a lone moose was different. After looking at the photos I took of her, I think she’s pregnant. My theory is that she’s either an entirely different moose than the two that have come by in the past, or she’s the cow moose of the pair and she’s pushed her calf away since she’s expecting. I didn’t pay close enough attention to the pair to see if there were any identifying marks, so I’m just guessing.

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