Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

I apologize again for the long delay since my last entry. The most important project I was focused on was the redesign of my online gallery. I finally completed it yesterday! I hope that you’ll find it easy to navigate. With the new design, I will be able to add new photographs much more easily.

Here’s a screenshot of the new layout. If you click on the photo below, it will take you directly to the site.

I am so happy to be able to put that project behind me. Now I can concentrate on the other things I’ve been putting off - like filing my income taxes!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?!  I do them myself, but since we owe Uncle Sam this year, I figure he can wait until the last minute to get his money.

I have been happy to see Ms. Snowshoe Hare making a regular appearance under the bird feeders. I put out a bowl of fresh fruit and veggies for her and she’s picked through it. The gray jays have enjoyed it more, and I’ve discovered that the bruised pieces of banana are the fruit of choice for them. Here are a few photos of Ms. Hare. You can see that her white fur is quickly making the transition to brown as the weather warms and the snow melts away.

Thank you for the Anniversary wishes. Steve had to work on our anniversary, but stopped on the way home from work and bought me two dozen roses. Seventeen were red - one for each year - and the other seven were a pretty cream color.  He also brought home donuts, because he knows my sweet tooth needs to be fed from time to time. We made plans to take a scenic drive on his day off - which was this past Tuesday.

Our drive took us to Chena Hot Springs, about 60 miles from Fairbanks. We hoped to see moose along the way, but didn’t. We had lunch at the restaurant, and then walked the trail for a while. It was chilly walking into the wind, despite the bright sunshine, but coming back the wind was at our back, and the sun in our face warmed us. It was so nice to be out in the sunshine, stretching our legs. I look forward to more walks in nature when summer finally arrives.

Here are some photos I took on our drive and at Chena Hot Springs Resort:

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For some time, I have been thinking of adding a betta fish to our family. I figured since I already had ‘furkids’, a ‘finkid’ wouldn’t be too much work.  Besides the fact that I enjoy watching a fish swim around in a bowl, I thought about all the entertainment this fish would provide for Airborne.

For months, I’ve been showing Airborne videos on YouTube of chickadees flying, and fish swimming around tanks and bowls. She sits mesmerized and watches the action intently. Sometimes she even walks across the keyboard and reaches out to touch or smell the animal/fish she sees on the computer screen. It’s really quite cute and makes me laugh everytime.

I adopted “Sushi” from the local Walmart. He was on a shelf with many other bettas, looking so sad and dejected. I liked that he has turquoise and blue colored scales so I selected him, some betta food and a few other necessities and I brought him home.

I already had a huge vase which is purposely for fish and plants. There’s a plastic insert that fits into the top of the vase, with holes poked in it for roots of water plants to grow downward. I don’t really have any desire to grown anything in the top, but I thought it would make the perfect home for Sushi.  I keep the plastic lid (with holes) securely on top so that Airborne doesn’t go on a fishing expedition.  So far, it’s worked fine.

Airborne has gotten hours of enjoyment watching Sushi swim around in his new home. Sometimes she just sits and watches. Sometimes she touches the bowl with her paw or her nose. It’s really quite fun to watch her! And of course, I just had to take some photos of her with her new finned ‘brother’.

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Good news! It’s just been released that the park road into Denali National Park is open to mile 15 (Savage River) - weather permitting. Steve and I are planning to drive to the park tomorrow, if we don’t get the snow showers the weatherman keeps threatening us with. I’ll have to call in the morning and see if the park is open.

There have been sightings of caribou at mile 6, a lynx at mile 5, and wolves at mile 18. Our hope is that we see some wildlife, and it would also be awesome if the mountain is out too. But even if it’s not, and we don’t see any wildlife, the scenery alone will be worth the drive.  Of course, a stop at Monderosa for burgers will be in order too.

For those of you who enjoy TV programs about AK, there was an article in our paper today, reminding us that next week is Alaska Week on the Discovery Channel. Here’s the article that ran in the Newsminer. Please remember that all times here are Alaska Time, so check your TV listings for times where you live. I’ve already got our DVR set up to record these programs, as we love to watch shows about this great state!

Last Frontier steals the show during Discovery Channel’s ‘Alaska Week’

JAMES BROOKS, jbrooks@newsminer.com
Published Saturday, April 11, 2009

FAIRBANKS — Discovery Channel’s annual “Alaska Week” series returns for a second year starting Sunday. Alaska Week executive producer Chris Rantamaki said the weeklong event gives the cable TV network a chance to exhibit a subject that fascinates Outside audiences. “It’s big enough and bad enough and scary enough that we could do an entire week,” he said.

The Alaska shows start Sunday evening at 5 ADT with a look at running a sled dog kennel. “Dirty Jobs,” a show that examines the ups and downs of careers that go beyond an ordinary office job, spent a week with musher Martin Buser. The show will examine what it takes to keep a dog yard clean and keep the kennel fed. The show will repeat at 8 p.m.

At 6 p.m. Sunday is “Bear Attack,” a dramatic look at problem grizzlies and what’s being done to avoid attacks. The show repeats at 9 p.m.

On Monday at 5 p.m. is the premiere of “Arctic Roughnecks,” a series about the employees of Catco, which operates Sno-Cat tracked transports. It’s somewhat similar to History Channel’s “Ice Road Truckers,” which was filmed on the Dalton Highway this winter. “Roughnecks” repeats at 8 p.m.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday is the season premiere of “Deadliest Catch,” the Discovery Channel show that has been following Dutch Harbor fishermen for the past five years. The show repeats at 8 p.m. and throughout the week.

Following “Deadliest Catch” is the first episode of “Out of the Wild,” a show in which nine wilderness novices are dropped by helicopter into the Bush and told to hike out. It airs at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

On Wednesday, the popular series “Mythbusters” visits Ketchikan to test various cold-weather myths and legends. The show airs at 5 p.m., 8 p.m. and repeats throughout the week.

At 5 p.m. on Thursday is “Alaska: Most Extreme,” a show that examines the weather and climate of Alaska and what it takes to survive during winter. The show repeats at 8 p.m.

Alaska Week closes with “Untamed Alaska” at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday. “Untamed” uses a “caught-on-tape” style to demonstrate unusual events in the state.

“I hope we’ve done an accurate job of making you guys the heroes out there,” Rantamaki said.

If you miss a show, don’t worry. “We’re already starting to plan next year’s Alaska Week, and we’ve got to top this one,” Rantamaki said.

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For those who celebrate, Happy Easter!

“Blue skies with white clouds on summer days.
A myriad of stars on clear moonlit nights.
Tulips and roses and violets and dandelions and daisies.
Bluebirds and laughter and sunshine and Easter.
See how He loves us!”
- Alice Chapin -