Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

We have had the most wonderful weather lately, and I’m hoping that the sunshine (and the continual watering of our lawn) will bring green soon. I’m so impatient. I want to wake up and have a carpet of grass. Germination should take about 7-10 days, so that means I’m going to have my eyes peeled for a tinge of green on Saturday! *grin*

While I’m talking about growing… a couple of weeks ago, Lisa and I drove by the Fairbanks Community Garden here in Fairbanks. I read about it in the newspaper, and talked to several folks who had plots there, but never knew where it was.  When we were there, several families were working the soil.

I found the history of the garden on the website above:

The Fairbanks Community Garden started about 1979 when The Alaskan Federation for Community Self-reliance, Inc. received a free lease of land from Fern Palfy, who owned the land where the present Borough Office Building sits. The Community Garden sprouted and flourished in this location for several seasons…

… In 1983, we moved from Pioneer Street to our current location in Hamilton Acres, where our present 2.5 acre site is leased to us free from the Borough.  We did receive a one time State Grant of $20,000 which was used to clear land, install electricity, put in the well, buy the fence, and generally prepare the gardening site for use. Today, the Fairbanks community Garden is an entity in it’s own right. When the original 10 year lease was up, the gardeners got together, formed their own nonprofit organization, and re-leased the land. The Garden is currently run through 3 elected officials and is funded by the collection of plot fees each spring.

The average growing season in Interior Alaska is 90 days. Many folks garden in raised beds and use plastic or weed barriers to help increase soil temperatures. The folks who use the Community Garden may live in a place where there is permafrost or no running water. Some live in apartments and can’t have their own garden. Church groups use their plots to feed the hungry. The gardeners come from all walks of life, are all ages, and speak many languages - a direct reflection of the Fairbanks community.  The Alaska Cooperative Extension has all kinds of free handouts on gardening in Alaska. You can find them here.

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I can’t believe it’s been 5 days since I last wrote. Besides the usual excuse that I’m enjoying the sunshine and keeping busy - which I am! - Steve and I have been busy the last two days with a huge landscaping project.

When we bought our home back in late 2006, the only outside landscaping was a gravel driveway. The yard in the front and back were dirt.  This isn’t out of the ordinary for new homes in Alaska. Putting in a lawn takes time and care - the time and care most contractors just don’t have, especially when they’re putting up a half dozen houses at a time. And the dirt here isn’t the best for growing grass either. Our soil is mostly silt and clay. The only thing that grows well is moss and other wildflowers that are native to Alaska.  Oh, and of course the occasional sunflower, sown by my bird and squirrel guests.

In addition to a lawn, Steve wanted to resurface the driveway, and widen and lengthen it for RV parking. Up until now, the RV has been parked on dirt, which turns to mud every spring. We also wanted to extend the driveway back to the tree line so that we have a level pad for building a storage shed eventually.

We talked to several landscapers before hiring Bren Contracting LLC. Jeremy (the owner) came in with a fair estimate for both the lawn and the driveway, and listened to what Steve wanted to do.  After discussing the costs, Steve asked Jeremy if we could get a price reduction if the two of us raked the topsoil, rather than having him do it.  He was open to the suggestion, and Steve and I knew we’d be working our tails off.  A little sweat equity never hurt anyone! Besides, the exercise would do us good.

Yesterday, Jeremy brought in 5 dump truck loads of topsoil. He used his bobcat to carry loads to different areas of the yard. Steve and I took over then, with rakes that Jeremy supplied. We spread topsoil for about 6 hours. What a workout! My arms are aching a little bit today, and yesterday my back was sore - but we did a good job as a team, and I’m proud of us.

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We now have 24 hours of visible light. The official length of day is about 19 hours, but it doesn’t get completely dark any longer.  I’ve woken as early as 3am, and the view outside my window looks like dawn - or dusk - with enough light to be able to see my yard clearly. With Summer Solstice only about a month away, our days will continue to lengthen (approximately 7 minuter per day) until the sun never goes below the horizon.

The longer days have brought intermittent sunshine. We’ve had several days of constant sunshine, and several days with heavy clouds overhead. But even on the cloudy days, the sun has managed to find its way through and warm us - if only for a few moments at a time.  As for real warmth, however, it’s been fairly nonexistent.

When I wake in the morning, the thermometer reads mid-30s or low 40s. We turned our heat down to 57 about two weeks ago, and on cold mornings I quickly make my way downstairs, dance across the cold wood floors, switch on the space heater, start a pot of coffee brewing, and then burrow under an afghan on the sofa.  The cat usually joins me there, as she is not a fan of the cold either.

As the morning hours pass, the house warms up, the sun shoots light beams through the trees in our yard, and I go through the morning ritual of throwing open all the curtains and blinds to invite the light in. This is my favorite part of the day: bright sunshine, a mug of hot coffee, my cat at my hip, and my dog at my feet.

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A couple of days ago, I took Sedona with me to run errands and our travels took us to the other side of town, to a park on the Tanana River. I don’t visit that park very often, but when I do, I’m always drawn to this home which is perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the river.  I do believe I’ve photographed this scene in every season. I’ve often thought about leaving a note in their mailbox, asking them if I can see the view from their house. I imagine it must be stunning.

This particular day, the clouds were thick and dark at times. But despite the clouds, there were moments of blue sky showing through. Periodically, the sunshine found a way to split the thick clouds and bring some light to an otherwise dismal day.

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