Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

“The world’s favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.”
~Edwin Way Teale~

“Green up” is imminent! I project that at this time next week, we will have green leaves on our trees. The buds are already there, with a tint of green already showing.  It won’t be long before they burst open and the hills are bathed in an emerald green glow. I truly love this time of year!

Happy May! I hope you’re all experiencing warm breezes and sunshine in your neck of the woods. This past week, the temperature has climbed into the mid to high 70s. Except for small patches of snow in the shadowed areas of yards and forests, and snow left from the really tall piles that were plowed around the city, it is pretty much gone.

I have had a busy weekend, and it’s not over yet. Busy weekends are good. They make up for the lazy days of winter. We have almost 20 hours of visible light now. I have been sleeping so well! It’s funny how that happens with my system. You’d think that winter - and the long, dark days - would be a better time of year to get a good night’s sleep, but for me the spring and summer months are when I get normal hours of rest.  I feel rejuvenated.

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On Thursday night, I attended the dance rehearsal for the Middle Eastern Dance recital that was held on Friday night. My friend Carmen took lessons this year, and performed in the show. As I watched everyone dance, I wished I had taken the class this year too. Unfortunately, the schedule just didn’t work for me. I hope that next year, the classes will be earlier in the evening so I can do it again. It was quite nice to be a spectator this year, as I was able to fully enjoy the show without being nervous.  Of course I took many photos both at the rehearsal and the actual performance.

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Yesterday, I went back to Denali Park with my friend Lisa and her friend Sally. Lisa also had Bella along for the ride (her yellow lab). It was a beautiful day, full of sunshine - and quite warm. We saw mid 70s at one point during the drive.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how much snow had melted since my drive with Steve to the park just last weekend. The sun’s been working overtime!

Unfortunately, wildlife sightings were next to nil. We saw some caribou on a hill, but they were far off in the distance. We also saw a couple of circling falcons and a hawk - but again, they were too far to photograph.  Denali was out in all her glory, so that was a treat.

We stopped at Savage River and decided to hike down to the footbridge deep in the valley. There was a deep pile of snow at the beginning of the path, which created quite a challenge since it was mushy enough that I sunk into it (to my knees). Carrying a 20lb camera backpack didn’t help to keep me light on my feet either! With a little bit of a diversion up onto the tundra, I managed to bypass the snow.

I hoped to see Dall sheep on our hike, but the only sign of sheep that we saw were skeletal remains. They were bleached very white and looked to be from last season and recently uncovered with the snow melt. Was it the victim of a bear? A wolf? Finding the bones reminded us to keep our eyes open as we hiked. With Bella accompanying us, we were fairly confident that she would alert us to any wildlife. I wasn’t worried at all.

Bella, being a lover of water, decided to jump in the Savage River a few times to cool off.  The first few times, we enjoyed watching her swim in the slight current. The last time, she got caught up in the stronger current just before the rapids and was swept downstream. Lisa and Sally took off running along the shoreline, and after one failed attempt to reach the river’s edge, Bella finally was able to make her way close enough to shore for Lisa to grab hold of her collar and pull her out. It was a little frightening for a few moments there! If Bella wouldn’t have been able to get to the river’s edge, she would have been swept over huge boulders and into very fast moving water. I shudder to think about the consequences of that. Needless to say, her swimming fun was over.

The sun was hot as we walked, and I got some sunburn on my face. It’s not as red today, thank goodness, and I’ll be wearing my higher SPF sunscreen from here on out.  We drove to mile 30 - Teklanika -  which was crowded with trucks, cars, trucks with campers on the back, and many cyclists.  You’re permitted to hike and cycle further into the park, and yesterday’s weather was absolutely perfect for doing just that.

We stopped and had a late lunch at Rose’s Cafe in Healy. While dining, a fairly large group of bikers showed up. Most were riding rental bikes. I’m trying to talk my brother Steve and SIL  Diane to come to AK next summer so they can see some of the state on a Harley.  They ride at home in PA all the time, but the Anchorage to Seward route - riding around Turnagain Arm and through the mountain passes - would just blow their minds. I hope they’re able to do it.

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Today I hope to get out to the local greenhouses to see what they’ve got growing and to hopefully pick up some seedlings to start nurturing for my hanging baskets and container gardens. I just hope that Airborne doesn’t interpret it to mean the salad bar is open. She’s been known to chomp on any plants I try to grow indoors. While I’ll be able to put them out to enjoy the sunshine during the day, it’s still too cold at night to leave them out overnight.  June 1st is generally the beginning of planting season.

The moon has been neat to see in the middle of the afternoon. I haven’t seen any stars in a while though. I’m not up late enough anymore!

Until next time…