Winter Hangs On
We’ve had several bouts of snow flurries (and even heavier) in the last few days. It accumulated, but then when the sun came out, it melted away again. I have to admit that the snow is quite pretty when it falls, especially when the temperature is in the 30s, but frankly I - and so many others here in Fairbanks - are tired of it! Where is spring? Where are the new buds on the trees? Patience is not my strong suit when we are transitioning from winter to summer.
I stopped at the river behind Pioneer Park the other day while running errands. I had Sedona with me and we parked near the kayak rental place - which also happens to be where the non-migrating mallard ducks hang out all winter. There were only a handful of ducks when we arrived, and the ground was littered with bread and other things that I don’t think ducks are supposed to eat. What a mess.
In the past, I’ve seen folks dumping seed and grain for the ducks, along with hay/straw (for bedding?). But the bread is serving no purpose except to make the snow along the river ugly. Someone even threw bagels down!
I leashed up Sedona, reeling her in tightly in case she decided that duck should be on the lunch menu, but she had no interest whatsoever in the ducks (who were waddling away quickly). She wanted the bagels. That wasn’t going to happen; I dragged her quickly along the path and out of nose reach!
