Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

Brrrrrrr! That’s the sound of me shivering. The cold air is still hanging around, and frankly - we’re all getting a little tired of it. This is what we woke up to on Sunday morning here in North Pole:

There was no light drizzle, but there was quite a bit of ice fog, so maybe that’s what triggered the “light drizzle” forecast. Nevertheless - it was COLD! We haven’t been much above 40 below since then. And I have not left my house, except to run down the driveway and take photos of pretty sunsets, or to occasionally stand outside with Raven while she hurries through potty breaks. In fact, I didn’t even make it to dance class on Tuesday night due to the cold.

Last night the aurora was showing up on the aurora cam. I bundled up and walked to the end of my driveway hoping to see some color in the sky. It must have been really low to the horizon because I didn’t see anything. Within minutes, my fingers were on fire, and I was wearing liner gloves AND wool mittens. Definitely not comfortable photography weather, that’s for sure.

The temperature gauge in my car goes to -39F and then turns into —F. I joke and say it’s my car’s way of screaming profanities at the cold. I didn’t capture the *F* temp, but I got something close enough:

(more…)

As I type this, it is -45F here at my house. I had a portrait session scheduled for this afternoon, but the client canceled last night. Frankly, I’m not upset about that, as today is one of those days I’d much rather be inside where it’s warm.  In fact, it is currently 110 degrees warmer inside our house than it is outside. The furnace is working hard to keep the house warm. I can practically hear the oil being sucked out of the tank.

Up until today, we’ve had temps as low as 30 below, but when it gets to 45 below, there really IS a difference. Taking a breath without filtering the air through a scarf (or your gloved hands) can cause fits of coughing. Touching anything metal without gloves for more than a second or two can burn painfully.

The other night, I touched the metal handle on our storm door when I was letting Raven out (without gloves), and my fingers lingered more than a second or two. It was like getting a burn, and I looked to make sure I didn’t get any blisters. I once got a blister on the palm of my hand when I picked up my tripod (without gloves) by a metal leg, after it had been outside for awhile. Contact frostbite is easy to get when it’s this cold.

The birds at the feeders are gorging themselves on seeds. They need to eat a lot to keep their energy levels up and to keep warm when it’s this cold. I don’t know how they survive. I even saw the squirrel out there today. S/he usually stays hidden when it’s this cold, so that was a surprise.

A couple of days ago, when it was only about 25 below, I stopped at Creamers Field for a walk with Raven while out running errands.  It wasn’t a long walk, but I wanted to take a winter photo of the Creamers Field footbridge as a comparison to a summer photo I have.

Here’s the summer photo I took in August of last year:

And here’s the one I took a few days ago:

I think I have the same photo in the fall. I need to dig that one up and see if it was taken with the same vantage point. It would be neat to lay out a triptych of all three images and print it out. If I find the fall image and do that, I’ll share it with you all.

(more…)

It is currently warmer than 30F. This is wrong on so many levels. I’m not complaining too loudly, but the warmth is wreaking havoc with our roads! I am so fearful of driving on slick roads, and the thaw and freeze with these crazy temperatures is making everything a skating rink.

Steve and I had a wonderful dinner at Pike’s for our birthday celebration. The restaurant was fairly empty, as we had early reservations. He had the prime rib and I opted for a pecan crusted chicken dish. Everything was just right. Our table overlooked the Chena River, but it was dark so we couldn’t see much. The river isn’t frozen over yet, so no one was driving across the ice bridge next to the hotel/restaurant. There’s always someone who goes through the ice early in the season, and then again someone tends to go through at the end of the winter. Glad that hasn’t happened.

I think I’m just about finished with Christmas shopping and cards. Thank goodness for Amazon.com and their free Super Saver Shipping. Makes it easy to shop for the grandkids and other family members. I rather like being able to shop from the comfort of my home, in my pjs. I didn’t get the cards to the Post Office until Saturday. I hope they make it in time. I drove to the North Pole PO so they could get their special North Pole cancellation. Not too many people can claim they get Christmas cards from North Pole, and I like having them specially canceled.  ”Santa” sent some letters to the youngest children in the family. I hope they get there in time too.

After taking my cards to the PO, I stopped by North Pole’s Christmas in Ice. There was free admission for military families. There was free food too, but I skipped that. I did a quick lap around the park, and spent a little bit of time watching the kids (and some adults too) go down the ice slides. What fun! Made me wish I had a sled.

I didn’t stay long. For some reason my asthma was really acting up. It might have been due to the cars idling in the parking lot and the overabundance of exhaust. I was glad to take a hit off my inhaler. The drive home was a slippery mess. I realized how tense I was driving when I finally pulled into the garage and my shoulders were aching from the tight grip I had on the steering wheel. I hate driving on icy roads. I wish it would have just stayed cold so we wouldn’t be dealing with this now.

Steve called me on his way home from work yesterday. He sideswiped a moose with the truck. Fortunately, he was able to swerve into the oncoming lane as there was no traffic. The moose was running across the road, so his swerve enabled him to miss hitting her head on (thank God!). The side of his truck did hit her rump as she was running. His passenger side mirror was torn off, and there’s a depression in the rear passenger side door where his truck must have skimmed her. It could have been so much worse! I’m so thankful he’s OK!

Typically in a moose vs. vehicle encounter there is massive damage to moose, driver, and vehicle. The moose seemed to be OK, as she sprinted off into the woods. I bet she’s a little sore. I had a near miss with a moose in my car once. My knees were shaking all the way home. If I hit one in my car it wouldn’t be good, as my car is so small. Another reason I don’t like to drive after dark. Thank goodness the light will start coming back in a few days.

The other day, while walking Raven around the yard, I heard the pecking of a woodpecker. I was able to pinpoint the location of it, and discovered an American Three-Toed Woodpecker tearing the bark off of a downed spruce tree. This was my first time ever seeing this type of woodpecker, and after reading that not many people do see them (as they live in boreal forests), I feel pretty lucky. Here’s a photo I happened to capture. I didn’t have a zoom lens on my camera, and was lucky I even had my camera around my neck! This photo is cropped and was shot at 800 ISO because the light was so low, so it’s not the best quality. I love the pattern of her feathers.

(more…)