Browsing Moose

This guy was in our yard this morning. No sign of Mama around, but he looks to be in pretty good condition. He made his way around the back of the yard munching on twigs. This morning is only 15 below, although we had had some predictions of another cold spell. Today is cloudy with light snow, so that has kept it a little warmer. We are getting a lot more daylight now, so if we do get some 40 below stuff it is likely to warm up during the daytime. That is much easier to deal with than 40 below both at night and during the day.

Thoughts of spring

Since seed catalogues have started to arrive in the mail, I am starting to think of spring and what I will be planting this year. Last year I didn't start any seeds but bought everything from the nursuries. This year Kit and Teresa and I are planning to start at least some things and are trying to decide just what. There is something very rewarding about getting your hands in the dirt in March and having things growing while there is still snow outside.

Squirrel

The squirrel was up on the deck today cleaning up after the birds. Marty says as long as he doesn't start climbing the posts to get into the feeders, he's alright. So far he's content to stay on the deck as the birds scatter lots of seeds around. It seems to me it's about time he should be thinking of going back into hibernation again, but the Chinook seems to have thrown his clock off. It tends to do that to people too--I think the little teaser of spring in January is not a good thing! We've still got a ways to go yet.

Winter Birch

I took this photo a couple of days ago after a few inches of new snow. We've had a little wind since then, so the trees are all bare again.

Back Yard Activity

Sitting at our kitchen table we've been seeing lots of activity in our backyard. This chickadee visited our feeders yesterday. We are still getting lots of red polls and chickadees, and the squirrel was back again today. This afternoon Marty saw him get brave enough to hop over the snow from his last tunnel entrance and crawl up on the deck under the feeders. We saw three moose this morning feeding in the neighbor's yard on the other side of the trees, but not clear enough for a photo.

Winter activity

The warm weather has brought the squirrels out of hibernation. Today it's down to about 10 below, but this guy is still busy. He has dug tunnels through the snow, so he'll pop up in one place, and then his head pokes up in another spot, and then he is running up a tree. In these shots he is checking to see if it's safe to grab some seeds from around our bird feeders. Yesterday Marty scared him away, so he is being cautious.

Slideshows

Hooray! I managed to add two slideshows with Mona's help. I added a link under My Photos to my Picasa albums. I also added another album of Creamers Field photos on my photoshop.com photo link, where I will put most of my photos. I hope to add more albums there this week.

This photo was taken on the 6th out my back window during our 45 below period. The Chinook caused all the snow to fall off the trees and so now it isn't nearly as pretty. It has been snowing a little bit though, so maybe we will get our winter wonderland back--just not as cold!

Weather Changes

Last week it was 45 below and lower and we had that kind of weather for two weeks. Then at the beginning of this week in a 3 day period it rose to 45 above, and even a little higher at times. Our temperature yesterday was warmer than in Florida. While last week some events were cancelled due to cold weather, this week there were some events cancelled because it was too warm. Living in Fairbanks, we definitely need to stick to the "Be Prepared" motto. Today it has cooled down to in the 20s and the forecast is that the Chinook is over. We enjoyed the warm shirt-sleeve weather while it lasted, but it definitely made driving a challenge. I will be happy if the rest of the winter stays around the zero mark. That really is the best temperature to make everyday activities comfortable. At the left is a picture taken on the 6th. The red polls were very active all through the cold spell, and we had 4 or 5 dozen at a time flitting around the feeders. They just fluff up their feathers and keep on going. The chickadees tend to hunker down with their seed stash, and we've been seeing them again since it's warmed up.

Beginning

I am new to the blogging world, but I am setting this blog up to share photos and travel adventures with my family and friends. The photo on the left is of the New Years Eve bonfire at my daughter Kit's house. It was 45 below in Fairbanks, but at Kit's it was only 30 below. It really was quite pleasant around the fire, and we had a good time. The cold weather hung around town until Tuesday, and then began to warm up. Last night our thermometer read 45 above for a short while, but it is hanging around 30 above now We are definitely enjoying our heat wave!