More From Creamer's Field

As the snow has melted the lake at Creamer's Field has gotten bigger.  The split rail fence that normally has three rails has grown to six rails.  

Well, the reflection makes it appear that way, but soon it will be back to its normal three rails.

It's hard to pay attention to the fence when there are hundreds of birds in the field.  Right now the most noticeable have been the Trumpeter Swans.


They do like dabbling in the mud, and the rusty color on their heads and necks attest to that.

Some are feeding in an area with more water so they look a little whiter.

They are fascinating to watch and I've stopped several times this week, knowing that before too long they will all be on their way further north for nesting.

I am linking with Good Fences

at the Run "A" Round Ranch Report.

Waning Days of Fall, Continued

Tuesday, at Creamer's Field, there was still a lot of fall color in evidence, although much less than last week.  

Today, in my backyard, some of the trees are ready for snow and some are still holding out.

A colorful carpet covers the ground, but snow is expected in the early morning hours.  It should melt quickly, giving us another peek at the colorful fall leaves, but sometime in the next few weeks the snow will cover the leaves for the duration of winter.  

I'm linking with Good Fences

at the Run "A" Round Ranch Report.

Empty Fields

We've had a very wet week with a lot of rain.  On Friday there were still a few Canada Geese visible at Creamer's Field.

By Monday not a one was visible. 

Was it too wet even for the geese?

Well, perhaps it had more to do with the snow we got Sunday morning.  It came down it wet globs for quite a while, as shown in my yard--taken out the window, I might add. 

It left behind a bit of white ground cover, but by mid afternoon was all gone.  I'm not sure for how long, as mixed rain and snow is predicted and nighttime temps below freezing by this weekend and going downhill from there.  Ah, well, guess it is that time of year.....

I'm linking with Tom at

The Barn Collective 13
and
Good Fences 78 at
The Run "A" Round Ranch

A Few Laggards

Although most of the Sandhill Cranes have already left for warmer climes, the last few days a family has stopped in our neighborhood and fed in our neighbor's field across the road.

Of course, the leaves have mostly turned color now, providing some lovely views in my yard.

Sadly, a little after I took these photos yesterday we had a bit of a breeze, and now there are quite a few leaves on the ground too.  Fall colors don't usually last very long here!

I'm linking with Good Fences

at the Run "A" Round Ranch Report.

Fences By The Barn

In my last post I featured an old barn in Fairbanks HERE.  An estate sale was being held and I went with Marty to the preview for the auction.  I've taken many photos from the road side of the barn, but I took the opportunity to get photos from the back side.  Today I'm featuring the fences around the barn.  In the photo below you can see some of the auction activity, including a dust cloud from the very dry farm road.  We hadn't had any rain at that point, May 22nd, but we've had enough rain since then to ease our concerns of wildfires.

There was still some hay left from last summer, and the sign says it was for the auction.

The barn and the cabin were built on a homestead filed in 1914 by Charles Desjardins.  I'm not sure how long either will be standing and am amazed they have weathered the last 100 years.  Note the fence below that uses horseshoes to hold up the rails.

Back in early September of 2011 there was a big garden planted inside that fence and they were also selling the produce.

The winter view is a little different, as in this photo taken in January of 2011.  You can see more winter views in a previous post, HERE.

I'm linking with Good Fences

at the Run "A" Round Ranch Report.

At the Garden

With an early spring and lots of outdoor garden chores to do, I've taken a bit of a break from blogging to take advantage of the nice weather.  With the bulk of the early garden work done, I can take it a little easier and enjoy our long summer days.  Tuesday my granddaughter Sydney and I went to the Georgeson Botanical Garden at the University of Alaska.  She was in a hurry to get back to the Children's Garden and set a pace that I had a hard time keeping up with.  I heard lots of "Hurry up, Grandma!"

After she played a while in the Children's Garden we headed back towards the main flower garden.  Early flowers are blooming and the wild iris and yellow lilies provide a lovely background for the split rail fence.

Of course, I had to take a few closeups of the flowers.

Looking even closer at the iris above you can see a hitchhiker.

As we got closer to the entrance to the garden, I once again heard "Hurry up, Grandma!"  However, this time it was because Grandma was taking a few too many photos of the flowers.  The green lawn beckoned Sydney to take a bit of a rest and commune with nature in her own way while she waited.

Back on April 15th Sydney and I visited the Garden briefly after stopping to see the reindeer calves at the UAF Experiment Farm, which shares a parking lot with the Garden.  The snow was melting but the paths were covered with patchy mud and ice.  Sydney was all for running back to the Children's Garden, but with the tricky footing underneath I chose to come back after spring had sprung.  Well, we're past spring and into summer now, but with our long days and short summer months, we'll cram as much as we can into the next few months.

The photo below is my Index #531, which I'm linking with

Gaelyn's Foto Friday Fun 114.

I'm also linking with Good Fences

at the Run "A" Round Ranch Report.

On Down the Road

Dipping into my archives for my last post, I looked further to the next day's drive.  We came down out of the mountains and the views were much different.

As we continued on east across British Columbia, we came into farming country.  I couldn't help but think the row of hay bales looked like a fence bordering the field.

Right beyond that field was a lovely farm scene, and seeing fences we knew we were back in civilization.

A little further down the road was another farm scene, but not quite the pastoral scene as the photo above.

Finally we reached the end of the Alcan at Dawson Creek.  The road to Alaska was built during WWII in response to the Japanese bombing at Pearl Harbor.  There actually was some wartime activity in Alaska with a Japanese invasion in 1942 in the Aleutian Islands.  In March of 1942 the US Army Corps of Engineers arrived in the small agricultural community of Dawson Creek, and swelled the population of 500 to 10,000 during the peak of construction.  Dawson Creek was the terminus for construction, but crews worked from both directions, and the road was completed in eight months.  There are different reports as to the length of the road, somewhere between 1500 and 1700 miles.  It was very rough, and has been shortened over the years as the road has been improved, so it is now somewhere around 1400 miles and paved the entire way.

The handsome fellow below is near the sign above, and appears to be a surveyor pointing the way to Alaska.

Our trip continued into Alberta, and a short ways down the road in the small town of Beaverlodge sits another attraction.

We were definitely in a different world as we continued on through the plains of Alberta! 

I am linking up with Good Fences

at the Run "A" Round Ranch Report.