Snow Draped Fences

During the long winter, snow settles and bonds together like glue, creating some fantastic shapes through a process called sintering.  The snow draped on the fences at Creamer's Field provide some lovely natural sculptures.

I added a filter to the photo below to highlight the snow.

I am linking up with Good Fences

at the Run "A" Round Ranch Report.

The Fifth Season

Before it's spring in Fairbanks, we have to go through our fifth season--breakup.  Take some bright sun and warm temperatures..... 

 .....and the snow starts melting on the roof.  Here the snow is considerably less on the north side of the house and completely gone on the south side.

Things that were buried in the snow start to reappear.  The tops of three whiskey barrel planters are emerging and will be ready to plant in about six more weeks.

Plowed areas will melt quicker, especially if there's a bit of gravel to soak up the heat of the sun.  Of course the bigger piles will be around for a while yet.

Puddles are inevitable, but hopefully the melt won't be so fast that huge puddles form.

Daytime temps are in the upper 40s and nighttime are in the 20s.  We've got over 15 hours of daylight now, and even after 10:00 p.m. it's not completely dark, so there's lots of warmth to get rid of all that snow.  Geese and swans have been reported at Creamer's Field, so looks like I will need to go see for myself tomorrow.

Goodbye Spring, Hello Snow

After spending 10 days in the Pacific Northwest, enjoying the flowers of spring and even one day of 70 degree weather, we're back home in Alaska.

No flowers here yet, but furrows have been plowed in the snow at Creamer's Field in anticipation of all those birds that are migrating north.

Grain will be spread soon to welcome their arrival and help them to refuel before continuing their journey further north.

So far though the field is quiet.  

Our daytime temps are in the 40s, so melting should go fairly quickly.  The geese and ducks and cranes should be here soon!

Building a Snow Cave

This week has been spring break here in Fairbanks, and as our granddaughter Sydney's preschool was closed she spent a couple of those days with us.  She and Papa and Sydney's dog Sasha went out to play in the snow on one of those mornings.

She decided she wanted to build a snow cave that she could live in.  Her contribution to the effort seemed to be mainly supervision and testing.

Hmmm, not quite right.  Help me out, Papa.

And so the search for a better location.

The other side of the shop had a big pile of snow that had been plowed up and that seemed be a good spot!

With the work done, it was time for some hot chocolate and a rest for Papa!

Patterns in the Trees

 November 11, 2013 

White on White

Creamer's Field, November 9, 2013

These look like black and white shots, but instead the snowy day washed the color from the view of the barns.  More snow is on the way, and it looks like winter is settling in.

Snowy Day

It's beginning to look a lot more normal around here.  We've had snow showers off and on all day, with 1 to 2 inches of accumulation and temps in the 20s.  Low temps in the forecast even include one a bit below zero.  That's okay, though, as it has dipped down to 30 below at this time of year in the past.  More snowfall before we hit those cold temps would be very good so that we don't end up with frozen pipes.

It looks like that record for latest snowpack of 1 inch set on November 6th in 1938 will hold.  

A Little Snow and a Little Honeybee

Yesterday on Halloween we got a little snow and then overnight a bit more, maybe 1/2 inch.  The temperatures are in the mid-20s, and the forecast is calling for both daytime and nighttime temps below freezing.  The little bit of snow looks like it's here for the winter.  Whether we'll have broken the record for the latest permanent snowpack, defined as one inch of snow on the ground, remains to be seen.  That record was set on November 6th in 1938.  The average date is October 18th.  The photos below were taken around noon today, when a bit of sun peeked out.

I had another visitor on Halloween.  Normally we don't get trick or treaters in our neighborhood, but a sweet little honeybee stopped by to trick or treat.  She told me her name is Honey.

I think that might be the cutest honeybee I've ever seen!  Of course, Grandmas are sometimes prejudiced....

Playing With Snow

The last couple of days there has been a little bit of wind, which is not the norm for us in the wintertime.  The snow has been blowing lightly off the roof and swirling onto the deck.  Yesterday I shoveled part of the deck to get to the bird feeders, and this morning the sun shining on the drifted snow created interesting patterns.  The first photo is what I got taking the photo through the window.

In PSE I did an auto smart fix and the result is below.  (Click on the photos to enlarge them to get the full effect.)

Well, of course that got me to playing with the snow!

I had fun, and I stayed nice and warm!