when you look at your collection of shoes (mukluks, Xtra Tuffs, Tevas, ski boots, winter mountaineering boots) and gloves (fleece, neoprene, GoreTex, wool mittens) and decide to go with the Tevas and no gloves to go on a bike ride to town to pay your taxes.
Hallelujah, it’s tax season. Take my hard earned money and spend it on a beautiful wall.
Happy Easter!
“The art of taxation consists of plucking the goose so as to obtain the most feathers with the least hissing.”
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
when you open your pantry and you realize the selection of delicious jam from last years berry harvest is dwindling. And those jars of dried mushrooms are disappearing, too.
There is still plenty of salmon in the freezer, but the next spawning season is months away. Around goes the cycle of consumption and replenishment .
Appreciating everything nature has to offer.
“Nature’s first green is gold.”
Robert Frost
Yellow skunk cabbage, Lysichiton americanum
when the first mosquito shows up in your home. That day was yesterday. After a pest-free winter I noticed the first large mosquito of the season,
then another,
and another.
Out of the blue I had 20 or so of these buggers in the house. Where did they come from? I had no idea. They are the big, slow kind. Easy to swat, not making the annoying buzzing sound. Wiki says there are mosquito species that hibernate as adults in crevices and come out as soon as the temps go up. Maybe I have those…
Happy Easter!
No matter what happened.
There are always ups and downs.
Appreciate what you have.
Looking forward to 2016.
Happy New Year!
Summer’s gone
Gone like yesterday
The nights grow cold
It’s time to go
I’m thinking maybe I’ll just stayThe Beach Boys
Like a horse thief, without announcement, summer has gone, opening the door for the colder and darker fellows of the year. Poppies have dropped their vibrant, fragile petals.
Fireweed, long gone. Their seed pods are exploding.
Cruise ships decided to stay at sea, rather than attempting to dock in high winds.
And at night it is getting dark, really dark.
I know all this is accelerating now. Turkeys beware, time for Christmas gifts and New Years resolutions. Tell me it ain’t so.
Just when I got used to it, my good friend summer goes on vacation.
Well, you have been good to us this year. Don’t be a stranger. See you next year.
On second thought, it’s spring time somewhere in the Southern hemisphere…
Just when we thought winter is over and spring is in the air, a day of snow flurries covered the ground with a white blanket.
Firs and pines looked like Christmas trees, again.
The wind picked up and whirled the snow around.
River rocks wore little white hats.
Snow hats
Steady – Flow
The Hoback
It was wet and windy for a couple of days, so I had time to work on some images. One evening the storm started to move out. The foothills sparkled in the late sunlight with a shroud of menacing clouds in the mountains. Two rainy days came to an end. The world looked gray with a few rays of hope. Was that in my head or was it real? With that in mind, I came up with three variations of the same image…
You be the judge.
The snow is almost gone on the sunny shores of Puntilla Lake. The water slowly finds its way into the lake. I thought hip waders are only for fly fishing. Not so. They are the only sane way to get around here during breakup.
Today I spotted the first green. From the distance the yard is brown, but if you look closely, there are thin green leaves of grass popping up.
The first wildflower
Then I found the first wildflower of the season. Not sure what it is, yet. I must admit it looks a little alien but I am sure it’s going to be gorgeous in a couple of days.
The world around us has been white and blue for many months now. It is amazing to see other colors reappear.
Reindeer lichen and lingonberry
Reindeer lichen and lingonberry leaves are already adding a little splash to the faded tundra. I can’t wait for the rest of the tundra to come alive again. In a few months the blueberries are going to be plentiful and every inch of the ground will be covered with leaves, flowers and seeds.
Unfortunately I have also spotted the first giant specimens of the State bird…
It is still winter in Ptarmigan Valley. A few spruce trees, willows and alders poke through the snow, but most of the tundra is still covered by snow.
Ptarmigan Valley in April
Steep mountain slopes start to shed their winter coat. Dall sheep play in a safe distance anticipating spring.
Distin Peak
The absence of colors on an overcast day is remarkable. I am developing a thirst for color. And not for the muddy brown that is now emerging in our corral. Somebody give me a juicy orange, or a carmine red. I’ll even take lucifer yellow…
It has been a crazy couple of days.
Into the Blue
First we ventured out into the back country to transport supplies, firewood, building materials, fuel, and other goodies to remote hunting camps. We would leave after breakfast and spent most of the day outside. April did present us with all facets of weather: Some days we had plenty of sunshine, some days the light was flat and you could barely see from one trail marker to the other. One day it was so windy we huddled behind the windshields of our snow machines to stay out of the wind. The tundra seemed alive as the strong wind pushed the snow around.
The Iditarod Trail
Once in a while we would get stuck with our heavy loads. That meant unhooking the trailer, rolling around in the snow, shoving and pushing until the sled was on the hardened trail again. On a clear day that’s good fun. On a cold, windy day it is almost a matter of survival to stay dry and warm, and most importantly to stay together as a group. It would be so easy to get off the trail and disappear in the rolling hills. The wind covers all traces in a minute.
Field Service
Then again it seems like a miracle to see wildlife in this vast space. Two tiny mice crossed our path the other day. We stopped in order to get a better look at the critters. What did they do? They had nothing better to do than to crawl underneath our snow machines! When we left they reappeared from underneath unharmed. First, a little flattened. Then, they hopped off into the white, looking for something to nibble on.
Bearly 