The Arrival of Geese (and Other Feathered Friends)

On Sunday I drove by that field I told you about a few weeks ago along East End Road that we see 5-13 moose in and there were about 20 geese.  Thirty minutes later I drove by again and there were 100 geese.  Yesterday someone was on the phone when they drove by that field and said there were 500 geese in that field!  And when my husband went by last night he said the geese and the moose were sharing the space.  I'm kind of surprised they put up with the noise!  Since this flock of geese is the talk of the town, thought I'd share them with you.  Here's my video of them from the car as I drove to my workout this morning.  This was taken at 6:20 a.m. by the way--nice and light out (and it was cloudy).  I'm not a birder, so all I can tell you is that they are not Canadian Geese.

Speaking of geese, I heard there were 3 different kinds of geese out on the spit yesterday too, which according to the source, in all the years they've lived in Homer they've never seen so many so they were happy the numbers are rebounding.

The sandhill cranes are flocking in too, with up to 100 seen in one field by Wasabi's the other day, and they swoop over our yard regularly.  (You'll get a picture or video of them when I happen by them with my camera, which will be sooner or later as a group of them walk up our road regularly.).  Each morning when I wake up I am greeted by tweets and twitters of birds I haven't heard since last fall. 

The Migration Festival is coming up in a couple weeks:  a week-long celebration of all the thousands of birds that migrate through Homer.  People come to it from all over the world and we see all the fancy filming and sound capture equipment out on the spit (nothing at all like my low-tech video above!).  Even for a non-birder, it is exciting to be on a major migration route.

I am thinking spring is here.  Hip-hip-hooray!

Diamond Creek to Bishop's Beach Hike

I know I've blogged about this hike before, but other times I think I meant to blog about it but didn't get around to it.  We usually do this hike once or twice a year.  It wasn't even on our radar today.  We were going to go to the rope tow, maybe crust skiing (we heard conditions are right!), maybe biking.  But as we drove to church and noticed the super-low tide, we checked the tide book and quickly convinced ourselves to do the Diamond Creek to Bishop's Beach 8-mile hike on this gloriously brilliant day.

Last March we did this hike and there was 3 feet of snow on the 1 mile of road to the trailhead.  Today was better than that, with ruts showing it has even been driven already this spring--probably because there has been a logging operation in the area since last fall.  Today you're going to get a photo blog entry.

Not too much snow on the road section to the trailhead of Diamond Creek.

The first section of trail is nice--it is on more stable land and mudslides haven't wiped it out.

I love this rock formation on the way down the Diamond Creek Trail.

The muddy trail means hopping from dry-ish spot to dry-ish spot as it makes it's way along the edge of a steep ravine down to Diamond Creek.  A wrong slip could mean a bad fall in places!

I just love this view of the Kenai Mtn. Range from the bottom of the Diamond Creek Trail, looking towards Homer.

The next challenge was crossing Diamond Creek.  Today the logs were icy and slick, adding to the challenge.

Coming across vehicles stuck in the mud on the beach is not unusual.  Today a Good Samaritan hiker was helping this young man get his vehicle unstuck from the mud (jack it up, put rocks under tires).  A few minutes after I took this picture he sped by us on the beach.

Here we are, back at Bishop's Beach entrance, 2 1/2 hours later.

And a little treat--a video I made about halfway through the hike.  The wind was blowing pretty hard so I think that is the background noise you hear.

Kachemak Bay Campus Art Show Opening Reception

Kachemak Bay Campus Art Show Opening Reception

Each spring, students from all of the art classes showcase their artwork in the Kachemak Bay Campus commons.  Tonight was the opening reception for the show and since that is now on my radar of "things to be part of," I went, and invited my friends to come see what we've been working on all semester.

In class last night we spent nearly 2 hours deciding where all the paintings should be hung, which was an interesting experience trying to get 10 students plus art instructor to agree, by consensus, which paintings should be hung where.  I'm impressed it took only that long, and finally I suggested we step away for a bit and come back with fresh eyes.

Along with paintings, there was pottery and handmade books from the bookmaking class.  Light refreshments greeted us and students from the classes mixed and mingled.  One Russian gal in my class brought her family--which was somewhere around 15 people!  We each had 2 items we could display in the commons, which will be up until May 17.  We also put artwork on display in the classroom--paintings in process or that we hadn't gotten around to taking home.  There was quite a mix of styles and genre, which made it more interesting.  It feels a little weird to have my artwork on display (I'm just a beginner!), but kind of fun too.  As my self-portrait is titled:  Oh What the Heck!  That's how I feel about it!!

The Arrival of Toasters

Sometime in the fall, gradually all the recreational vehicles disappear from the roads.  I call them toasters, though, since my days working in Yellowstone National Park--a name that has stuck over the ensuing 20-some years.  A couple weeks ago I saw the first toaster of the spring.  In other places it might be the first robin or the first daffodil that increases one's hope that spring is here.  Since some robins actually winter over in Homer, and my daffodils bloom in mid-June or so, neither of those are accurate indicators of spring.  So when I parked at Mariner Park on the spit yesterday and saw two toasters and one converted house-bus, I knew that spring was truly here.

The arrival of 'toasters' signifies spring in Homer and around Alaska

Unlike robins or daffodils, I am not inspired to joy when I see toasters.  I--and just about anyone who has driven Alaska roads in the summer months--have been at the mercy of slow-moving toasters for countless miles with no option to pass.  In the summer I add 30-60 minutes to the time it takes to get from Homer to Anchorage to account for them.  The thing that is the real kicker of slow-moving toasters is that it is illegal in Alaska to have 5 or more vehicles backed up behind you.  Pulling over to let cars pass is the law. I have counted as many as 25 cars backed up behind one toaster along Turnagain Arm, where there curvy road extends about 30 miles--but there are countless wide, paved, well-marked pull-offs and the beauty is stunning so it would be a great place to just pull over.

I have also heard of strong and courageous Alaskans, caught behind a toaster for too long, who pull off when the toaster does and proceed to inform the driver of the law.  I want that to be me.  The Seward Highway south of Anchorage to just past Girdwood is one of the deadliest sections of highways in the state.  I can appreciate people wanting to come to Alaska, and driving in an RV can be more flexible and economical than renting a car, staying in hotels and eating out every meal.  But I don't appreciate the danger they present when people are so furious about being stuck behind them that they do crazy things. 

So if you come to Alaska, please watch the traffic behind you.  If there are more than 5 cars behind you, pull over.  Last fall my uncle was driving the speed limit on the Kenai Peninsula and he got stopped for cars backed up behind him.  My uncle couldn't quite get his brain around the fact he'd been stopped for going the speed limit, but as the state trooper pointed out, it was creating a traffic hazard.  Even better, you can do what I often do now:  if there are more than 3 cars behind me, I pull over (in the winter, it only takes 1 and I'll let them by.  Better than them spinning out trying to pass me.), even if I'm already going over the speed limit.  I see it as making other people's day, setting a good example and allowing everyone to drive safely and comfortably.

Spring Planting...

For as much as I love the fresh veggies from the garden, spring sneaks up on me and I'm usually so busy and preoccupied (and it still seems like the dead of winter!) that I don't get my seed starts planted in time so I end up having to buy them.  About this time, mid-April or so when the days are getting longer, I suddenly get this overwhelming urge to plant my greenhouse! 

My greenhouse--storage area in the winter and needing to be cleaned out before I plant my greens this week!

My greenhouse is a storage area in the winter, and with the snow and ice blocking the fence, I can't even get in there all winter.  I was able to pry open the gate enough to squeeze through a few weeks ago to prune my apple tree, but yesterday the urgency of needing to get my greens planted overwhelmed me and I trekked to the greenhouse.  The gate opened easily since the snow and ice are gone, but with every step I squished a few inches into the very mucky, wet lawn.  I found last year's seed packets tucked around the greenhouse and checked out my stash in the freezer too (yes, I store my seeds in the freezer; supposedly they last longer!) to see what seeds I need to buy.  

Pruned apple tree, with the branches
skinned by the rabbits

If I plant the lettuce and greens in the greenhouse by the last weekend of April, I will have lettuce for 5 months--June through October.  Usually by this point of the winter I am so tired of store-bought lettuce it cannot happen quickly enough and I'm usually snitching the poor lettuce leaves shortly after they peep out of the ground.  And I plant waaaay too much, which is fine because I love giving fresh stuff away.  The garden is a serious month away from being plantable--like the lawn it is a mucky mess.  Plus I need my compost bin to thaw out so I can pull out the stuff on the bottom and throw it on the garden before we rent a tiller from Uhlmer's for our spring tilling.

I am so casual about my planting it's amazing I get anything, but year after year I throw some seeds and plants into the ground, water it a bit, weed a bit and presto:  food galore!  I still have potatoes from last year's garden, stashed for planting this year.  (Usually I mooch planting potatoes off my aunt, but this year I decided to be bold and independent and actually not eat all the potatoes.)  My spinach, carrots and chives ran out a month or so ago, and I was happy my stash of onions made it into December this winter.  My kale didn't last as long because I would throw a handful into my daily smoothie every day starting in September.  By mid-September our freezer is always jam packed with fish, berries and veggies, and I make bets about how much I can fit in there.

At this time of year, when everything is cold and wet, it is ONLY because I've done this before that I do it again:  the promise that yes, the sun will shine, things will warm up, things will indeed grow.  I don't have to do it perfectly or prettily to get the produce.  I don't have to have a high tunnel (more about that another blog post) to feed my family.  I keep it within my time and energy limits so I have time to play, which is what Alaska summers are all about to me.  The food supports me, rather than me putting so much energy into supporting my food.  So I'll spend half an hour prepping my greenhouse and planting this week and then hope the sun shines and warms things up!

Local Dump...Becoming Transfer Station

When we lived at the end of East End Road we never went to the local transfer station because there was a trash drop-off site by McNeil Canyon School, right on our way to town.  These were eagle havens as the eagles scavenge for food at them.  They had limited recycling--just newspaper, cardboard and glass, if I remember right.  Periodically a truck comes up, drops off a new dumpster and hauls the full one to the dump in Homer.

Outlying area trash drop-off site by McNeil Canyon School

Since we moved closer to town it is now more convenient to go to the dump which is up Baycrest Hill heading out of town, between Roger's Loop Trailhead and the DOT trailhead.  Hours are most days, including limited hours on Sunday, and there are some times that this is a hopping local place.  It is free for residents to drop off their trash here, and usually just takes a quick minute or two to back into the big building, toss of the trash on the conveyor belt and pull out.  On the far right in this building there is a salvage area that people can drop off items that others might want--trash to them but that others might use.  There is a place to drop off appliances, fluorescent light bulbs and fish nets (a very Homer thing!).

Dropping off trash is as quick as backing into this building and tossing out the trash on the conveyor belt.

There is also a "big stuff" area up a hill to the right of this building where we drop off branches, wood, or any big pieces of trash.  Last year we made 5 trips to that section with our trailer loaded as we cleaned up our yard of years of junk of accumulation.

The recycling area

My favorite area is the recycling.  They take the standard recycling:  tin cans, corrougated cardboard, batteries, glass, aluminum, paper products, newspapers, #1 clear and #2 (milk jug) plastics.  I've often wondered if it is cost effective to recycle in Alaska because distances are so great, increasing transportation costs, but an article in a local newspaper a year or so ago assured us that it is indeed worth it so I separate my recyclables at home and when I head up to the dump I dump those things too.

The new transfer station being constructed

All this will change come August.  A new transfer station is being built right next to the current facility so trash will be trucked up to Soldotna. Apparently when this dump was established, its capacity was limited and it has reached the end of it's life.  I'm not sure how the transfer station is going to change the services we have now.  Will there still be a place to dump off branches and wood?  I am assuming the recycling center will stay.  The borough has contracted out the running of the new transfer station so it will no longer be borough-run.  I am also assuming that we will not get charged to drop our trash.  It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

So Much Daylight!

According to the US Naval Observatory (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php), on this day the sun rose at 5:29 a.m. in Homer and will set at 20:42 or 8:42 p.m., which is nearly 15 hours of daylight, not including dawn and dusk.  I don't need any website to tell me that things are changing--fast!  Day by day, it is lighter out at night when I go to bed and bright enough in the mornings we don't need to turn on lights.  I really appreciate those blackout blinds at this time of year (now until September) as I need some sort of signal that it is time to go to bed!  Before we had blackout blinds installed in our bedroom, I would often get up at 5:30 a.m. in the summer and easily be going until midnight.  When the sun is streaming into the room at 5:30 and if you didn't look at the clock you would think it is 10:30--the sleep cycles get all messed up!

The lethargy of winter gives way to a hyperactivity from here on out.  Just as plants in Alaska sprout, bloom and die at a frenetic pace, so people seem to try to pack as much life and living into the 5 months of daylight.    Last night at 9 p.m. Denver was bouncing around the house with too much energy so we told him to go out biking for an hour.  Then we looked at the clock and realized he was supposed to be in bed in an hour.  Whoops!  We had no clue what time it was because it was so bright.  We make jokes in Homer about mowing our lawns at 11 p.m. in the summer because it's so light out and we really don't know what time it is.  People are out and about doing all the things people do--just later.

There are advantages to all this light:  flashlights aren't something we worry about having when we go camping in the summer.  Electricity bills go down substantially as the lights are hardly ever on in the house and the outdoor lights are not needed either.  We can go for walks or hikes very early or late and be able to see the wildlife around us.  Our lives become dictated by rhythms other than light.

What I miss most about having long days is that soon the stars will disappear and we won't see them again until September.  I have wonderful memories of laying out on the lawn on summer nights watching for shooting stars streaking by and satellites blinking their way across the sky.  If we had fireflies up here, I would miss that too as they would just seem like hovering bugs rather than lightning bugs.  Fourth of July fireworks are shifted to New Years Eve fireworks for the same reason:  it just doesn't get dark enough for an awesome effect.  And huddling around a campfire when it is dark out is so much more cozy than huddling around one in the light.  So there are tradeoffs to these long days of light.

I'll admit, I am already counting down to summer solstice when the days will start getting shorter.  Two months to go of gloriously long, long days!  It is so worth it when the days are sunny, and it makes up for the dark winters that sometimes feel like endless night.