Shaving Down and Greening Up

Summer has truly found me without much blog time.   What's changed?   I guess working 12 hour days and the weather warming up has put a damper on my computing.   Though, I have been able to get away from work more and more as the summer reaches it's peak.   However, it's so buggy outside, I prefer to stay indoors with the cats during my free time.    

Ernesto had an incident with his long locks and the vet decided he needed a new do.   After flipping through a National Geographic magazine he opted for the "Lion Cut"...

Along with his haircut he also had a rotten tooth extracted from his mouth.   All of this greatly improved old Ernie's disposition, and he's become the most affectionate member in House of Cat...

Oh ya? says Hadley...

So ya, anyway, my cats are pretty much the cutest.


I don't know if it's just because I spent the winter here, but this summer seems so much greener than any one previous.   All the purple, yellow, white and pink wildflowers on the side of the road seem just THAT much more pretty.  The fresh, green tips on the spruce trees seem just THAT much more filled with new life.  

Fireweed!

Greenery outside of the outhouse...

   
Moose, moose, moose!  I pretty much see a moose everyday before AND after work.  Where do I live, heaven?   The other night, who I should I see when I pulled into my driveway...

It's coming up on the summer solstice, and I forgot what "darkness" is like.  I went for a late night walk, maybe one or two in the morning, and this was my view...

And not moose... but horses!   My neighbors across the street have brought their horses back.   They're super cute and they love apples!

Cool do!

And as a closing note, I finally got my GC (that's Grand Champion for all you non-pinball nerds) on Sopranos at the Red Fox in Fairbanks.  I've had my eye on that prize for a few weeks now.   It's a low GC, but I daresay well deserved!  As it seems with every game in Alaska, it sure does have it's quirks:)

PWA 4 LIFE.

Welcome to Denali! When does summer start?

I can't believe it's been an entire MONTH since my last post!   Just as Alaska "gets real cold, real fast", my life got real hectic, real fast.   Work has consumed my life as once the hoarfrost consumed my roof.   Here's a brief catch-up...

Welcome home boyfriend!  Oh, you thought by coming back in May you'd miss winter in Alaska?   Think again!   Here was Alaska's May Day welcome...

That snow and ice melted in a few days... to be followed by a ton of hail!  The ground didn't look quite right without a covering of white anyway...

I managed one last trip to Teklanika before they closed the road to car traffic in the Park...

Ghost of Denali... spooooooooky...

Since then I haven't seen much outside of the gas station I run.   However... I did get out for a nice hike about six miles south of my work.   Just to get out into nature and hear birds chirping and water running instead of cash registers beeping and tourists complaining was AMAZING!   It's the small things in life...

I saw my first crocuses of the year!   They officially usher in the beginning of spring.   The flowers were a little weighed down by a recent rain, however these tough, beautiful flowers will spring back in no time... no pun intended:) 

The area I like to hike in is a major migration spot for caribou, so I can always find signs of their past presence...

As the days get longer and warmer and greener, the moose have come out of hiding.   I see moose every day on my way to AND from work.   My favorite member of the Alces Gigas family is Patches, the neighborhood moose.  She can be found munching on fresh willow buds at all hours of the day...

As I write this, it's the first week of June and it's really greening up around Antares to be sure!    I can hardly recognize my neighborhood from the winter...

Now when I go out to the outhouse I have to wear bug spray instead of a down jacket!

I'll close with a picture from my drive home from work at 11:00 PM.   I still need to wear sun glasses...