Dweller on the Threshold

Welcome to the vernal equinox!  We are now officially halfway between winter and summer... or, um, spring as most people call it.   Like, wow.  


March has brought some pretty interesting celestial phenomenons to be sure.  Mostly Aurora:)   The last solar flare event brought some truly AMAZING northern light shows for many days.   Here are some pictures from the last night of the event...

There is something so awesome and Alaskan feeling about sitting outside in the snow, watching the Aurora dance in the sky behind silhouetted spruce trees, while sled dogs howl in the distance.   All I needed was for a moose to walk by!   Do moose enjoy the northern lights I wonder?


I had recently noticed two very bright stars in the sky, that weren't in the sky last month.   Maizura informed me that they were Jupiter and Venus.   I was intrigued, so I looked it up, and indeed, this is an unusual event!


Venus-Jupiter Conjunction 2012!

There's a whole bunch of science stuff about "ecliptics" and "evening elongation" that I don't quite understand, but, suffice to say, it's pretty cool and is only occurring during March.   Apparently you can see Mars in the eastern sky, but my view is obstructed by mountains and trees I think.   Or maybe just clouds?   I'll keep checking!  


The plows have been going by and getting up the packs of snow/ice that have built up on the roads all winter.   I guess they figure the weather is mostly done with it's wacky winterings.   I know I sure wouldn't want to skid into these "snow" piles!

Another puzzle accomplished!   I had my doubts about this one, as all the pieces laying in the box resembled a Jackson Pollock painting.   Actually, the finished puzzle wasn't much more sensible...

Oh, wait...

Whoops, yes, yes Hadley, you're MUCH cuter than the puzzle...

There it is!

I'm now starting a new one that's not designed in the normal square/rectangle shape.   I have the bottom mostly done so far... know what it's going to be?

And finally, a tale of my misplaced Alaskaness...


A couple of days ago I decided it was time to clean the outside of my windows, as, it's spring right?   I mixed some glass cleaner with water in a bucket, and headed outside with my squeegee.   As soon as the water drips down the window, it freezes, as well, it's still 10° outside.   Geez.   So, I go back inside and heat some water up, pour it in a bucket to toss at the ice on the window.   It was a valid attempt, however most of the water just ended up on the cabin.   Hadley at least has a small area to watch birds out the window...

Lesson learned... 10° may be above 0, however it's still below freezing:)   I guess the windows will have to wait until summer...

Is My Coronal Hole Showing?

I have to wake up earlier and earlier to catch the sunrise these days.   It's almost hard to believe there was a time not too long ago when I would wake up with the sun at 10:30 AM!   


The evenings have been just lovely as of late.   I go for a walk at about 6:30 or 7:00 PM, and the sun is just setting.   The air is calm, the temperature is tolerable at about 10° and there are plenty of signs of MOOSE being about.   Broken branches, huge hoofprints in the deep snow, but no sighting of the beast that made them.   There should be baby moose making their appearance in the next couple of months.   So cute!




Alaskan crop circles?

The solar flares are a-flyin', and Aurora she's a dancin'!   The clouds have finally cleared and the northern lights have exposed themselves.   The displays lately have been unlike any I've seen so far.   Usually Aurora is dancing light mostly on the northern horizon.   However, lately she's been darting across the sky from east to west and north to south and every variation of the cardinal directions.   I actually HEARD Aurora the other night! Maizura said to her they made a "whooshing" sound.   As I stood outside looking up, it reminded me of the sound of millions of electrified insects, buzzing and racing across the sky.   Pretty crazy.  

It's been more challenging to capture Aurora in her new display pattern.   As the lights are now more often above my head, it's hard to get a good angle without a tripod.   So, as I wish to share this amazing light show, you'll just have to take my word that it's better than TV:)


Last night, to my shear delight, I awoke at about 2:00 AM to have Aurora shining right outside my bedroom window!   Usually I can't really see the lights from that angle, so this was quite a treat.   Needless to say, I'm pretty sleep deprived today...

According to my email notifications, Aurora is only going to get better!   I've got some more late nights ahead of me looks like...

"The best auroras will probably occur in the night of the 16th/17th.  The effects of the large coronal hole facing Earth right now will probably be seen on the night of the 17th/18th."

Dr. Charles Deehr, Prof. Emer. Phys.     Ph. 907 474 7473 Fax 907 474 7290
email cdeehr@gi.alaska.edu
The Geophysical Institute
University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Ave N
Fairbanks, Alaska  99775-7320


Thanks Dr. Deehr!


The kitties aren't too impressed anyway...

It's a Long Road Back

And... it snows on... and on... to my delight!  March was touted to be the best month of winter in interior Alaska.   The average temperature and amount of light are more tolerable than in the depths of winter, however there is still plenty of snow for skiing, sledding, mushing and such.   I heartily agree!  

My only problem with the snow now is that the clouds which create it have obscured the amazing Aurora display last night:(   There are still a couple months of potentially good northern lights viewing before summer.   

*fingers crossed*

And besides the snow... oh, the WIND!   My drive from the cabin to Tilly's house has been pretty surreal for the past few days...

The flock of red poles (which seems to grow larger every day) at Tilly's house has been having fun in the wind.   Sometimes they remind me of a swarm of insects crawling around on the ground, devouring everything in sight...

There may not be a state lottery in Alaska, however we do have the...

I've been wanting to make my guess for when the Nenana and Tanana rivers will breakup in Nenana since I first started coming up to Alaska in 2009.   I finally have my chance!   Some people are being very scientific about it, calculating the depth of the ice and the temperature for each winter month.   I figured I'm going to take my cue from old unpredictable Alaska, and just make my best random guess:)  
*fingers still crossed*


Animal activity really seems to be picking up lately.   Deep sleep be gone!   The squirrels are ready to start tearing out insulation from walls again... aren't they just adorable?

I've been perfecting my sourdough pizza while housesitting with Tilly...

She REALLY wants a taste test...

Instead of tasting pizza though, Tilly and I have just been getting out into the wilds behind her house everyday.   When the wind blows all the snow across the rocky, dry river bed it feels like walking on the moon... with a LOT of gravity!   


My puzzling has been slightly encumbered by my cute, sleepy kitty...

Until I get my puzzle table back, I 'spose it's back to hiking in the backcountry for Tilly and I...

March Mammalia Madness!

Ah March... not too different from January in some ways actually.   The temperatures have been hanging between 10° and -10°.   Not too cold, but not really warm either. I don't care what the locals say, it's not really "warming up out there":)  


HOWEVER, the main difference I notice this month is the... SUN!   It's been rising around eight in the morning, and then setting at about six-thirty at night.   Pretty much almost normal daylight hours!   Wow.   I can actually see the sun up in the sky above the mountains most of the day.   Soon enough I'll be complaining that I haven't seen a star in weeks:)   


Hadley's been enjoying her spot in the sun from the awesome cat tree I made from my cardboard box collection.   I love that my cat appreciates my frugality...

My new kitty is also enjoying the artificial heat from my table lamp, while helping(?) me make my puzzle...

Hadley is truly the light of my life!   I forgot that cats CAN love people!

Besides my playful new kitty, I've been watching THREE dogs this week.   Sweet, fluffy Tilly is back...

And also retired sled dog, Nike (on left) with wanna-be sled dog Chicken (on right)...

Nike has a super cute overbite that looks especially funny while he's eating his dog food soup...

I attempted to skijor yesterday, however having to deal with Tilly, Nike, Chicken and the random loose neighborhood dogs proved WAY too much for me to handle!   I just ended up skiing separately from the dogs while they ran along with me:)   I'm still too "green" on my skis to do anything too complicated.   Nike, with his years of mushing experience, just has that "really?" look on his face while watching me clumsily ski along.   

There has been a HUGE flock of Red Pole's at Tilly's house lately.   I throw seeds out in the morning, and by the afternoon the ground is spotless.  The boy birds look as though someone from PETA came by and threw paint on them for wearing feathers, while the girls look like they have a trendy red highlight... 

So hip!

In crafty news, I FINALLY finished my sweater!   I've had dreams about knitting it since last June, but to be fair, I didn't actually start working on it until a couple of weeks ago:)   It's made from about 90% Alaskan sourced yarn, and has my first attempts at felting for the pockets...

And, I managed to finish my puzzle, even after having to replace all the pieces Hadley would "help" me with.   It was nice working on it with her, as the title of this mosaic puzzle was, "Trust"...

I'm off to humble myself on the ski trails... stop looking at me that way Nike!