Spring Ahead!

The Black Spruce shedding their winter snow coats.

With summer approaching we’re as anxious as a racehorse waiting for the gate to open!

View across the Turnagain Arm from the Seward Highway

The many gorgeous clear days in the second half of this month have gotten us bustling around outside again – and we love it! Occasionally bumping up above 40ºF, the snow’s days are numbered. We been taking advantage of this perfect window of warm air and thick snow blanket, squeezing in a lap around the lake on cross country skis whenever there’s time (and energy). Although we have still been getting a few inches overnight once or twice a week, it melts quickly leaving only the “persistent” snow base which has been there all winter and is still waist-deep in places. It is interesting to watch the mini glaciers which form on the tops of the sheds and parked trailers. The snow constantly melting down then re-freezing forms massive slabs which slowly flow and pour over the downhill edge.

Roosevelt Elk chilling on the snow

We managed to make time for a day trip to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, about a 2 hour drive to the tip of the Turnagain Arm. It was a beautiful day, perfect for the Little One to meet all sorts of neat Alaskan animals; Caribou, Bears, Musk Ox, Lynx, and many more! They do a lot of work with rescuing and rehabilitating native wild animals in Alaska and the Yukon. When we visited in 2015, they had just released a herd of 100 wood bison in Southwest Alaska, which has since been a successful release.

Musk Oxen doing what they do best: staying warm and ramming heads

Sitka Deer and the Common (but wise) Raven

When the weather is cold or otherwise crummy, we make up for it by cooking some excellent cuisines. Thai curry is one of our favorites as it always brings back fond memories of tropical beaches, even in the middle of a snowstorm. Our sourdough game also continues to improve, usually working it’s way into most of our baked good nowadays.

Thai Curry with Shrimp and Sourdough Naan

As the days get warmer, they get longer as well. We are currently seeing about 14 hours of sunlight each day. Along with the return of the warmth and sunlight have come the birds! We have had the small chickadees around all winter, but there are probably 6 different varieties frequenting our feeder now. I asked them where they had been all winter - they tweeted at me, but I’m not on Twitter.

Not too much else this month, somewhat of a slow one. We are expecting some good progress in the coming weeks - stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!