Work and Play

A rainy day today, at the end of a string of sunny days.  We've been out of doors a lot, getting quite a bit of yard work done, and there's much more to do, but mixed in with the work is some time for play too.

In the pictures:

I [Michael] am breaking my electric chain saw (not breaking-in: this one stripped a gear after about ten minutes of cutting, but the second one we bought seemed to hold up better).  Becky's winter boots are incredible, as I noted when I discovered dry socks and warm feet after her stroll through the creek.  Sheryl got her first real "this is our yard" experience, clipping all the smaller dead branches below eye level.  There aren't really established trails around the property, but once we've gone through and removed the dead stuff it's possible to walk almost anywhere in the yard, a point which Michael takes full advantage of (the red bushes behind him are blueberry bushes, of which we have many).

And a good time was had by all. 

Spring in the Snow

In case folks are wondering where all the blog entries went, they might pause for a moment to consider that it's past the middle of April, and our Alaskan days are getting longer and longer.  We're also seeing  a stretch of sunny days and temperatures into the fifties (!), which means that we're spending a lot of time outside.

There are good reasons for wanting to spend so much time outside.  It's good for the kids.  It's good for the adults.  It's been a long winter.  There is an acre of ground to explore.  The mosquitos aren't biting yet.  The last one is the most important: once the mosquitos start attacking, outside loses some of its glamour.

Springtime is especially pleasant this year because the kids have a new yard to explore.  I [Michael] have been taking the kids out every day, sometimes for as long as they can tolerate it (which in Michael's case is a very long time, about four hours yesterday), and letting them have free reign as long as they stay on the property and within sight or at least in earshot (sometimes I can't see them between the contour of the ground and the remaining snow).  Our west creek has become Michael's special place: he'll stand beside the creek for long periods of time, throwing in pinecones and sticks and waving "bye-bye" to them as they move downstream.

I have been having a lot of fun in the creeks too.  We have two creeks on the lot, which we're calling West Creek and East Creek (because they flow generally along the west and east sides of the property).  West Creek has gotten most of our attention so far; East Creek is still under snow.  We knew when we bought the place that the lower stretches of West creek were very muddy and marshy, and when the snow finally cleared I was able to see why.  Several years worth of leaves and branches fell into the streambed and inhibited the flow, causing the stream to leave its banks and flow out over the marsh.  At first I worked on adding material (leaves, pinecones, sticks, and dirt) along the bank nearest the house, because the kids gravitated toward that area.  After that I started clipping all the smaller alder branches and laying them down in the mud and water (deep, sticky mud), and continued doing this until most of the low branches were out of the way.  Then I took my shovel and worked northward from the pool at the south end (where the water disappears under the snow on its way to the culvert hiding therein), removing a couple of rocks, numerous small branches, and a lot of mud from the creek bed. 

As a result, the level of the creek has gone down about two inches along much of the lower stretch, and the marsh is draining.  The goal is to reduce or eliminate the marshy areas, and the mud, so the kids can play next to the creek without getting boots sucked off and without getting hopelessly dirty.

There is a lot of material available to build up the streambanks.  The property hasn't been properly tended in some time (if it ever was), and the forest floor is littered with an accumulation of sticks, leaves, and pinecones.  The debris makes a good fill material that drains well.  There is also a lush growth of moss under the trees, and raking makes these areas soft and pleasant to sit on (and for kids to tumble on without getting hurt).

I had another interesting revelation along the creeks.  At one point along East Creek two pools emerged from the snow.  One pool was perhaps sixteen inches higher than the other.  At first I thought it had been intentionally dammed, but when I shoveled snow away between the pools I found nothing more than branches, a rock, and some plant growth that effectively blocked the flow, and all this was easily cleared.  It's intriguing because the northeast section of our property is very marshy, and it's quite possible that some minor work on the streambed could open the drainage and make that section of our yard more user-friendly (not to mention the positive effect on mosquito abatement).  That section of the yard is also where we get the most sunlight.

But the morning moves on, and it's another nice day out.  Michael has been putting on his boots and looking out windows, so I think I'll put a bowl of Cheerios in front of him (and me, and Becky and Mom if they want) and get on with our day. 

A Quick Trip North

I [Michael] flew North to Fairbanks and Anchorage this past weekend.  It was a short, but very full trip.

The premise of the trip was to see Dorothy’s Junior Recital in Fairbanks on Saturday.  Dorothy is working steadily towards her music degree with an emphasis on vocal performance, and the recital was a part of her graduation requirements.  She’s come a long way as a singer and it was very beautiful to listen to, as you can hear for yourself:

Dorothy's Recital

In addition to Jason (Dorothy’s fiancé) and their local friends, the recital was also attended by M-J and family (daughter Alora and husband James), Wanda and Brian (my third wife and her husband), and Ronnie Stanford, Jason’s dad…

Yes, I spelled the name wrong when I put their engagement in the blog, but it wasn’t entirely my fault:  I got the spelling from the caller ID on my phone!

As it was, I got only a brief visit with Dorothy, but it was well worthwhile.  Besides the brief time we had for conversation while Dorothy drove me about town, I also had an early dinner after the recital with Dorothy, Jason, and his dad.  Meeting Ronnie was an unexpected bonus (he teaches music in Barrow, on the Arctic Ocean), and it was nice to have a chance to get acquainted.

I flew out that same evening, back to Anchorage to spend the night with Sheryl’s brother Mark (I knew that there would be several people in town to visit with Dorothy, and didn’t want to complicate or compete with their plans too much).  I like Mark (I like all of Sheryl’s family) and we had a pleasant visit, talking about cars and poking a little fun at Sheryl.  That night was the first night that I have ever spent away from Becky and Michael, and I took advantage of it by sleeping in on Sunday morning.  On Sunday I had an equally pleasant visit with all of the Alaska Hall clan, first at a buffet lunch in a lodge on the lake in Wasilla, then at Bert and Helen’s home where we all got to hunt for Easter goodies hidden about the house.  Very nice.  Mark brought me back to Anchorage that evening, and within a few hours (and an unexpected visit with M-J and family while we waited for the same plane) I was back on the ground in Juneau.

There were few surprises on the trip.  My flight to Fairbanks was cancelled (the next flight still got me there with ample time to spare), and I took an earlier flight back to Anchorage when I found myself through security in Fairbanks when boarding for the early flight was still underway and had seats to spare.  But the biggest surprise awaited me when Sheryl arrived to pick me up in Juneau.  Michael was asleep in his car seat, but Becky was still awake.  She lit up when she saw me, and with a very happy voice, said: “Daddy, it’s nice to see you!”

What a great end to a great trip.

Old Records and New Records

Our snowiest season ever on record is this current season.  The record fell early last week.  For all those folks who wanted it, we now have a new record.  The problem is, we don’t know what the record will be.

We don’t know what the new record will be because it is still snowing.  Every flake that falls to the ground adds to the record.  For all those folks who focused their cosmic energy, prayed, seeded clouds, or contributed to the snowfall in other ways, the manifest sum of their energies are still directing the clouds above to bring down white stuff rather than liquid.  I [Michael] didn’t wish for this: I would rather see rain.  At this point, so would everybody else.  Unfortunately, the latent effect of all the wishes for snow has somehow manifested itself in producing more snow.  It’s as if God were reminding us to be careful what we wish for.

Soon this will all be rain.  It has to be: the sun is working north, the days are getting longer, and soon it will be too warm to snow.  That’s the way the model has always worked in the past.  Of course, that same model says that we should be drying out a little too, since we’re coming into our driest months of the year (April through June).  We are also looking at an all time record for March snowfall this year.  I don’t know if we’re close on overall precipitation for this month.

I cleared the snow off the back deck the other day.  It wasn’t too difficult once I brought the snow blower around.  The most interesting thing about the deck now is the two-foot wall of snow surrounding it: usually, the deck drops off about a foot and a half to the ground below.

Sheryl is home for Spring break this week.  We’re doing some house stuff.  I’m cleaning in the garage (which I could do all week).  The kids are doing their own things.  Actually, the kids are becoming more and more tenacious in getting our attention and directing us about to serve their wants.

Becky likes playing with Michael, but she prefers having mom or dad for playing with blocks or for pretend conversations between her dolls and figurines.  Michael brings books to us at least hourly through the day, setting in our lap and waiting for us to flip through the pages with him; if we try to ignore him he throws the book on the ground and sulks.  Alternatively, Michael takes us by the hand (or finger, or thumb) and leads us to his latest project, or to the food, or to whatever he wants us to be doing.

Becky is still seeing remarkable advances in her vocabulary, and the beginnings of cohesive sentences.  She’s using the word “not” now as well as the phrase “I don’t want…”, which enables her to express negative inclinations as well as positive ones.  Conversations are still some ways off, but the foundations are continuing to build.

Speaking of which, my attention is being requested.

Almost a Record Winter

Juneau is officially into its second snowiest season ever.  The weather forcasts are predicting enough snow to top the old record, but it hasn't happened yet.  We need two more inches.  Oddly, almost everybody seems to want the old record to fall.  Not me [Michael].  I know that the rains will come soon, because it is almost the spring equinox and the snow cannot continue, and with the rain will come melting, and with the melting will come flooding.  It's going to be a big mess.

There was a forecast out that said we should have seen the snowfall record fall on Saturday night or Sunday (today).  Instead, the clouds went away, the sun came out, and we all went outside to enjoy the fresh snow.  The driveway had an inch of fresh snow on top of a smooth layer of ice (which covers the gravel very nicely), which was a great surface for Becky and Michael to play around on their skiis. They haven't spent much time on the skiis this winter, mostly because I'm cautious and don't want them getting into something that I think will frustrate them.  They did get frustrated before too long too, but I was pleased that they gave it as long of a try as they did.

I continued work on my sled run, and finally learned that if I sit on the very front of the sled I can actually turn the thing, an important skill considering the sled run makes a gradual right turn on its way from the top of our snow hill down to the driveway.

I've been making trails through the snow too, and lots of them.  Both of the kids like them tremendously, and little Michael especially.  In the open areas away from the trees there are places where the snow gets incredibly deep, and even where it isn't so deep the effort of blazing trail is more than either of the kids are willing to do for any length of time.  If they've got a path to follow they can spend hours outside and still squawk about going back in.  Michael likes to fall into step right behind me when I'm making a trail.  He'll listen to the plodding of my feet as I make short steps to mash down the snow, and I'll hear him making a "ch-ch-ch" sound followed by a "Choo-Chooooo!" (he loves trains).  It's very endearing to listen to.

Today we went on a much longer plod through the yard, cutting along the east side of the property to the back (north) edge before working down towards the pond and creek in our back yard.  The snow is so deep that it rides over the creek and obscures it completely, and I never found a place where my feet could break through to the water below.  Where I knew of pools of water, it was apparent that these bodies still were well frozen and the most vigorous jumping on my part couldn't induce the slightest sound of cracking from the ice below the snow.  Even so, the snow was too much for the kids to blaze their own trails (and they got cranky really quickly if I didn't make a proper trail for them to follow), so we didn't have to worry about the kids going off on their own and getting into trouble with thin ice, even if there was any in the back yard.

And then there were the chores to tend to.  I have located the well and done some preliminary clearing to gain access to it.  There was an ice jam on the roof that was threatening to bring down part of our rain gutter, a problem that was remedied in about five minutes with a shovel.  Our Scamp also needed to be shoveled off because the snow load was causing the ceiling inside to sag (a problem that I believe we saw before, as the deformation of the roof combined with the cold temperatures causes adhesive failure where it holds the insulation and carpeting against the underside of the ceiling: I had to repair this once before two years ago after a similar snow load rested on top of the Scamp).  Lastly, our mailbox post was damaged the last time the snow plow came by and I had to patch it together (the whole assembly is rotten and coming apart, but replacement will have to wait until the snow is gone.

So I got to play and do some work.