As the Snow Flies...Baby It's COLD Outside!

Pink Sunrise Before the Snows Fly
Pinks like these are a clue that snows are on the way...

See? Snows arrive in full force...
Michael is in the car on the left...ironically on his way to have snow tires put on the car!

We believe we are in the first swing of our winter season now, as the snows have arrived; and we do not anticipate temperatures above freezing from now until spring.  I'm not sure how you all feel about it, but we absolutely l-o-v-e the snow!  All of the yuck that comes with trees losing their leaves and grass and plants dying seems to turn joyous with that first snow that completely covers the ground. Hatcher Pass saw 17 inches of new snow, and the boarders and sledders have been out in droves...well, until the past few days.  We are into our third day of negative temperatures...yes, you read that right, negatives!  -2 or -3 isn't so bad; however, yesterday and today we awoke to -13 and -21 respectively here on this backside of Wasilla.  Amazingly, when we got to church in Palmer Sunday, the temperature there was nearly 4 above zero!  Such a drastic change in only a few miles -- but such is the life here.

For those of you that have not experienced temperatures that cold, allow me to delve more deeply into what happens to homes, vehicles, and your own person on days this cold:

1.  It is still possible to go outside without freezing solid; however, you MUST bundle up in layers and leave no skin exposed for any considerable length of time, lest frostbite begins to take hold.  We walked to the mailbox (1/2 mile away) with thermals, jeans, long sleeve shirts/sweaters, insulated bib overalls, wool socks, snow boots, coats, wool mittens, hats with face masks, and snow goggles or sunglasses.  Staying warm is not the issue when dressed like that. Breathing normally is...

2. You see, at certain temperatures (and we haven't figured out the exact temperature yet, except to say that it is below zero) something happens to your body when you inhale frozen air into your lungs.  The initial body response is a cough and a sputter, as if you are trying to breathe in poisonous gas.  Your body reacts (sometimes more violently that others) and tries to get you to "spit back out" any air that made it inside.  Once that situation is under control, most folks try to inhale by breathing through their noses.  This stops the sputtering, but creates an entirely new "symptom overload" for your unsuspecting nerves.  In case you have forgotten elementary and middle school science, allow us to remind you that inside our noses are tiny hairs -- used mostly for filtering out bad stuff (you know collecting the yucky dirt, mucous, etc. that tends to collect there throughout the day and making what we refer to as "boogies").  Couple those tiny hairs with what you know about the freezing temperatures of water.. and voila!  Nose hairs as stiff as boards that make it feel as if your nostrils are permanently frozen open, never to be closed and normal again!  A very deep inhale past all those frozen nose hairs leads to the chest filling with frozen air, and the sputtering begins again in earnest. Now the cycle of frozen breathing and sputtering is complete and will continue indefinitely until you return to the comfort of warmth inside you home or car.  Even boiling water evaporates on contact with such cold temperatures...

3.  Ah...but lest we forget...we should talk about homes and cars.  Temperatures inside hover between 63 and 67, and that is hot compared to the outdoors!  The warm air from inside the home crashes with the cold air outside the home, and creates nice ice spectacles on even the most insulated windows! Condensation forms inside, with resulting ice in all the cracks around the inside of the windows.

Hello Ice Creepers...it must be below zero outside!

Mealtimes are particularly brutal when the increased temperatures from the stove, oven, and/or crockpot add to the overall temperatures indoors!  And while our home is a newer home, even we have not been immune to the "ice creepers"...loving creatures that beg to get inside where it is warm, so they try to worm their way in through the cracks around the doors.  I'm not sure what people do who are truly homebound...as we have to open our doors at least twice per day to detach the ice creepers to ensure we can get out of our home in the event of an emergency.

4.  And once we get out...well, we are blessed with an automatic start for one of our vehicles.  We simply press a button and the car starts and the doors lock.  The truck...not so much. After battling the house ice creepers, we arm up to tackle to truck creepers.  Without an automatic start or a block heater, we manually start the truck and allow it to warm for at least 10 minutes before attempting to move it.  On really cold days (-20 or colder), the round tires actually form into squares -- SQUARES! So warming and driving slowly for the first few miles is necessary to ensure a smooth drive.

Before you feel sorry for us, keep in mind that the Interior (near Fairbanks) gets MUCH colder temperatures than we do.  These temperatures will usually only last a few days here, while they have been known to last for weeks there.  Engine block heaters and automatic starts are nearly as much of a requirement there as a tank of gas.  Here, we consider them "nice-to-haves," but not mandatory.

But that is why we carry "emergency kits" in the backs of vehicles.  Not your traditional ER kit, but extra snowsuits, gloves, hats, blankets, food, candles, etc.  In the event of a breakdown (particularly in a pocket that may not have cell service or another vehicle passing for hours), the ER kit could save you!  So for now...we wait...until Wednesday.

Wednesday, the temperatures return to "normal" and the snows return.  That will mean fresh wet powder for sledding and building snowmen; deeper, softer snow for tiring the dog on our walks; and a reprieve from "cabin fever."  Because let's face it...it must be really important to leave the warmth of snuggling in your home to brave temperatures like these.  We just pray for the folks who have to work out in it -- die hard Alaskans they be! Brrr!

The cold has driven the animals further down into our valley, and the moose are so frequent now that I think I'm the only one who still gets excited to see them.  They terrorize the dog, as she is afraid of her own shadow anyway, but they seem undaunted by our presence.  Even in the dead of night now, it is not unusual to see them in the moonlight bedded down out back or grazing on the tall dead weeds in the woods.

Things that go "thump" in the night...

Ethan and I made the mistake of trying to watch them through the downstairs bedroom window last week.  As we pulled the drapes back, the startled moose ran by the window, scaring us senseless!  If the windows had been opened, we could have put our hands out and petted him as he ran by.  But to hear his heavy 6+ foot body "thud, thud" against the house as he ran was just disconcerting enough that we ran upstairs to be higher than he!  If you google "moose inside," you'll likely stumble across an article about a moose who gained entry into the Wasilla Carrs grocery store last week by walking through the automatic doors!  They really are undaunted, and they go wherever they can.

So while the temperatures are colder, we are preparing for next hunting season and waiting until the lakes are completely frozen before we venture out ice fishing.  We thought we might try that last year, but the temperatures warmed up too quickly before we were eligible to fish.  I think this year will be better, as we've already seen some people ice skating on Wasilla Lake.  Personally...I think they may have been insane, as the temperatures have only been at freezing for a few days.  I, myself, wait until I see pick-up trucks driving out on the ice before I'll even walk on it.  Call me crazy, but call me warm and dry, too!

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We have also helped Ethan recuperate from his first dose of nitrous oxide and a tooth extraction. Nothing we could say could prepare him for his uncontrolled laughter; however, when the dentist said, "All done!" and he hadn't felt the tooth come out, he gave a huge thumbs up!

Tooth extraction - modern style!

Thank goodness his birthday was a few days later!  We got to celebrate pre-dawn, Frontier Alaska style.  Jeremiah Johnson happens to be one of his favorite movies, and a shout out goes to Mr. Corso for helping a young man's dream come true!  Now comes the binge watching of Mountain Men on Netflix and donning fur and leather goods!

Until next time, we love you all and miss you dearly!

"Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.
By the breath of God, frost is given..."
Job 37:9-10a

Day Dawns with the Moon Still High
in the Matsu Valley
Oct 2015

WOW!  Has it really been nearly three weeks since our last posting?  While that doesn't seem possible, I know that the days are beginning to run together, and that my calendar does not tell a lie. The extra hour that occurred this past weekend has escaped us, and the darker days and nights leave us feeling tired and exhausted even earlier.  Alaska may be doing away with Daylight Savings Time in 2017, so we are trying to use all the "extra" hours we can get our hands on!  The days here have grown short, with sunrise occurring between 9:30 and 10 a.m. and darkness descending by 5 p.m.  I do so wish I had a better camera than my smart phone to capture all of the wonders we are seeing -- particularly during the twilight hours and when the Aurora are dancing.

Cotton Candy Sunrises

Moonrise Over the Chugach Range

Sentinel Spruce

We have seen the Aurora three times within the past couple of weeks, though they are very faint and the times in between their sightings are growing longer and longer.  The exception, of course, occurred this morning and we were so fortunate to see bold chartreuse, pinks, and purples ribbon themselves throughout the entire sky!  They are beautiful, but further North is really the place to view them best (and no offense to our Interior neighbors, but we don't want to move back to Fairbanks just to view the Northern Lights)!  We had three full moons last week, and one night in particular, it was massive - almost as if you could reach out and touch it.   The sentinel spruce that stands guard outside our bedroom window looked vaguely like a decorated Christmas Tree with the moon as its star on top.  I am thankful for the true darkness as our sleep is deeper. Now if we could only get Ahtna to sleep throughout the whole night!  The time change has wrecked havoc on her little system, and a trip to the vet for spaying didn't help much either.  She has just about worn out her pitiful face, though; but she has been hysterical to watch!  We have decided to lovingly dub her "dumb dog" or "miss sassy pants"...depending on her mood and ours!

Miss Sassy Pants
Don't Let Her Fool You!  She's Not That Pitiful!

She is ridiculous -- barking at falling snow flakes and at the door every time she hears the click of my camera.  We think she may associate that sound with moose, as I can't resist taking pictures of them anytime we see them.  So now...even if I'm only taking a picture of Ethan, if she hears that "click," she begins to bark uncontrollably. Oh, to have been a researcher with Pavlov!

The Moose Family That Has Taken Up Residence at Our Place

"Can Ethan & Ahtna Come Out to Play?"

Now that the snows have begun to fly, the moose are abundant.  We are visited routinely by a mother and her twin calves.  It isn't at all unusual to hear Ethan call from the basement, "Mom! I can't take Ahtna out yet...the moose are in the yard!"  As a matter of fact, the same little moose family visited us three times yesterday.  They ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner in our side and back yards.  And can I just say that I NEVER get tired of watching them.  The boys still make fun of me for wanting to ride them like horses.  However, after seeing this mother moose, I'm rethinking that!  She has a glare that I cannot explain.  Ethan doesn't mind taking the dog out, except at night.  The darkness can be so disconcerting, and the moose are so stealthy that they can be right next to you and you never hear them coming!

Stealthy Beasts!

So usually our last time out at night consists of Ethan tentatively holding Ahtna's leash while a parent stands nearby as "Guardian in the Dark."  Somehow, last night, I was the walker, and Ethan was the guardian...until he whipped the flashlight around around into a pair of yellow, reflective eyes!  Then he left me! He left me!  I felt like that girl in the first Jurassic Park movie - the one that sits in the car when the T-Rex arrives saying over and over, "He left us! He left us!" about the only "adult" in their vehicle.  I was more concerned that the eyes he saw belonged to the calf...and we couldn't see mama!  I was just waiting to be charged from the side!  But thank the Lord, Ethan returned quickly with Alex (and his gun) in tow!  With a few quick moves of the flashlight we found two sets of reflective eyeballs (ah, both calves)...but we never did find mama before Ahtna finished her business and ran inside.

The Safest Moose Around!

Given all the moose activity here and at the parks in recent weeks, we have begun discussing the option of bow hunting from a canoe.  That would be a new one for us, but may yield more options for harvest.  That idea presented itself following a recent trip to Red Shirt Lake.  After Ahtna got her surgery stitches out last week, we took her there for some much needed recreation.  For those pet owners who have had the "pleasure" of trying to keep your puppies "calm and non-excited" for 10 days, you know why recreation was necessary!  We put her on a 50-foot rope and just let her go. Since she is lab and a puppy we still can't trust her off leash yet.  So many smells and so much water...swimming (well, mudding) was a must!  Suddenly, as she sprang back onto land, I looked across the water in time to see the FIRST BULL MOOSE in the wild that we have ever seen!  He was amazing!  And again, I wished for a decent camera! Agghh!

Bull Moose at Red Shirt Lake
October 2015

But no matter...we had binoculars, so we spent the rest of our time watching him from the opposite shore.  Then Michael decided to go to the Nancy Lake overlook to get a closer peak.  We all descended the overlook just in time to watch him steal into the foggy bog near the shore.  And then he vanished!  Just like that! Unbelievable!

Best Seat in the House for Moose Watching!

Watching the Bull Moose Head Into the Foggy Bog

In addition to the amazing new landscapes we are enjoying, we have had a Missions Conference at church, visited the Anchorage Museum for science units, splashed in on a birthday party at the Wasilla Swimming Pool, seen the Colony Middle School perform a fabulous rendition of The Sound of Music, taken Ethan to his first hair salon for a "style" and massage, began putting up the Christmas tree (listening to Christmas carols and watching Christmas movies!) and completed our wedding wardrobe shopping!  Now before you throw stones at us for not "letting the Bird have his day," please keep in mind that our Christmas will be spent differently this year than any other year!  And truth be told, fresh snow causes Christmas cravings, and Christmas movies and music somehow make us nicer people!  Isn't that a sad statement?  Ethan even noticed it in himself and said, "We should have Christmas all year round!"

Ethan's First Salon Massage

Rico P. "Suavay" & his new do!
And, yes, that's an iced pumpkin latte...

"Baby It's Cold Outside"

Beyond this recent fun, Rehearsal Dinner plans have begun in earnest, and we are all trying to stay healthy for travel and everything wedding!  Please continue to pray for us.  Michael has picked up his first seasonal cold since our move last year. Ethan is having at least one tooth extracted this week, and maybe two. I am still battling anemia, and we are trying to figure out the cause.  At this point that means a little green pill three times each day for three weeks, then an iron blood check. If that doesn't work, we look to infusion; and sometime within the next two months, I get to swallow a camera -- woo hoo (spoken with tongue in cheek and as sarcastically as possible)!  We are praying that in the absence of total healing, the Lord will give wisdom to the doctors and an answer for this continuing issue.

We love and miss you all, and pray for an opportunity to see you all very soon!  Much love until next time...

"The mountains declare that He is Lord; the valleys proclaim that He is Lord.
 All nature shows His glory as it stretches out before me;
Oh, I could never doubt it!
My heart just loves to shout it -
That the Lord, He is God! He is God!"
 Lyrics from an old praise song at Christian Growth Center in Christiansburg, Virginia