Monday, January 30, 2012

More Snowshoe Walks And Gardening in -13 Below

   
I ventured out on another below zero trek this weekend.  This
time I wore my snowshoes and that made getting around so much
easier!!!  No more waist high snow to plow through!

The trees on the river were still coated with thick blankets of
ice fall.   This thick coating of frost made them look so magical.



We did have a dusting of new snow, so the wild celery stalks were even
more beautiful this weekend.



  I followed several sets of moose tracks
on my hike, but I never ran into them.


After my hike by the river, I went over
towards Quartz Creek.  Off in the distance the sun
was shining on one of the surrounding mountains.  



Kenai Lake on a cold day with a hint of sunshine!





One part of the lake by the mouth of Quartz Creek had a slight opening.  
Here two ducks were busy diving for fish.  They were very 
wary of me.  Each time I tried to get closer they would either dive 
or fly off.  Each time they would fly in a big circle overhead, then land if I backed away
from their one lonely opening in the lake.  I decided not to
disturb them, winter is hard enough without me 
bothering them.  



By then my light was fading fast, so I set out for home.


Before I called it a day, I did some quick winter gardening.  
The snow in my area is so deep that I needed my snowshoes.
I wrapped the trunks of my fruit trees earlier in the fall, but now
with all the snow the exposed parts that were unreachable were now easy
prey for these nibbling pests.
I needed to get more tree wrap on before they decide to girdle the trees. 

Yep, that's a true Alaskan for you, gardening at minus 13 Below zero!! 







Saturday, January 21, 2012

-10 Below Walk on the Kenai River


I took a four hour walk today on the Kenai River.  
It was a pretty warm day.  Only minus 10 below zero, not the 20 below
temperatures that we have been enduring for the last few weeks.

It's still cold at night, but tonight we should be in non negative
numbers because the clouds have come back.  I 
just glanced at our thermometer and we are already at 6 degrees...that's the tropics compared to
the 32 below zero temperature in Portage last night!!



The Kenai River  is really a spectacular river.  It is home
to many different species of salmon.  
I think it's one of the most beautiful rivers on the Peninsula!





It has amazing aqua colored water, and believe me when I say it's a
very cold river!!!  This is not a river you want to go swimming in,
 even in the summer!
This river is non forgiving and can give you hypothermia 
within a couple of minutes.  Vests are mandatory!!!



The hoar frost from the ice fall has turned everything
 into a magical wonderland!!





The twig and ice photo below reminded me of a oriental
water coloring...




Trees hung heavy with frost.




Everywhere I looked had another perfect postcard view.




And every bend lured me on...



To more magical scenes...



It was truly a perfect day.




Ice was flowing down the river and I could hear it
clinking away like glasses on New Years Eve.   Steam was rising from the 
water,  creating beautiful misty scenes.




A few times during my walk, I caught quick glimpses of sunlight 
on some of the surrounding mountains.


While down on the river there were icy rapids, 
dipper birds, ducks and some bald eagles!





Some of the river banks
were piled high with broken ice.

My walk was pretty tiresome today, every step put me almost waste deep into
snow.  Because it was pretty tough walking I never noticed the cold.
Next time I will have to strap on my snowshoes!!!

Stay warm everyone and enjoy the blessings of winter.



Saturday, January 14, 2012

Seward in January!


It's a beautiful winter day in Seward Alaska.
Like most of the state Seward received a lot 
of snowfall over the last few days.




The snow was very wet and heavy.

Everything looks so fresh and clean with all the new white snow.



The water in the boat harbor has frozen and many of the boats 
will need to be cleaned off by their owners
to keep them from getting too heavy.




The snow came down so fast that the plows didn't have time to
remove all the snow from the streets. The piles of snow are now frozen 
solid packs of ice.



All the surrounding mountains are going to be dangerous when
the temperatures warm up.  I'm sure there
will be a multitude of avalanches.


The wet snow has frozen onto the trees  
turning the highway out of Seward into a beautiful winter wonderland.



Really spectacular views abound all around!



Every direction you look there is another breathtaking view.


And more snow filled trees along the road...





And lakes that have become frozen wastelands.



After a nice day in Seward...there is the reward of a great
sunset in Cook Inlet as we head back
to Anchorage.



Alaska is really an amazing place!!
Our days are getting longer...our sunsets are no longer at 4:00 in the
afternoon.  We are gaining minutes daily,
but spring for us is still months away.

That gives me a lot more time to enjoy the beauty of Alaska's Winter.














Sunday, January 1, 2012

Minus 3 Below on New Years Day!


Happy New Year!!!
2012 has started off nice and cold at Kenai Lake!
The temperatures dropped to 5 below last night.
I'm sure it's going to be colder tonight!!!
Hopefully it's warmer where you live!!!!
I have a friend who was up in Tok Alaska and her temperature 
was down to 25 below!
Burr, that's cold!




When I took my walk I noticed the rabbits in the area 
are eating the small pine needles off the spruce trees.
I didn't realize this was part of their diet, so I learned
something new today!



This Spruce has some great markings on it.
I love the texture of this tree...you can see where little bugs were
hard at work before the bark came off.


Then a little further on I noticed the snow on the tree trunks.




The last snow fall left beautiful snow
sculptures on the trees.  I am always amazed 
at all the variations nature brings.


Down on the lake the wind was urging me back indoors.
I didn't hesitate today!  
Happy New Year Again to all of you!
Stay Warm!