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!! 

-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.

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.

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!

Some Amazing Alaskan Sunsets!!

Anchorage has had some spectacular sunsets lately!!!

So I thought I would share a few with you.  Our sun sets right

now around 4:00 in the afternoon.  When I see a hint

of clear sky I ready myself for some spectacular 

evening sunsets.

Sometimes I race to the inlet so I can take it all in.  It only lasts 

minutes, so it really is a mad dash.

The colors can be very intense and beautiful.

I especially love the pink sunsets, although I find them all

 breathtaking!! 

I stopped to take the photo below at a nearby clearing in the outskirts of town.

While I was parked, a man in the car next to me got out and played

taps on his bugle...what a wonderful way to end the day!!

The sunsets are amazing and the sunrises can be just as spectacular.  

The bottom photo was taken Christmas morning from my living room window.

I love standing in the glow of this lovely evening and morning light!

I can't wait for the next one!  Just when you think you have seen the best sunset

ever, another one comes and steals the show!!

Cozy Moose Mitten Walk

I'm always happy to pull out my cozy moose mittens.  I bought these in 

Whitehorse Canada many years ago.  They are definitely the warmest mittens 

I own and I am very grateful for them when I go for walks in the winter months.

As I headed down our driveway I walked past these wonderful alder pine cones.

They are only about a half inch in length.  They would make great 

miniature Christmas decorations for a little doll house.

We had a light dusting of snow last night.  These twisted roots 

are dusted with snow, but the ground

underneath was left clean of snow.  

The days are very short right now, and darkness approaches 

early in the afternoon around four o'clock.

When I'm out on my walks I always look for spots of color.

I came across this beautiful birch tree.  I love

the color and textures on this tree!!

The lake is now completely frozen, but I could 

hear the water hitting the ice. 

Every once in awhile I could also hear really loud bangs as the 

ice contracts and expands.

High above the lake shore were beautiful icicle formations.

Everything has a light dusting of snow, even the lichen on the trees.

It's a overcast day, but still beautiful.

On my way back to the house, I stopped at one of

my favorite benches.  This bench belongs to a neighbor.

I love the color of this bench, I think its beautiful!!!

It's a very worn bench with lots of lichen growing on it and

it has the color I'm craving during these long dark winter days.

It's great to get back to a warm house where I can dream of summer roses and get 

back to the holiday cookies.