Day 19/20 – The Melt
Day 19 and 20 kind of melted together, which is in keeping with the theme outside. It’s melting. Big time. I say this in hushed tones so Old Man Winter doesn’t catch on that I know. Fortunately for all of us, even though the jet stream and the precipitation don’t seem to get it, the sun is actually doing its job. No weather is going to change the axis of the Earth, so our daylight hours continue to grow, and the sun gets warmer by the day. Most of the snow is gone from the lawn, although mornings are still…
Day 18 – A Prediction
I thought I’d open with this weather prediction. It’s Bill Murray playing Phil the weatherman from the movie Groundhog Day. “It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be grey, and it’s going to last the rest of your life.” That’s where we are. Facebook is filled with people posting pictures of the snow, and writing messages in it. Some can be repeated: REALLY? WTF? OMG! And all are followed by the date. According to KTVA, we have now surpassed the previous record for longest snow season ever. The previous record was 32 years ago. Despite the winter weather conditions,…
‘Global Warning My Gluteus Maximus’ Says Palin
You knew this was coming. Alaska is experiencing insane weather anomalies. Last year Southcentral Alaska had its snowiest winter on record. This year, it’s the longest snow season, at 231 days and counting. So it’s not surprising some idiot on Facebook is going to pipe up and say, “Still believe in ‘global warming?’” But I actually didn’t expect to hear it from Sarah Palin, even though she’s repeatedly earned the title of Alaska’s newest village idiot. Palin, you see, during her very brief tenure as Alaska’s governor, not only acknowledged climate change, but actually tried to do something about it….
Bird of the Week – Canada Goose
With AKM’s permission, Wickersham’s Conscience will post a Bird of the Week very nearly every week here at the Mudflats. This week, it’s a Canada Goose landing in a seasonal pond at Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, in Fairbanks. Technical stuff: Canon 1D-X, 300mm lens with a 2.0 teleconverter, handheld; f11, 1/640, ISO 125. Taken May 2, 2013. The evening light and lucky timing on the splash help the shot. The reflection was planned.
Day 17 – Two Steps Back
This morning, I awoke to this. And this. There will be “after” shots tomorrow. If we get snow on the 23rd, we will have broken a record for the longest snow season. The fact that we have not already reached that milestone is a bit mind blowing. Today, as the flakes fall in that way that five months ago would have seemed magical, I am trying to reach deep, deep into my psychological reserves and make the best of it with my pal Ray Charles.
Day 16 – Does a Bear Sit in the Woods?
May 16. More than half way into the month. We are over the hump of May, and the weather calls for snow tomorrow and the day after. And yes, if one more person asks me, “So, do you still believe in global warming?” I’m going to wait for that snow, and I’m going to grasp them about the back of the neck and give them a good whitewash. Repeat after me. Climate is not the same thing as WEATHER. Last night when I went in to do Thursdays in the Mud on The Shannyn Moore Show, Shannyn suggested an interesting…
Family of Explorers
When a mutual friend notified me yesterday that Alaska adventurers Bretwood “Hig” Higman and Erin McKittrick might be looking for some transportation while visiting Anchorage, I jumped at the opportunity to meet them. Erin and Hig, as they are known, are the founders of the organization Ground Truth Trekking which provides a unique education on Alaska’s resource issues through hands-on exploration. Erin and Hig, along with the other organization members, combine their travels with exhaustive research, offering comprehensive, science-based coverage of issues like mining, climate change, Alaska fisheries management, energy options, etc…They frequently debunk myths on both sides of the…
Day 12/13 – Greetings from the Banana Belt
After deciding to take Mother’s Day off, SpringWatch continues. One exciting development last night was rain falling on the metal roof. It was a glorious sound, and although I feared that by morning the temps would have dropped and it would be snowing again, it didn’t happen. But the warming trend seems to be missing our fellow Alaskans to the north. The NewsMiner reported: Fairbanks set a new record low temperature of 22 degrees on Monday at Fairbanks International Airport. That broke the old record of 26 degrees in 1938. A strong cold front moved across northern Alaska Sunday night…
Day 11 – Critters!
Well, today was “Critter Day,” no question about it. First, the long-anticipated swallows have returned to Paradise Valley. Capistrano, eat your heart out. No matter how spectacular your swallows are, or in what infinite numbers they possess, or how “miraculous” they are, or how huge of a fan base they have, there is no swallow on this earth that is more appreciated than the dozen that return every year to Mudflats Mission Command. After I heard their trilling song outside, I laid down on the deck, and just watched them for a long time, swooping in huge circles, and a…
Day 10 – The Melt
After hearing the unmistakable strains of running water drifting over the snow from the direction of the creek, I donned my bunny boots, grabbed my camera, and headed down the hill on WaterQuest. The driveway has been making interesting progress. Lake Whatthehell has completely evaporated. And I came across this little snow bridge that just screamed out for some kind of troop of action figures, lined up on a quest, fording the river… But today, I am the action figure, with my trusty sidekick the no-longer-puking noble hound at my side. The little spring that flows into the creek was…