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 15 – Fromage Therapy
Day 15. I have just learned that the weather forecast is calling for up to six inches of snow at Mudflats Central. Yes, you read that correctly. No need for eye-rubbing or double-takes. SIX. INCHES. OF. SNOW. So, what’s the closest thing to a cure for this kind of mind-numbing disbelief, followed by abject depression? Cheese, that’s what. I decided to take a little trip to my new favorite shop in town – Fromagio’s. They now have a second location on Spenard Road. On its face it seems like an unlikely location for a cheese shop. It’s smushed between a…
Day 14 – Tropical Colors Burst Forth
Day 14. Provisions are running low. Down to the last pack of smoked salmon… Still have a large bag of dog food, canned green beans, and Pilot Bread™. Mind is slipping. Days running together… Dreamed about being on a boat… My pencil is almost gone. This may be the last I can write… conserving energy. OK, it’s not that bad, but still. There’s this appalling sight: No, not the layer of Alaska Spring dust in my car. No, not the 154,128 miles on the old beast. The temperature! It’s been two weeks now. Two weeks of May. Two weeks of…
Murky Weighs In, We’ve Moved On
You’d think that a former governor who presided over the most corrupt government in Alaska since statehood would stay home and write his memoirs or something. You’d think a former Governor whose own Chief of Staff served a prison sentence for illegal campaign contributions would thank his lucky stars that Chief of Staff didn’t tell the Feds everything he knew and would keep discretely quiet. You’d think a failed candidate who helped give us Sarah Palin would have the simple decency to maintain an embarrassed silence. You’d think the man who single-handedly killed a national bank and seriously wounded a regional Native corporation would…
Repeal SB21 and Take Back Alaska
Here is everything you need to know about the ongoing effort to honor Alaska as an owner state. The time is now to be active, and take our state back from the undue influence of Outside corporations, and the legislators who do their bidding. Complaining is easy. Fortunately, so is acting in a positive way to take control of our future. Gov. Parnell will sign SB 21 on Tuesday, May 21st at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage between 11:30am and 1pm. Be there with a sign to protest the giveaway! Alaska is an owner state. We deserve a fair share of…
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…
Alaska vs. Outside Corporations, the Choice is Ours
By Sen. Hollis French Two recent news items out of Norway caught my attention. The first happened April 30 when Gov. Parnell went there to discuss tax policy. The second was the announcement on May 6 that Norway had decided to make a change to its oil tax laws. Now, I don’t know whether the governor was responsible for the May 6 tax change. But I like to imagine that the Norwegians listened very carefully to the governor’s reasons for lowering taxes here. Being the sober and meticulous people they are, they ran a complex cost-benefit economic analysis on his…
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…