Melting into Spring

During this last full week of April, the days have been warm and sunny and the nights have been cool.  While the temperatures have been in the upper 50's, the snow is still hanging on to the brown blades of grass.  Even though the snow is still around, Mike and I have started our summer garden inside the humid, 75 degree guest room.  From lettuce to tomatoes to pansies to zinnias, come June 1st, our garden will be filled with vegetables and colorful flowers.

With the long days of sunshine, Abigail, Francie and Zoee are coming out of their winter funk and are now becoming more active.  They spend at least 15 minutes playing every morning (after their breakfast) and then they take a 4 hour nap.  Then, they watch the squirrels through the back window and then take another 4 hour nap.  Once they wake up from nap number two, they eat a quick snack, drink a little water and visit the "little girl's" box.  Since they are obviously completely exhausted from the activity, they take another nap for a few hours.  Then the process starts over.....

Mike and I hope your spring is going well and that you are finding as much enjoyment in the "little" things in life.  You know, like pansies or squirrels running through your yard.

The snow is retreating!

 It won't be long until we are having dinners out on the deck!

  Cucumbers and a tomato

 Green Beans

 Lettuce pots

 Pumpkin

 Squash and peppers

 Sweet Peas

 

 Zinnias and other flowers

 Abigail

 Francie

Zoee

Springtime in Alaska

 Sunday, April 15th has been a beautiful day!  The temperature hit 61 degrees and there has been an abundance of sunshine.  Since it was so warm, Mike and I put on shorts and t-shirts, then went out back to enjoy the sun.  While there are several (and I mean several!) inches of snow still on the ground, it did not dampen our spirits about springtime in Alaska!

 Even Abigail got in on the sunshine!

 Mike talks to his dad about solving the world's energy woes.

 Our street is completely snow-free!

What?  What is that I see?

Could it be a big patch of grass along the backside of the house?

Abigail and the Moose and a Spring Walk

Before I get to our Spring Walk, I must share with you about Abigail and her territorial behavior.  When the moose visited our yard last week, little Miss Abigail was enraged that these beastly creatures in her territory!  Mike, thinking quickly, grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures of her just daring that moose to stay in her yard.  She growled and hissed and basically told it to move on before anyone got hurt.

Now to today!  It is an incredible spring day in the interior of Alaska!  The sun is shining brightly and the temperature is hovering the low 50's.  As I am typing, I can hear the steady dripping of water from the snow melting off the roof of the house.  That, my friend, is music to my ears!

To celebrate such a glorious day, Mike and I drove down past Salcha and Harding Lake and headed to our favorite hunting spot.  We wanted to take on nice walk through what is left of the snow.  Once we parked the car, we suddenly realized that there was still lots of snow, but also lots of ice and mud.  It was almost impossible not to be walking through any of the three at any point in time.  So, I rolled up my jeans and decided to tromp through whatever came my way.

As we were strolling, walking, hiking or whatever you want to call it, we began to notice many "firsts" of spring.  Our first, first was a mosquito.  It was buzzing around my head and then bit me on the forehead.  Then, we noticed a bee.  It buzzed around Mike, but did not sting him.  Thank God!  However, the prettiest first that we observed was a butterfly fluttering around the mud puddles.  When you see mosquitoes, bees and butterflies, you know spring has sprung and summer is just around the corner!

 Abigail and the Moose

 Abigail growls at the moose saying, 

"My teeth will shred you to pieces if you don't leave!"

 

 "Okay, obviously you do not know how tough I really am!"

Spring Walk

 I rolled up my pants legs so they wouldn't get wet or muddy.

Mike made fun of me, but I'm not the one who had wet legs!

The snow is still about a 12 to 18 inches deep.

Mike and I enjoyed the blue skies and sunshine!

 

The mud was....well....muddy.

 

Mike breaks a trail.

 

I followed in his footsteps.

Sleeping Moose

 Moose are frequenting our house on a weekly basis.  This morning was no exception.  As I was getting ready for work, two moose meandered by the bedroom window and peered inside.  Francie and Zoee immediately retreated to the bed, but Abigail decided to stand her ground.  She jumped onto the window sill and began to growl and hiss at these strange looking creatures.  There was no way she was going to let me hang out in HER yard!  However, the 14 1/2 year old kitty quickly lost interested and decided that a nap was of much more value than watching two moose tromp through the snow.

Obviously the moose shared her thoughts.  After munching on a few twigs, they decided to bed down in our back yard.  One nestled herself just inside the tree line while the other plopped down near the back deck.  It wasn't long before the two massive animals had fallen asleep and seemed to be settled in for a long spring nap.  After three hours, they finally awoke and decided to move on their way. 

While we see moose weekly, I never grow tired of seeing them.  Their size and their homeliness make them a joy to watch, even when they're sleeping!

 

Easter Fun!

Mike and  I had a very nice Easter Sunday.  After sleeping in, we watched Faith Assembly's Easter service and had a great breakfast.  I cooked my famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) blueberry wheat/oat waffles, sausage, and and egg casserole.  Needless to say, we had more than enough!

When we finished the service and eating, we were a bit lazy and watched several episodes of Monk.  Now you know you are living the good life when you can combine Easter service with sausage and a Monk marathon!  However, the fun did not end there!

Later in the afternoon (when we were feeling like fat slobs), we put on our hiking boots and went over the Chena Lakes and did some serious walking.  Even though the temperature was up to 45 degrees, the snow is still deep.  However, it is melting.  It's always good to hear the drip, drip, drip of melting snow!

We also caught a glimpse of a snowshoe hare hopping through our yard.  Just like the melting snow, it is good to see the pristine white of the snowshoe hare showing a few brown spots.  It certainly means that summer is on its way!

 

 Mike takes at break by the frozen Chena River.

 

 The pathway through the birch trees is beautiful!

 See those brown spots?

Even on the tips of his ears????

Hello summer!  Goodbye winter!

March Moose Madness

Moose Madness visited the Calvin house during the last week of March. Check out this guy who made himself at home for over two hours in our backyard by eating and taking a long nap!