The Wind Died Down

Dropping Like a Rock

The protective wind stopped blowing last night.
When I got up at 4:30 am to go to work it was -21 F.
So I went back to bed. When I got up 3 hours later
the weather stations both read offline. I know from
past experience that means it's colder that -23 F.
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Yes, It's Another Weather Announcement

Sorry!

I know I said that I would try not to make this blog about the weather. And I have tried to stick with that as much as I can. In spite of the fact that I personally have 2 weather stations at my house. However, I find this interesting and I don't have anything else to write about so here goes....

Here in Southcentral Alaska we are in a seasonally normal cold snap. The temperature in the Matanuska Valley and the Anchorage bowl is currently about -10 F. Except over at TrippingoverMoose Ranch at the base of the Talkeetna Mountains. The last few days we have been experiencing high winds pouring down from the Copper River Valley, through the Matanuska River Gorge and sliding along the northern edge of the Matanuska Valley. As a result our temperatures have been averaging 15-20 degrees warmer than the rest of the area. Of course, with the wind our chill factor is -25 F but that's another story. Here's a current screen shot of the Wasilla temperature and a shot of my neighbor's weather underground station just down the street.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three Little Moose

A Little Bull...

We have had a moose cow and a yearling calf hanging out on Trippingovermoose ranch most of the winter. On Wednesday this little bull showed up and has been hanging out with them. I suspect he's the cow's calf from 2 years ago.

Merry Christmas

I Declined!

Some "friends" asked me to play Santa at the Christmas party last Sunday. What could they have been thinking?

Subaru Update

I know all of you, or both of you, or maybe at least my son have been on pins and needles....

The Subaru Doctor did a complete examination. The patient will live but needed several procedures done. First, the engine missing was bad plug wires. This really makes me feel stupid because I thought about replacing them about a year ago and never got around to it. With new plugs and wires the engine is purring like a kitten and has at least 30% more power. Which makes sense since it had been trying to run on 2 to 3 of it's 4 cylinders for a year. I should see an increase in gas mileage too. The back brakes needed to be done so I had them done. Work still to be done, rear wheel bearings, rear struts, radiator hoses and a valve cover gasket. Now that those items have been diagnosed we'll probably get the parts and do them ourselves. I've got to keep her on the road for at least 4 more years.

Dinner Time

Shadow keeping an eye on the chicken...

Cold Weekend

Subaru, Round Two

It was a balmy -18 degrees Friday morning at TrippingOverMoose Ranch. The Subaru started and got me to my place of employment in Anchorage. However my son-in-law forgot to plug in his truck the night before. Long story short, in two hours he couldn't get his truck nor mine to start. He had to call his boss to come pick him up to get to work. Saturday morning, an even nicer -14 degrees, with the trucks plugged in overnight, we got them both to run. But the Subaru, which has no engine heater, refused to start. The Subaru used to live in the garage so I had never got around to putting a engine heater in it. Now that, in car years, she's getting old and having some issues, she's getting tempermental. Sunday morning we moved the trucks, pulled the motorhome out of the garage and dragged the Subaru inside with the Honda 4-wheeler. After 4 or 5 hours of warm garage she started up. By the end of Sunday the cold snap had snapped and we were +14 degrees. We moved the trucks, Subaru, 4-wheeler and motorhome around back to the original configuration. This morning, at +5 degrees the Subaru started fine and delivered my brother and I to our respective places of employment. I am going to call today and make an appointment to get her into see the Subaru doctor to address the progressive breathing-fuel problems she is having.

Responding to an Old Friend

Pictures of the Huskies

An old friend from my childhood in Juneau asked to see more picture of my dogs, so here you go...

This is Kiska. She was supposed to be a Samoyed but turned out to be a mix. I suspect her father was a golden retriever. But she does have the crazy blue eyes. She's almost 14 years old now and spends most of her time sleeping on an oversized dog pillow next to my recliner.

The Malemute is Shadow. He's 12 years old and still very active. Shadow has earned his name over the years. If I'm home he's always in the same room as me, watching my every move. If I sit down he comes over and sits or lays as close to me as possible. Lately, perhaps sensing my sadness, he's trying to be a lap dog. It's difficult to read a magazine or watch TV with an 75 pound malemute in your lap pressing his face into your face. The last goofy picture isn't actually Shadow but a photo of a look alike lifted from some website years ago.

The Old Subaru

First Time She's ever let me down.

Tuesday evening, after work, my '95 Subaru with 265,000 miles failed to start. It has been cold for the past few weeks and I haven't put any Iso-heat in the gas tank this year so I thought it might be a frozen fuel line. My nephew, Officer Daniel, gave his father and I a ride home. Wednesday I drove the Dodge Pickup to work and put a couple Iso-heat in the Subaru's gas tank. It did not help and the Subaru sat there in the company parking lot until Friday night. After work on Friday my new Roommate and son-in-law borrowed a trailer and we went to Anchorage to retrieve the car. We got it into Officer Daniel's father's garage about 9:30 pm. This afternoon I provided money for parts and moral support while Roommate Son-in-law figured out the fuel pump wasn't working and replaced it. The Subaru is as good as new, or at least as good as it was before the fuel pump died. Having Roommate Son-in-law around is pretty handy.

Cookie

I found this picture of Cookie in Kate's Myspace.

New "Roomy"

I told him to take his time and enjoy the trip...
No one ever listens to me.

My son-in-law arrived from Idaho at 3:30 a.m. last Friday morning. He made the trip in about 3 1/2 days. I believe he said he pulled over and slept in the truck twice for 3 hours at a time. He arrived in Sarah Palin land in the dark, with everything engulfed in a thick fog. When he stopped at a gas station he wasn't even sure what town he was in. Of course the hallucinations from total exhaustion probably contributed to his confusion.

Winter 2008, First Snow

It started snowing this morning...

It's starting to accumulate a little but it's only 33.6 degrees F. If it warms up a little it'll melt away.

A little over a month ago the fireweed was still blooming. The conventional wisdom is when the topmost buds bloom on the fireweed, winter is three weeks away.

Third weekend alone.
Not getting any better.

Vice Presidential Debate

From Wasilla, Alaska:

It is so interesting to watch a Vice Presidential debate and to see a woman that you used to say "Hi" to in the local grocery store mention "mainstreet Wasilla." I just drove mainstreet Wasilla moments prior to the debate on my way to the auto parts store to buy brake pads for the Subaru.

The other thing I was reminded of last night was the comment of some liberal mainstream media type, right after Sarah's introduction at the Republican convention. The reporter made some snarky remark about the Palin children and their, "sort of hippy names." He mentioned all of the names and when he got to Piper, he made an additional derisive comment about her name as being unfathomable. I bet that nearly everyone in Alaska and outdoorsmen across the country understand the reference. It's eastcoast liberal reporters that are out of touch with America.

Bears in the Woods

Neighborhood Gossip
I heard the other day, from my brother, that a bear had killed a moose in the woods behind my house. I thought, "That explains the smell of rotting moose that I smelled coming from the woods behind my garage."
Yesterday, at the mailbox, I was talking to my next door neighbor (east side). He heard that my neighbor, two lots to the west, had actually seen the bear take down the moose in his yard. That would be around 600-900 feet to the west of my house. He also heard that the moose remains were buried deep with a backhoe to discourage the bear.

So I wasn't smelling that dead moose two days ago. There must be another dead moose behind my garage. I don't think I'll check it just now.

Two years ago I had a dead moose back there. It didn't appear to be a bear kill however, as it was whole and was slowly scavanged by smaller animals.

The neighbor at the mailbox also told me that early last winter he found that someone had poached a cow and calf moose in his *yard. He called the Alaska Fish and Game and they told him they already knew about it. In fact they had caught the poacher. He was one of our other neighbors and he moved the moose meat by sled leaving a trail from the dead moose to his back door. Criminals are so smart.

*For those unfamiliar with the "yards" in my area. I have a 9 acre yard. The neighbor to the east has a 15 acre yard. The neighbor where the bear killed the moose has a 5 acre yard.

Back at Work

Day 7 of the rest of my life.

Kate's wake-memorial went well, large turn out of friends and family.

Starting yesterday my brother is car pooling with me now and walking at lunch. It helps, gives me a little something to anticipate.

My posts may be sparse again for a while. I don't want to broadcast my feelings. I'll post if and when I have thoughts, observations and or images not related to my emptiness.

Cookie

I am still numb. Everything happened so fast that the whole thing seems unreal and dream-like, (an awful dream.) Personally, I don't know when it's going to hit me that she's really gone.
In my mind I am still composing my next conversation with her, then I realize I am not going to call her on the phone. I am not going to pick her up in the morning to go to work. We are not going to meet for lunch. When I go to her house only her sons will be there.

Her little dog, Cookie, met me at the door to her house yesterday. She rushed me barking, jumping up on me and nipping at my hands. It was far and away the most enthusiastic greeting she's ever given me. I picked her up and cuddled her for a few minutes. When I put her down she when to the other side of the room, sat down and looked at me. When I called to her she would not come.

My Kate

Katherine June Hale 2/28/1955 - 9/16/2008

RV Renovations Completed, Nearly.

The RV is ready to roll. Today I'm going to put propane in the tank and test for leaks and operation of the propane appliances. Monday I'll pickup the new spare tire rack for the back bumper, and locate a spare tire. Everything else is done. I'm going to eventually make built in cabinets with a flat screen TV in the cabover.

Click Here For More Pictures

Fishless Trip To Chitina

Glen, Daniel and I made a trip to Chitina to dip net the famous Copper River Sockeye Salmon. It was a lovely 4 hour drive, this morning, during which we saw a cow moose with twin babies, a young bull moose with his anters in velvet, numerous Snowshoe hares and squirrels. We had the choice of trailering a Honda 4-wheeler or two up to Chitina and riding back to our old fishing hole on what is now an officially closed road, or having the charter boat run us in. We choose to do the charter this time. However the charter operator told us when we arrived that he'd run us it, but we'd be wasting our money. No one was catching fish today. Since they charge $100 dollars a piece we took his advice, saved our money, and drove 4 hours home. On the trip home within sight of the junction at Glennallen a young Grizzly bear ran across the road in front of us.

Pictures of the trip: no animal pictures though, they were too quick for me...

Dining Room

I forgot to post pictures of my dining room with the "Gathering" Table. I really like the look but I'm not sure of the comfort. Since I'm an old bachelor I eat most of my meals over the sink so for now comfort doesn't matter much.

More Pictures...

My Father's Bear

I took my father's bear painting into the frame shop and had it matted and framed to match the Jon Van Zyle Iditarod print that Kate bought me. I think it turned out great.

More Motorhome and Radio Signals

James continues to work on the engine. He's got the exhaust manifolds off and managed to drill out one or two of the broken off studs. Today he decided that he simply can't drill out the other ones with the heads on the the engine block and crammed into the RV. So tomorrow he's going to remove the heads. What a trooper! He volunteered to fix one cracked exhaust manifold and he just keeps working it as the problem gets bigger and more difficult.



Meanwhile my small contribution is repairing some water damaged walls, removing windows and resealing them with silicon. Oh yeah, and I replaced the potable water port and hammered the edge ding back into position and siliconed it.



On another note, the radio in my Subaru quit working about a year ago. I was waiting for a pilot car to guide me and several of my neighbors through the construction zone on Friday, (they were reblacktopping Wasilla Fishook road.) I got to fiddling aimlessly with the radio and turned it on. It suddenly has decided to work after silence for a year. I believe it was more results of splashed coffee like my turn indicators(see January blog entry.)

Back to the Motorhome

Using extreme care I did get all my studded tires off without further injuring myself. Although my back doesn't seem to be getting better. I have a feeling that I am experiencing a disc issue, not a muscle issue this time. The only time I'm comfortable is in a supportive office type chair or sleeping on my side. Standing and walking are actually getting worse. For now I'll try to get by with Advil and hope the situation doesn't require a visit to my doctor or my parent's back surgeon.

We were going to do our shake down cruise in the Motorhome this coming Memorial Day weekend. However, James started to work on the leaking exhaust manifold last evening. He discovered it was not just one leaking manifold but both and that someone had twisted off 3 studs apparently in an aborted repair attempt. Both manifolds will have to come off and the broken studs drilled and replaced. He also discovered the reason they twisted them off. Several of the studs and nuts he worked on were so tight he couldn't turn them. At least one he's pretty sure is so frozen that it's going to twist off when he comes back this evening with bigger wrenches. We've canceled the trip. I don't want to put any time pressure on my favorite volunteer master mechanic. He is still recovering from back surgery himself.

Studs

Because of the surprise late spring snow storm, on April 24th, the State of Alaska extended the May 1st deadline to remove studded snow tire to May 15th. So last night I changed the tires on the old, 252,000 mile Subaru. I've been putting it off because of my injured back. The back is healing slowly so I figured I could manage it, without reinjuring it, if I worked slowly and carefully. It turned out ok.

Next, however is the 3/4 ton Dodge. The tires and wheels on that one weight 60 to 70 pounds each. I'll carefully start this evening. It might take 2 sessions because I'm determined not to reinjure myself.

Green House

The past couple weeks I've had a nagging lower back strain. Nothing major, just an irritating soreness in the muscles on the lower right side of my back. I realized mid week that it had resolved itself and my back no longer hurt. If you've ever had a back strain you know what a relief that is.
Yesterday, I helped four of my friends dismantle a large green house and load it on a trailer to move it from Anchorage to Wasilla. The bottom half of the walls were standard 2X4 stud covered in 1/2 inch plywood on the inside and out with the outside plywood covered in log siding.
The side walls were 12' by 4 ' and heavy enough to take 4 strong men to move them. You guessed it, I reinjured my back. It's at least 4 times as bad as it was before.
This morning I had trouble tying my shoes. Now I'm sitting in my office, the pain dulled by Advil, but still there. I'm moving like an old man or like someone with a sore back. It's hell to get old.

Apparently, I'll Never Learn

I really thought proclaiming Spring on April 24th with near 60 degree weather was safe.
I'll never learn...

Signs of Spring

Ok, I think we've broken the back of winter in the Great Frozen North. The temperatures in Wasilla were into the high 50s and low 60s this last week. The forecast is for some overcast and rain possibly mixed with a little snow for the weekend. No accumulation expected.
I am officially calling it spring because of all the signs of spring I saw and smashed into on my way to work this morning. It started off with the cow moose with last year's calf in the yard this morning. Next, just after the Subaru had achieved cruising speed on Wasilla Fishhook Road, a grouse jumped into the air from the side of the road and zigged when he should have zagged. The chicken sized grouse makes a real loud thump when they impact your windshield at 50 miles an hour. Fortunately they don't have as much mass as say, a moose butt, so the windshield didn't suffer any damage. I assume the grouse did.
Just as we dropped off the ridge to cross the Knik/Matanuska flats, a flight of Sandhill Cranes flew overhead, a couple hundred feet above my windshield, fortunately. Across the flats the air was full of flocks of Canadian Geese returning from wintering in Mexico or where ever they go to escape Alaska in the winter. Along side the northern branch of the Matanuska River, a quarter mile from the road, was a small herd or "gang" of 5 moose munching away on delicious bushes.
As we arrived in Los Anchorage, we spied another moose walking along the anti-moose fence that parallels the Glen Highway. She was just north of Merril Field Airport and of course on the wrong side of the fence trying to find away out. I made a comment about there seemed to be moose everywhere this morning. Five minutes later we were sitting at a stop light at 5th and Cordova when a yearling moose stepped into the street just ahead of as and ambled across to the other side, ignoring all crosswalks and traffic signals.

Feels like spring to me!

A Touch of the Flu

I might have a touch of one of the many viruses currently in circulation. The usual Pepto Bismal symptoms and a low grade achy feeling. Left work mid-morning and came home. Thought I'd post the final pictures of the living room remodel. The final pictured until I change or add something. Home remodeling is now done until fall. Motor home repair to commence as soon as I feel better.


















I only posted the second picture because of Shadow looking up at me from under the table. I didn't notice him when I took the shot.

Snow

It's snowing again. Predicting 4 to 8 inches today and more tomorrow. We figured out what is causing it. My brother and I planned on towing his disabled truck to the local repair shop on Saturday. It snowed. Since he lives on a hill above Peters Creek, we canceled until the snow melted. We rescheduled it for today. It snowed. We are not going to make any more advance plan for the tow. We'll try to sneak up on it by spontaneously grabbing the truck next time the snow melts.

It Didn't work

I tried, I really did! After 55 years I know better than to think spring this early. So I quit blogging about the weather while the snow all melted away and the temperature was getting into the 50s. I really tried not to jinx it. But some tenderfoot must have said something about "Spring!"













Today at 3:30 pm.

90% Finished

I have wood blinds ordered for the windows. I have not figured out what I am going to do with the dining room ceiling. I have another dead caribou to display, but he might be moving to the garage. I want to add a splash of color and I'm leaning toward the colors in the bear picture. The picture was painted by my father BTW. I'll be getting a larger dining room table and a couple of side pieces for the dining room. The old empire wall heater will be replaced with a gas fireplace later on. Other than that it's done...for now.

Click here for the pictures...

Gettin' Close

I took a mini-vacation over Easter and spent almost all of it on the living room project. It's done! I bought the flat screen TV last night. I'll be hanging it on the wall tonight and buying shelves for the rest of the wall. Also I'm ordering custom blinds for the windows. I'm still working on lighting ideas and also looking for a rug, other than those items the room is done. I'll post pictures this weekend.
Now back to my previous project, the motorhome. I took it out of the garage this weekend, because the garage needs a major spring cleaning. I'll probably leave it in the driveway unless by doing so, I jinx us and we get a late season dump of snow. (You'll notice I'm not talking about the weather!)

Ok, one picture.

My plan was not to post any more pictures of the living room remodel until the stairs were finished and the furniture, rugs, shelves, flat screen, window covering and art work were installed.
But do to the overwhelming requests, (ok, the request,) here's one picture of where I am today as I am just starting the finish on the stairs.

The Floor Is In

I spent yesterday working on getting the floor leveled. That meant crawling around in the...crawl space cinching floor joints down to support beams and tightening up what ever I could. Then checking the level again and finding one area that way still way low. I got some self leveling floor leveling material and poured the floor level. This morning when I woke up at 8 I immediately started installing the floor. I finished just before 7 this evening. I looks great!
Tomorrow I'll be installing the baseboard trim and start finishing the stairs. Monday I'll be ordering the furniture. I have a 4 day mini vacation - long weekend planned for next week end and I hope to be finished completely by the end of it.

Progress

The painting of the living room is done. Some touchup around the edges and painting of the crown molding is all that is left. Speaking of crown molding, did you ever try to cut it. I gave it a shot and after 6 cuts that weren't even close to what I was trying for, I went googling. I found 2 good primers with photos and successfully cut my first piece of crown molding. Fortunately I only have to negotiate 4 inside corners. Reading the explaination for cutting the angles to fit a sloped ceiling made my head hurt. The dining room ceiling is getting retrimmed out. This is a temporary fix because I have a vision for it but I have to find the pieces and parts. It will include reworking the lighting also. I also installed the new electrical outlets over the stairs because my cool LED night lights arrived. They worked perfectly this morning, meaning I got down the stairs without falling. I adjusted,(raised) the front door to clear the new flooring. I think I'll be ready to prep the floor Wednesday. After the floor, finishing the stairs. With luck the whole room remodel will be done in about 2 weeks and I can run up my credit card dept again buying new furniture.

A Jeep on the Way Home

A sign in the back window of a Jeep 4X4 with oversized tires and a snorkle exhaust pipe...

Hold on, I saw this done in a movie once.

Painting

I spent at least a month over the last 4 or 5 days mudding, taping and sanding. It's far from perfect but I textured the Hell out of it and it'll have to do. The primer will be finished tonight and the paint goes up this week. I whined to my mother about how much I hated drywalling and she told me I got it from my Dad. He hated it too! When he built his very first houses in Spenard in late 1940's early 1950's he did everything himself except he hired out the drywall. I remember the quality of mudding and taping that he did when I was growing up. Better than me but not exactly professional quality work. The painting and trim should go fairly quick and I'll probably be starting to prep the floor by the weekend. At least a week to get the floor ready for the new laminate. After the laminate, fitting and finishing the new stairs, building a railing and running power to new outlets.

Mud and Tape

I hate sheet rock. The reason most of my house is covered in wood paneling was to avoid mudding and taping sheet rock. Well actually all the walls and ceiling are sheet rocked and mudded and taped under the paneling but not sanded and finished. I hate sanding and finishing the mud and tape on sheet rock. That's the stage I am at in my remodel. This could take me weeks. I like the design and framing part. The painting and finishing parts are ok, because you can see the finished product emerging. But I hate the dry wall part. I manage about an hour of work each night before I begin to curse and throw things.

The Plan

In Progress

Here are the promised pictures of my living room remodel in progress. Once I've finished the sheet-rock I'll move everything out, cleanup the rest of the walls, primer, paint and trim. Then level the floor and install the laminate.

"Now, that's a knife!"

2/8/08 - Friday evening I was using my folding Gerber hunting knife to dig dried wood putty out screw holes in my spiral staircase. Yes, it was the wrong tool for the job. Yes, I know I could slip and stab myself. Fortunately I missed the major nerves, ligaments and all but one artery in the my left little finger. The doctor at the urgent care was able to stitch it back together and stop the arterial spurting with 7 fine stitches. I'll have a scar across the fingerprint of that finger when the stiches come out on the 22nd.
The next day, while sporting a large bandage on the injured finger, I dismantled the spiral stair and built a new stair case. Pictures to come this weekend.
The weather has warmed up. It's currently at or above freezing. We had some snow and wind the last few days with more predicted for the next few days. It's a nice break from the -23 degree temps of 2 weeks ago.
Happy Valentines Day. Roses and dinner out with Kate.

Of_ln

That's what my digital weather station shows in the Outside temperature box when the temperature gets to -23 degrees. It's displayed that message the last three nights. Since at 12:30 in the afternoon it's -8 degrees in Wasilla I suspect it will be Of_ln again tonight. Could be worse, my friends in Willow had -35 degrees Saturday night.
But my living room is under construction! I re-sheetrocked, mud and taped the formerly paneled wall. I'll be doing the first sanding of that wall tonight. I'm building the new stairs this week. I post pictures after the new stairs are roughed in.

I'm Trying not to...

I'm trying not to write about the weather. So I'll not mention the +40 degree temperatures last week nor the -8 degree temperatures earlier this week. However this mornings commute was, I believe, noteworthy. The temperature is a moderate +12 and it snowed 8 to 10 inches last night. Leaving my unplowed driveway, the snow came over the nose of the Subaru, coating the windshield and blocking the headlights. I had to stop and clear the front of the car when I got to the plowed street. So traffic was a nightware. Slick snow packed roads and 30,000 commuters bumper to bumper and an average speed of 30 mph. We come in early, leaving Wasilla at 5:30 am. Consequently, we are ahead of the heaviest traffic. Usual commute, in the winter is 45 minutes. This morning 1 hour and 25 minutes. Several early ditch divers. I'm still trying to get the tension out of my shoulders.

Turn Indicators

I couldn't find anything wrong with the turn indicators. The emergency flasher button was sticky,

Turn Indicators

I couldn't find anything wrong with the turn indicators. The emergency flasher button was sticky but I couldn't figure out how to get into the dash to clean it without taking the whole dashboard off. So I just sprayed some WD40 into it and let that soften up the caked on remains of splashed coffee. The roads and weather have been so bad that I decided to take the Subaru to a Wasilla shop this coming Friday instead of juggling cars to and from Anchorage. So I drove the Subaru to and from work yesterday, carefully planning my route to include actual turn lanes whenever possible so that my fellow drivers would know I planned on turning in spite of my lack of signalling ability. I negotiated to work in the morning and all the way back to my girlfriend/carpool partner Kate's house without incident. At the last left hand turn into her driveway my hand automaticly flipped the turn indicator lever down. The indicator came on. Surprised, after I pulled into the driveway I flipped back and forth form right to left, everything worked. Since all I actually did was pull and install perfectly good fuses and spray some WD40 I didn't figure out until this morning that it was the WD40 that did the trick. It was just a sticky coffee encrusted button.
Weather update ...+13 with wind. Chill factor -3.

More Weather...Groan!

I don't intend to have this a blog about Alaska weather. However it was -18 degrees when I got up this morning. It is +5 here in downtown Anchorage at noon. Hopefully the forecast holds since it's supposed to warm up starting tonight.

Weather

-8 degrees again this Saturday morning. This follows five work days of Hellish commuting. It snowed everyday this week. Not a lot, 8" total in Anchorage, half of that in Wasilla. But the roads were "slicker than greased ape shit," as my adolescent friends and I would say when I was an adolescent. That lead to ten, 50 mile commutes at an average speed of 25 mpg this week. I heard on the radio that in Anchorage, by Thursday morning, there had been over a hundred fender benders and cars sliding off the road for the week. My 12 year old Subaru, with 235, 000 miles is showing it's age. Last weekend I lost a headlight, the one I didn't break on the moose ass the winter before last. This weekend I have to try to fix my turn indicators. They quit working Thursday morning. I've checked the fuses, they're good. This morning I'll try to wedge my considerable self under the dashboard and try to find the flasher. If it's not the flasher it's a trip to the Subaru clinic next week. If I hadn't bought a motorhome and hearing aids lately I might be car shopping. Just as well, my plan is to drive this Subaru until I retire, in 4 years and 10 months, but who's counting.

The Osmonds

This morning Donny Osmond was on the FoxNews morning show. He said that for the first time in 30 years all of the Osmonds are getting back together for a show. According to Donny, no one is more excited than Tito and Jermaine!

Hunting Picture Time

Just because I have nothing new to add, it's back into the way back machine...

This is the largest caribou I have shot. It was Fall, 1998. Kate and I were just slowly driving, through the freezing rain, along a trail above the Susitna River about 2 miles from camp when I spotted him. He was moving through the brush less than a hundred yards away. As soon as he trotted behind a small hill I jumped off the Honda and sprinted to the top of the hill, (I could still sprint in 1998.) We had him packed up and hung in camp before breakfast.

Thank You!

For all of you who responded to my plea for more man made global warming, thanks. The morning temperature is +14 this morning. I really feel, if we all contribute, by July we could get the temperature all the way up to +70. It would be like, you know, weather.

More Global Warming

Someone is not doing their part! You probably know who you are. Your driving a Hybrid or riding a bike. You've replaced all your light bulbs with those funny looking $5.00 ones. You've done a Jimmy Carter and turned the heat down while putting on your cardigan. Well, stop it and buy a full size SUV. Turn up the heat, damn it! It's -5 degrees in Wasilla this morning! Burn some wood, oil or coal.

Motorhome

Just so you don't think I have done nothing productive on my vacation, here are the before and after taillight pictures.

January 1, 2008

Like many dogs, Shadow, my black and white malamute, is frightened of fireworks. Last night's celebration of the New Year was the loudest I can recall. As I drove home last night there were rocket bursting above the trees everywhere. My dogs were in the garage. I found Shadow hiding inside the motor home. He had climbed in through the open driver's door window. After we went into the house he paced and panted until 1 a.m. before he settled down.
This morning I had a cow and calf moose in the front yard. Since it was daylight I spend an hour trying to get a decent shot or two of the cow. She was closer to the edge of the brush and lighter in color than the calf.