Fall, Falling, Fallen

About a month ago there was no doubt that fall had come to the Anchorage bowl.  Yellow is the predominant fall color here.  Multiple shades of yellow: muted, dark, variegated, bright; but all yellow.  And green too.  It is a pretty mixture, the green and the yellow, but it never says fall to me quite the way the reds of the maple trees do in the lower 48.

When I took a drive out to the valley the mountains reminded me of some sort of tiered skirt with swirling yellow and green along the base that progressed to solid green, from the pines, around the middle of the mountain and at the top transitioned into a yellow/brown/green, the color of the lichen that clings to the mountain peaks.  So one fall day, my little sidekick and I took a drive out to the Botanical Garden.  It's only a few miles from here and it's somewhere I have been wanting to go for some time.  

Sky and I met this fellow at a gated pavilion where there are gardening classes for kids a little older than Sky.  As you can tell by her face, she wasn't too sure of this giant pumpkin.

 

 But it didn't take her too long to warm up, once she realized there was nothing behind him

 It was a beautiful day, and after wandering around the trails at the Garden, being ever mindful for the potential run-in with a bear or moose, I decided to head out toward Earthquake Park.  We actually went a little past the park and stopped short of Point Woronzof.  Everyone was out enjoying the day.  I think it's because everyone one knew it was one of the last days of summer left for us.

Cook Inlet beyond the trees, and the white fluffy looking things are mountains, not clouds.  It's the Alaska Range.

The view back toward Anchorage over Cook Inlet

In retrospect this day was a huge bonus because we have had nothing but rain and gray since this day.  In fact, we had a storm come through with 100 mph winds that brought down trees and fences all around town.  Some people were without power for up to 5 days.  Let me repeat that.  In Anchorage Alaska, where in the dead of winter our temperatures routinely drop below zero, a wind storm knocked out power for 5 days.  Thank God it was fall and not winter.  And after that storm came through, so did another. Although this storm only packed 70 mph winds.  And the one after that gusted up to 40 mph.  The winds may have died down, but the rain has not.  Cordova, AK has received over 9 inches of rain, Kenai is under water, and Anchorage, after having a record snowstorm this past winter - is on track to have the second wettest September in history.

These photos are actually courtesy of the Alaska Dispatch.  And although this first storm occurred about 3 weeks ago there are still fallen trees all over town.  Chainsaws and generators are sold out in all of the stores around town.  

We don't own either of them....

But let's go back to the fact that it's fall.  So while it's raining here other things are happening on the tops of those mountains.

And then another storm system came.  This one from the south and it brought steady daytime temperatures that were in the 50's and not much colder at night.  It rained everyday, but the rain melted some of the snow.  Everyone was okay about that, although I do notice people are all ready starting to put on their SADD lights.  Yesterday the forecaster warned us about the change in the weather pattern that is coming next week.  Cold temperatures are on the way he said, fall is about over, be prepared.  So this morning we woke up to this.

Across the street

The mountains out back with a serious case of Termination Dust

Almost all gone by mid-day

Moonrise over the Chugach Mountains. I think that snow is here for good

It is obvious to me that we are on the downhill march when it comes to daylight.  We continue to lose about 5 1/2 minutes of daylight daily.  Right now, we have light for about 11.5 hours.  In June we had 22 hours of sunlight.  It goes quick.  I don't mind the darkness, but this year I think it is depressing to so many so early because we have had so little sun in the past year.  Between the snow last winter, the gloom we experienced all summer, and the terrific rains we have had during fall (all 25 days of it), well, it's just been a little much.  And it's a bit concerning to think that our winter may continue in the same vein.

Maybe we should go buy a generator.

There have been several environmental issues in the state.  And I don't mean the flooding in Kenai or Talkeetna.  Or the flooding that wiped out the railroad track north of Wasilla.  But other stuff, like the fact that the King Salmon season was declared a disaster and some fisheries may have lost up to 90% of their average revenue.  And nobody knows why.

Shell Oil was going to start drilling in the Chukchi sea, but stopped after one day.  Seems they were plagued by things like giant ice floes and malfunctioning equipment.  Shell has spent over 4.5 billion dollars to get approval for the right to drill.  They haven't gotten approval yet, but they are positioning themselves to be ready to start drilling as soon as the ink is dry on the paperwork.  At least they were ready, but do to the short-season, the ice, the whale-hunts, etc etc, Shell is now waiting for next year to start drilling in this pristine area.  Ok, so I'm on a bit of a soap box.  I just don't understand spending that much money for something that hasn't been approved yet.  Or having your drilling platforms and barges in place waiting for the approval. It just seems odd to me.

Pebble mine is another huge environmental issue.  Create the mine and bring in jobs and revenue to a place where there are no jobs and no revenue.  Or create the mine and destroy a way of life that has been going on for centuries in yet another pristine part of the state.  It's hard to say what is right and what is wrong.

On a personal, family update, the baby of the family (and I don't mean Skylar) has decided to join the Alaska Youth Military Academy.  From the time that Jake was in Kindergarten and he was asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, he always said the Army. Lately, the branch of service has changed, but the theme remains the same.  This is a challenging program where he will stay on the local base for the next 22 weeks.  While he is there he will have the opportunity to challenge himself not only physically but also emotionally and hopefully academically.  The first two weeks the cadets are sleeping on the ground and learning what they are in for.  After that there is a little graduation ceremony and we get to see him. That day just happens to coincide with his 17th birthday.  I'm glad I have the opportunity to see him on his birthday.  Jake has one more day at home and Monday he departs.  At least the base is right at the edge of town, and it won't be a big deal to go and visit.  But it is a big deal to have my baby leave home.  Even if it is only temporarily.

It's late now, and I can hear the wind blowing outside.  It's about 34 degrees out, and I bet we start getting solid frosts from here on out.  Which actually I'm looking forward to because our lawn is so wet that you need waders or x-tra tufs to let the dogs out.  Don't know what x-tra tufs are?  At first glance they remind me of the tunnel boots my dad used to wear when he was working in the tunnel construction business.  And maybe they are the same thing.  They are also a common denominator between the social stratosphere.  Everyone wears xtra tufs.  They keep your feet warm and dry, and when you tuck your pants into them, they keep your pants dry too.  They can be found anywhere, from the construction site, to the mall, to the grocery store and to church.

Maybe we should get xtra tufs too.  And an ark.  Or at least a snowblower.

Until next time!