Regular Snowfalls Outside, Things Growing Inside

 My personal trainer is working on my upper body this winter.  It keeps giving a little more snow to shovel four or five times a week.  Today there was about three or four new inches.  

We've also had foggy days.  Which in December, when we get down to five and a half hours or so between sunrise and sunset, makes it seem even darker.  But the snow and ice do such beautiful tricks.  

Here's ice patterns after shoveling the deck.  We'd had a couple days where it got above freezing and then froze again.  I hadn't gotten the snow off the deck, so there was this thin glaze of ice after shoveling.  It should get more focused if you click on it.

And my van was used by the snow as a canvas too.  

And here are some spruce needles holding up a blanket of snow that's turning icy.

Inside, the green stuff continues to give the illusion of a different season.  This is a bromeliad I brought up from my mom's yard where they grow like weeds.  We've had it here maybe 20 years.  It bloomed the first two years, but hasn't since.  I guess I need to check the local bromeliad society to get some tips.  It has offered up new sprouts so now I have three of these.  

But I can't put them where people move back and forth.  The thorns - look closely - are nasty.  

And it's nice that I still have geraniums blooming.

And someone sent us a box of pears.  We've been eating away.  I made a pear omelette and J made a couple of pear tarts.  

Green Things From The Trees, Bushes, And The Ground

Spring has come to South Central Alaska.  Enjoying the wonders in our front and back yards.







Bleeding Heart.

Cottonwood leaf.  The sticky outside - leaf bud scales - fall off and stick to everything.  A good reason to take your shoes off before going inside.  The saving grace for me has always been their wonderful sweet scent.  But it appears they are much more useful than that.  From the Statesman Journal:

"Honeybees collect the resin from the spring leaf bud scales and take it back to their hives as an antimicrobial and sealant, called propolis. It is powerfully anti-microbial, inhibiting fungal and bacterial growth.
Pacific Northwest tribes and early Euroamerican settlers collected and used the bud scale resin as well. Infused into oil, the resin is known to help soothe swollen arthritic joints and sore muscles. Resin was used to waterproof boxes and baskets. The bark was made into buckets for storing and carrying food. The leaves, buds and bark of cottonwood were used to lower fevers and reduce inflammation and pain. Plant chemists isolated this analgesic compound and call it salacin; it is found in all cottonwoods and willows."

The daffodils are popping up.  The last couple of years only a few of the bulbs I planted came up.  This year I planted some with my granddaughter on Bainbridge Island over Thanksgiving and they were blooming by the beginning of March.  All them.  And it looks like the vast majority made it through the winter here and are coming up.








I thought this was kind of funny when I saw it on Carr's online order app.  I've been benefiting from our abundant back (and front) yard supply the last few summers.  Ours too have no artificial fertilizer or pesticides.  And they are starting to come up already.




When you see them in your yard, instead of cursing them, think:  $3.49 a bunch.  And remember they are full of vitamins and other health promoting properties.

Governor, oil has tanked, but we've got an endless renewable resource in dandelions.  And at $3.49 a bunch, they're probably more valuable than oil was when it was $60 a barrel.  And health food stores have all sorts of pricy dandelion products.  Here's a dandelion extract at $14 an ounce!

There's economic value all around us if we just have the right eyes.  But lets not value our flora and fauna only for their economic value.  They play an important role in keeping the earth vibrant and healthy.  If you haven't seen my post on The Overstory, I do recommend it.

High bush cranberry leaves are budding.

 Lillies.

Tulip buds are growing.

Wild geraniums.  From Common Sense Home:

"Early Native Americans [Is that as opposed to late Native Americans?] recognized the value of Wild Geranium and used it as an ingredient in many medicinal treatments. Chippewa Indians used dried, powdered rhizomes mixed with grape juice as a mouthwash for children with thrush. A poultice from the base or pounded roots of the plant was used to treat burns and hemorrhoids. The leaves and roots were used to treat sore throats, hemorrhages, gonorrhea, and cholera. Like many other tannin-containing substances, Native Americans also used Wild Geranium as an anti-diarrhea treatment. A plant- infused tea was made to achieve this purpose, though some sources say the tea could have had the opposite effect, causing constipation."

And we have visitors out for the summer too.

This fly was cleaning my breakfast plate out on the deck.

And I'm guessing this dead tree was sculpted by a woodpecker.  Dead trees often have more life than living trees.

Late Spring, Short Bike Ride, Experience With Instacart, And Seeds

This was our front lawn on March 5, 2015.

This was our front lawn on March 19, 2020 in comparison.









And below was our front lawn on March 30, 2020.  (The base of the tree is in the upper left.) Just the beginning of the earth being revealed by the sublimating snow and ice.  We're way behind this year.  At least from the last ten years or so.  We've gotten used to global warming.  But this has been a winter where the temperatures were mostly below 'normal'.

The ice between the sidewalk (that I try to keep clear) and the street is still thick, but the sunny days (even when it hasn't been above freezing), and my ice-chipping are starting to make a difference.



We've been pretty good about self-isolating.  I try and get out in the back or front yard every day and tinker around. J goes for a much longer walk.  There aren't many people out and staying six feet away isn't hard to do.

Yesterday I even got the bike out and it felt wonderful.
I didn't go very far - I saw three people walking abreast ahead of me and knew I couldn't pass them with six feet, so I turned off into a parking lot and looped back home via the alley where there was still some ice and snow on the ground - I was using the bike with the studded tires.




We also tried out Fred Meyer's home delivery.  I think it would have been faster to walk to the grocery, get our stuff, and walk home, than it was just ordering on the app.  We had to look through so many items to find what we wanted.  When I tried searching it didn't find it.  But later it did.  I think you have to be in the right department when you search.    And I'm sure it will be easier next time.  Then when I was going to check out, it had something next to most items about being out of stock and were substitutes acceptable.  For some I said no.  For others I put in conditions.  I really had no idea how it would work.  But I was uncomfortable with someone making substitutes.  As it turned out, it was fine.  The shopper texted when she started and asked about substitutions before making them.  I think there was just one - one brand of yogurt for another.  And she texted about items that weren't there - like alcohol swabs.

The point was to not be out amongst people exposing either of us to the virus since we're in the high risk age group.  And since I couldn't get tested, I have no clear sense of whether what I had (the cough still lingers, but I cough less frequently) was COVID-19.   But when I saw our shopper get out of the car at the bottom of the driveway and then slowly, almost painfully, lug up the two bags to the doorstep, I felt terrible.  If she wasn't also in the high risk age group, she certainly walked like she was.

So that was my introduction to Instacart, which really hadn't been on my radar.  It was just under $10 extra for someone to shop and deliver for us.  A company called Instacart does it.  This is the gig economy and like with Lyft there are upsides and downsides.  In our case, we connected with the market, not Instacart.  And our shopper may have gotten several other people's orders at the same time.  We only live about 1.5 miles from the market.

Gigworker.com did an analysis of Instacart the other day that you can look at.  In any case, there's no the extra hazard pay for potentially getting the virus.  I left more tip than they suggested, but what they suggested was pretty low.  But you also had to add the tip when you ordered, not after the delivery.   And then there's the question of how we deal with the groceries without knowing whether anyone who touched them has the virus.  I brought the bag in wearing gloves and put the veggies that needed refrigerating into an empty drawer to let them sit a couple of days.  When I got everything squared away, I washed my hands thoroughly.

One of the things I was happy to get from the market was seeds.  

I haven't planted too many vegies in recent years because our yard is so shaded by trees.  But it seems like a good idea to have some fresh veggies one can grow oneself this year.  And I do look forward to the early dandelion leaves - an abundant freebie in our yard that can be cooked in stir-fries and omelets.   They're very high in Vitamin A and K, and we don't use any pesticides in our yard.  

With the added part of the deck, we have a little more sunshine and we can use pots.  But I think the broccoli is the only thing I can plant early inside.  The others seem like they should go directly in the ground.  But maybe I can put some seeds in pots inside and then take them out when it's warm enough.  

And here's a last picture while I was sitting downstairs in what we call our greenhouse reading a book with the sun streaming in.  It's getting crowded down there and I've been trying to make room so I can plant some seeds.  

Beauty Break

Enough of this COVID-19.  Bright sunshine sparkling back from dazzling snow outside.  Small wonders inside.

Everyday Art

People argue over what is art.  Artists have mocked critics with absurd creations.  Context is important to some so called pieces of art.  But some things are just beautiful.

I was stopped at a long red light, when I saw these cacti brightly lit by afternoon sunshine against this salamander orange wall.  Did someone plan that these cacti to grow again this bright wall? Did they think about the afternoon sun hitting directly on it like this?  Is it still a work in progress and the artist is aiming for larger cactus?  Maybe no one even thought about this at all.  But I think there's some intention.  You don't just paint a wall a color like that without wanting to make some sort of statement.

In any case, it's spectacular and it's free for anyone there in the afternoon sun.

Tax, Snaps, Nast, And Terminal N -New Addition, And A Funny

I'm trying to finish up tax stuff to take to the accountant so he knows how much of a check we need to send in with our extension.  I hate doing this.  Not because I don't want to pay my taxes, but it's just so tedious.  I'd so love just a percentage of income, no deductions, get rid of all this crazy paperwork.  It would be much fairer to everyone and corporations wouldn't be able to get tax deductions when their employees travel first class and stay in fancy resorts on business and they can deduct legal expenses, though the citizens suing them as individuals cannot.

I've got about ten draft posts waiting for reviewing and editing, but I need to get the taxes out by tomorrow, so here are a few pics.  No serious reading.  Oh, and one joke I saw on Twitter.  (Yes, Twitter is an incredible boon to procrastinators.)

I planted some snapdragon seeds before we left for San Francisco and carefully covered them in plastic so they wouldn't dry out while we were gone and now they are up.  Hoping to show you beautiful flowers in a few months.

And nasturtiums too.

When we got off the plane in Seattle on the way home Thursday, I was confused.  I knew we were in Terminal N, but nothing looked right.  I should have been suspicious already when we pulled up to Gate 18.  Terminal N didn't have 18 gates.  

Well, now it does.  The new edition is now open.  You can see the (is seamly the opposite of seamless) gap between the old and new parts of the the terminal.  Dark floor is the old.   The train still doesn't go to Terminal C yet.  

I almost forgot the joke.  Well, maybe it's for real, but it's funny

I was applying for Australian citizenship and the interviewer asked " Do you have any criminal history?"

I said "No, is that still required?"

— Kevin Carter (@wapimaskwa69) April 6, 2019

Back Home. Olé! Brain Neurons, Photojournalism, And Beowulf

We  left San Francisco yesterday afternoon



and flew into Anchorage last night.

Today I went to three Olé classes at UAA.  Olé is the acronym for Opportunities for Lifelong Education and is set up for older folks.  You pay a fee for the year and can take all the classes you can fit in.  Well, if others don't fill it up before you sign up for the class.

There were two I was waitlisted for were:

• Brain Workings:The Secret Lives of Neurons 
• Photojournalism in the Modern Era

(Links take you to the Olé course descriptions)

Then one more I got in.  And I even volunteered to be the class manager, which I understood to mean minimal extra work - introducing the instructor and putting out the roster.  (I learned today I also need to write a thank you note to the instructor.)

• The Origin of the English Language

My head is spinning.  The brain class was in the planetarium and we saw 3D images of the brain which the instructor Rachel Hannah could manipulate so we could see it from different angles and at different levels of magnification.  She could also add and subtract parts.  She suggested going to brainfacts.org which has lots of interesting info, including a link to a 

3D brain like we saw in class.  You can get to the 3D Brain here.  Do it! Much better than an hour of Facebook or Twitter.  

The photojournalism class, taught by two retired ADN photographers - Erik Hill and  began with a history of the field starting with this picture:

Picture above and text below are from a Business Insider article:

"Boulevard du Temple", a daguerreotype made by Louis Daguerre in 1838, is generally accepted as the earliest photograph of people. It is a view of a busy street, but because the exposure time was at least ten minutes the moving traffic left no trace. Only the two men near the bottom left corner, one apparently having his boots polished by the other, stayed in one place long enough to be visible.

Then we saw the work of photojournalists over the years.  It seems like war is a photojournalist magnet, or perhaps the pictures are so memorable because they are so horrible.  I did begin to start feeling bad about all the photos I put up here, but then I realized the ones we saw were the best of the best and that all the photographers had taken thousands, probably tens of thousands that weren't  perfect.  

Finally, the English Language class.  The instructor has a very well known name - David Bowie - so as manager I decided to head off questions about the name by playing David Bowie's Space Oddity as people came in.   Since I had my computer with me, I took lots of notes.  I'm a language freak so I enjoyed this class a lot.  He was answering riddles I've never solved about English and its relationship to German and other languages.  It's getting late, so maybe next week I'll put up more.

But we have a homework assignment.  We've got a copy now of the Prelude to Beowulf in Old English and translated into modern English.  We're to find an oral rendition in the old English and listen as we read along until we start getting it.  

OK, I found one with the words on the screen as it's read.  I'll put it here so I know where to find it tomorrow.

It's good to be home.  The snapdragon seeds I planted before we left are starting to sprout.  

Seattle's NW Flower And Garden Festival

Being dependent on a ferry to get places really puts a cramp on one's outings.  We wanted to go to the Flower and Garden Show, but our granddaughter - on a week school break - had a morning program at the KidiMu that ended at 12:30pm. It's right near the ferry terminal, but fhe ferry for Seattle leaves at 12:20, which we missed, of course, and then again at 1:30pm. So we got a late start.  Catching the bus up to the convention center meant walking half a mile when the trip wasn't more than a mile.  So we walked.  (I think there were better bus options but I didn't see them when I looked.)





But we got there.  We went before in 2013.  It's a little crazy - lots of vendors selling garden related and not-so-related stuff.  (Like rain gutters with screening to keep the leaves out, and hot tubs, hazel nut shells for garden paths. )  There was lots of candy and artsy stuff as well.  But there were also lots of bulbs and tubers and potted plants for sale.

These metal and glass insects were the most dazzling things I saw for sale.  I was always a bug freak as a kid and my time in Thailand was highlighted in part by the abundance of magnificent insects, including scarab beetles like the one above.  I've included the picture below so you can get some sense of the sizes.

Our six year old enjoyed trying out the trampoline (all zipped up inside of a net).  The other part (well, besides food and winning a small pot with sprouting daffodils) was the display gardens.  These are gardens designed specifically for the show that compete for prizes.  There were 21.  It wasn't the gardens so much, but the scavenger hunt for kids.  She got a list of all the gardens and she had to find the model airplane in each garden.  A few were out in plain sight, others were a little trickier.

This one - the Herban Sanctuary - is described in the program

"You're stepping into the year 2050, with the urban center of Seattle serving as the 'sci-fi like' setting.  But rays of hope and positivity abound:  medicinal and edible plants are integrated into a planting scheme emphasizing native plant material  And resident have fully embraced clean energy, with use of solar panels and cooker.  A unique feature:  a tent that serves as a central gathering place for inspiration and healing. . . "

 "Shalimar"

"Now a UNESCO world heritage site, these splendid gardens were laid out as a Persian "paradise garden." [Now in Lahore, Pakistan]  Constructed in `1641, they are representation of an earthly utopia where humans co-exist in perfect harmony with all elements of nature."

 Meanwhile, we went from garden to garden looking for the hidden airplanes.  Some, like the one on the left, were almost invisible.  This one is a black airplane in a dark tree.  It's in the middle of the picture, but I can't even see it anymore - even when I enlarge it.  But the young one was persistent and found them all.

It's a clever way for the Show to keep kids interested while the parents and grandparents are taking in the gardens, though we got hijacked into helping find planes.

These two were from "Orchids in Balance."

"Imagining Ireland:  Myth, Magic and Mystery" featured a rainbow of primroses which had a pot of gold at the end (the bright yellow just to the right of the leprechaun house on the left.)  This one had the airplane flying out in the open on a steel frame.  And one of the creator's relatives didn't like it particularly, so he made two more much fancier model planes to fly with it.  And my plane collector was rewarded with a bit of gold from the end of the rainbow.

This dragon was part of "Mystic Garden" a beautiful Chinese style garden.  

In San Francisco's Japanese Garden we were shown a 400 year old bonsai tree.  Since San Francisco isn't nearly that old, and the Japanese garden is much younger, I asked.  It had been begun in Japan long ago and brought over much later.

So when I saw this 520 year old Alaska Yellow Cedar, it didn't make sense.  How would a Japanese gardener get such a tree 500 years ago?   It turns out, the tree is that old, but it's only been 'in captivity' we were told for a much shorter time.  It was a natural bonsai found in the wild.  It was only after we left for home that I began thinking about people digging up 500 year old trees in the wild to display as bonsais.  Are people really allowed to go into forests and mountains and dig up these ancient trees?  Do they need permits?  Are there limits on how many can be "captured"?

Why I Live Here: Power Line Pass Is 20 Minutes From Home

We needed to get some fresh air and the nearest spectacular spot is Powerline Pass.  Here are a few more photos.

  The grass is about 30 inches high.

I think these are thimble berries flowers.

And tiny cones on the hemlock trees.  One sign of global warming is how high the hemlocks on the trail near the parking lot have grown.  When we came almost 40 years ago, they were severely stunted at this altitude (about 2200 feet), but they've grown considerably higher since we got here.  They were (for those of you thinking, 'well trees grow') already old trees when we got here.

The Glen Alps parking lot is also the starting point to Flattop, generally known as the most climbed mountain in Alaska.  It's 3,510 feet high, 1280 feet above the parking lot.

We chose walk a more level path to Powerline Pass.