Solstice Is Past And It's Fall In Anchorage

There's more termination dust.





Ravens Roost had an apple festival the other night.

There were clouds in   Goose Lake.

Trees are getting yellow and losing their leaves.

I got some radishes on the last day of the Muldoon Farmers Market for this year.

And this woodpecker visited our yard today.  

Anchorage Gets Termination Dust, Finally

The first dusting of snow on the mountains by Anchorage lore, marks the end of summer.  This change, in the past, more often than not, came in August.  It doesn't mean it's sticking, but it's clearly white up there.

Well, this Fall Solstice day (I always have to check because the exact date changes slightly each year, so it seems this year, it's not today, but tomorrow) comes one day after the first termination dust.  (And, technically, I suppose it came yesterday, but the clouds didn't clear until today.)

Great views as I bike this afternoon.

What A Beautiful Morning

I'm hesitant to write posts like this.  I worry people will do to Alaska what they did to Washington and Oregon - move there.  But after our last trip Outside, I realize that the stories people have in their minds about permanent ice, polar and grizzly bears walking through town, and all the hardships of living in a cold wilderness have such a strong grip on people's mental pictures of Alaska, that I don't have to worry.  People's response is a sympathetic smile, a subtle rolling of eyes, and a condescending, "I'm so glad you like it there."

We got home Wednesday night to a nicely cleared driveway.  My car started up right away in the 7˚F (-14˚C) cold.  But after 10 days in mostly rainy Seattle with temps generally  in the 40s(F), it just didn't seem terribly cold in Anchorage.  It's drier for one thing, and not windy.  It snowed that night and I got up and cleared the inch or so out of the driveway before J pressed it down with her tires when she left.  (We have a south facing, sloping driveway.  If I don't keep it as clear as possible, it gets packed down.  Then when it warms up, it thaws and runs down the driveway only to freeze up into an icy sheet when it cools back below freezing.  So I try to keep it as close to the asphalt as I can.  And our house sitter did a great job while we were gone.)

It had snowed again yesterday evening,  So I got up, showered, did my leg stretches and lifted my barbell a few times, then bundled up and went out.

It was so beautiful.  It's about 4˚F (-16˚F) now.  But just my face feels any cold and it feels invigorating.  There are stars out even as the sky is starting to get light over the mountains.  There's not much snow and I just sweep it, but being out there and moving my muscles reminds me why I live here.

The picture gives a hint of the velvet dark blue sky.  But I can't reproduce how bracing the cold feels. I think about long ago when J and I drove through Mexico and Guatemala one summer.  We had to keep getting blocks of ice for the ice box in the VW camper.  The temperatures were in the 80s and 90s F and the humidity was the same.  We'd find the ice factory in a town and it was a pleasure to walk into the 10˚F ice room in our shorts and T shirts.  Though not for too long.  The cold reminds me that I'm still very much alive.

And I can't share with you the freshness and sparkle of the air as it massages my face and fills my lungs.

I wouldn't want it always to be cold with short days, but part of the year is just fine. It's over a month since the solstice in December, the shortest day, and less than two months until the equinox, when every part of the globe has the same amount of daylight.   And with grandchildren beckoning from the south, it's true we spend much of this season Outside.  But it's still a magical time.

Winter Isn't Over Until It's Over, But This Snow Is Pitiful

I can think of many March and April days when most snow was gone, followed by a day with enough snow to prolong winter significantly.

So, give the predictions of overnight snow,  I took a picture of our yard yesterday.  But the snow we got was barely able to cover the pile of moose poop.  The driveway was showing asphalt already.  But I did go out, just to get fresh air and exercise, to shovel what there was.   It was wet and heavy.  I suspect I could have let the above freezing temperatures do the snow clearing, but it felt good.  Clearing snow from the driveway and sidewalk is always a satisfying job.  You can see that you actually did something.    And who knows, there could be another seven inches on the ground tomorrow.  

According to Archeoastronomy  the vernal equinox is only three days off here in Alaska.  They peg it at 8:30pm Alaska time on March 19 this year.  We're already at 11 hours 54 minutes of daylight according to the Alaska Dispatch News.  Though that's a bit misleading since that really means from official sunrise to sunset and our twilights go well beyond those times.  But after Saturday, when the whole world has an equal amount of day (thus equinox), we'll have longer days than everyone to the south.  Until the next equinox in September.  

I'd also note that Chevrolet seems to have done some serious SEO (Search engine optimization), because the first page and a half of google hits for "equinox 2016' brought up a Chevy car I'd never heard of called the equinox.

Solstice Just 11 Days Away

9:50 am Anchorage December 10, 2015

10:40 am Anchorage Dec. 10, 2015

According to Time And Date:

The December solstice is on either December 20, 21, 22 or 23.

The North Pole is tilted furthest from the Sun.

It is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is the shortest day of the year.

In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the summer solstice and the longest day of the year.

December Solstice in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A. is on
Monday, December 21, 2015 at 7:49 PM AKST(Change city)

December Solstice in Universal Coordinated Time is on
Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at 04:49 UTC

And then, days start getting longer.

Leaving Anchorage On A June Night

The last post had the sun peekabooing through the fog bank from the airport last night.

Denali about 11:20pm

Here are some photos after the plane took off about 11:15pm.

The Alaska Range over Cook Inlet as we took off to the north, then looped to the west to fly down Turnagain Arm.

Then we flew over the mountain ridges and over Prince William Sounds.  This was about 11:30pm.