Winter is here!

On October 21st we had our first official snow of the season.

The amounts varied throughout town but we ended up with about 6 inches of snow here.

Greg left these apples on the trees for the birds and they look kind of pretty with a covering of snow.

The raspberry bushes are weighted down with the cold wet snow.

Vegetable beds with an icy blanket.

We have had a bit of freezing rain and a couple of dustings of snow since then.

 Right now it is just cold and very icy.

 Other than getting ready for the holidays, we haven't been doing too much outside the home. At home we have been eating a lot, sitting in front of a fire a lot, and playing with the kitties a lot! Yeah, it's a tough life.

Fall's Short Season in the Last Frontier

We've been really busy finishing up outside and getting ready for the winter season. By some fluke, we had a really great gardening year. We had more radishes, lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes than we could eat.

There were also several zucchini and squash plants that produced enough to satisfy us. Our cherry trees shocked us by filling over a gallon container of yummy cherries. The apple trees were beautiful and loaded with fruit.

However, most of the apples got too mushy for us.

 We'll have to study up on what causes this and remedy it for next year.

 Greg pulled the remaining tomatoes a few weeks ago before our first deep freeze.

 A few ripen everyday but others haven't been so lucky. We were just too late harvesting some of them.

The colors of these little flowers were quite striking in contrast to their fall surroundings.

 One morning I got out early and drove to one of Anchorage's many parks.

This one is located near our home and has some majestic views.

Fall is a short season here. As you can tell by this picture, lawn cutting time is over for this year!

 We'll tell you more about our first snow of this season in the next post.

Beautiful Day in Seward

Wednesday morning, everyone got up early and headed to Seward for a boat tour of the Kenai Fjords. Greg, Lorrie, and Keith left the Seward Harbor aboard the Nanatak.

They boated out to Fox Island and had a delightful lunch of prime rib and salmon. None of them are big salmon fans but agreed it was pretty tasty.

They boarded the boat after lunch and it wasn't long before they spotted their first whale.

They did manage to see a total of four whales during the day. Never did manage to get a good clean shot of any of the whales. Greg did get a nice pic of one spouting and some fin and tail shots.

 It is always a thrill to see one of these magnificent humpback whales. They also saw puffins, eiders, eagles, and various other birds.

The boat cruised by a group of steller sea lions sunning on the rocks.

They happened to catch a glimpse of a jellyfish floating along doing whatever it is they do!

 Many otters frolic and relax in these waters. Greg think this one might be an older otter and he sure looks like he has a relaxing lifestyle.

They made it back to the Seward Harbor around 4:30. All of them truly enjoyed the tour having been blessed with a beautiful day and calm seas.

 Lorrie and Keith both wished they would have taken the all day tour instead. Maybe next time!

 On the way home to Anchorage on Thursday, the weather took a decidedly nasty turn with rain and cool temps. They did stop by Portage Lake and the visitor's center for a bit.

 Lorrie and Keith flew home the next afternoon. We all wished they had planned a few extra days to stay in Alaska. As usual, it went by way too quickly. Greg sure enjoyed having them visit. Special thanks to Lorrie for cooking while on her vacation!

Lorrie and Keith come to Alaska!

Lorrie and Keith arrived in Anchorage early Saturday morning, July 30th. After resting on Saturday, Greg, his sister Lorrie, and her husband Keith, headed to Denali on Sunday morning. They saw a couple of moose and met with a lot of road construction on the way. They got checked into their rooms at the White Moose Lodge in Healy later that afternoon. After enjoying a good dinner at the Salmon Bake, they drove into the park.

 They did manage to see a moose and her calf near Savage River. On Monday morning, they ate a nice breakfast at Rose's and traveled back into Denali National Park for the bus tour.

 All buses were booked until 1:30 so they walked around a bit and went to the Visitor Center. On the bus they were treated to seven bear sightings,

 including a mom with two cubs!

They also saw many caribou, including this one walking along the park road.

This was also their closest animal encounter of the day.

There were may Dall Sheep to be spotted, but they were too far away for a good picture.
 Luckily, this bus only traveled as far as Eielson Visitor Center.

Come to find out, a major mudslide that very afternoon closed the park road only about a mile beyond Eielson!