Icewind's Ramblings

Alaska this past week has been full of contrasts. There was ‘fall’ in the air with the mountains and valleys painted in the yellows and reds of autumn. The night brought with it a full moon. This was an October ‘harvest moon’ year and one that appeared to brighten our spirits from the cloudy days and nights these past few weeks. Fall leaves Aspens Looking down the valley We had a slight chill in the air at night with ‘termination dust’ on the mountaintops. Termination Dust We had strong winds from 60 to 100 mph along the hillside (where I live) and Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet . Leaves gone & Fog in the Valley There was a warm trend almost like a late summer with our temperatures in the mid 60’s for a few days but with it came the rain. And lots of it. Seward received over 9 inches in less than 24 hours. Valdez Alaska also received record rainfall but was cutoff from the road sy...

Everyone is given the key to heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell. We are given choice! Ice

I had lunch today with two friends who are also business associates. Anchorage has a new restaurant that opened last Friday with much anticipation and eagerness for many of our city’s residents. We have waited for the Golden Corral Buffet. Many of us have watched the construction as the time was announced that we would be getting this “Southern” chain steak house. When I lived in Atlanta we would eagerly hit several locations that were in our area and my company helped build several stores at the time. Anchorage has many great places to eat with more of them being ‘mom and pop’ type eateries. We do have several “national chains” here like Outback, Chilies, and Friday’s but also lack others like Red Lobster, Olive Garden, & Cracker Barrel. Getting back to lunch today, we met and had the small waiting line to go through before getting to our table. It has been crowded since it opened last Friday with lines winding outside the building but moving qu...

As most have figured out by now I have a fascination to Moose. Whether they are sitting in my yard chewing their ‘cuds’ or lazily walking munching the trees and water foliage, you may sometimes see them running (probably faster than you thought). We have just passed this years hunting season so I give you some information on that tradition for many people. For most of Alaska , September is moose hunting month. Some areas of the state have additional limited times in mid-winter when it is legal to hunt moose, but for the most part, people hope and plan to take their moose in September. Only bulls are legal to hunt, and only one per person. In some places, the bulls are further restricted to those with a 50 inch rack spread (antlers measured at the widest point). Moose are the most sought after big game animal in Alaska . Hunters report harvesting over 7,000 of Alaska 's estimated 175,000 moose each year. Going out to “get a moose” is a fall ritual for tens of thousa...

Sometimes Life’s just hard . . . for no reason at all. (From – Remember the Titans ) Ice

“Bull” the Moose was last seen wandering around my subdivision in South Anchorage just a few days ago. It is assumed that “Bully” was lured into an area just down the road where several female moose were seen casually going about their business of attracting prospective fathers for next years batch of bull. “Bull” the moose was 3 years 6 months and 17 days old when last seen. He was sporting legal antlers and a huge gaggle, a magnificent coat, and he reeked of urine . “Bull” never came to his name when called, only looked up at you momentarily and continued eating. If you believe “Bull” is near you should . . . 1. Place the first finger of your left hand over your right nostril and press down firmly. 2. Take a deep breath through your mouth. 3. Exhale rapidly through your entire sinus cavity while rubbing finger briskly over your nose while making a HEEEEEEEEEE! sound. This, if he's alive, should bring “Bully” running. It is advisable that ...

Still on track Ice