Icewind's Ramblings

I came home tonight after a trying day to an unexpected surprise. I was flipping through the channels and came across a movie that has been an anthem of a friend of mine. I’m not normally a ‘chick flick’ kind of guy but as I sat there watching the beginning of the movie a funny thing happened . . . There it was in all of the turmoil . . . bird crap! It’s a sign it was said. I watched the movie and was reminded of a story from long ago . . . There once was a little bird in the northland that enjoyed the warmth of the summer sun. He chirped and ate eagerly as winter was approaching as he prepared for his migration flight south. Pretty soon, the weather turned, got colder, and eventually it started to snow. The field the little bird was standing in had a cow and a cat in it when the cow asked why he did not fly south for winter. The little bird said he thought it was so nice where he was and decided to stay, not making the long flight to stay in the wa...

You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others. Today was one of those type days . . . two bids to go out by 2 pm . . . and the morning and early afternoon brought about a solid barrage of phone calls with problems . . . No heat calls from several people . . . one came home from vacation to find his lower level in his house with over 2” of standing water where his water heater had burst while the family was away . . . another 4 plex had frozen pipes, leaking everywhere which meant no heat or domestic water . . . looks like my crews and I will be helping others. Ice

It is that time of the season when those evenings that give us the long nights of winter slowly makes its way toward the dawn. Over the last few months the nights have gotten longer and it slowly creeps into your awareness that things have once again changed. The first light of day slowly rising as the time approaches nine thirty in the morning, the horizon sun never climbing into the sky during its brief trip just above the mountaintops to drop into another long night of cold and darkness. For some it is a difficult time . . . *S.A.D. as it is called who rely on special lights to keep their system in a normal state. (*Season Affective Disorder) They use special lights to keep the depression at bay. For me it may be a walk with my dog Levi or just going out onto the deck and soaking up the ambiance where the mountains meet the city here in Anchorage . It’s cold tonight and the sodium vapor street lights bathe my little community in liquid amber. All is clothed in ...