Icewind's Ramblings

Getting together with friends on a holiday weekend is one of the best, yet simple, pleasures in life. To know those around you just a bit better, break bread and share good drinks and conversation over a meal . . . I can think of no finer way to celebrate our American Independence Day. So if you are like us in Alaska heading out to the lake, going down to the river to fish, or heading out to sea for a great catch . . . Have a great 4 th of July! Have fun . . . Be Safe . . . and enjoy the Freedoms given you. Ice

Or what length one goes for a little tail. This is for a fun Friday after a trying week mixed with the best and worst parts of dealing with people. I couldn’t resist this one . . . Moose Picture Caption: “Hi . . . what’s your ‘sign’?” After a few minutes a little more formal introduction . . . I am pretty sure this is NOT and Alaskan moose as it looks more southern to me since it doesn’t seem to care what it mates with. It struck me funny so I thought I would throw it out there. Tomorrow is July 4 th , the United States Independence Day so everyone have a safe weekend and remember those whose sacrifice allows us to have our parades, picnics, and family cookouts. Many thanks to all of you who have or are serving to protect our way of life. Thanks for listening! Ice

It’s summertime in Alaska and there is the abundant wild life roaming the streets of Anchorage . Recently the local moose population worked their magic and we see the young calves sticking close to mom and dad moose. There are plenty of geese now raising their newborn goslings it seems like in every pond or drainage pool or soccer field. I have a friend who works for Chugach Electric who was telling me about the trials and sometimes strange things that happen when there are power outages that occur in Alaska . There are the normal things like the rest of the country has like wind blown down trees or limbs that break off or blow over lines cutting power to many homes and businesses. There is the occasional transformer that goes out from normal wear or the power pole that gets hit in an auto accident but there are other things that happen here to bring us back to the “dark ages”. A wayward bear or moose may cause an outage but sometimes it’s that pesky ...

I saw this first at Chatty Crone’s Blog last week and it stuck with me. I personally have no desire to return ‘in country’ but I think it is great this man has found a way to heal old wounds. A picture taken from an ‘enemy’ 30+ years ago returned to his daughter, not much else needs to be said. Another example of why we should not forget the cost of war or of any life. MSNBC Broadcast by Keith Morrison There may be hope for our world yet. Ice

Or how to “see” Alaska in one quick trip. Yesterday was one of those whirlwind days where your well thought out plans for the day get shuffled and turned upside down changing everything? It was not necessarily a bad thing as I needed to make a spur of the moment trip to one of our project in Sitka Alaska . I did not have to pack a bag as I would return the same evening and I have learned from past trips that no being prepared for the unknown can come out and make things miserable if the weather changes. I figured I could ‘pack light’ stuffing a light long sleeve ‘wind shirt’ into my computer bag in case there was some wind or light rain at my destination. The temperatures were supposed to be in the 50’s so that is not bad for me most of the time as my Hawaiian shirts seem to give me some protective bubble and I usually do not feel the cool winds. It is after midnight when I quickly pack for the day trip and try to get a few hours sleep before leaving for ...