Icewind's Ramblings

Long day? Enjoy . . . Feel Better?  I do. Ice

Alaskans give a big Thank You and Welcome Home to the first members of the 1-25 th Stryker Brigade returning from a yearlong deployment in Iraq .  The first 160 troopers arrived to a quiet hanger in Fort Wainwright in the darkness of an early morning 3 a.m. Inside the hanger was filled with yawning and pajama clad children and adults who erupted in a joyous reunion as the soldiers came off the plane.  Over the next several weeks a total of 4,000 military personnel with the Stryker Brigade will be coming home to similar welcoming events. Thanks again for your service and sacrifice from a grateful nation! The crazy birdman of Alaska is at it again as the geese are gathering in larger numbers making preparations for their migration south.  They are hitting many areas around Anchorage looking to bulk up on food before hitting the skies before the approaching winter weather arrives in a couple of weeks. I have been playing with my birds hitting my feeder multiple tim...

I am not in the mood to write tonight so just a few goofy thoughts. What are some funny things to say with two lungs full of helium? I’ve got a helium balloon in my possession but I’m stuck for something funny to say with a high pitched voice. Any ideas? Falling Rocks Sign – This must be a gravity defying place. This sign is helpfully placed at the top of a cliff.  You will have to take my word for it that there is absolutely nowhere a rock could fall on you from above if you can read this sign.  Therefore the rocks would have to drop off the eroding cliff at your feet, circle back up around and fall on your head. Unfortunately climatic conditions were such that the phenomenon was not happening on the day I was there. This morning when I logged onto facebook someone had posted a Kurt Vonnegut quote that amounted to something like, "Our purpose on this earth is to fart around." I find that to be very, very comforting. And to end on a quote I saw recently a...

It was a really nice day yesterday with the sun shining and mild temperatures but as Saturday evening drew to a close the clouds rolled in and the chill slowly set in.  I slept well falling asleep at 2:30 am after rolling over and over for several hours.  Nothing like feeling it is cowboys on a train to wear you down to give in to that much needed rest. This morning I woke up to a steady drizzle and had to make Gus get his feet wet to make his nature call.  I had planned to go out to Big Lake today to start the winterization process of getting all of the thing in the cabin out before the freezing hits and putting away all of the toys for a long winter’s sleep.  The deck needs a little more work and the outhouse will wait now until winter to burn and replace next season.  Scott and I have debated whether to build a ‘real’ bathroom on to the cabin or to burn and make another outhouse.  Who knows how it will end up? The rain has continued all day with sev...