Icewind's Ramblings

“I can see myself it's a golden sunrise Young boy open up your eyes It's supposed to be your day. Now off you go horizon bound And you won't stop until you've found Your own kind of way. And the wind will whip your tousled hair, The sun, the rain, the sweet despair, Great tales of love and strife. And somewhere on your path to glory You will write your story of a life.” (Harry Chapin) It seems like this happens more and more these days as I received the call yesterday afternoon that one of my good friends and co-workers had died of a heart attack.   We worked on multiple projects together over the last three years and traveled around Alaska with the shared goal of building water treatment plants and clinics making life better for the communities and villages we worked in. I know this last winter had taken a toll on him with his family but things were working it self out getting back to an even keel.   We talked Friday and now in another instant he...

I woke up this morning and had coffee then prepared for the Daytona 500 which was being run in Florida today.   It is still dark here in Alaska and will be for several hours but in Daytona it is sunny and warm with fans ready for a great race. It is nice seeing the fans out in force without having heavy gear on as we do here in the far north.   The activities were completed and the race started with a clean run the first few laps.   On lap 3 the tribute to Dale Earnhardt with everyone silent and raised hands with three fingers held high was a testament to his contribution to the sport.   The broadcasters were silent as well and the impact of hearing the power of the cars and seeing the images of everyone during that lap was pretty special. Shortly the first wreck happened and during the race it was followed by many more making for a great day of racing.   I have watched the qualifying and some of the 150 races and kept seeing this young man named Trevor Bay...

Sometimes we get busy and caught up in work or possibly play . . . here in Alaska with the abundance of both things always going on.  For many of us it usually does not take long for something to trigger that memory of what brought you here in the first place.  Springtime is one of those times as the renewal of life comes to the neighborhoods all around Anchorage .  We have over 1,100 moose roaming within the City of Anchorage during the winter months with the females calving in springtime.  One such occurred here on May 25 th in a lower hillside neighborhood backyard belonging to Mark McDermott.  These photos cover only about 1.5 hours, from 10:30 AM to just after 12:00 noon.  His pictures show the renewal of hope and the first hours of “Life in the City”.  Will this moose remain in the city or head for the hills? Enjoy these incredible pictures of new life. Mom (Cow) lying down just below the deck at the start of her labor. Note: the fron...

Nope, not again this week. Anchorage has been basking in ice fog for the last week which means we have not seen the sun during the brief daylight hours we have this time of year. Traveling around town has been interesting looking at the many objects covered in the hoar frost   makes everything look like the white ice world Hoth in the Star Wars movie, Empire Strikes Back.    Trees, power lines, or anything outside in the elements is covered with about ¾ inch rime ice.  It looks cold and with the temperatures around ten degrees it feels it at times too.  At least the wind has not been blowing making it even colder but at the same time it would have blown out all of this fog with even a gentle breeze. The contrasts between things is interesting as the vehicle colors against the white is nice but the real beauty is seeing the dark colors of moose and different colors of birds against the ice or frost.  As they come and go around the bird feed...

Here is just a little fun quick post that happened yesterday. Winter has finally set in with frigid temperatures arriving early this year with below zero readings coming before the normal January or February time frame of normal years. It does not seem there is Global Warming happening here in Alaska at least not right now as the whole state seems to be getting blasted by Father Winter.  It was minus 20 yesterday at a friend’s house and we were around minus 14 here this morning.  With the snow falling now it drives the moose down from the mountains and into the neighborhoods for the winter where traveling and walking is easier on the plowed roads and walkways.  This big bull moose was in my neighborhood yesterday morning and walked into an apartment complex a couple blocks away.  When found it seemed like he might be trying to rent a warm spot for the winter as he was standing in front of the resident manager’s apartment on the small entry deck. I th...

Happy Halloween everyone! As most of you know I have been working on a couple of projects here at the house leaving me little time to write so I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the first bathroom makeover.  I just finished for another night at 10:30 pm so I sat down with a glass of Beringer’s, a couple of Advil and that good tired feeling of accomplishment after progress today working on the master bathroom. But today I wanted to share some of the pictures from the previous work over two weekends.  This bathroom is the main full bath for the upstairs part of the house and is the one everyone uses all the time.  There was nothing about this room that really stood out but was painted when we moved in several years ago and my wife did a great job of decorating it, but it always seemed to lack something.  Here is a before picture which almost shows the bland flooring of linoleum which I hated.  The walls are a very pale yellow color and the light bar...

Winter is almost here even though we have had an “Indian Summer” lately, not the same as other places where they get to 70 degrees . . . ours in Alaska is more like 50’s which is not bad at all.  Hunting season is quickly coming to an end for most game and people have filled their freezers with moose, bear, caribou, and other game.  Fishing has for the most part also finished so my gear is stowed away now until next summer or the occasional ice fishing trip.  Fly rods neatly placed in their holders . . . creels and waders hung for the winter. I went on two hunts this year and my moose hunt left much to be desired.  There was all of the preparation . . . going out for the hunt . . . the tracking which is my favorite part of the hunt . . . only to find no legal moose lurching about anywhere.  I came back somewhat dejected not to kill food for my family.  It’s a man thing I guess, wanting to provide.  It dates back centuries and is a way of life in...

As I continue my quest looking for the beauty of this land around the world I turn my sights once again to my home turf of Alaska .  I have been quite busy as summer turns to fall and the daylight slowly week by week drifts away.  Luckily there have been those that have taken the time to document these changing seasons and posted in the Anchorage Daily News pictures of our changing times.  Some are staff photographers like Bob Hallinen, Bill Roth, and Erik Hill while others are reader submitted like Anne Raup and Fran Durden. Enjoy this photo journal of Anchorage Alaska and surrounding areas during this ever changing time of the year.  Most of these photos were taken within a few days of September 22, 2009. Downtown Anchorage looking across a portion of Cook Inlet from the overlook at Earthquake Park – Erik Hill Geese taking flight by Russian Jack Park – Bill Roth Artic Valley – Anne Raup Bull Moose on Powerline Trail – Bob Hallinen Du...

I have talked lately about the seasonal changes that are happening now and there are more signs that it will not be long before its here.  With the limited amount of ‘summer’ and our short construction season the different road work projects are now coming to an end.  The orange cones have been everywhere and the barrels blocking lanes are slowly being removed as one by one the work nears completion for this year. The ‘Moose Crossing’ signs have been changed once again and placed randomly along the highways for the tourists seeking photo opportunities.    Moose cannot read so they tend to cross the roads and highways wherever and whenever they feel like it.  The sightings of tourist with cameras by the moose tend to make them hide creating the illusion and myth that moose are everywhere.  The sourdoughs here keep the rumor alive that we have moose on every corner but it sometimes looks like the scene from the movie ‘Funny Farm’ where Chevy Chase is...

Why didn’t God get tenure? He only had one publication. It is one of those Sundays that I really did not want to sit down and write too much as I was busy enjoying a beautiful day. O ^__^ O (oo)_______ (__) )\/\ ||----w | || || Yes, I am easily amused. Ice

I heard someone say, “Opening a new jar of peanut butter is one of the simple pleasures in life.” I tend to believe that and think about that sudden rush to the senses of the fresh roasted peanuts when I open a jar. It smells like Heaven should be and one of the many wonderful smells that overwhelm you as you arrive. Many times I see people who travel to Alaska to take in the beauty and uniqueness to this wonderful place. I’ve talked with many who look in every nook and cranny to find wildlife or that special vista they have seen in books only to come here and either the weather obscures the view or the wildlife is off on their own vacation. It has sometimes been suggested that it is a hoax that the Bureau of Tourism puts on and that there are no real things for the tourists to look at or find other than the signs placed strategically to insure they keep those cameras poised at the ready for that great snapshot. For some of us the search actually come...

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 ...