local color

I went to Murphy Dome and Ester Dome yesterday with two friends. Though it's still nice and green at Salcha (see yesterday's post) and here in town, the colors on the two hills were vibrant. It was a nice sunny day, and the views were spectacular. The fall colors are beautiful, but are also a reminder that it won't be long before summer is truly over and we'll be heading into winter.

Here are some of the photos.

local wanderings

Now that the rain has stopped (it rained every day for 2 weeks), we've been trying to get the most of what's left of summer. It's been in the low 40s at night here in town, but a very pleasant mid-60s during the days. It's been sunny and gorgeous - perfect weather.





Work has been keeping me busy, with new staff coming on (one two weeks ago and another on Sept. 2), ceremonies and media on top of the routine everyday stuff. I scheduled leave from Weds.-today, but have stopped in the office every single day. But it's a satisfying job, with something new happening every day. I haven't been bored since I started in this job 21 years ago. I do, however, look forward very much to my time off.



Since I'm not taking an extended trip anywhere this year, my friend and I have been taking day (or shorter) trips on the weekends, just enjoying the local scenery and the sun. We stop somewhere for breakfast, then maybe hit the local farmers' market. After that, we end up where ever the wheels take us.





Last weekend we headed down the highway to Salcha, to the Knotty Shop, a great little gift shop about 25 miles down the road. They carry a number of very nice items, much of it made locally. But more than that, they carry some great ice cream flavors. We rarely buy anything more than an ice cream cone apiece, though I will do some Christmas shopping there on occasion.





After eating our cones, we drove a little farther down to a rest area on the Salcha River. There were a lot of boat trailers and vehicles there, indicating that a lot of folks were out on the river. But we didn't see a single person. I took this photo there - it was peaceful and serene. I could have stayed all day.

We're planning to visit either Chena Hot Springs or Murphy Dome this weekend. Both are short drives of less than an hour with great scenery along the way. Much of my pleasure in living here is visiting these places at different times of the year. The colors are so different and sometimes it seems we're in a whole new place.

That's it for this week. I'm going to enjoy a long weekend and (maybe) do a little more closet cleaning. Happy Labor Day.

Buddy, fair,

I've been staying pretty busy lately (sometimes I've managed to stay busy doing nothing:)) and haven't been as active online as I like.

My zucchini plants didn't produce a lot of veggies, but they were delicious! I think they're about done for the season now. There were two little ones out there, but both were rotten on the ends.

I am pleased to report that Buddy is really coming around. I am absolutely certain that he was mistreated before someone dumped him at the animal shelter. When he first came home with me, he flinched every time I reached over to pet him. A couple of times, he low crawled away and cowered. He now trusts me and apparently has learned that I will not hurt him. With other people, though, he still has a long way to go. When we went to the Arctic Circle last month, I asked a friend to stop in and let the dog out. My friend came by the house the day before the trip (he had met Buddy a couple of times before that, as well) and spent several hours playing with and petting Buddy. However, when he came into the house without me there, Buddy backed off, barking and trembling. He couldn't be enticed with either treats or the leash. My friend stayed a few minutes, but left then after deciding he didn't want to traumatize the dog further. It makes me very angry to think that someone can mistreat a little dog so badly. I am so grateful that I found him. He is now playing with toys - loves tug of war. He's not afraid when they squeak any more - in fact, he will bite them continuously right on the little squeaky thing if I don't immediately grab an end to play with him. Popcorn in the microwave no longer scares him, and when I say "come here," he no longer cowers, but runs over, knowing there's treat or pat on the head in store. Last week there was a young moose and Buddy "scared" him off at an amble. Right now he's having a conversation with a raven in the spruce tree in our yard. The raven, however, will not be frightened by this little dog.

We've stayed busy at work, with just under 200 soldiers returning from Iraq (yeah!) last week. My office is growing. There were two of us until June, when we hired a third. By the end of September, there will be six of us, with two more to be hired after that. I won't know how to act with so many people!

I visited the Tanana Valley State Fair with two friends last Saturday. The theme was "Pirates of the Carrots and Beans." (I LOVE those themes - they're almost always really bad puns, but they always make me laugh.) It rained the entire week, which is typical, but we managed to visit at a time when there wasn't a single drop. It started raining after we got home. I was a little disappointed in the food I chose this year - overcooked halibut. I guess from now on instead of trying a new food booth, I'll stick with the tried and true. The funnel cake (minus the powdered sugar) was great as always, though.


Flowers at the Fair and triplets born at the fair!



I wanted to buy a pottery casserole dish to replace one that cracked after 10 years, but she doesn't make that style much any more. She did take my e-mail address and I'm thinking she will make one for me. This lady is at the fair every year and I love her pottery. I normally pick up something from her booth. I'm thinking 10 years is a pretty good record, since I used that casserole all the time.

The last few days have been absolutely beautiful - sunny and warm. It's such a great change from the two+ weeks of rain we had. Today my friend Mae and I decided to go for a drive. We had breakfast, then went to Ester and drove around there. Next we stopped at the Large Animal Research Farm at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, then out to Goldstream Valley. We stopped in Fox to visit my daughter and granddaughter, then on to Chatanika. The scenery was great, but I was a little distressed to see that the ground cover is beginning to change to the deep red of autumn already in some spots. I really like the way the shadows and sunlight played on the Chatanika Valley.





I'm planning to make the most of the next few weeks until fall sets in. Happy summer.