Dust, Grit, Wind, Mud, 8 Paws . . . Spring Time

Dust, Grit, Wind, Mud, 8 Paws . . . Spring Time, this pretty much sums up this time of the year up here for me.  Other than, I should add putting storage wax on about 70 pairs of skis.  The transition from winter to something that resembles spring is rather a bumpy road.  We have snow, rain, winds gusting up to 30 mph, pleasant days, sunshine, and gritty dog paws!  There is green plant life poking its head up across the tundra, and soon with our extended hours of daylight, the tundra will leave its brown coat behind and transform to a magnitude of greens.

Migratory birds are heading north. We get huge flocks passing over but not like the Yukon Delta area.  This is subsistence bird hunting season as well.  This always seems strange to me, but in a traditional sense, I get it.  Cranes, swans, ducks, geese are passing over as they head north to their nesting grounds.

We put storage wax on all our skis which is over 120 pairs! Now they are ready for their long summer's nap!

The beach is opening up, and by this, I mean all the sea ice from the February storms is melting.  Even this morning the difference is amazing from yesterday.  Now we just have spots of snow left on the beach.

Typical wet dog walk. It started out nice and ended up with a south wind blowing in with the rain.  We were all soaking wet! 

The Wooly Lousewort are the first flowers to arrive on the brown tundra.  These bright pink flowers are a treat to see every year.

I love the expanse of the tundra.  It puts life into perspective.

The best kind of Spring!

Most people think of spring as flowers popping up, soil starting to smell alive, buds on trees, bird songs, and their world is turning green.  I think of spring as warmer days, a huge blue sky, a night sky full of stars, shorter hours of darkness, longer days of sunshine, sea ice starting to break up, and the best of all SPRING SKIING!  What skiers wait for all year are glorious days full of great skiing, all under a HUGE blue sky! 

Today was one of those days!  We went out for a nice ski. I have been gone the last two weekends at ski races.  I got home last night and started the wash, ate dinner, hit the shower, and then a sound sleep in my bed.  Today we were up and out skiing on the touring gear after copious amounts of coffee.  Christian didn't want to groom which was fine with me.  We all had a great ski together!

Christian and Tally getting ready for the tea break on top of Picnic Hill.

Sadie really hoping there is another treat in that pack for her!

A nice flavorful tropical black tea and my own made-up dark chocolate decadence.

In the far distance is sea ice.  It is broken up and moving about these days.  The skiing is stellar.  We skied today in almost no wind and under a huge blue sky--life is perfect! 

The girls and I enjoying a very nice break from my ski coaching & racing schedule.  

Spring Sea Ice

Spring sea ice is a pretty interesting thing!  As I write, the sea ice is 4.5 miles out from the beach.  The sea ice is 3.5 feet thick.  I know this as one of our students was out the other night with his dad setting a crab pot.  They drove out onto the ice on their snowmachine with a sled.  The sled is a large plastic workhorse used for hauling firewood, caribou, crab pots, and gear.  Arctic used a chain saw to cut a huge hole to set their crab pot and thus the report on the sea ice.

Last week, one of our ski families dropped off two brown king crabs for us as a thank you!  This is a normal thing out here to give thanks with food from the land. Always answer the door here!  More time than not, there is food: crab, salmon, trout, moose, or caribou waiting for us!

Brown king crab on the smaller size but so yummy no matter what!

After school today I dashed down to the beach for the dogs to do the dog thing.  Here are just a few photos of the beach and sea ice.  The water on top of the ice is just that overflow being pushed up along the edge and through the cracks.  I hope these photos give a feel for the magnitude of the sea ice across North Sound.

Looking north towards Blueberry Hills

Sea ice as far as you can see

Looking north

Snow and Ice on the beach

Looking northwest

Looking southeast across the mouth of the river.

The beach and sea ice about 50 yards from our front door.