The pussy willows are blooming. In the middle of January in My Alaska, the pussy willows are fat and fuzzy. All along the roadway their buds glisten in sunlight bouncing off the remnants of rain. It looks like late March.
When I walk out the door early in the morning spring hits me in the face. Warm moist air smelling of the earth wakes up the gardening bug making me feel like I should be heading for the orchard, hoe in hand ready to get an early start on the weeds.
When I walk out the door early in the morning spring hits me in the face. Warm moist air smelling of the earth wakes up the gardening bug making me feel like I should be heading for the orchard, hoe in hand ready to get an early start on the weeds.
Our coveted snowy winter has sailed off in a polar vortex. Our snow and cold now flourish where not well appreciated. Our misplaced winter has given way to a pineapple express rushing up from the tropics to fill the void. Temperatures climb to the 50s. Rain. Snowmelt. Floods. Disaster.
And the mother of all avalanches. Check out this video of the road to Valdez.
The dogsled races are canceled. Snowmachining canceled. Trips to the cabin canceled. Winter canceled. Its no fun slogging through wet slushy snow.
We drove up to Hatcher Pass this weekend to the new ski chalet for some lovely x-country in the mountains. The road gate was locked, the sign said Closed due to snow melt. Aleyeska also is closed. This world class ski resort, boasting of the longest skiing season in the country, is rained out. Alaskans are flying to Japan for their mountain skiing.
The orchard is bare. The roots of the apple trees which only a few weeks ago nestled comfortably under a blanket of winter snow and dark
now sit unprotected beneath sunny bare ground.
Dan fields constant phone calls from worried fruit growers. What will happen to the fruit crop they want to know.
Throughout the valley farmers like these peony growers are taking measures to protect from the warmth.
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| Jan. 12, 2014 |
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| Jan 25, 2014 |
now sit unprotected beneath sunny bare ground.
Dan fields constant phone calls from worried fruit growers. What will happen to the fruit crop they want to know.
Throughout the valley farmers like these peony growers are taking measures to protect from the warmth.
And then there’s this. Ticks. Horrors.
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140125/dog-ticks-burrow-alaska-plan-stay
Ticks spell disaster for moose and caribou as well as dogs and people. The nice thing about our old normal winter was it killed off insects. Its the reason we can grow apples and not have to spray. If we now have ticks surviving our warming winters can can apple maggot or coddling moth be far behind?
California is turning into a desert, the snowcap is gone from Kilimanjaro and in Alaska, the pussy willows are blooming in January.