Oomingmat

Oomingmak was today's destination. Donna's working on a video project and Mary and I got to not only tag along, but got our brief moment of fame on camera, too.
Something tells me this former employee of the Musk Ox Producers Co-op may be a familiar face.
Susan's photo is the last on the second row, but the map below them all shows where the knitters that create the products are based.
Needless to say, I didn't think to start taking pix till things were winding down, but here Donna is zeroing in on a bag of the raw "fur" that's knitted into the products. The ladies at the store were wonderful!
Smoke-rings are perhaps the most popular product sold. Here a worker demonstrates how they're washed (three times I believe she said before the hit the shelves), then wrung out.....

While drying, products are put on a frame of sorts....
Patterns are exclusive to one area, whether Bethel, Nome, or some village with a name that I can't come close to spelling. She's collecting lots of pins to pin the smoke-ring into place in this shot.
Placing the pins, which are plentiful
Here's a piece already fully pinned to a board. Look how many pins they use to ensure proper shape and no stretching.
After all this, the product is tagged, neatly folded and bagged with an info sheet for customers to take home with them. If you visit Anchorage and haven't checked this place out, it's well worth a visit. Musk ox fur is incredibly soft and lightweight but, oh, so warm!

Thanksgiving....Almost No Snow

Still a little snow clinging to the front yard, but not much. Compare with the shots from yesterday's entry.
Standing in the garage looking down the driveway

Looking back up the driveway as I head out just before noon for Thanksgiving dinner.

The Meltdown Begins

It Snowed Last Night

Willow got nearly seven inches and Donna's dogs are having fun. This and the next photo are Donna's shots.
Spirit seems to have something important to say to Donna, like "Put down the camera and let us in...NOW!!!"

The rest are from my front yard earlier today.
Snow on the spruce
Snow on the metal butterfly marker I found to mark the edge of the driveway with. Let's just say, I kept snow blowing the front yard way too often last year.
Kinda an interesting lighting effect. Pretty much looking south from the end of the driveway, but still inside my gate.
Stepping outside the gate, looking north along the fence

Looking back at the house. The white spots are snow clumps being blown off the trees.
Betty's spruce tree, as it's known, behind a pile of snow from the last driveway plowing.
Wide angle look, again, to the south

Looking from the front of the garage door out to the gate.

Shorter Days and Snowflakes

Compare the level of the snow here to earlier photos. Loved the shadows and clouds.















Interesting ice pattern made on my windshield by the wipers while I was out today.
















Here's what it's doing right now, only harder. Since this shot, probably a couple inches have accumulated. There's no grass peeking through, that's for sure. Snow blower time tomorrow, I bet.