Happy New Year!

Happy 2010, Everyone!

A Post-Christmas Sunset

The crosses mark the site of a future church but couldn't resist combining them with the beautiful sunset behind them for a shot this afternoon.

Random sights on Christmas Eve/Day

The train setting might give it away that this was taken in Palmer.

Outside Dorothy Page Museum

Totally outta focus, I know, but sorta liked it for some reason.

Old Wasilla, the schoolhouse

Old Wasilla, the old log cabin once designated for the Governor when there was serious talk of moving the capital to the Valley.

Outside the fence around Old Wasilla.

I sooooo want one of these....

This guy stands in Idita-Park at the bottom of my hill.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and a Happy New Year!!!

The Day of Christmas Eve in Wasilla

Merry Christmas, from Wasilla

Talkeetna Mts.

Someone skiing on Wasilla Lake with kite power

Snow Piles, Part 2

Borden's truck covered with the white stuff. Please note, it's "plugged in" to help insure it won't be frozen to death when they turn the key next time to start it. Most folks who park a vehicle outside here do the same.

This is probably about as close to a solstice sunset as I'm going to get, albeit I was a tad early. Pretty gray day here, alas, tho' the sunrise was trying to be impressive.

Walkin', er, drivin' in a winter wonderland....

Happy Solstice, everyone. We get +9 seconds more of light tomorrow! Yeah!

Weird snow. This is the snow outside the gate. As you can see, for reasons known only to it, the under layer of snow, which is the older snow, seems to be melting (receding?) while the newer, thicker layer is clinging together and even overhanging the old layer.

My snow-pile from the driveway clearing. I seem to even have my very own crevice in the making. Mt. Holiday? Holiday Mt. in the making?

Betty, all it took was a morning of warmer temps (30 degrees on my deck!!!) and wind to pretty much clear away your spruce tree's coat of snow.

I talked about the snow ribbons (or snow snakes if you prefer) last post. This is about all that is left of them after that same wind that cleared away the snow on Betty's Spruce tree. The blue cord is the outdoor extension that winds along the top of the fence and around to the barn and woodshed.

Side view of the snow ribbon

From outside the fence, looking back alongside the house. I'd just cleared the sidewalk with the snow blower. If you look at the messed up looking snow just below the center of the photo, that's where I stopped to step around the snow blower to move a big clump by hand. For the record, the snow was over the tops of my NEOS. Gotta love this winter wonderland landscape, but there is lots of work that comes with the scenic value, I'm afraid.

Snow piles

Baby, it's cold outside..... Actually, as icicles go, these aren't that impressive but I've been doing a better job of knocking them off as the snow starts to slide, so there hasn't been much build-up for them to go into super icicle mode.

From the deck, looking down across two neighbors' yards to the road below. Yeah, honest, there's a road down there. I'm not sure I really understood the meaning of a "White Christmas" until I moved here and began to move in the very white environment we have outdoors for much of the winter, but it really is magical as things turn white and just sort of blend one into the other. Now, if only we could get some sunshine to add the sparkle that adds that extra magic!

Out the side door to the garage looking toward Betty's spruce tree, center, and the SW in general. The pile of snow in front of Betty's tree is just part of the snow from the last driveway clearing.

It's always interesting to see the snow on the chain link fence. This snow originally would have been standing upright (I'm betting that it was probably standing 9" or so before it began to lean) and proud atop the top bar but after awhile, it begins to sag, lean, and eventually falls away. This is one of the in-between steps, with it looking like I've got snow ribbons on the fence. Mother Nature decorates nicely for the holidays, doesn't she?

Even way up in the tops of the trees, it's snow, snow, snow.

A bit closer look. The snow will probably take on the Snow Ribbon look here, too, at some point.

Not only do I have snow ribbons atop the fence in the backyard, but Mother Nature decorated the chain link section with snow, too. For something that was a light and fluffy as it came down, that snow sure clings together well!