Sept 09

September 09

The weather around here is constantly amazing me. It seems to turn precisely at the turn of the calendar! July was hot and dry. August was constant rain and cold. September is absolutely perfect! Cool mornings and warm sunny afternoons. It is truly great weather. After not biking to work much at all in August ( too wet) I have been able to ride again. Morning temps have been 35-40, so I now sport a sweater as well as a touque and gloves, but I'm holding the line on the shorts. I'm trying to pretend it's still warm enough for that. The evening ride home is great! 65-70 degrees and sunny. Perfect.

Kari's son Matt arrived last night and will be staying until about the 20th. He is up from Louisianna and back to where he was born. I think he preferes the heat now. I teased him about being a southern boy.

The light changes really fast here, but it's only certain days when you suddenly notice just how different it is. last night Dominik and I were coming back from hockey shortly after 8:00 pm and we both noticed that it was starting to get dark. By 9:00 it was quite dark outside. That has actually been a good thing as all of us are having a much easier time going to sleep. Imagine trying to get your kids to go to sleep when it's never dark! I got up to workout this am and it was still pitch black at 6:00. It wasn't long ago that I could train in full sun at 5:00! I have been backing up my workouts to follow the sun. Haha.

This is the time of the year when people up here start going to bed a little earlier and sleeping in a little more. It's the best way to "catch up" after a summer of staying up really late to enjoy the weather. We all know what's coming. The morning air is a little beyond crisp at this point, and soon it will be cold. our family is actually looking forward to the challenge of our first long AK winter and all the darkness. I think we're well equipped for it.

We have had another house problem and it's a doozy. Our chimney sweep informed us that our chimney is a disaster and a total fire hazard that will require total replacement. I can't wait to see what this costs. We have spent some serious $$$ just getting this place up to snuff, but what can you do. We're trying to keep a positive attitude about all the house stuff and just make it better. The more stuff that pops up, the longer we'll stay here. I have all but decided that we'll just constantly improve this house as we're able and make it better vs. looking for something a little bigger. We wanted a "cabin" style house and that's what we got. We just weren't expecting so many problems!

There aren't many birds left at Creamer's field. We live right along the flyway, so we constantly here them leaving. Pretty cool.

The birch trees are all yellow now, so I'll post a few pics to let you see them. They are beautiful.

I went moose hunting with me friend, Tyler, in Delta Junction on September 1st. What an experience. We saw tons of moose just wandering by, but nothing we could take. Getting a legal moose is serious business around here. Many of my patients have been out hunting this week as well. It is pretty cool to see people cycling with the seasons here. I enjoyed the hunting so much that I need a rifle. I'm told that every Alaskan needs a .22, a 12 guage, a heavy pistol for bear protection, and a 30-06. I need to pick up a 30-06 and the shotgun and I'll be all set. Dominik is really into the hunting and loves to be outside. We have tried to grouse hunt several times, but they are at their low cycle right now and we haven't even seen them. I think I'd rather go for a big animal so that when you get it, the freezer is full for the year. We become residents in January, so I should be moose and caribou hunting in February, and then Salmon fishing in the spring. Should be fun!