More Big Beach

 

Some more doggy pictures from the beach.  These are from yesterday.  The tide was not quite as low as the day before and it was a lot colder.  But still hard to beat.  And I don't think the dogs noticed that it was cold.

Afterwards I went downhill skiing on Pyramid and it was so cold and windy that the snow had not softened up.  It was all hard ice and bumpy.  The kind of snow that makes your feet hurt.

Patrick

Low tide and the beach is Wide

 

Yesterday before we went skiing we went to the beach with the dogs.  I actually checked the tide book and noticed it was a negative 1.7 low tide.  A good tide for a very wide beach!  So we planned our walk to coincide with low tide.  

It's kind of amazing how much of a difference the extra foot and a half of low tide makes in terms of the width of the beach.  The beach slope is so low angle that you gain a couple of hundred yards.  More room for the doggies to sprint and play. They would see other doggies in the distance and run over to play.  All the dogs were racing about and having a great time.

Stuey and I walked along the beach margin and listened to the waves.  It was a beautiful morning on the beach.

Patrick

57 degrees

 

Yesterday when we went skiing it was 57 degrees at the Kodiak Airport.  WOW!  Bright sunshine and practically no wind - a beautiful day and a great day to be on the mountain.  The kind of day you skin up in short sleeves and sunglasses are required.  I did forget to put on sunscreen and I regretted it later. 

I gather that it is supposed to snow/rain more on the mountain all next week.  So hopefully we get more snow.  The unfortunate aspect of the predicted snow/rain is that I am off on a remote archaeological survey and will have to live and work in the rain.  But we need the snow.  I just hope it does not get too windy!

Patrick

First Garlic Sprout

 

The garden has started to stir - first crocuses and nettles and now the garlic.  Just three days ago I checked the garlic beds and they were frozen solid.  Then yesterday when I checked it was no longer frozen, and there were already garlic sprouts popping up.  

Last fall I did not harvest my carrots but buried them in leaves for insulation and covered them with a tarp and boards.  So with the ground unfrozen it was time to check on them.  And they did great!  I harvested about 1/6 of the carrot bed because that's all the carrots I can fit in my fridge.  They are perfectly crunchy and very sweet.  I figure I'll leave the rest of them in the ground until it is time to replant more carrots in a month or so.  I am going to end up with about 5 gallons of carrots at the time of year when you don't normally have garden carrots.

And finally while walking the dogs I checked on the blueberries.  Most of the bushes are not yet blooming, but down by the boardwalk through the swamp I found a few that had fully open flowers.  This is actually just about normal for first blueberry blossoms.  But maybe a little later than normal for last 10 years or so.

Patrick

Back to the Mountains

 

Yesterday for the first time in almost a week I went downhill skiing on Pyramid.  The cross country skiing has been so good that for the last few weeks that's pretty much all I have been doing.  But yesterday it felt like it was time to switch back to downhill skiing.  As we drove past the golf course there was still plenty of snow, but it was 45 degrees and brilliant sunshine.  It would have been a slush fest.  

Pyramid was perfect.  Not much wind and fast snow.  I was amazed at how few people were up there skiing.  Earlier in the winter when the conditions were terrible the mountain was packed and you could barely find space to park your car at the pass.  Now it is the best skiing of the year and practically no one is up there skiing.

I think it is because most people associate skiing with winter and only go skiing when there is snow on the ground in town. I've already even had someone ask me, 'where is there enough snow to ski'.  It's like they don't look up at the mountains all around and notice that there is snow on them.  What's funny is that Pyramid is still gaining snow and generally does not reach maximum snow pack until late April or sometimes early May.  There is more snow now up there now than there has been all winter.  But by next week we'll stop gaining snow below 500 feet and then the week after that the gain/lose snow pack line will move up to 1000 feet.

Yesterday on the way up the mountain Nora and I ran into Uncle Dicky skiing down.  We convinced him to put his climbing skins back on and go back up to the top with us.  Then we all skied down together. 

Patrick

More Golf Course

 

Some more pictures from the golf course.  The skate skiing conditions have been so good that Stuey, the dogs and I keep on going back for more. These are pictures from yesterday. The sunshine was warm and brilliant, and I actually skied without a jacket and my sleeves rolled up.  The conditions were perfect and we skied maybe 20-25 kilometers around our loop.

I hope I am wrong, but I fear this is it.  Yesterday there were a few places with negligible snow and by the time we quit the track was getting a little too soft.  And last night it barely froze so our loop will not get re set with a hard frost.  Still by posting it is the last ski of the season at the golf course I am hoping to jinx myself and prolong the season.

Patrick