Meanwhile, Back in the Frozen North

After hearing about the holiday gathering of one of my friends, I described my Thanksgiving as something like driving through Currier and Ives to arrive at Norman Rockwell.  It was a special treat to cook a small part of the meal with my eldest sister, Dirce, who did most of the work and to be with part of my family that I don't get to see often enough.

 My family gets along so well that the only fowl language was in Alison's chicken coop.

Notice the ice crystals on the door to the outside.  Brrr.

Chickens are such silly and fun birds.

What the heck are these things doing in a chicken coop?  You may remember my post about little Ollie here. Ollie and her pal Igor are all grown up now.

Ducks like water, right?

So what do ducks do when their pond looks like this and they can't fly south?

 

The answer is that Alison and Peter take Ollie and Igor inside for their first swim in the bathtub.    This was a first for me but it was a great deal of fun watching this particular bird bath.  The bathroom floor had towels spread over it which were quite moist by the time the ducks were finished splashing around.  We then took the ducks upstairs to allow them to preen themselves on our toweled  laps.  Much more fun than watching football, don't you think?

 

Late breaking news - Alison is thinking of getting goats.  I love goats and think she should add a barn and get several.  What do you think?

A Guessing Game

 

You may remember from this post  that I was breaking my Thanksgiving tradition this year and spending the holiday elsewhere.  Of course I wanted to go somewhere that was sunny and dry.  Here are some clues as to where I went.  See if you can guess.

 

At the foot of the guest bed was this "Danger Corner."  My host reads Danger Garden daily.  Hmmm.



Two beautiful and goofy dogs shared their house with me.

O.K. Whose bed is this anyway?

Although I was away from home, I was with my family.  (I'm related to someone in this picture.)

While I was sitting at my hosts' computer, this caught my eye  from the window.  Yup, it's a moose.  Do you see the nose of the calf  way over on the left side of the picture?

Here's the cow and her calf.  Like deer, moose are herbivores.  In winter an adult moose consumes 22 - 30 pounds of branches, bark, shrubs, trees each day.  If  one wishes for his/her garden to not to be eaten to the ground each year, it's best to have a fence.

You probably guessed by now that while it was indeed sunny and dry, it certainly wasn't warm outside, comparitively speaking, that is. 

One last clue.

 

 

If you guessed that I spent the week of Thanksgiving in Wasilla, Alaska, you'd be correct.  I stayed with my eldest niece, her husband, and their dogs and also my eldest sister & her hubby/dogs for part of my visit.  They were going to come to my place this year but instead decided to fly me up there and pay (bribe) me to get on an aeroplane (something of which I'm not fond.)  I am now officially a whore.  We had a great family Thanksgiving for while it was cold outside it was certainly warm inside figuratively as well as literally. 

 

Stay tuned for more from north of the Great White North.



Is Your Family Cold?

You may remember that I have relatives in Alaska, where I gardened for many years before moving to Washington.   My niece and I often tease each other about where we live.  She'll call at midnight during the summer while working outside and say something like, "Oh I forgot, you can't see your garden because it's dark there."  Or perhaps she'll tease me about the rain here.  I counter with a discription of some amazing plant that ends with, "Oh, I forgot, you can't grow it there."

 

In Wasilla, where they moved from our home town of Skagway, for much of September they've had heavy rain, rivers at flood stage, people floating away sort of stuff.  Oh and I forgot to mention the  hurricane - force winds. It's been so bad that even I can't tease her.  Although it's tempting to say something like, "Well at least it's still light outside so you can see the devastation."  But I'm far too nice to do something like that!  On September 29th, I received these pictures of her front yard with only the following words: "I used to have a sense of humor.  No more." O.K. there were some other words but they might offend some readers!   That's not some sort of fungus, it's not cottonwood or fireweed seeds falling on everything.  Can you guess what it might be?

 

 

 

 If you guessed that it's snow, you'd be correct.   That's right,  雪 (xuě), der Schnee, la neige, snjór, snjóa, nevar, nevicar, sneeuw, ثلج yuki, lumi, ձյուն, sneeu, snö, neĝo, sníh, salju, the white menace, God's dandruff, снег, ಹಿಮವರ್ಷ,sneh, שלג

There are many things I miss about living in Alaska - Even the winter is beautiful but the growing season is so short and intense and the winters so long.   USDA zone 3.  Of course, there's little crime, you know your neighbors and take care of each other.  Did I mention snow?  In September?  Snow.   

Snow in September