BearZilla

BearZilla is guarding those trees that block the windows and could grow through the roof.

Break Up

This is the path that cuts through the park strip. I saw a kid come splashing through this on his bike today.

I've got to remember to get my Nenana Ice Classic tickets, make my picks and turn them in by April 5th & guess the exact minute the ice goes out!
http://www.nenanaakiceclassic.com/

Its not only the oldest lottery in the state its the only lottery in Alaska.

The closest I've got to winning is the year I was in Fairbanks playing bingo when a gal a couple tables over was all giddy & happy. I thought she was going to bingo soon and when she didn't she turned around and said "I just hit the Nenana Ice Classic!" And she was from Nenana of all places. I think that year the pot was split between 13 winners. Last year it was 46. The pot $285,000.00.

From their website: The Nenana Ice Classic does not change to Daylight Savings Time. All times are Alaska Standard Time.

Isn't that interesting? I've never thought about that when making my guesses before.

None of us should adhere to DST. I think the Nenana Ice Classic is right on for not changing the clocks. They are setting a good example we should all follow.

Pay out is June 1st.

Eagle Eyes

There are 3 eagles in this picture. Can you spot them?

Diane Zeigler Concert Coming Up

Thursday Night at 7pm Alaska time. Go to Whole Wheat Radio and tune in if you can. I'll be at work but I can always download the Audio Magazines (Podcasts) and listen to it later.

This is the internet at its best I think. Getting to listen to live music performances from the Wheat Hole in Talkeetna, Alaska.

One night I was tuned in and got a surprise. A roadie techy was the soundman for an artist that sent their CD to WWR. The live performance was in Denver, Co. The soundman called Jimbob (he's the wizard in the picture behind WWR) and asked him if he wanted to play the concert on the radio. Jimbob not only said yes he offered to introduce the artist.

The audience in Denver saw a spotlight on an empty stage with a microphone. They heard Jimbob, who was in Talkeetna, introduce the band. Anybody, anywhere tuned in, got to hear the surprise concert.

Read all about Diane Zeigler at the Upcoming LIVE House Concerts . She is one of my faves! This is going to be yet another great concert so don't miss out.

Paved Roads

Another beautiful warm sunny day. Back to work. Tough, after 4 days off.

The guy across the street came over Friday and says "I think my well froze up."

Mr. FishTaxi said "no way! Its been too warm."

We looked at each other and knew the water table went down. Sure enough we lost water today. It happens every spring.

No biggie. Wait a couple of weeks and it will come back up. In the meantime its haul water and shower and do laundry at friends.

The picture is of a defunct gas station. If I was a Tesoro shareholder I would be embarrassed. It sits right on the main corner of town. I think it would make a great 50s drive-in hamburger joint. Anything but a defunct gas station at the terminus of TAPS.

Snowmachine Town

We just had a beautiful weekend. The picture in yesterdays post is of my little buddy digging out the firewood we got last fall just for spring hot dog roasting season.

Towns roads are clear of snow and ice. In fact, Saturday I took my truck out of 4wd for the first time this winter.

Our road is still snowmachinable. These kids have grown up on snowmachines. They are allowed to run on the streets with helmets before 10pm. Not a curfew but a noise ordinance. Snowmachines are loud. I can hear the boys coming from a mile away. I'll say "here come the bumble bees!"

Snow Tanning

EXXON VALDEZ OIL SPILL

On Good Friday, March 24, 1989, 25 years after the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground at Bligh Reef. The vessel spilled 10.8 million gallons of unrefined Alaskan crude oil into Prince William Sound, causing the largest oil spill in North American history.
No crude oil actually made it into the Port of Valdez, as Bligh Reef is about 25 miles south of the Port. However, winds and tides moved the floating crude oil further south into the Sound and onto beaches. Oil covered over 1200 miles of rocky beaches — the task of cleaning it up was a big one.
The EPA, ADEC, and the US Coast Guard gave Exxon a September 15 cleanup deadline. Since Valdez was the most accessible city close to the spill, Exxon mobilized its response headquarters in the community and began a massive cleanup effort. During the summer of 1989 over 10,000 workers were employed by Exxon and its management company, VECO-Norcon. Each worker had to be supplied with equipment, transportation, food, lodging, logistical support, and supervision.
Valdez, a city of 3,500 people, grew to three times its normal size almost overnight. Bed & Breakfasts sprang up all over the city. Food and clothing stores rolled into town and prices soared. Temporary buildings were erected for Exxon's office space, and rent everywhere went sky-high. Money flowed through town in unprecedented amounts. On average it cost Exxon $1,000 each day to support one worker on a beach cleanup crew. That figure multiplied by 10,000 makes for an astounding sum of money.
Jobs were plentiful. Exxon employed many people in the Prince William Sound area to transport supplies to the villages in the Sound, and to support the cleanup crews throughout the oiled areas. Press crews covered every facet of the spill. Environmental groups worked to save the oiled seals, otters, and birds. Alyeska Pipeline Service company, the nonprofit company that manages the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, added a new division to its ranks: SERVS (Service Escort Response Vessels), designed to help prevent another spill and to supply immediate response if one should occur.

The actual cleanup process was time consuming and ineffective in many ways. Workers would wipe down a beach, the tide would change, and oil-laden water would cover the rocks with a new coating of oil. Cleanup crews sprayed rock faces with steam hoses and manually wiped smaller rocks clean. By midsummer, new techniques and technologies were employed. Microorganisms that "ate" crude oil were sprayed onto some of the beaches, and new materials were used in wiping operations. The work was slow, but every little bit helped.
In 1990, Exxon returned to Prince William Sound with a much smaller work force for continued cleaning. Long-term damages are still being assessed on fish, marine and land wildlife, and recreation.
Today, years after the Oil Spill cleanup, efforts on some heavily oiled beaches have been reinstated, and with the help of Mother Nature, the Sound will recover more each year. Prince William Sound today flourishes with marine life, waterfowl, bottom fish, and salmon runs. Visit Valdez and see gorgeous Prince William Sound for yourself!

Smokin' Dogs

Happy 29niner

TO my one and only daughter. A spring baby whose birthday was today.

I knew when I was pregnant with her I was going to have a girl child. And I was going to get divorced from her father. This was before seeing the future.

When she was under a year old I left her dad. Rented a Uhaul truck and left.

We had a great birthday tonight!

Spring Fever

My cats Halfrack & Little Sistor

Testing

Snowing

All the snowmachiners are happy that its snowing just in time for spring break! yippie skippie!

About a foot so far...

Great Aunt

Rachel, my nephew Charlie's wife, gave birth to a strapping baby boy early this morning. Jayce Gavin and his mother are doing fine and resting. The rest of the family are celebrating!

My younger sister is a grandmother now. My mother a great-grandmother and I'm a Great Aunt!

Cheers to my whole family! I am as happy as the day my daughter was born. She made my siblings aunts & uncles for the first time.

Congratulations to Charlie & Rachel!

~Picture taken by Grandma DoDo

Goalies Rock Hockey!

Mean Green Machine

Simple Green

What a week! The mean ol' wind died down some but its still clear and cold. Our weekly paper said that we are 11 ft shy of our average snowfall so far this winter. Could this mean we have 11 more feet of snow coming yet? Stay tuned, I'll let you know!

Spring Break for PDUB (I like that acronym for Prince William Sound Community College) is next week. We are a week behind UAA & UAF so we could coincide with City schools.

For me this means Spring Cleaning the college.

With Simple Green.

Wind Gusts up to 90mph

knocked the Rosie Ann clear over on drydock at Valdez harbor Monday night. Needless to say theres a small craft advisory in the bay!

THe winds are supposed to die down by Wed afternoon. In the meantime dumpsters are rolling down the streets.

I didn't have my second load of trash tied down tonight and the wind blew a bag away like tumbleweed.

Stopped at Heli-camp on my way home to say hi and the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't open the door of my truck. Took it as a sign to head for home.

I'm home safe & sound listening to Whole Wheat Radio and working on my Photoshop project due Friday.

Hope everybody is safe and warm!

Little Pink Houses

Baby, you can't drive my car

Yes, I'm gonna be a star.

One Down, One to Go

University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks bested the Michigan State Spartans Friday night 2-1!

Wylie Rogers, sophomore goalie from Fairbanks, Alaska was voted the number 1 star player by the media with 36 saves!

This win is big!

What a good, tight game. Penalties aside Nanooks stood their ground. Kept the puck in the favor of the blue & gold. That is all
that counts in the books.

Lets make history Nanooks!

Fish Eye Wine

From California. Anyone ever tried it? Found this picture on somebody's food blog. Thats all I felt like doing tonight was look at food blogs.

Yesterday I put in a leave request for Friday off. The reason? Wylie's hockey game. Today it was turned down! Not a good enough reason for somebody else to stay and lock the place up. Boss said I could go home and listen to the game (no TV coverage) and come back when its over. Huh? It starts at 3:05 Alaska time. If they don't go into overtime the game will be over around 6pm. I said forget it. Disregard my leave request. I'll work and go home for lunch at 5 like I usually do and hear the last period. Crud.

I can get a couple of desk jockeys to listen to the game at work and keep me updated here! I know if I came home for the whole game I'd want to have a beer. Co-worker said I should have kept my mouth shut and just called in sick on Friday. Double crud. With cherries on top.

Mod Home

Instead of building a house we are looking at getting this already made one. Its in Anchorage and it will cost $5ooo to get it down here on the highway. It will be insured, for sure. The bank will loan us the money to buy it as long as we put it on a permanent foundation.

I'm so excited about a new mod home. Deciding now how to place it. I'd like the front door facing the back and use the utility door, with an arctic entryway, as the front entrance. I don't want to block any window views. A deck in the back would be perfect for late summer nights.

I'm shooting for the 4th of July to make this happen.

Fish Food for Thought

Sitting in Photoshop class tonight I was pondering why I don't have a desk job. Be fun to work on Photoshop projects all day and get paid for it. Then I got to thinking of the future. I could freelance and work for myself. Work from home and have clients all over the globe.

In 1980, when I moved to Alaska, an old timer told me this:

"All you need to make money in Alaska is a post office box and an ad in Alaska Magazine."

That comment has intrigued me since.

Ptarmigan Enchiladas To Go

Photoshop Assignment 7

Whats in the pot, Granny?

Ptarmigan, the Alaska State Bird.

Thats right. We eat our state bird. In the form of Ptarmigan Enchiladas. Every March Mr. Fishtaxi goes birdhunting in the back yard. Valdez is a mecca this time of year for Ptarmigan. In the winter they turn white to blend in with the snow. When he gets over a dozen ptarmigan (the "p" is silent) I pressure cook them 75 minutes at 15# of pressure. The meat just falls off the bone and is so tender. Perfect for enchiladas. Ptarmigan flesh is red and when cooked tastes like the dark meat of chicken.

I use El Paso's Green Enchilada Sauce and Campbells Cream of Chicken. At the store I saw Campbells have a New Creamy Chicken Verde so I'm trying that this time. Says its great for enchiladas. I add green chilis and chopped black olives to the sauce anyway. And lots of cheese when building. I let everybody add their own hot stuff later since some people can't take hot.

Got busy while listening to the UAF Nanook Hockey game at Notre Dame on the radio and swept my kitchen and bathroom floor. Since it was sunny I hung the throw rugs outside for some fresh air. What a game! The Nanooks shut out Notre Dame in a best of 3 series in 2 games! Wylie had 39 saves tonight! The boys, er I mean men, wearing the blue & gold now head to somewhere in Michigan, possibly Michigan State for the next round of the CCHA playoffs next week-end. We all have a much appreciated day off Sunday from nerve wracking hockey. Thank-you Nanooks!

Getting ready to throw ptarmigan in the pot!

Futuristic

This is an ad from the 50's.

I like the kid peering out of the bubble at the kid making a snowman. Who do you think is having more fun?

Purple Mountains Magesty

This was my view tonight driving into town at about 10 to 6. Took it right through the windshield while driving my lifted Chevy truck with mud flaps that say "BACK OFF". Not really. If they did I'd take a picture of them. They are simple flaps that don't say a word. Maybe I will take a picture of them.

Notice all the traffic and stoplights. I just got a great idea! This will be a great Photoshop project. I could put in a McDonalds, a Taco Bell and a bowling alley in the distance.

Lets see what I can come up with.

March is in like a LION

The wind is howling! I wore 3 coats over a sweater and a long sleeve shirt to take the trash out tonight. Coming back with an empty sled the sled was ahead of me flapping in the wind. Then I was attacked by a blue tarp that got loose from somewhere and got me from behind! I beat it off and it went flying over the roof never to be seen by the likes of me again.

I am happy March came in like a lion as now it will go out like a lamb.

Planning ahead I think I'll put in for March 31st off as a snow tanning day.