It Is Spring...Again!!!

Spring has finally sprung out here in the "bush".  Fortunately for Beth and I, it is our third spring this year.  You see, before we left North Carolina for Alaska, spring had arrived.  We had the grass turning green, the trees bursting forth with leaves and all sorts of things popping up out of the ground. 



Cherry tree blossoms in North Carolina

Oh yeah, and the bugs.  And in North Carolina those bugs get real excited about spring! 

When we were in Anchorage during the middle of this month, we got to see spring arrive again.  On the day that we drove up to Denali the trees were just beginning to show some signs of life.

Since our little day trip up Parks Highway toward Fairbanks went longer than we had planned (ask me about our "day" trip to Canada from Menahga, MN sometime), we arrived back in Anchorage at about 8 pm to trees that had popped out all their leaves!




Birch with leaves outside Wasilla

Now, finally, the same thing is happening out here in Aniak.  The pine trees stay mostly green all the time but the birch trees are in full array with all their beautiful green leaves just coming out.  I am sure it will look even more beautiful later in the summer when everything gets real green but for now we are simply enjoying our third spring of this year.  Thank you very much.



Sunset, taken at midnight.

Along with spring comes the realization of one of the Alaska nicknames for the state being "Land of the Midnight Sun".  We really do not have much darkness here right now.  Sunrise is around 5 am and sunset is around midnight.  But the sun roughly rises in the extreme northeast, makes a sweeping arc to the south and then sets in the extreme northwest.  It might get a little dark between two and three in the morning but I am not up too often in order to verify that myth.  In Anchorage they actually have a Midnight Sun Softball League where games do not start until 10:30 at night.  No ball park lighting necessary.



Another sign of spring here in Aniak is our grocery delivery system.  In the winter, many customers phone the store with their grocery order.  We box it all up and then drive it over to the airport where bush pilots then fly these groceries out to the these "more remote" villages.  NOW, however, since the river is open, people simply hop in their boats and come up or down river to Aniak to shop at our store.  Some customers who make frequent trips to the bustling metropolis of Aniak leave a four-wheeler near the river for when they come to town.  But for others, they must walk to the store (the store is only the equivalent of one city block from the river).  So, when they are finished shopping we drive them back to their boat on the river.  Incredible.  But that is life out here...in THIS spring.

Beth ready for spring!

Mark