Learnin' Lots!

Jaycie, has become our little computer. She can repeat many of the words we say, especially if we ask her to try and say new words. The most impressive has been octopus! She can say it almost perfectly. She has also been learning how to care for her little friends...

She wrapped her doggie in a blanket. I am not sure where she picked that up (probably Mommy).

She will be quite the helper when our second little one arrives in August/September.

Here she is feeding her bunny some of her waffle. She even will lift her drink up to my elk head that is hung above the dining room table and make a drinking sound.

I have lots of fun asking her to identify family members when we look at the family portrait. She remembers a lot and points to almost everyone when I ask her who's who.

We have all heard of yellow snow...

...but Saturday we saw light brown snow! That's right we had ash fall in Eagle River Saturday evening. It was minimal (only a trace according the volcanologists), but it looked like a fine dusting on the deck and snow. I was all set to take a picture of it, but it snowed two inches before I could get out there. We are safe and sound, we were indoors and have sealed up all the intakes into the house. Church was cancelled Sunday due to the ash, but now Monday morning, we are back to usual.

Believe it or not, the volcano has now erupted 20 times in 7 days the latest eruption happened just about on hour ago)! The last time it erupted in 1990, it erupted 20 times over a few weeks or months. Hopefully, it is getting all of its energy out upfront, so we don't have to be watching it for much longer.

Here are some pics of the latest...

When the volconologists say, "explosive eruption," they mean it. This is a 60,000 ft ash cloud (our biggest yet).

Another look at the huge cloud.

Check out this picture of lightning striking the volcano. The ash clouds somehow cause this electric activity. The lightning is orange due to the brown ash cloud it is seen through.

Here is a great picture of the brown snow I eluded too. This is not our yard (thank goodness). This is someone's yard on the Kenai Peninsula. They got hammered last week. Dont' eat the snow!

The Pintail is Finished

Well, I finally got up the gusto to pull out the taxidermy supplies and mount my pintail. This is the one that Dad and Nathan will remember from our memorable 2007 trip to our secret, undisclosed duck hunting location. When I look at this duck, I will always remember the long row through icy waters, the rafts of ducks against the west bank, the hen mallard that came down right next to us and smacked Dad's coat, our trusty guide (Nathan), all the drakes that came to close, the long, tough retrieves (wishing we had a dog) and most importantly, the fun & adventure the "Moon Boys" always seem to find as we head out to the marsh like crazed lunatics.

I am glad I took the time to mount this duck. Unfortunately, with my lack of experience and equipment, it took me from 8:00 am Saturday morning until 1:30 am Sunday morning to complete it (taking only a few 1/2 hour breaks). During the process, I kept having those "why am I doing this" moments, but I pushed through. I had to make it a "resting on a log" mount due to me having trouble wiring the leg into the body for a standing mount, but I like how it turned out. I still have to paint the leg and foot greyish-black, and allow it to dry a little longer. Dad may recognize the wood I used for the duck to lay on. It is the wood that we found in a dry creek bed while we searched for a cou's whitetial deer in Arizona. I cut it in half, so I can use the other half on a future mount.

Hope you enjoy the pics, I am getting myself mentally prepared to mount the drake widgeon that I got during this past year's "Moon Boy's" marsh venture.

Redoubt Update

Well, Redoubt just doesn't want to simmer down just yet. We had eruptions #9 and #10 late last night. Ash fall occurred in Ninilchik (a.k.a. Halibut heaven) and other Kenai areas. Anchorage still has not seen any ash, thank goodness. We did have some ash pass over us early yesterday morning from eruption #8, but the ash was so high in elevation it did not fall to the ground. We also are expecting rain and snow for the next few days which helps to reduce the ash proliferation if we were to see any in our area.

We just keep keep an eye on the reports and live life as normal. We all are doing well and are anxious for spring to come. All this week it has been above the freezing mark for highs and the snow is starting to melt. I am getting spring fever now.

Redoubt Update

Web cam of Redoubt last night after it's 8pm eruption.

Redoubt erupted once more Monday night at 8pm spewing ash along the same trajectory as before North and West toward Talkeetna and Denali National Park. I hope the caribou can hold their breath for awhile. Anyway, we are still in the clear, but always ready in case the winds shift. Shannon and Jaycie are good to go. We are stocked up on food and water and air masks and we have covered all our intakes and vents on the house. So, we should be fine if the ash comes our way. We will just stay inside and watch the fluffy brown snow fall. Many folks here just look at it as free fertilizer for the lawn. Apparently, it is rich with many minerals. If I get stranded at the hospital, no problem. As you can imagine, we have to be ready for anything as we do not close for any reason. So, we are safe and sound and just keeping our eye to the sky and listening for any wind changes. We have "windy" conditions forecasted for late tomorrow and into Thursday, so we will see how that effects things.

I saw that Redoubt has even made KSL.com's news. It said that some are wondering if more explosive eruptions are to come. They are trying to determine if the volcano is growing (i.e. forming a dome on the top of the mountain) which would indicate more pressure building and pushing up the volcano's surface until it "pops."

This is a photo of Redoubt in 1990 when it blew. Realize that the mountain is 10,200 feet in elevation. This give you a good idea about how high the ash plume can get. Pretty cool pic.

The bears are starting to wake up from hibernation now. One guy was chased up a tree by a black bear last weekend. I guess they are either belligerent or hungry (or both) upon waking up. Anyone up for a hike? :)

Phew!...For Now

Just got done with our conference call. The winds are still heading north and west past us, but after the next 12 hours it could shift east toward Anchorage. The weather folks are going to keep us posted. They say the next 2-3 days are tough to predict, but the weather computers are telling us that the winds might be shifting toward Anchorage.

Interesting report on the call, there is a little airfield and helipad at the foot of Mount Redoubt that has been evacuated due to flooding from the nearby creek. The heat from the volcano melted the snow so rapidly up on the mountain that the river jumped its banks and flooded the airfield and helipad. So, the crews headed out and are now in Kenai (accross the Cook Inlet).

I will keep you posted.

Volcano Eruption!

Mount Redoubt, approximately 200 miles from Anchorage, erupted late last night. There have been 5 explosions at the mountain's summit so far (right now it is 11 am on the 23rd). The 4th and 5th sent plumes of ash up to 50,000 feet! Luckily the winds carried the ash fall to the north and northwest (past Anchorage). I got a call last night at 1:15 am from the hospital that ash could be coming toward Anchorage and the hospital would be having to shut of the HVAC systems if ash reached the hospital. Therefore, no heat for our patients and staff. The ash is harmful if inhaled into the lungs, it is very abrasive. Due to the ash passing by Anchorage, it is business as usual right now (thank goodness). However, if the winds shift to the east, things may get exciting. The ash is still pouring out of the volcano. Towns north of Anchorage have reported ash up to a 1/4 inch deep.

Here is an observatory flight photo of the crater at the summit of Redoubt taken last Friday. You can see the steam billowing out of the surface.

Ash fall in Trapper Creek. It looks like snow, but it is not.

Ash on a car along the Parks Highway. You can't drive in the ash fall. It can destroy engine parts due to the corrosive nature of the ash particles.

Here is an eruption photo from the morning of the 23rd (today)

Map of where Redoubt is in accordance with Alaska's major towns. notice all the other volcanoes around the area.

Unfortunately, as I am writing this, the CNO just popped her head in my office an told me the wind is slowly shifting and the municipality of Anchorage will be calling us to go over the procedures if the ash hit us, so I gotta go. No worries though, the hospital has plenty of supplies if we have to stay the night.

Iditarod 2009

Last weekend we went into downtown Anchorage to see the start of the Iditarod sled dog race. Each year, dozens of teams brave the cold and treacherous Alaskan terrain to race from Anchorage to Nome. A journey of about 1150 miles. Some of the best racers get there in ony 10 days! And if you are thinking like I am thinking, no the dogs are not pushed to their limits and run into the ground just to win this race. There are vets along the way to check the dogs and each racer is required to take certain precautions to care for their dogs. So far, only one dog has died in this race out of a few hundred in the competition. This is such a big deal, that a Pathologist is performing a necropsy and it is getting a lot of media attention.

We got to a nice spot to watch the teams pass by. You can get so close, you can give the musher a high-five as they pass by. I didn't, however because I was so busy keeping a certain little girl happy. Jaycie just wanted to play in the snow. It was about 20 degrees, so I was making sure she was staying warm and didn't fall into the snow too much and get her face covered in powder (which happened once).

Here's that little girl slowly turning into an ice cube.

Shannon and Jaycie enjoying the sunshine.


Here is another team. Notice the booties the dogs wear. This is to protect their feet from jagged ice and hard-packed snow. 1150 miles of that stuff would really wear down their feet.

Daddy's Gloves

Just thought I'd share a fun picture with you all of Jaycie wearing my gloves around the house. The other day she put Shannon's shoes on tried to walk around. She is learning and growing so fast. She can now climb up on the couch by herself and we've even caught her trying to climb onto our end tables. We really have to keep an eye on her now as she is becoming more explorative.