Happy Fall!

We'd had a few days of frost as early as two weeks ago, but this morning was the first I saw it on actual plants with my own eyes.

The sky was also that beautiful crystal blue that it is during this time of slanted light.

 

I took this photo just last week! This week, most of those golden leaves are on the ground. 

 

There is still enough direct sunshine to keep Cricket wanting to lounge in the front yard!

 

Thistle still prefers the couch.

 

Last weekend, we went to Skiland to pick cranberries, but it was so cold that we gave up after one quart and turned it into a dayhike. It was very beautiful, however.

We were hoping this fog would burn off.

But instead, more of it rolled in.

But you could see the beautiful blue sky, although we were damp and chilly in the shade.

 There were still a few blueberries, and they were rich with sugar:

 

My faithful pals:

Even Thistle eventually settled down!

The tundra was alive with fall colors:

Golden trees!

The hike was along the ski trail.

The ski lift:

A pretty little creek:

The "easiest way down" green dot trails are the best for out of season walking, too!

 

I was surprised this week to receive in the mail a diploma from Penn State. I took three online classes to earn a graduate certificate in wind energy, but hadn't expected to receive an actual diploma! So fancy! (Cricket and Thistle are in the photo because why not another excuse for a dog photo?)

 

Look! Cricket can look dignified!

Cricket and me!

Cricket and I participated in UAF commencement online last May. I had not realized the vids were put on youtube

Norman Rockwell

I have kept this blog a "light" and not "heavy" space, but look at this beautiful Norman Rockwell painting!

Until Trump became President, I had never conflated nostalgia with racism. I, too, find appealing the stereotypical Norman Rockwell image of the little kids playing with the puppies and growing up and marrying their high school sweethearts (can you tell I listen to a lot of country music?). But now I realize that a big chunk of this country would be really upset if a few kids in that Norman Rockwell image were black or brown or Asian. Why is that? Does it really change anything besides the visuals?

It occurred to me that in Rockwell's time, there were nonwhite people in America, too. They were just hidden and not allowed access to education and desirable jobs. "My people" build the railroads and grew the food on the coast. But no-one wanted to see their faces. I wondered what Rockwell thought of them. Did he want them to "go back to where they came from"?

So I put "Norman Rockwell" into google images, and the above was one of the first to pop up. The back story (and website from which I stole it) is here. (The link goes to the Norman Rockwell Museum.) He seemed like a lovely man. :)

Fall falls on Wickersham Dome

The White Mountains are comprised of a million acres, 250 miles of trails, and 12 public use cabins. Many of the trails are muddy and swampy and thus accessible in winter only. Also, in the summertime, no drinking water is guaranteed, so you have to pack in your own. For these reasons, I've never penetrated very far into the Whites. As a self-powered person carrying my own stuff, even two days of water is a lot for me to carry! Nevertheless, the one trailhead that I visit and dayhike from over and over and over has given me endless joy, and I never tire of it.

The low spots had frost when we first started out (around 9:30 a.m.).

The fall colors were gorgeous.

Happy, happy! Joy, joy!

Long shadows of the morning

Sun-drenched dogs!

They posed nicely for me.

Termination dust in the distant mountains!

I think Thistle is starting to love me.

Thistle selfie!

Cricket selfie!

DL selfie!

DL took a photo of us.

The side of Wickersham Dome is quite steep.

Happy dogs!

The cranberries were perfect.

And so pretty.

Thistle peers over the North side of the Dome.

Thistle looking wolfie!

So pretty.

Homeward.

I have nice fuzzy things.

It seems that we've been living in a blessed place while all the world burns Outside, but sadness comes to Alaska, too. People have passed away, dogs have passed away, and crimes are still committed. A friend of mine just had a bad stomach flu, even though it was accompanied by a negative covid test. We have gotten very lucky with the weather and with food security, but just as it is the world over, every day is a prayer, every breath a thanks.

The Best Student Meeting Ever

The pandemic has had a few upsides. I'm not saying they are in any way compensation for some half a million people lost worldwide, but we need to count our tiny blessings in dark times. Here are a few:

1) Easier to keep touch with non-local friends and associates. BT's book club! My high school friends' Sunday morning virtual breakfasts! Anchorage SWE meetings!

2) People's pets popping up on zoom meetings. I lovelovelove when, say, a cat meow's in Denver, and makes a dog bark in Florida. I find it very amusing when they come into the view and demand attention.

When it was mosquito season, Cricket would jump into my lap after I killed mosquitoes. Everyone would go, "AWWWWW". Then I'd have to explain about my Jainist dog.