May 18, 2024 Saturday
Snowfall: 168.50" (14.04 feet)
Hello again!
So I think we've cleared the option of any additional snow for the year...we ended the season at just over 14 feet. That's crazy! As you can see, we still have quite a bit on the ground...
But with the weather warming up, the spring is now running at 100%! Yeah! The line is still frozen partially to the house so we have to pump it up through a garden hose right now. That's better than having to haul it up the hill, believe me! To give you some perspective, during the summer, it takes 12 seconds to fill up a gallon jug of water. In the dead of winter, even though it never totally froze up (and we are so grateful that it didn't!), it was taking about four minutes to fill up a jug. You can imagine the stories that get told around the watering hole when we're bored in the dead of winter filling up jugs...Once we got the water running, it took me three days to catch up all the laundry that we'd not been able to wash!
The trail is officially closed for business right now while the snow is melting and creating a muddy mess. We ordered groceries to be delivered via the train a couple of weeks ago and waited patiently that Thursday for them to show up....only to stop the train and find out they'd gotten left behind at the depot! I have to say, the customer service from the Alaska Railroad is phenomenal! They put our perishables into their refrigerator and delivered everything to us unscathed the following Saturday, along with an apology. No harm done. And we had fresh eggs and milk for a few days...
We've started several seeds in the house in anticipation of getting to plant some stuff outside when it warms up. I had no idea when we lived in Missouri how much we took our gardens for granted. My whole life, you just put it in the ground and it would grow. Not here! We have to be pretty particular about what we grow, what we'll eat, what we can home can, etc. We built up some flower beds with good dirt to get ready...
It really needs to be 50 degrees consistently overnight before we can put anything outside....
Hopefully, we can get some garlic in the ground this year too! Now, if we can just keep Huckleberry from digging in them...
Kevin is back to work, hopefully for the season. He left on the train this week to head out to the village...
The trail down to the tracks is pretty clear, so we just drug his packout down the hill on a sled. You can see the tracks now from the house and the leaves are starting to pop out!
I'm not gonna lie, it's a lonely walk back up the hill after he pulls out on the train....thankfully, it's only for awhile...
Before he left, we temporarily fixed the holes in the front porch roof that were damaged from the ice and snow falling off the upper roof....
He attached a big tarp to some boards and we got it all up there. It wasn't easy, let me tell you! After both of us were up and down the ladder several times, using two roof rakes for leverage, hanging out the window above and dragging the board across the roof, we got it in place! Whew! What I want to know, is where is that strapping young nephew or grandson or neighborhood kid when you need them?? Needless to say, we had aspirin for dinner...😆
Until next time, stay wild!