Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Paddy's Day in Homer Alaska brought blue skies, lots of sunshine, and plenty of friends over to our yard for an early season party.
We had grilled hot dogs, salmon salad, halibut ceviche, and plenty of beer to wash it down.
The snow has hardened up nicely, so the kids had plenty of trails punched into the neighboring woods where they went looking for bunny holes.

My friend Jarl is a trapper in Alaska's interior, and I acquired a beaver pelt from him that I had turned into hats for myself and my family. They are beyond warm and fashionable, too.

The Climber

There's certainly lots of snow for us to enjoy in Alaska this winter, and now is the time to do so. The light is returning, the crust is hardening, and the worst of winter is certainly over. I took advantage of this weather to don snowshoes and pack down some trails into the woods next to our house. Though only a few hundred yards away, this patch of alders is completely inaccessible in summer. The grass reaches 10 feet tall, the route is all hummocks, and its a battle getting in there.
Fiona loved it in there, and my idea is to groom a trail into there this spring and keep it open all summer. A small seasonal rivulet works its way through there, and I thought I could make it her personal playground in the woods. I just hope the moose are willing to share, because this is their route in and off our property, and establishing a trail will certainly bring them into our yard with more regularity. I think it will create more sandhill crane traffic, too. We will soon have our own zoo, just not for petting.