Tuesday, January 30, 2007

My House the Meese Magnet

Just this weekend I spotted meese no. 9 of the year (officially the 100th moose I've ever seen) right outside my house! This pic was taken from my front deck. This guy was clearly thinking, "Please lady, help a moose out. You got anything to eat other than frozen bark?"

And just minutes ago, I let Wrigley out for his nightly bathroom break, and what did I see? Moose tracks headed to my backyard! I have a sorry excuse for a tree back there, and it's actually looking more sorry than usual now that it's surrounded by several feet of snow - looks more like a bush. It appears as though one small moose and one large moose made their way back to pay tribute to my little lilac tree/bush. I'm just glad they didn't leave any part of earlier eaten trees behind since Wrigley treats moose pellets like little energy bars. He goes nuts for 'em.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Wolter Glacier

Alaska is known for its glaciers, many of which have been named, explored, documented, etc. Although it is exceedingly difficult to venture out and discover an unnamed glacier and fully explore it, I have done just that. Tonight I raked my roof...

to find a slowly advancing glacier (those are the rarest types - most are receeding due to global warming) ON MY ROOF! What luck! This is about 12 inches of ice right up against my chimney, plus the top part of some long icicles that I enjoyed destroying. I just hope it doesn't come crashing into my living room. Outdoor glaciers are so much nicer.

Here is what Anchorage roofs (sans glaciers) look like:

Thursday, January 11, 2007

So long, 2006!

Oh, how time flies. Here is a quick recap from my last entry. I went to North Carolina, where my parents have built a home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I always look forward to seeing the fam, hanging out in the mountains, and eating my mom's food. This time I was also excited to meet my sister's boyfriend, Mike. Despite his inability to spell words backwards during Cranium, the Wolter family gave him two thumbs up. The Wolter family also kept a little secret to themselves...on Thanksgiving day I was sitting on the couch knitting and feeling sorry for myself. My sister had her boyfriend, my mom had my dad, and I had my parent's dog, Glory. Something didn't seem right. I missed Ron. I was also worried about him - I'd called a few times over the previous 24 hours and couldn't get through to him, which is really unusual. I started thinking that he's either: 1. cheating on me (very logical - ha), or 2. he's on his way to North Carolina. I knew it wasn't the former, and I really hoped it was the latter but was sure he wouldn't fly all the way to NC. Turns out my scheming dad arranged a surprise attack weeks in advance. My father, with the help of his secretary, managed to find Ron's number and orchestrate the surprise. So after a missed flight and several legs to his trip, Ron suprised me by walking up behind the couch while I was feeling sorry for myself and saying, "What are you doing?" I nearly passed out. What a GREAT surprise!! That's one good thing about being gullible - people can always surprise me! During our trip to NC we managed to get in a game of golf in 65 degree weather. (We were trying to avoid the minivan parked right down the hill in the trees. Not a wise place to leave your car...)

Decemberrrrrr brought a LOT of snow to Anchorage. I'm digging the snow, literally, but am glad there's been a bit of a break. I still need to shovel my deck, though Wrigley loves to bound through the feet of snow that remain on it. Yes, I'm using my dog as an excuse for not shoveling my deck. It's pathetic. By the way, check out the depth of snow sitting on top of the railing in the pic with Wrigley.


I did escape the snow during a quick trip to Chicago for Christmas. It's always fun to get the entire family together, sans Grandpa Allen. And this year we had three new members (thanks to my uncle's secret spring wedding to his girlfriend - I now have two "new" cousins and an aunt)!

And, of course, what's an update from me without the Official Moose Count? The Official 2006 Moose Count: 91. My goal was 100, but now it gives me a goal for 2007 (lofty goal, isn't it?). So far for 2007: 1. I'm well on my way!