We’ve had an unusually warm winter – until now. It’s hit the 40s (below) finally. The air is unbelievably crisp, reminding us what living in Fairbanks is all about this time of year. It’s a great time to get things done inside, that’s for sure. All systems are working well; the boiler comes on frequently and the wood stove is stoked and radiating very welcome heat.
As things cool down, they shrink, and for two nights now I’ve been woken up when the house made a big CRACK! As we went to bed late last night we heard a very load groaning sound, and the house seemed to shake. It took a few seconds to realize that this sound was moving. We got up and looked out the window – to see two moose ambling along the deck. We don’t even need a thermometer anymore to know that it’s gotten cold enough for the moose come out and hang around the yard. And it’s good someone is enjoying a little deck weather.
P.S. I don’t have any good pictures that bring to one’s mind what this is like, but I do enjoy this cartoon:
Very warm winter here. I spent last weekend in Grand Marais at the Naniboujou Lodge. Forty degrees, no snow, no lake ice. Very different from last year’s freeze-over and polar winds. Saw a hawk owl–first since 1979; lots of siskins and redpolls and ravens and eagles; glaucous gull at the lighthouse pier in the Duluth canal. Wolf tracks, fisher tracks, and snowshoe hare. Great to be “up north.”
2015 cheers to you and Rose!