April 2011 Break-up and Other Signs of Spring

April is that tantalizing month when the days grow longer and the sun’s warmth starts seeping into our bones again. The scent of dirt sends gardeners scurrying for potting soil and seeds. Bits of green grass start pushing their way…

Read More...

March 2011

Camp Clean When I was at hunting camp in the Brooks Range last fall, I came to a new appreciation of a few modern conveniences. While I wouldn’t trade anything for that time in the back country, I did make…

Read More...

Jan 2011 – Cold Snap

A recent article in the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer describes how various animals survive Alaska’s cold weather. “Whether it’s a chickadee that weighs less than half an ounce or a moose that weighs 1,200 pounds, animals have different ways of coping…

Read More...

Dec 2010 – A Season for Exchanging

I asked my 3-  and 5-year-old grandsons, Elias and River, recently what they most like about Christmas. They both chimed in “Presents!” Fair enough. The first thoughts of two little boys waking up on Christmas morning – hearts thumping with excitement…

Read More...

Nov 2010 – The Thing About Thelma

I owe Thelma an apology. As camp cook, sometimes-vet, and general hand at Jim & Lori Kedrowski’s camp in the Brooks Range, I learned that mules are different from horses. While that might be stating the obvious, it was also…

Read More...

Oct 2010 – Penguins & Etiquette and Sheep Camp

As camp cook at Jim and Lori Kedrowski’s hunting camp in the Brooks Range this fall, I had the rare opportunity to live and breathe in one of the most remote and mystical places on earth. The landscape defies description,…

Read More...

July 2010 – Sharing our Backyard Splendor

I was out walking the dogs in my neighborhood the other day when I saw a woman standing in the middle of the road taking pictures, one after the other, of Hiland Mountain. “I’m here visiting my daughter,” she said….

Read More...

June 2010- In Praise of Perennials

My delphiniums are growing inches each day as they draw upward into the feast of summer sunlight. Less than a month from now I will be staking bold purple spikes of blossoms, some nearly six feet tall. Whether I am…

Read More...

May 2010 – Coffee Shop Chronicles

I walked into Jitters for the first time on a cold February night in 1994. I was met at the door with the deep aroma of freshly ground coffee. Inside, the old pub feel of the mahogany bar offered a…

Read More...

March 2010 – Millie’s Hats-Off Adventure

It’s not fair, the way the bad kid gets all the attention, while the good kid hardly gets noticed. But no one said life was fair. And this is yet another installment in the adventures of Millie — The Worst…

Read More...