Friends   ---

You may remember this picture from last January


Here is the same spot in mid-May.  The zoom is different on the camera so the trees in the background are different.

The pictures above were at Creamer's Field.  The next four are also.  There are tree swallows here.  They are about like barn swallows but their breast is more nearly white.

 The bark of paper birch trees is very thin and can be used for paper.  Some peels off naturally and it can also be removed with a knife.

 Creamer's Field also had several mosquito hatcheries!

 The black spruce "candles" are a bright red now.

There is a cat around our apartment complex that has an extra toe on each front foot.

Pioneer Park is about an hour walk from our apartment.  All exhibits were free on opening day.  The first two pictures are from Judge Wickersham's home.  He was the first judge in this area and did a lot to get Alaska recognized as a territory.  Elva's dad had some cylinder records that would have been used on a player like this.

 We are glad kitchens are not like this anymore.

 When I was in school at Cheraw the desks were this type.

 In Alaska it was (and is still) important to keep stored food where animals cannot get into it.

 The caption of this picture says these workers are bringing 1400 pounds of gold dust into Fairbanks.  That would be 22400 ounces.  At today's prices that would be nearly $29,000,000!  The date on the picture was not clear but I think it was 1905.

On our walk today we finally saw a moose, so we brought it home!

This coming weekend we plan to travel to Anchorage, Seward, and Valdez.  We hope to see more wildlife in those areas and driving to and from there.

I think the trees are finally all leafed out.  For those who like to do a lot of work before the sun comes up,  here you would have to be well on your way before 3:47!  Also with the longer daylight the warmest time of day is later than in the Midwest.  It is around supper time -- 6:00 in the evening or so.  This morning we had a lot of smoke in the air from forest fires.  This  winter and spring have been drier than normal so they are expecting more fires.  The total precipitation in Fairbanks this year is only 1.07 inches and normal is 2.04 inches.  According to the amount of precipitation this is actually a desert.

God's blessings to each of you.  Enjoy your part of the world no matter where you may be.  All places have advantages and disadvantages.

Larry and Elva