Hello Friends,

There continue  to be more spring things.  The choke cherries are blooming.  I don't remember when the bloom in the Midwest.  Spring is early here this year.

The tamarack are blooming.  These are the conifers that loose their needles in the fall and grow new ones in the spring.  The first picture also shows some of last year's cones.

Construction season has begun.  In these two pictures they are drilling down through a bridge and the ramp to the bridge to see how far down it is to the bedrock.  The current bridge is not on bedrock but on a system of railroad ties.  They want to do better for the new bridge.  This is the bridge we use most often.  They are testing and planning for the new one now but will not tear this one down and replace it until the summer after we are gone.  We are glad for that.

We had wondered if most of the water birds that arrive in Fairbanks stay in this area or go further north.  We found out that some of the sea gulls stay around.  Even the birds are glad for banks!

Most of the ducks where I have lived in the Lower 48 are mallards.  There are dozens of kinds of water fowl here.  

 

The paper birch has very thin bark that can be peeled off and used in making paper, baskets, and other things.  Some peels off naturally or it can be harvested without killing the tree if done properly.  But it leaves an ugly scar on the tree.

We visited the Cold Climate Housing Research Center.  There are special problems with building homes or other buildings here.  If a building is on permafrost and there is any change in the frost the building will settle awkwardly. The man who directed our tour said that below his house (it seems to me that it was 30 feet down) there was a layer (3 feet thick) of clear ice that was left from some ancient glacier.  Then the top of the glacier melted and left dirt and rocks above the ice layer.  If global warming melts that ice his house  will probably be ruined.  A house needs to be tight here, but if it is too tight it will gather moisture and mold will grow.   The warming of the climate here in the far north is going at about twice the rate of the rest of the world.

We attended the Fairbanks Youth Orchestra Spring Concert.  They did an excellent job.  (Denise F., you would have especially enjoyed the concert.)  We knew one of the performers.  There are many wonderful opportunities for youth here, as there are most places.  Unfortunately, some things here are not so good.  Fairbanks has 600 homeless kids.  Some stayed over night at the Presbyterian church we attend.  That was while a more permanent house was being built.  Now that other place has been finished.

An interesting thing happened to a pilot and his plane.  This is the before picture (the top one.)

And this is the after picture.

The pilot landed out in the bush at a usual stopping point.  Near the plane was a shed where some moose meat had been stored.  A grizzly had broken into the shed and had a good meal of moose.  The pilot fixed the shed, making it bear proof.  That night the bear returned for another meal and could not access the meat.  They theorize that the bear was angry about not having the moose meat and attacked the plane.  To repair the plane required two new tires, a horizontal stabilizer, industrial strength plastic, and 25 rolls of duct tape.  They then flew the plane home to make permanent repairs.  The plane is now back in regular service.

We continue to enjoy Alaska and Alaskans.  We are all people who are far more similar than different.

Thanks for your interest.

Larry and Elva

God is love.

P.S.  To our Eicher friends, we join you in grieving the loss of Clinton.  We pray regularly for you, and now especially for Wanda.