CELEBRATION!!!!!!!  Great-Granddaughter Segan...maybe its Segen, was born to Patrick and Canaan Miller. John Alex and Elizabeth (our oldest child) drove up to Fairbanks to witness the birth and missed the actual birth by a few hours.  So, Mona and I now have a Great-Grandson Solomon and a Great-Granddaughter Segan.  No weight or length provided yet, but the photo Canaan sent us shows a baby girl with very pretty eyes. Canaan is doing fine, so is the father. 

Another rainy day, but hey, it's my birthday! Yes, I turned 64 years old today.  Not real old yet, that hits me next year.  I grew up when people thought 65 was the year you turned a geezer, or in nicer terms, a senior.  This was also when you could apply for Social Security, be bald, lose the last of your teeth and realize you've shrunk 5 inches in height and all your skin is wrinkly. I have one year to go for that.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU WHO FIT INTO THIS CATEGORY.  I know that in watching my lovely wife for the last 37-years, that being a mother has got to be the hardest job in the world. The days are long and they never cease, so I salute you ladies. Thank you for the job you have put in.  I was very close to my mother and I watched the pain and the joys her four children put her through. But being the baby, I admittedly received the best over my siblings.  And I so hope my children understand all the work their mother did for them as they grew up. 

Hello Everyone:  It's another beautiful Spring day morning here in Moose Pass, temperature at 6 a.m. was 34-degrees on the plus side and almost all of the snow and ice has vanished, except on the mountains; that took on a fresh dusting of snow a couple days ago.  The fresh smells of Spring in Alaska can make a man stand idle, just to take in a few lung-fills and relish in a fine mixture of smells. No smog, few people and just nature's mixture.         

​Computer hiccups, lost time, wanderings through the desert and wrapping up my latest manuscript... a week can sure pass-by fast.
 
Hello World.  Here in Moose Pass we've endured the last three sluggish days of heavy overcast, new snow for the mountain peaks and the first arctic mosquitoes have appeared.  Thankfully, we expect the arrival of our swallows any day now.  Strangely enough, scout swallows show-up first.  I've watched them appear over the years, checking out each of the old bird houses and then flying off for my next-door neighbor.  4 to 5 days later, the main body of swallows return for about 2-months.  What's nice is how each swallow can eat 800 to 1000 mosquitoes a day. The problem is these beautiful birds, the size of your palm, will occasionally run smack into my living room picture-window.  I'll go outside to check on them, but only a small percentage of the birds will be on the ground. They appear to be a tough little bird. Since living here in Moose Pass I have learned we seem to be one of the main hatching grounds for these birds.  Once their babies are old enough to take flight, they begin their lengthy flight back to the Lower 48.  Makes one wonder what brought these birds to north country? Another bird I find interesting is our large Black Raven. A scavenger, he is very good at concealing their nesting areas and they survive up here year-round.  Of special significance to the Alaskan Natives for ancient beliefs, the Raven is often placed in native artwork. They also come much larger than the Lower 48 version.