Maybe it was all due to the rain- I had typed out the beginnings for yesterday's Moose Pass Journal, when everything was erased. I was depressed and stopped for the night. It again rained last night and today. I think I'll be taking the lawn mower back to Darci, my niece. Today, I've spent several hours on Book # 11- on Chapter 3.
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Hello, and yes it is still raining off and on, especially at night. I am now waiting for the tropical animals to appear in our trees. Now bananas would be nice. Real curious if my spruce trees can grow pineapples? Drove into Seward yesterday, still a lot of tourists about.
Both of food stores have been taken over by new companies.3-Bears, which belonged to Costco, is now Seward Market Place, and Safeway is now Albertson's. My computer is slowing down, again I now henpeck faster then it can record. Yes, another 9/11 and can you remember where you were that day? My family spent over 8-hours glued to the tube in our living room. still in our Pj's and robes, not wanting to miss anything by going to get dressed. I was angry, depressed and so saddened by all the people we lost that day. Christians, Muslims and Jews, as well as non-believers, died in those towers, along with a lot of first-responders. I was so proud of all those men and women- cops, firemen and EMS personnel, and civilian volunteers, who charged at those towers, knowing they were risking so much. Since Pearl Harbor, it was the worst foreign attack against our country. It was such a strange day of mixed emotions for all of us and I pray we never forget the heroes.
PART TWO: I apologize for the interruption, but my stomach was growling and Canaan has become a very good cook. Officially, Canaan, John Alex and Susan have become my care-givers. The VA has a program where they are paid $15 an hour, with total payout for the household being $1,500 or so. Gives them some pocket money and they're paid to watch over me. Not that I need constant care, but there are times when their help is appreciated. I am very fortunate to have loved ones who care for me, as there are so many disable people out there who have no one. The Lord has blessed me in this.
September, hard to believe it's already here and now we have to put it in to hyper drive to be prepared for winter. Backyard looks the same, so we need more tarps. Good part is how the mosquitoes are leaving, but we had a black bear in the yard yesterday. Only a young one, so I wondered where the parent might be. So, we stayed indoors. Besides anything else, bear really doesn't taste that good. Neither does cat, but that's another story.
WOW!! No rain for two days and the jungle continues to grow. I'm beginning to look for Godzilla when I walk over to church, or some other kind of freaky monster. Our summer visit of large black flies will hopefully end in about two weeks as the morning cold front move in. We can also say so long to the waves of mosquitoes. This is the only part of Alaska I dread- bugs. but, we are willing to put up with it for all the other blessing we receive here.
Good Afternoon: It appears we are going into an extremely wet Fall. Extremely early termination dust has already arrived and for those of you who are not aware, Termination Dust is the first snow appearing on the mountain tops. The termination part is the old saying that once this begins, winter is right around the corner. If you're like me, I've always wondered what "Corner" is that and how can I bypass it.
Hello There to all you people who are less fortunate then us, and cannot live in Moose Pass, Alaska. We live in such a beautiful valley, once a magnificent glacier valley and now contains Trail Lake, 7 magnificent mountain peaks and 12-million flying insects, curious brown bears, black bears and numerous moose.
They promised three-days of rain, we have a beautiful sunny day and a light breeze. But, we also have millions of bugs, making their vile attempts to bite, harass and drain our blood, as we try to enjoy the day.
Beautiful and stupendous is how I can describe these last two days. A few white clouds with a light blue backdrop, warm temperatures reaching up to 80 degrees and little wind. Only draw back is how the insects appear to like it also. This makes it tough, as I have to wear long-sleeves. I have this strange phobia when it comes to mosquitoes, side-effect from Malaria. Even though I know our brand of flying dragons to not carry the dreadful disease. No, they simply want my blood.
Another day of heavy clouds, sprinkles, after night of rain. We continue to have a very wet July and I wouldn't be all that surprised to see an early frost and maybe light snow the end of August. Thought about grabbing my shotgun and going rhino hunting in my backyard boonies. Mona and I now realize a lawnmower would no longer handle the job, that we will need a power hay cutter or half-a-dozen bamboo or sugar cane farmers. I wonder if I could get away with paying them the minimum wage of their home country? Doubtful.
Thunder and lightening, and the worst rumbling I've heard since leaving Fairbanks. Raindrops nearly large enough to be disguised hail, knocking out the honey bees and sending the swallows racing for their bird houses. Yup, quite a storm to watch and second storm of the week knocked out our power for an hour. I haven't seen a storm like this, with roaring thunder of this magnitude in the 16-years we've been living here, but I do recall a few storms like this in Fairbanks, and in California. I thought one deep rumbling had even caused the house, here in Moose Pass, to shake. But to see the lightening bolts, several together, dance off the mountain tops, was borderline miraculous.
Good Morning: Rain-rain and today the sun in its glorious warmness and near cloudless skies has reappeared. We are missing one of our cats, the young gray one, who loves the outside world and the hunting of voles. We have no wild mice in the north, but we do have voles and they're slightly bigger than the average mouse. She comes home to eat every morning after a night of hunting, but she hasn't returned for 4-days. This is the 5th morning she's missed breakfast. We suspect foul play because of the predators in our area: from coyotes to very large barn owls.
Another fantastic day here in Moose Pass, Alaska. Yes, it stopped raining and the sun is shining. I have one thermometer reading of 65-degrees and another one displaying 85-degrees (F). I believe the lower temp is the actual one, because at 85-degrees, I'd be melting. Now Fairbanks is supposed to reach 85-degrees, but that almost normal for them. I actually saw 101 degrees back in the summer of 1978, at Eielson Air Force Base. We then experienced minus 81 degrees the following winter at Eielson.
Hello: Another off and on rainy day here. My yard is beginning to resemble a Thailand wild meadow, minus the water buffalos. It also seems to be a summer of people's personal issues exploding; anxiety, grief, lack of sleep, anger issues and people who know better unable to forgive the ones who caused emotional pain. I can't quite recall a summer like this one where so many family members, both by blood and others shared by our walk with the Lord, cannot grasp the whole forgiveness thing and it causes them great pain. I do understand, it did take a lengthy bit of time for me to forgive two-people in my life, but its now covered and I repented for holding that forgiveness in my heart for so long. Now my forgiveness had no effect on these two people, but once I was finished in my chat with the Lord, I felt an amazing weight lift off my chest.
Quote by Giulio Medfti for the Gatestone New Institute 6/4/17. "In Syria and Iraq, there are dozens if not hundreds of places on Christian worship that Islamic fundamentalists have demolished in the past three years. These images, along with the mass decapitations and rape of the minorities, shock the public. It seems, for one day." (Only one day and the world moves on). " In Minya, Egypt, the 'unfree world'. An Islamist terror group stops a bus full of Christian pilgrims. The terrorists demand that their victims recite the Islamic creed, the Shahaada. The Christians refuse to abandon Christianity and become Muslims. The Islamists murder them one by one." What does this tell us, "Christians resist Islam more in the Middle East than in Europe."
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. It appears we made it through Easter Weekend without having one of our city's or an ally's city transformed into a pile of molten concrete and steel. No, I'm not joking, but the last week or so has put me into mind what we school kids went through in late 1950's and early 1960's, as we practiced climbing under our desks in the event of a nuclear attack.
Our snow is melting, ground is again sloppy and not a cloud in the sky as our temperatures rise above the 40 Degree mark. HELLO! Yes, it truly is a beautiful day, with white foothills and white mountains under this outstanding sky. I am hoping the coming asteroid, due on the 19th, can be seen by the human eye. All too many of our reportedly "near misses", need a telescope or they're the size of our ( Susan's) Jeep. NASA is often withholding some areas of their scientific facts.
Hello Everyone. I was going to write this yesterday, but I got so involved with life I simply forgot. We had to rough it through a two-day power-out. This was Tuesday to Wednesday, 30-hours and a few moments of quietness. Our wood stove kept it toasty. In March, we ran out of wood for the first time in 10-11 years and we had to buy those "$6 a parcel of split wood." These held 6-7 pieces of Spruce and Birch and it kept us warm, This was back in March and the house got a bit chilly. But We are 40-year Alaskans and know how to keep warm...too bad about the piano. In a couple days we bought 2 chords and this week we purchased 3 more chords. More then enough to see us until Mid-May...t-shirt time!!
Spring is awakening! From some mildly freezing weather, we now wake up to plus 44-degrees and mud. This is the time for mud boots and towels at the doors to wipe your feet on. Thankfully, the living room area is all old hardwood and a nice carpet given to us by our youngest daughter and her husband.
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September 2020
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