It’s one of the sure signs of spring, right up there with longer days, the stubborn blooming of early pussy willows, and ice dams and roof leaks; when the first bare spots of pavement reveal themselves on my driveway, looking as naked and sore as mange on an old dog, I know it’s just about time [...]

Whatever other units of measure we find ourselves dealing in as we enjoy the Alaska summer outdoors, it’s a fair bet that, sooner or later, it will all come down to miles. Despite the adoption of the metric system by most of the rest of the world (and increasingly by American science), the mile remains [...]

April. Contrary to the wisdom of old T.S. Eliot, it isn’t the cruelest month here in Southcentral Alaska. No, even in the beginning of April, when old snow still has weeks to hang around on north-facing slopes and roadsides and new snow is an everyday possibility, it’s typically a wonderful time to be outdoors in [...]

On a recent Sunday morning (which in my case usually occur perilously close to Sunday noon), I was sitting on the couch reading the comics—experimenting with various positions of head and newspaper to thwart the low glare of the late winter sun—when I became aware of a disturbance. Lucy Fur, my black kitten, was poised in the middle of the living room rug, head down, haunches up, and enjoying a pre-attack butt wiggle that threatened to knock her over…

And this is the way the year ends. November’s early snow, at first deep with promise, melts back to slush and ice in early December. It’s not an unusual event; more typical, really, with false break-ups at least as common as hard cold and heavy snows to Southcentral winters. This time, though, it seemed almost [...]