HITW Art Projects

Lady Buffie brought this project to my attention a few days ago. Since she has not posted her find, I feel compelled to do so.

Last summer, we spent a good many hours cutting and pulling roots of alder trees. Although, some clan members had great fun in "surfing" the piles of alders as they were towed to the burn pile, although a good number of unproductive hours was spent in this fun event.

Unfortunately, all of you missed all the fun after the first snowfall and it came time to burning the alder piles. Four days of burning took care of the Messican Lane pile, they were so neatly stacked. However, I did save the Bronco Lane burn pile for this spring.

We still have a very nice supply of healthy alders growing, perhaps we should consider projects such as those pictured. As fast as they grow, we could have some neat "art work" to enhance the area. It is going to take someone with a good eye for art and has also has a lot of experience in pruning and drafting trees. If any of you have these "artistic" talents, you can be the supervisor of the project.

We will be excavating additional trees this spring, those could be transplanted by design and within a couple two or three years, we should have some projects completed and in full growth.

Being that I believe in a democracy, but still feel that a monarchy, is the least amount of trouble, I feel that we should each nominate the person we feel would be best suited for the project engineer. Please feel free to leave your nomination in the comment section.

Speaking of that, has anyone but me noticed that we never hear from our Shaman in the comment section, is he on sabbatical? How about the Beaver Clan, do they still live in same damm place? Although the Lynx Cats have been quiet as of late they comment on occasion, the last time I heard anything of them they were transporting my Girlie cookies from LA. I still have not seen my cookies. The Moose also comments very seldom, I guess with the spring temps in the 60 and 70's they are huddled up in some wallow. The Bear Clan has returned from paradise after getting some sun, perhaps their computer will be ready to go back on line.

At any rate, I digressed in my discussion pertaining to the subject of nominations. After reviewing what little talent we have, I am going to nominate the Alpha Wolf. He is up and around before anyone else and will have plenty of time to come up with some unique designs and locations for the projects.

I considered the Bull Buff, but he now has a full time HITW position. In recent days, I have named him as the Superintendent of the official HITW Motor Pool. It will be his responsibility to ensure the motor pool vehicles are maintained in a safe operating condition for those needing to utilize them. PaPa Bear's green Chevy will be brought to the HITW and become the first official motor pool vehicle. He will also be responsible for any repairs required on miscellaneous gas or diesel powered equipment, i.e., generators, stoves, and chain saws. Realizing that this is going to be a major task in maintenance I feel that it is only fair to also provide him an assistant with a title. Perhaps, Alpha Lynx Cat would be best suited in this position as Clan Lead Mechanic. In the event that they are unable to keep up with the regular scheduled maintenance and emergency repairs, I will also assign Little Boy Buff and Little Boy Moose as apprentices to the Superintendent and Lead Mechanic.

If you would like to see some additional tree art pictures, the address is www.pooktre.com.

Think spring, it will not be long before the "bell tolls" once again!

It Is Spring

An older picture of Anchor River, looking downstream from the bridge.
I miss my island. It has always been there. As a kid I have taken some good naps in the willow patch listening to the water.
The island had been there the majority of my life, surviving floods and ice jams.
Then with just one fall flood it was gone.
The river is like life, always moving, always changing.

"We Are 4,186 Miles North of Hat Creek"

Came across these pictures this evening while I was working on a photo project. I do not think any of you have had the chance to see them. We took them in our fall trip in 2007. The first one, I have converted into Black and White ~ the second one was not worth converting since I took it at 67.8 mph out the side window as I was passing a truck.

You know, "ole Gus never got to see the ranch in the north country. Indians got him"

Winter Spring

Despite the fact that Lincoln, Nebraska and Montrose, Colorado has been experiencing some temperatures in the high 60's and 70's, we are slightly behind this phenomenon in Alaska, by 40 to 50 degrees. However, we are experiencing, what we call "winter spring" in Alaska.
Although, in most areas in Alaska continues to have sufficient snow coverage to provide some excellent cross country skiing enjoyment. I am starting to see a few more people jogging or walking for this time of the year. However, I would still recommend that you continue to use ice cleats on your jogging sneakers. The signs of spring are there for those that look carefully, when in fact you should look for signs, as it could mean a difference between life, mauling, or even death.
The primary reason is that listening to the local Alaska news on television this evening. The first bear sightings have occurred in the Los Anchorage area over the past several days. On typical years, the bears will come out of hibernation earlier in the Los Anchorage bowl area than other locations in Alaska. This is the area that contains the largest food source in Alaska during late winter. The salmon have yet to return to the rivers of their origin because they are frozen over. The Caribou have migrated further south and outside the range of the feeding bears as they come out of the dens. If you are a walker, jogger, or even cross country skier, this time of the year you should be fully prepared for an encounter with a bear at any moment. As standard gear, it is recommended that you carry some type of firearm, pepper spray, whistle, and adorn your jogging or skiing attire with tiny bells.
I have never been one to be "bear scared" except for this time of the season. These bears have been in hibernation for the past several months. They have lived off their body fat and are now hungry. Their typical spring food supply in the form of green grasses, mice, and ground hogs has not yet become exposed due to the snow levels. The other thing you need to consider is that the majority of these early spring bears are pregnant females. They can no longer sleep because of their bulging stomachs, they are hungry, tired of being pregnant, and they have an attitude.

Until the natural food supply shows up in the food chain, from henceforth I will have a weapon within reach at all times. Although, we have never had a bear problem in the HITW. Until I have plowed my last snow of the season at the HITW, I will be prepared by having a .44 magnum laying on the seat beside me and one of my double barrel ten gauge shot guns in the gun rack behind my seat. Be prepared at all times ~ Don't become a news story.

Picture Taken At City Park In Los Anchorage

POSTING ADDITION

3/6/2009 11:59 am

From the comment section, JD Plumma reminded me about the Polar Bears that moved into the LA area a few months ago. Although no recent sightings have been made, with the amount of snowfall they may be blending in with their environment. Those in the LA area are now facing a double danger situation. If you are packing a automatic, may want to consider a second clip.