Winter trails

If there's one thing we look forward to at the end of summer, its snow.  Good thing for us, because the white stuff is coming whether we like it or not.  It always baffles me to meet people that claim to be Alaskans while whining about winter.

Counter to popular belief, snow makes travel much easier.  Mudholes freeze up and rivers freeze over.  Waterways become highways and suddenly we're free.  I love it when the leaves fall off the trees and I can see again.  I get a little claustrophobic in the green, green summer when you can't tell if there's a bear behind every bush.

The hillside that we live on seeps water year-round... which is one of the reasons that I picked this spot for my homestead.  But it makes travel somewhat difficult- especially in the in-between seasons when mud rules all.

Ben left to go trapping today.  He flew off into the cold grey winter sky for destination unknown, and called in an hour later on the satellite phone, tickled to have landed on the riverbar in front of the cabin where he grew up.

See, the river is iced over now... thanks to the longish spurt of frigid weather we've been enjoying.  And that means we can go almost anywhere.  The snowpack is still a little lean, and desperately thin in some places.  But at least there's some to cover the ground and make travel a bit smoother.

So Ben will be out making cubby sets for marten, while I hunker around the homestead making sure everyone is warm and fed.  Things have really slowed down nicely, and with a bunch of wood and water stored up- I may just be able to get out of the cabin for an afternoon ski foray with the small child in tow.

There's not enough snow yet to run the dogs with wild abandon... not enough base to go out and about without wrecking dogs, knees and handlebars, so for now the dogs are staying parked.  But that too will loosen up as we get deeper into the off season.

Meanwhile, its one lazy day after another.  Yeah, there's the normal chores to keep us busy.  Correspondence to catch up on, and even a book or two to get us dreaming about another life.  Not too cold, not thawing, not too much wind, not too much snow.  Lots of moonlight and stars in the long winter nights though.  I just love winter in the North.