Life in Alaska

It's been a while since I did a "Life in Alaska" post, and since Winter arrived on Tuesday (like literally blew in, bringing with it snow and subzero temperatures) I thought I'd get these pictures from fall posted.

I had hoped the weather would wait until my birthday to arrive.  I got my wish, and I feel so blessed that we were able to take advantage of such an amazing, extended fall.

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I have to say, first of all, that commercials are rude.  Red Robin, Red Lobster, and most of all Subway!  I see the commercials and all it does is remind me of what I'm missing out on.  Namely vegetables & someone else making my meal!  Earlier this year, Josh brought me Subway that the district had flown in for the staff. I was ecstatic. It was so good!

{Mt. Pilcher}

Occasionally the co op will have grapes, avacados (for $5 apiece!) and bananas, and those are happy days.  For my birthday, Peter & Leah (fellow teachers) brought me goods from the AC store in Mountain Village, where they were for training. (Mountain Village is where Lower Yukon School Districts' district office is.) If I could change one thing about Marshall (aside from relocating my family & friends here!) I would wish for an AC store.  AC stores have more access to fresh produce and a larger supply of groceries because it is a statewide chain.

{Walking the airport road}

Peter brought me two bunches of bananas (!!!) and Leah brought me a beautiful head of green lettuce.

I miss lettuce & tomatoes probably the most.  Bananas, apples & oranges would be second.  So these gifts from my friends were joyfully received.

{Teacher Housing- Our unit is on the left}

The sense of community among us helps so much.  We turn to each other for ingredients when needed, sharing the goods.  Earlier this fall, while waiting for our Span order to come, we were given both milk & flour, making it possible to feed our family.  If a neighbor calls needing mayonnaise, batteries or large ziploc bags, you answer the call. Because it may be you next who needs something.

{The Yukon River}

I had a question that rolled in late after my last "Your Questions Answered" post.  They wanted to know if we have wolves, fox or polar bear here in Marshall.  There were wolf tracks spotted just yesterday along the river, and our first winter here the boys and I saw a beautiful red fox hunting out the playroom window on the tundra. 

As for polar bears, we are too far south.  

(We are in Southwest Alaska, near Bethel on this map.)

Other than wolves and fox, we have brown & black bears, moose, porcupine, beavers, lynx, and martin.  There is also a large variety of birds.  Ravens, ptarmagin, swan, geese, ducks, owls, and eagles.

People here can make animal/bird calls like nobody's business.  It is truly impressive.

Aside from the weather changing so drastically, our amount of daylight is also transitioning.  Yesterday the sun rose at 10:13am and set at 4:53pm.  We will lose roughly five minutes of daylight everyday until the winter solstice.  

If there's anything I've missed this time around, things you wonder, things you'd like to know, feel free to leave a comment and I'll put together another post for the future!

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Today's Daily Gratitude:

The Computer
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