Talkeetna

Somehow I managed to forget about the "snow in June" here in Alaska. This "summer snow" is from the cottonwood trees.

When I lived in the cabin in Talkeetna in 2007, right around June 20, 2007 it started "snowing" like crazy, with white stuff floating in the air like a gentle snow storm. After talking to some people in downtown Talkeetna, I learned that this cotton-like substance was from the cottonwood trees.

As I'm seriously thinking about moving back to the Lower-48 at the end of this year, I thought I'd make a list of things I'll miss about Alaska if I do leave:

Over the last few weeks I've been helping a friend and former neighbor get her new website launched. She owns a dog "pooper scooper" business in Wasilla, and was having some problems with her previous hosting company and website tools. We got her set up on Wordpress with a new hosting company, and the result is her new Valley Poop Patrol website.

I've been very busy lately, and haven't taken the time to write any blog posts in a few weeks. The reason for my busy-ness is that I've created a new computer programming company in Alaska, Valley Programming.

Sigh, I woke up this morning to read that the Northern Lights -- the Aurora Borealis -- were very clearly visible from Fairbanks in the north to Juneau in the south, including all points in between, including Palmer, Alaska, where I was sleeping.

I've signed up twice to receive Northern Lights alerts (using two different email addresses), but for some reason I'm not receiving them. But this one is also my fault, as I left the earphones in my phone last night, and while a friend and former neighbor tried to call me from Wasilla, I never heard it ring.

I don't mean to make light of recent deaths in Alaska in any way, but people in Alaska have died in a variety of different ways lately. The recent deaths include:

This is very disappointing to read, there was a murder in Trapper Creek, Alaska last night. The Anchorage Daily News reports that a Trapper Creek man, age 37, shot and murdered his neighbor, Robert Carey (age 66), and also shot his wife, Verna, who survived the shooting.

Nothing major here today, just a quick link to a new website (and new business) I'm working on setting up:

I was just reminded that way back in the summer of 2007, when I moved to Alaska for the first time, I ended up living in a small cabin in Talkeetna, Alaska. I didn't know it when I moved in, but I quickly learned that this cabin came with a squirrel, who I quickly learned was one of the most 'human' animals I have ever met. We spent most days of that summer together, and thanks to a friend back home, I started corresponding with a group of 3rd-grade students in Kentucky about our relationship.

I keep forgetting to mention it, but the ravens are back, big time. There are two having a heated discussion in the parking lot here in Wasilla, Alaska right now. There were plenty in Talkeetna as well on my recent stay at the Talkeetna Roadhouse. I don't have any new raven photos to share at the moment, but I can assure you, they are very big birds, probably larger than most indoor cats, and many small dogs.