Sun, Light, Greenery, Clouds - It's All Good

29 May 2012
7:49 PM

Sunrise at

3:39 AM

in direction

26°

North-northeast

Civil twilight all day

Weird indicator of light, isn't it?  That is because sunset is at midnight and midnight is actually the next day, 30 May.  Bizarre!

Looking toward Denali (not visible); construction debris (visible)

Today was cool and cloudy over the university, but when I got home, the temperature was warm here, 8 miles away.  I hear the river is near flooding due to intense rain up in the hills that feed the Chena River.  I will take a photo tomorrow.  I didn't have the car this afternoon, so rode the bus home.  My dad commented on how low the river was and I told him it wouldn't be long before it was high and flooding, but I didn't think it would be that soon!  He just left last Wednesday.

Flowering trees on campus are outdoing themselves in celebration of warmth and light this year.  I appreciate the blooms every year, but they seem more tightly clustered and aromatic than what I remember from previous years.  Blog readers will endure many photos of plants and sky over the next few weeks.

Flowering ornamental cherry

I attached JayJay to the bike via the leader spring and we biked down to Farmer's Loop on McGrath (2 miles round trip) and then back up to Willow Grouse (1.8 miles round trip).  She did well and I actually had to work a bit since it was a longer run with some steep inclines.  It did us both good; I enjoyed the warmth, smells and sun. She took time to look at things as we passed on our way down to Farmer's Loop because there are driveways and houses along there.  Going up to Willow Grouse is a smoother bike trail, but not as interesting on the path side because all of the houses are up on a ridge facing Willow Grouse before it curves down to meet McGrath.

Then I played frisbee with both dogs, cooked dinner, ate, and light and shadows look like 5 PM for mid latitudes.  If you can stick the winters, living far north has definite, definite advantages.  My son posted on Facebook that he missed the stars.  I don't .. simply because I need to soak up the light.  I am like those birch trees out there.  I soak up as much as I can, storing it to make it through the deep cold and dark of winter.

Young crab apple tree's blossoms