The last few months have brought much driving. Multiple 80 mile (one way) trips per week to Kenai/Soldotna, sometimes multiple trips per day! Multiple 200 mile (one way) trips to Anchorage. District competitions and state competitions. Hockey, figure skating, Battle of the Books, NYO, spelling bees, math….probably other things, too, that have just slipped my […]

A few weeks ago, my kiddos had competitions in different cities on the same weekend. So, one kiddo and I headed up the road to Anchorage for hockey, while hubby and two kiddos spent the weekend in Kenai at the NYO Invitational. We decided to have a bit of fun and brought a couple favorite […]

A purplish Devil’s Club bud, emerging in the spring. The plant looks dangerous, and it can be extremely uncomfortable if one were to fall into it. But it has many medicinal uses, and that bud can be very tasty in a few weeks when it starts to burst. Springtime in Alaska could definitely be called […]

A rainy day….perfect for relaxing with a hot cup of tea, a book that you may or may not be actively reading, and listening to the sound of the rain pitter-pattering. And after that tea? Fresh stinging nettles cooked into a soothing nettle potato soup with homegrown sprouts, served with a side of nettle-cheddar drop-biscuits. […]

A soaking wet day at the fair, brightened with a fundraiser for the library: Donate a few dollars, get a few darts throw to pop balloons. Earn tickets for prizes! Drenched yellow rain jacket. Cheery yellow balloons. Bright yellow darts. (You can even see the one she just threw – just to the upper right […]

Our rainy season is upon us, so I chose something cheery and bright. (I do love the rain, but I also enjoy the contrast of summer on my screen and fall rain outside my window.) These are some of the red clover from my garden. We didn’t plant them – they came in with some […]

After a cool and cloudy summer, a flood of sunshine brings many new raspberry canes. And one ripening berry. Pic & a Word challenge #344

Last week I shared some yellow at the fair, this week I’ll share some things that made us celebrate! Fair {pun intended} warning – this is a total brag post. No humble bragging. Full on showing off ahead! The kids and I each entered a few exhibits in the Kenai Peninsula State Fair this year. […]

Recently, we had the chance to join a green crab monitoring session with scientists from the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Green crabs are considered invasive to this area, and monitoring efforts have been ongoing for a few years. They aren’t here yet, but they are coming! Getting a baseline now will allow scientists […]

Grey….my mood because my phone will not sync my photos to my computer. Grey…my mood when I realize that all my recent photos are on my phone instead of my camera. Grey, because when photos are on the phone instead of the camera, it means I haven’t been present and haven’t been taking time to […]

This was a very vocal crow, protecting the sign. No one could park or venture near it! Which Way will you go today?

I’ve been thinking about this one all week. It’s been a great mental exercise! How to show love in a photo? Or a few words? That’s not cliche, or maybe is absolutely cliche? In the end, something simple: accidentally discovering a new feature of my phone’s camera that allowed me to capture the entire double […]

Some days our school table is transformed after the book work is wrapped up. (Not pictured is the bin of cars ready to race around the track.) I’m going to call it a lesson in physics….energy, motion, gravity, etc! 🙂 More oranges & golds are over at this week’s Sunday Stills challenge!

I’m enjoying some hiking time on the Diamond Creek Recreation Area trails with my favorite kiddos this month. 🙂 See what others are viewing this month with Clare’s Share Your Desktop challenge!

Bear Mountain Trail, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. 0.8 miles of lovely trail, mostly up. (And the reverse coming back.) Lots of mosquitoes and humidity. At the top? A wonderful view of Skilak Lake, looking amazingly calm. The Kenai Mountains are feeling shy, mostly hidden by the lazy clouds. A perfect place to pause, slow the […]

Some of the young softball girls helped me chalk one of the fields this summer. We put the chalk dust in the applicator and I explained how to figure where to start and how to keep the lines straight, or in a good circle. It should look something like the lines on the photos in […]

A light gone out. My grandmother passed away the end of last month. She was 98. So, not unexpected. Yet, only 2 weeks before she’d been living solo with only moderate assistance. So, unexpected. It seemed sudden. It was peaceful. She had family with her all the time at the end. She had prayers and […]

A quick pic for a fun challenge! Cee’s Which Way Challenge: any which way with people…. My kids were amused that the people on the sign were walking to the right, but the trail actually went forward and to the left. 🙂

Last week, we hiked the Hidden Creek trail in Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Not a bad view, for sure, and a great scene now on my desktop. 🙂 See what else folks are viewing over at Clare’s monthly Share Your Desktop challenge!

The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity – planes, trains, & automobiles! Delayed flights, cancelled flights, missed connections, rerouted luggage, unexpected overnights in far away cities… And in the middle, a wedding, family, new-to-us old cities, exploration, learning, walking, being. Home now (and hopefully our luggage will be here soon)! It is […]