Fall means getting ready for winter

It's been a glorious fall so far -- the colors are magnificent, the air smells so good! Sunday was my first day off in a while, and I just couldn't stay inside, even if the household needs some major attention. Instead I kept myself busy outside: cleaning the yard, winterizing, etc.

I took this picture of Mt. Cumulus yesterday. The snowline is still above4000 feet (1200m).
-- before long the snow will blanket us and it will look like this:






















As my family can attest, I started the day grumpy with "there's so much to do..." Besides the usual of raking leaves, covering the canoe, bikes and lawnmover with the quintessential "big blue tarp", I'm trying to clean up the garage to get make room for the car (we had our first frost at the house last night!) . I've finally finished moving over a chord of firewood from the west side of the house to it's new location near the kitchen/dining entrance.
And finally, around 3 in the afternoon, I got started on stripping our old picnic table & benches, so I can give them a new coat of weatherproofing. I love woodworking, even though my arms hurt last night after a couple of hours or sanding -- but I slept like a baby after a busy day of physical labor, proud of all I got done. Now I just wish I could bottle some of this energy for the dark winter months...

I love my work!

Yesterday was a beautiful day.

I work at a Nature Center, and get to hike and teach children -- it is the best job in the world!

My nickname came from kids trying to get my attention, "hey Naturelady -- look at this this bug I found..."

Here I'm taking the pre-school group on a walk to the pond -- we were studying migratory birds. We made binoculars from empty toiletpaper rolls.



Little Kate loves hers!
(thanks to Kate's mom for the pictures)



Last we went to the classroom yurt, where I folded Origami paper swans for each of the children: first a big one, and then a baby swan to tuck into the mommy swan.

Metal Mouth

Wolfman got braces yesterday!
And his mouth really hurts now-- back to pureed babyfoods, or at least mashed potatoes and soups for now.

Soon he'll be used to them, learn his new dental hygiene routine (threaded flossers, etc), and then.... he needs to get a tooth pulled to make room for the crowded teeth in his lower jaws.

After that all heals, they'll put in a titanium screw to anchor the moving around the remaining chompers...

Better stock up on the pain meds -- had to stop for some on the way to school this morning. It was a tough morning -- missed the bus, and as we're chasing it, he realized he forgot to take the Ibuprofen with his oatmeal... Poor kiddo!

Fall is here!

Fresh snow in the mountains.
Leaves are turning; the air feels crisp.









A patch of lichen and lingonberries.
Lingonberries are called "low-bush cranberries" in Alaska. Their skins are tough, and they'll last all winter frozen on the plant (or in the freezer).
We toss them into German pancakes and baked goods together with blueberries.