Could it be Spring?

Saturday, April 14:  The sun rose around 7:10am.

 Saturday was a beautiful day.  Nice warm temperatures up to 28 degrees.  Around 8:20pm I decided to enjoy the warm temperatures (the temperature peak is between 5-6pm).  I left my parka, snowpants, and thick gloves at home.  I was warm enough in a sweater, my fleece jacket, jeans, glove liners, and a hat. I left the house and headed across the tundra toward North Beach.

The snow on the tundra is melting and revealing the ice-covered ponds we have been walking over for the past 6 months.

One reason for this walk across the tundra was to enjoy the shortcut before the ponds melted.  I was also doing a nature walk for one of my Alaska studies courses I'm taking.  I went off the packed down snow-machine and honda paths and enjoyed the uncertainty of walking on the frozen snow of the tundra.

Walking on the tundra is always exciting.  Here I was walking on top of the snow and suddenly one foot breaks through the ice past my knee.

As the sun continues to stay out longer and is becoming more intense, the snow melts slightly and each morning frost grows.  The ice crystals are amazing.

 At last I reached the snow drifts and ice that make up North Beach in the winter.  It's not as far down to the beach as it is in the summer and the usually flat beach is covered with small mounds and hills that the wind and ice have created.  Now that we are passed the equinox, the sun sets in the north-west so North Beach gets some direct sunlight in the evenings.  

A ground-level picture of the ice crystals growing on the snow at North Beach.

  

Another ground level picture of the crystals.

The cliffs of North Beach covered in snow.

 The beach was deserted.  The only sounds were the echoes of kids playing in the village.  I could here what they were saying and could even recognize some of the voices.  It was warm enough (28 degrees) to stop walking and just stand listening.  I could here the ice shifting, kids playing, and the sound of wind being pushed away by the wings of the ravens flying around the dump.  It took me a while to place that sound.  When the raven flew over my head I realized what I was hearing was each wing moving the air.  

The island on the mid-left is where Tim, Katie, Nathan, and I  camped on March 30.  The land on the right is St. Michael Island (where the village is)

Snow Machine tracks heading North out over the Norton Sound.

I enjoyed a nice peaceful hour long walk before returning home at 9:30pm--an hour or so before the sun set.  Sunday was another beautiful day and Katie and I went out with two kids to have a barbecue.  

On Sunday afternoon Katie, Mikey, Justin and I drove out to the beach around the Tank Farm for a barbecue.  

The only wood on the island is drift wood and the wood that we found was frozen completely.  We brought cardboard and lighter-fluid and were able to make a small fire.  We roasted marshmallows.

After a great weekend we had another week of school.  With 19 days left of school we enrolled another student into my class.  We now have 18 enrolled and we had a record attendance week.  With 17 students coming to school (one is in Anchorage for his sister's wedding) all week.  The temperature remained between 22 and 29 degrees.  Every morning the ground and puddles were frozen and by 4pm they were melted again from the warmth of the sunlight.  The snow disappeared from the roads first.  Then it left the area in front of the schools, the store, and the post office.  Then the tundra began to show more grass and ice covered ponds.  We began hearing people talk about cranes flying overhead and seagulls coming (I haven't seen them yet).  We also got the news that bear tracks were seen around St. Michael Island.  Our grizzly's awake.  In a month or two the bear will begin coming around town or to the dump.  Friday arrives and it snows!  Everyone let out an exasperated sigh.  On Saturday we had a school day to make up for the day we missed to the "Snowicane" in November.  I had a chance to work in my classroom on projects I haven't been able to do.  The new snow melted off the already clear areas.  

Today, Sunday April 22:  I went running outside!  I ran/walked a mile.  I'm starting all over.  The temperature peaked at 36 degrees around 6:30pm.  Accuweather.com predicts 46 degrees on Tuesday.  We'll see.  I can't imagine what warm weather will be like.  Sure I have the pictures from last summer/fall but I have lived in this winter wonderland since October (6 months).  After coming from an area in Oregon where an inch of snow closed school and we were lucky to have it stay for a few days, having snow for 6 months now makes it seem normal, like it will always be there.  

16 days of school left in Head Start!