Tuesday, May 23, 2023

An Episode of My Big Wild Life in Alaska

 May is one of my favorite months…nonstop action.

 The last of the snow is melting, plants wake up and start turning green…

and the bears wake up.


I got a text from my neighbor at 10 p.m., “Bear in your yard.” I looked out the window and sure enough…walking right by my garden is this big dude.

The next window had a screen in it…but he was making a nice tour of my front yard and the picture looks pretty clear.


At this point I ran for my air horn as my neighbor has chickens and her electric fence was not up yet.
 She got it up the next day.


So happy to see him leaving my yard and headed away from our street.


This bear continues to visit our neighborhood regularly. 
I think he’s the biggest black bear I have seen here.

That night, I made sure my bear gun was in the holster I wear while walking the dogs or working in the yard. I've had plenty of bear encounters but thankfully, no aggressive charges. I've had a momma black bear stand her ground while I drug my dogs away from her treed cubs. 

So...the start of bear visiting season is not all fun...

but May is also the start of gardening!!!

I have two wonderful nurseries where I purchase the bulk of my veggies and flowers.

The plants need to be hardened off for a couple of weeks before they get planted into the ground. I have the perfect corner on my deck to do this process which only gets late afternoon and evening sun plus it is protected from the wind, which pretty consistently blows in the afternoons. 


The plants not only need to be protected from the cool temperatures but also the extreme hours of sunlight. They get sunburned if they aren’t eased into our long summer days.


With 18 hours of sunlight, I find myself still outside at 9:30 p.m. The photo taken below was one of those times I looked at my watch and thought…wow…it’s almost my bedtime.


The other part of my life in Alaska involves travel in little planes. Anchorage is pilot base for several airlines, Fed Ex, UPS, Atlas Air and Alaska Airlines plus there is also an Air Force base. And because of the vastness of the state…tons of private pilots with little planes. I am not a pilot but I am surrounded by them. The majority of our acquaintances are pilots. 

My husband has an airplane hangar where he stores two little airplanes, a Piper Super Cub which seats two, and a Cessna 185 which seats six. Since the weather was mild,  Hubby asked me out on a lunch date to Talkeetna, a 20-30 minute ride depending on the direction of the wind.


We took the 185, landing at the Talkeetna airport which is about a quarter-mile walk from the town.

The first shop on the right walking into town is The Patchwork Moose, one of my favorite quilt shops. 


It’s one of those shops that has so much eye candy…I feel a little overwhelmed. 
If I owned a quilt shop…I would want it to look just like this!


I wandered and wandered…so much to look at.


A cute niche for showing off some Alaskan-themed quilts.

Check out this Gardening Gnome with his wheel barrow of batik fabrics.


And his quilted coat!!! I want one!


I had such a hard time deciding what I would purchase when I spotted a kit on a little table. I had never seen this fabric or the pattern and it screamed, “ALASKA.”


Kit purchase made, I was ready to wander through the rest of Talkeetna. There are several gift shops and restaurants in this tiny town. My favorite lunch spot is, “Mountain High Pizza Pie.” 


It is celebrating its 20th year in business this summer and I think that’s how long I have been eating there on trips to Talkeetna. We used to have a boat and would spend a night or two in town as this is a major boat launching site for king salmon fishing.

You can order pizza by the slice, with your custom toppings. You can also order half-sandwiches. 


Hubby got a slice of pizza with anchovies and jalapeños. I got half of a focaccia grilled sandwich with veggies. A pretty generous sized pizza slice and half sandwich. 

I was back home with time left in the day to get some work done in the yard. It was about 8:30 p.m. when I called it a day and headed inside.

One last little look at happenings in May.
 It’s calving season for moose. 
Hubby saw this cow with her calf yesterday morning. 
This calf was just hours old.


After a long, cold and dark winter...my heart fills up with many of the reasons we love living here.

4 comments:

Cathy said...

Do you get man eating black flies or mosquitoes up there?

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I wonder on Cathy's question about flies. Your area is so interesting compared to the lower states - such a different life. I don't even think to have to carry a gun with me for a walk like you do. I guess I could learn but I have no reason to. Your yard, house and the quilt shop all look so interesting. I at one time thought to have a quilt shop but soon realized that if I did I wouldn't have time to quilt!

Mary said...

I love reading about your life in Alaska. The late night sun, gardening preparations and walking with your dogs fully prepared for run ins probably keeps you very busy the spring and summer months.

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Wonderful post, a slice of your life in the spring. We have black bears here, one tried to take down our bird feeder pole last week. Luckily the bears here are very skittish, and just yelling usually runs them off into the forest again, but like you, I am always wary when outside in the spring. Love the little moose. Thanks for the tour of Patchwork Moose.