Pretty much everything in Port Alsworth is “DIY – Do It Yourself” But…what do you think?! It’s my new shower! My brother Jon tediously created a masterpiece over the last few days. Each piece is custom cut, set, then grouted. The trim is made of reclaimed sidewalk wood from an old lodge. It’s the same wood used in my bedroom’s ceiling and trim. Just one of the many unique custom pieces found in the Burr-mansion. I promise I’ll post more pictures of the house soon!
If I had a dollar for every person who asked me about the daylight in the winter, I would be able to start a fund for children who are vitamin D deficient. Here’s the deal people.
These mountains flank Port Alsworth to the south and Lake Clark is on the north side. In October the sun was rising next to Tanalian mountain and peeking out for a while before going behind Holy mountain, pictured on the left in the above picture. In December, we only get direct sunlight periodically as it peaks out between mountains. I took this photo at 11:00 am and the sun will shine between Holy and Martha mountain for about an hour before hiding again.
Yes it’s light out, we just don’t get as much direct sunlight. The white snow helps with the brightness. We are entering the darkest few weeks of the year. We loose 6 minutes of daylight a day. Meaning today it was twilight at 9:45 am and dusk by 5 pm. It doesn’t get much worse than this and come December 21st, I’ll celebrate with a little dance that we begin gaining 6 minutes of daylight a day. Woot! Woot! The end of February is when we notice a considerable difference and we’ll have almost 12 hours of daylight all ready.
One of the best part about this time of year is the beauty of the low light. Notice the new blog masthead. It was taken Feb 5th in the middle of the day, and the sun is still barely hiding behind the mountains.
You can always donate vitamin D to the fund. My mom would appreciate it.
Hello Mr. Bear, I see you hiding!
I am working on a website for a friend’s lodge and came across this photo. It grabbed my attention because of how vibrant the green is in contrast to the grey and white I see outside my window. It makes me appreciate living again in a place where there are four seasons!
I’m just not sure how I feel about these below zero temps we’ve had for over a week now in NOVEMBER! I’m definitely holding some passive aggressive feelings toward Old Man Winter. I woke up to -13 degrees this morning.
Just to set the record straight for people who think we suffer in -40 and extreme darkness. ALL. WINTER. LONG. It’s really not that bad (but you can still feel really bad for us), and this must be a record breaker for low temps this early in the winter. I’m hoping Old Man Winter is just getting it out of his blood early and we’ll have a blissful February and March.
A friend made a very good point as we sat around saying what we are thankful for during our Thanksgiving feast. He said he was lying in bed realizing that it’s -10 degrees outside and 70 degrees inside. An 80 degree difference with only a 6-inch wall separating the two temperatures. It’s crazy really if you think about it! I sure am grateful for a warm, cozy house in these temps and for hibernation.
Flagging down a taxi around here is a real nightmare. They always seem to whiz by like they are on some important mission…like flying people somewhere. Don’t they see my thumb out on the side of the runway? Maybe I’m missing something…
I think Flex cars in our village would really take off… Or maybe Flex 4-wheelers…bikes…or skis!
