Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Snow returns to Glacier Valley




I awoke to the silence, an alarming surprise
and a glorious sight to my weary eyes
The snow piled up, nearly twelve inches high

The air was filled with tiny white flakes
Soon they would turn to large puffy shapes
Earth and trees I knew would rejoice
And skiers alike will think the day choice! 

If you can ditch work, today is the first best powder day to do so. Not that there hasn’t been fresh snow this season, but this is a decent layer of the good fluff. It is Wednesday, Alyeska is open until 6, but make plans for Thursday when night skiing runs until 9 pm. 

The temperature is holding at 30° thank goodness. The eaves have stopped dripping. And suddenly today there is a blizzard warning for Western Prince William Sound. The estimate was 3 to 6 inches of snow, but Girdwood has received at least 9 inches at the T. Yipee!

Bird Notice:
Yesterday while in Anchorage, I observed some Common Redpolls visiting bird feeders. Redpolls are small finch size songbirds that spend their winter in our range. Here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology with an image. If you are interested in attracting birds, or helping them obtain food during the winter months, putting out a feeder is a simple way to do so. You can even just set out a tray of seed, a fancy feeder is not necessary. The benefit of the feeder is in keeping larger birds from eating all the seed quicker than smaller birds. Feeders have varying sizes of dispensing holes and perches. It is really hard for a magpie to get seed out of a thistle feeder. Speaking of magpies, they have been very active in Girdwood lately. Be aware of placement of your feeder as it will attract moose. Bird feeders also attract bears, as a result many folks remove and store their feeders in the summer. 



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