Fall colors....

When I left on the 27th there were a few leaves turning yellow but most were still green. Sandi sent me some pictures of the yard last week and wow what a fast transition! We don't have the brilliant red trees that they have on the east coast but our orange and yellow is amazing. We are going to spend the last week of October and the first week of November in Maine so we will get to enjoy all the colors we might have missed out on here. We went to Maine in early October last year and it was just a little too early for full color so maybe we will hit it this year.

I don't have much new to report as I am still stuck at work on this island in the middle of the Colville River Delta. We are however having unseasonably warm temperatures here, but nothing exciting. The tundra is a beautiful brown and there isn't any ice yet so all is good. Alaskans for Global Warming! Those that oppose global warming don't spend their winters here I can tell you that much! Ok I will admit that a polar bear told me last week he was tired of having to swim farther and farther each year to get to the sea ice but he has a thicker parka than I do so the cold and wind don't bother him as much. I told him the bright side was that he looked to be in better shape this year!

Here are a couple of pictures from around the yard, the first is one I took the morning I left of the pavilion after I got the roof boards cut to length, and the rest Sandi took last week around the yard.

Finally.....

I have been busy as well as a little too lazy to post much lately. I just got back to work last Wednesday and had a busy time home. We have been working on fencing for the horse and alpacas so Thane and I put in about 40 fence posts. Last summer I at least had some free labor from my Dad and his friend Gerald Carnes from Texas. Why would anyone want to do anything more on a vacation to Alaska than put in fence posts? After this week I realized how much I really did appreciate the extra help.

After fencing I started putting the roof on the pavilion and got struck in the head by a branch of a bolt of lightning that hit in the trees beside the lawn. I felt it hit my head and go out my ankle, luckily it wasn't the main part of the bolt. The erie thing is about forty five minutes earlier I had heard thunder way off in the distance (but only once)and actually thought that it would be bad to be struck by lightning. Then BAM! Dad had actually pulled into the yard just a minute before and was walking onto the lawn when it struck. I guess it was just because I was on top of a solid wood structure that I didn't get the full force, but let me tell you it will certainly get your attention.

After changing my shorts and finishing the pavilion roof I started working on a set of concrete countertops for a new house some friends are building. They are going to turn out really nice. We put a lot of glass and stones into the pieces before we poured the concrete. When I get home I'll finish and install them.

Not much going on here except the weather is great we have been having record high temperatures for the arctic this time of the year. The high's the last few days have been in the high 50's and low 60's. I hope it lasts!

Well that's about all for now.......

Here is a picture of the pavilion before I trimmed the roof boards and our lawn mower on an ugly fall day at home.