Through the Year in Fairbanks, Alaska December 3, 2006 All photos © Barbara Logan 2006 Time sure flies when we're having fun! My boss had knee surgery a few weeks ago so I worked for her during her recuperation. I sure missed my "home" time! (SMILE) The temperature has been up and down the last few weeks, but basically it's been just above or below 0° F. In checking the weather right now, it says it is 9° F. The "Length Of Visible Light" today is 7 hours and 4 minutes. The actual "Length of the Day" is 4 hours and 30 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 48 seconds shorter. The actual Sunrise was at 10:25 AM AKST this morning and the sun will set in 3 minutes at 2:56 PM AKST. I don't really notice the changing length of day that much anymore. It finally hits me in November, usually: "Wow! Where did the sun go?" Then the darkness puts me in "grizzly bear" mode - some times I feel like I want to hibernate! (SMILE) I look forward to the Winter Solstice (December 22 this year) because then the days will start to get longer again. You can see what it looks like in downtown Fairbanks any time of the day or night by visiting the Arctic Webcam located on Cushman Street, just north of the Chena River at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner office. Birds are still feeding at our feeders, though they did eat less when it warmed up above 10° F. In our yard we have LOTS of Redpolls, a handful of Black-capped Chickadees, the occasional Woodpecker and an ever-growing flock of pigeons.... There was even a Dark-eyed Junco that I got some pictures of. It was with a flock of Redpolls. It should have migrated by now, as Juncos don't usually stay here in the winter. I hope it finds enough food to survive. I have heard that this happens with different birds at times. I saw a Junco at the Alaska Bird Observatory a few weeks ago. It's probably the same one that was at our feeder. Grace saw three geese fly over yesterday - they should have been out of here in August or September! There have also been sightings around town of the male Hairy Woodpecker that we saw in our yard a few weeks ago. I haven't seen him in a while, although the suet has been worked over by several birds. This male has an extra long bottom beak - an aberration that has been seen in Chickadees throughout the state as well. We noticed its beak looked kind of long when it was here. We got an email notice about it from the Bird Observatory, so I sent them my photos. Not that you can see his beak! We did notice that it didn't seem to stop him from hammering away on the dead tree. He was also really good at tearing apart yellow jacket nests all over town to eat the larvae. Someone reported seeing him do that. We saw him do that as well. We had a really bad yellow jacket population in town this summer. We even had a nest up inside our eave and didn't realize it until late in the summer when they were everywhere. No one in town could remember a year this bad. There were at least two other nests very close to our house. We saw one huge nest up in a tree after the leaves fell in September. Two people in Fairbanks died from yellow jacket stings this year. I carried my "Epi-Pen" everywhere.... A Darked-eyed Junco on the bird feeder with Redpolls. A cheery Redpoll at the bird feeder. Black-capped Chickadees in our yard. I have seen the male and female Downy Woodpeckers at our feeders a few times in the last few weeks. If the male sees me, he goes to the other side of the tree where I can't see him! I haven't been able to get a new picture of him lately, but I did get the shot below of the female on the suet feeder the other day. It was a clear, cold day. The sun was shining and the feeders were full of birds. (SMILE) Last week I had a great view of Denali from the Steese Highway, just north of Fairbanks. Since there is no place to stop right on the highway, the picture, below, (I took at the gas station at Steese and Farmer's Loop Raod) just doesn't do it justice. On clear winter days we get a great view of Denali at sunset, IF you are high enough up to see it. There was a little cloud on the left peak. Yesterday the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner sponsored their annual Gingerbread House Contest. They have held them for many years - Grace participated in one, a long time ago! (SMILE) I like to go look at the Gingerbread houses, and usually find some interesting ones to photograph. I liked the simplicity of this first one - an Alaskan log cabin! I had to laugh - I didn't even notice the Gingerbread Moose "Poop" until I looked at the photos! VERY authentic!! Hahaha A very ornately decorated Gingerbread House This one had a lot of detail, but was a simple house. It was my favorite. Even the inside was furnished and decorated! I love the detail. The Moose antlers on the woodshed are a nice touch! This one speaks for itself. Amazing! This detail was wonderful! Everything was accurate to the original barn and farmhouse at Creamer's Field. A Gingerbread replica of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fairbanks. I am always amazed at the ingenuity and talent people in this town have! After the Gingerbread House Contest, Grace and I attended Open House at the "UAF Museum of the North" yesterday. Once a year, usually the first weekend in December, they have a free day when you can also visit the basement labs and see where they house the collections that aren't on display. They opened a new addition last year so now they have more space to show more of the collection, including a lot of artwork. The original part of the museum is basically the same as it has been for many years, only larger. All the displays are great - from Wooly Mammoth and Mastadon fossils down to insects. Since I like butterflies, I liked the Entomology lab. I do not like Yellow Jackets. I have no idea what the first mask is. It was scary. It was carved out of a whale vertebra I think. The second mask is called "Midnight Sun." It was carved by a friend, Bert Ryan, a native from Southeast Alaska. This was called an "Angel." These fur "fans" are used in Native Dances. This close-up shows the trim design on a Seal Gut Parka. The trim is made from Auklet (a small seabird) beaks and feathers. The Native people don't waste anything that can be put to use from their hunts. Raven and Walrus masks This strange-looking thing is a "Mermaid Doll" made from a fish skin, with fur and leather. When we left the Museum, we noticed the almost-full Moon was rising in the Northern sky.... I hope you enjoyed reading about my world! Thanks for visiting. (SMILE) Barbara Logan P.S. If you like the Moon photo, you can have a large picture for your computer wallpaper! (1280 x 1024) Just open the link, then Right Click the photo after it loads and choose "Set as background." Enjoy! Moonrise over Fairbanks Wallpaper My background picture on this page is a November sunset. BACK to the Year Page (SMILE) OR BACK to our Home Page (SMILE) This page was created 3 December 2006 © Barbara Logan URL is http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~soakbear/year/12-03-2006.htm