Winter’s Wild Iris, Fairbanks, Alaska
I am slowly turning our front yard into a native species garden. Years ago I planted several clumps of wild Alaska iris (Iris setosa) and have found the plants to be just a beautiful...
Quirky Eielson building at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, has an art deco history all its own
The University of Alaska (established in 1915 as the Alaska College of Agriculture and School of Mines) sits on a ridge with a commanding view of the Tanana and Chena River flats. People...
Sagging snow sculpture outside my door
It was a beautiful day today–clear and about 25 degrees F. above zero (shirt-sleeve weather). I’ve been wanting to take photos of the snow on top of our arbor gate, and this was...
Fairbanks history–going, going, gone? What’s different about these photos?
I love back yards. They show so much about the true character of the house’s residents. Both of these photos show the back yard of the house at 303 Illinois Street, here is Fairbanks....
Museum at Central, Alaska shows early dog sled development
The Circle District Historical Society Museum in Central, Alaska houses several lovely old dog sleds, including some that would be familiar to most Alaskans—“basket” sleds with runners. But one different type of sled, what...
Old Sled dogs never quit–they just keep pulling for you
I have heard some people say that huskies were born to pull. I don’t know whether that is true for all huskies, but the ones I have known that were trained to the harness...
Wind-sculpted Snow–Natural Art/Found Art?
There is no art in nature. “Natural art” is only an image from nature that we call art, and it is the image—not the object—that is art. It was a nice sunny day,...
Fairbanks coal bunkers were the last of their kind in Alaska
Coal bunkers as they looked in 1994 Fairbanks was never a coal-mining town, but coal did help Fairbanks recover from the lean times of the late 1910s and early 1920s. In 1910 about 11,000...
Fairbanks life–moose in my back yard
The moose are back. Every year towards the end of winter, as the snow piles up in the hills and food sources diminish, many moose move down into the valleys and flatlands. Some migrate...
Out my back door at 40 degrees below zero
At 1:00 pm today it was -40° (doesn’t matter whether I say Fahrenheit or Celsius, they’re both the same at 40 below). We had heavy ice fog, and the sun barely cleared the buildings...
