Easter 2011 (April 22-24)

Easter Sunday brought cloudy but warm weather to Kenai. Temps were in the upper 50s. We have been noticing spring changes: Canada geese, trumpeter swans, much less to no ice in the inlet and river, no more snow in our front yard, tapping of birch trees, and no jackets! The snowshoe hares have also been changing their winter coats to a grayish-brown. The one in our front yard last night had completely changed except for its feet. It looks like its wearing white socks.

We went on a Gray Whale Watching tour on Friday. The weather was rainy and we did not see any whales, but we did see sea otters, stellar sea lions, and dall porpoises. The dall porpoises were bow riding. They kept jumping out of the water right in front of the bow. They did this for at least 5 continuous minutes. They are smaller than bottlenose dolphins, but are similar in shape. Their coloring is similar to that of orcas.

For Easter Sunday we enjoyed the warmer weather, playing boccee, which was an intensely close game of 20 to 22, Jon winning. We also played some traditional American catch in the front yard.

22 days left of school.

sunrise- 6:20 AM
sunset- 9:48 PM

gas prices- $4.35

Snow or No Snow? (First Part of April 2011)

The weather can't seem to make up its mind. We got a huge snow melt at the beginning of the month followed by a couple inches of snows. Then we got more snow melt only to bring more snow. I love snow and I love grass, but this in between stuff is not my favorite. There are 3 snowshoe hares around the house. We are entertained by them as they nibble on exposed grass and chase each other around in the woods. The coats are just beginning to change color.

Our students just finished their state testing this past week. I think both students and staff are happy to have those done with. Jon and I are looking forward to our field trip for our 7th graders. We are currently in the process of setting up a field trip for mid-May to go clamming. Although most have been born and raised in Alaska, many of our students have not been clamming before. It should be a fun experience.

We have been staying busy in the evenings with swimming at the pool, taking two yoga classes (vinyasa and yin), and I'm also dancing on Wednesday nights. I'll have my first performance on May 14th in Anchorage. It's been about 5 years since I've performed and I'm excited to do it again.

The amount of sunlight lately has been amazing! We're looking forward to the summer sun as long as it doesn't stay hidden behind clouds like last summer.

sunrise- 6:59 AM
sunset- 9:15 PM