Wind Songs: One Kind Word

We drove out to Skaters Cabin yesterday afternoon after running errands in the Valley.

There was a large cross country skiing event happening around the campground adjacent to the cabin and my first inclination was regret.

Regret that I did not have my cross country skis with me.

Snow is very sporadic and at unpredictable depths here at sea level.

Around our house there are only small patches of snow left after the very heavy snowfall we had mid-week and then the heavy rain we had for days afterwards.

Further Out the Road (only a few short miles from the house) there is still large amounts of wet snow on the ground and even walking on trails is challenging because of all the snow and ice.

At the Skaters Cabin there was a good deal of wet snow, and the dirt and paved area around the cabin was filled with an inch of nothing but slush.

As we drove closer to the cabin and I realized that there were many people gathering to cross country ski together I looked down the trail everyone was rushing to, and the snow looked very good for skiing.

Darn. Damn. With luck next weekend I can remember to come here to ski.

Maybe not such a bad thing that I did not bring skis to the cabin on Sunday though.

Too many people.

Truthfully I would rather ski alone.

Would rather putter around on these strange-to-me sticks-on-feet and not feel self-conscious and distracted by so many others around me who know what the heck they are doing.

Would rather have LC wandering on the slushy and snowy trails wearing snow shoes, while I ski stiffly and without coordination, and try to figure these things out in my own time........

Skaters Cabin looks different and beautiful and serene in the snow..........

It was a grey, still, mild and quiet day at the cabin and I was glad that we decided to visit this place.........

While LC burned old mail and catalogues in the fireplace inside the cabin, and while I wandered around looking at the mountains and taking pictures of this beautiful place, my Jamie-dog wandered in front of the cabin walking in the slush.............

It was not long ago that LC and I walked to the falls and the glacier on the opposite side of Mendenhall Lake, and watched people walking on the frozen lake and climbing on top of the large icebergs that had calved from the glacier.

People always think that Alaska is such a frozen wasteland.

In winter it is always a frozen wasteland in the interior.

But in Juneau winter is an eclectic and adventurous and continuous mix of freezing cold and mild, snow and ice and rain, fog and clear sunshine, taku winds and stillness............

The glacier of blue..........

My pretty girl.

Right now she is sleeping with her head on my leg, curled up in a ball on the couch as she so often is...........

This is a very very beautiful place in all seasons.

In winter there is a stillness that you cannot find in the frantic short-summer in Juneau.

I love this picture.

I love this place...........

Even though there is a leash law in Juneau very few residents honor it.

Truthfully we keep Jamie leashed because LC and I worry that our single-minded and stubborn dog would bolt away from us and then get lost or injured.

But I worry about Jamie when other dogs decide to visit her up close.

If they were inclined to attack her my dog would be at a disadvantage.

Thankfully there have only been a couple of times during all of our travels on trails when a dog has wanted to do her harm.

Jamie has held her own until we could intervene. But I worry about her anyway, and wish that people would keep their dogs under better control.

These two pups were friendly and happy dogs, who investigated Jamie for just a short period before happily bounding off into the snow again............

LC burning mail and newspapers and catalogues and........I was happy for an excuse to have a fire.

I have been wanting a fire for a while..........

A view from the cabin front porch..........

Ice and slushy road leading from Skaters Cabin to West Glacier Trail Head..........

After finally leaving Skaters Cabin we drove down to Statter Harbor and walked briefly along the walkway enjoying the boats - some of which were shrink wrapped for the winter and many just sitting quietly in the water through the winter..........

By the time we arrived at the harbor the weather was beginning to turn for the worse.

The wind was picking up, it was raining lightly but felt like it might turn to snow at any moment.

As my Mountain Boy and I walked and talked and looked at the boats, and while Jamie happily sniffed all kinds of new and unknown smells, this boat headed out into the channel...........

I love this boat. It has all kinds of personality...........

And so does this large tourist boat.

It has all the character in the world and I find it very very interesting, and beautiful to look at...........

Shrink wrapped boats.

Last winter was not a typical winter in Juneau.

Temperatures were mild throughout the better part of the season, and there was much less snow than normal.

Late in the winter there was a period of time that was unseasonably sunny and very warm, and I am certain that the owners of the shrink wrapped boats in all the harbors throughout Juneau spent many days looking longingly at the channel..........