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November 6, 2005 at 1:10 AM

It's not quite four o'clock. I glanced up from my Kreutzer etude and noticed grey outside. Hmm, we must be getting some clouds coming in. I wonder if it will snow. Snow is great because it means winter outdoor activities like skiing and snowshoeing, having an extra glow around from the fresh white, and warmer temperatures. Temps have plunged sub-zero every night and stayed in the low teens for the past week or so. It warms up to the twenties when it snows.

Wait, that's not clouds darkening the sky. No, that would be the sun setting. Drat daylight savings. Where are they saving it and why?

Daylight savings is over. You're complaining about normal time :))
I always love the first snow...so pure and clean. After a week, it's pretty gross. Enjoy your Alaskan winter!
Nope, I was complaining about daylight savings. They gave us all the daylight when we needed it least. And now it's gone. So there. :)
Why does it warm up when it snows?
The clouds keep the atmosphere warmer when it rains or snows b/c they sort of act as a blanket.

I was really surprised to see that you are in AK. I am very interested in visiting AK and I was thinking of coming during my Dec brak from school but everyone says it's going to be so cold I will want to like kill myself. What's it like there in the summer? My friend said they have mosquitos that are my size (heavily exagerated ofcourse). I think it's really cool to live in AK. I just learned about the lake they found below all the snow, I think it's called Plasor or Laskor or something...I don't exactly remember, I just think its' neat

Sheila

God, zero farenheit already! Meanwhile, I was painting the house today in shorts. No wonder these intrepid Kodiak bears won't move on. They've finished off the birthday cake and moved on to the ice cream. I wonder if the ice cream makes them homesick ;-)
Haha! I like how you said, "It WARMS up to about twenty..." Down here in SC, fifty degrees is considered chilly!
Everyone loves talking about the weather. Currently -2 F and clear, with two-three inches of old snow on the ground. What's the weather like where you all live?
feels like something's blowing in.
Well, just don't accidently vote it dark all the time.

Seven day forecast:
70/40,66/52,76/59,74/60,70/49,68/50,73/56. Clear and breezy.

Tied with Vermont for best fall colors in the world.

Oh yeah, Shiela, you're right about the clouds being like a blanket. Soldotna is coastal and stays, on average, quite a bit warmer than the interior part of the state. Warm fronts from the south bring the moisture, usually. You would enjoy a visit, I'm pretty sure, if you like snow. Or come in the summer, and the scenery is heartbreakingly gorgeous, with nonstop daylight.

Speaking of blankets and mosquitos, I remember a time a few years ago when I helped out with a canoe trip for our summer camp. We camped on a small knoll in the middle of the swamp, and I have never seen mosquitos like I saw that day. I'd covered every part of my body with repellent and pulled my hooded sweatshirt tight around my face, exposing as little skin as humanly possible to those evil bloodsuckers. We couldn't stay still long enough to get a fire started. They sqooshed into my ears, stuck in my eyes, and every time I tried to breathe, I inhaled them in my nose. You could pick any spot on your body and swat seven mosquitos in one blow, that's how dense they were. God help you if you had to go to the bathroom. We eventually gave up on the fire and hid out in our tents until morning. Who wants Smore-squito sandwiches, anyway?