Fall in Alaska

the word "fall" in Alaska can bring to mind many things...
: the time of year where the leaves on the trees turn golden and all too soon begin their journey spiraling to the ground

: the first snow that shows up on the mountain tops and looks like a giant sifter shook confectioner's sugar over the tops ... called 'termination dust'.   Here is an example of the leaves and the termination dust from Thursday when I drove to a farm to get fresh carrots, broccoli and beets to put up for our winter enjoyment.... 

: time to empty all the exterior water hoses and drain them and put them away until next year when the warm weather returns
: time to hurry and pick blueberries (if it has been a good year for them to grow) and get those wild cranberries after the first frost
: watch out for the 'competition' for those fall berries...most definitely those in the brown furry coats who come to visit when you don't expect or want their visits.  Such as the ones who came and left their claw marks in the driveway during the past 48 hours...

We don't get to choose which wildlife comes to visit. Often it is the wild arctic hares (brown in summer and white in winter). They come and spend their time nibbling anything that they can get access to in every season of the year. In winter it is often the limbs of any birch trees that they can reach (same story with the moose, birch is a favorite) and they have dug under my fence that was put in to protect my weeping birch from the moose browsing. the rabbits trimmed the branches off with military precision for the two feet or so that they could reach standing on the snow. The moose trimmed any leaves and/or branches that grew through the fencing that surrounds it. The lilacs (supposedly 'moose resistant') have had their share of ungulate grooming as well. Not much around here gets to the finished size. Even though I watch carefully to see my iris bloom..the moose usually come along right about as the buds are ready to open and bring my joy from their gorgeous purple blooms and they just munch them right off leaving me to gaze at the empty stems.  Of course this year the rabbits gave them all a 'crewcut' in the early spring and I wondered if there would get be any buds for the moose to compete to get.
There are still a lot of things that require attention to get ready for winter but for now I will take it a day at a time and see what tomorrow brings. Everett has been very busy getting the boat winterized and getting rid of trees (and some vehicles that were here for 14 years) and making way for a storage 'carport' to keep the snow removal to a minimum for the boat and his Cessna and the plow truck. he really has his work cut out for him before things freeze. We count our blessings for good friends that share in the work load and make it easier for Everett to get things accomplished when he only gets to be home for a day and half a week....commuting from Anchorage is a tough way to go.
Until the next time I sit here to catch up...hope that everyone enjoys time to get ready for winter in what ever way you need....