Most people don't realize that August is the beginning of Fall in Interior Alaska. The fireweed blooms have reached the top of the spire, birches and aspens are dropping yellow leaves now and again, and again and again... It's not yet all golden outside, not yet, but we know it's coming, with Winter so close on its showy heels that it can be shocking. In fact, Winter can arrive in the middle of the meager two or three weeks of Fall and we miss the glorious colors altogether and WHAM it's snow. Sure, the first snow usually melts off, but the leaves are gone and done and there is nothing left but bare, dark branches and all you can call it is Winter.
Some Alaskans look forward to the snow because of cross country skiing, and riding the snowmachine, ice fishing, and other winter activities. I like all the seasons, but I dread each and every one of them except Summer. Once a season is upon us, with all its beauty and distinct qualities, I am once again in love with this country.
During Winter it is finally quiet. No more rumbling road work, dump trucks, log trucks, log machines, conveyor belts, wood chippers, chainsaws, graders, road rollers, asphalt laying machines, front end loaders, Bobcats, hammers, circular saws, and Big Things Being Dropped for God Knows What Reason. And gunshots. Summer is also known as Construction.
After living through the kind of Winter we have, which is generally 9 months long, the reward is Summer! However with climate change our weather has become increasingly humid, both winter and summer. We had record snow last Winter, and record rain this Summer. There were a few sunny, warm gorgeous days, but it rained most of the summer. There is little one can do outside in the rain. Fairbanks had to deal with that reality, plus the pandemic, which meant you couldn't go to a restaurant or the movies to escape. You couldn't even go to a store or shopping center. It was dire. And people became very, very grumpy. Myself included.
HOW much did it rain?
It rained so much it filled up my septic tank and the leach field and flushing was just not a thing. Some people started having the water pumped out of their tanks WEEKLY ($400 each time, or more), and sometimes when they pumped the water out, the tank rose out of the ground like a stinky submarine because the soil was that wet.
My fuel tank's bottom right leg sank into the soft soil, tearing my fuel line in half and spraying about 10 gallons of fuel out. I ran out and turned it off at the valve. Through the heroic efforts of the best friends a person could have, the tank is now leveled and ready to be hooked back up again. I also had to call the DEC and deal with the spill. If there hadn't been a pandemic I would not have been home, so hey, the tank would probably have rolled off the stand if it wasn't that I was there to call for help. I think within a week I'll have the line connected and have heat again. Just in time for Winter!
There have been sinkholes. Many sinkholes. The dirt work guys and gals have been pretty darned busy!
My white car is amazingly clean! Because of the pandemic, I only drive it about once a week. So whatever mud gets on it, is washed off by the next time I drive it. It's never been so clean! Of course it was pollen yellow for a while during Spring but even that has washed off!
Everyone's rain barrels are full and have even overflowed.
So that's the overview...this year Breakup was very late, going into June. Then It rained like nobody's business with lots of thunderstorms, and just now, mid August, it's pretty nice, in the 70s and we are all working like crazy beavers while we get ready for Winter. Of course. Such is the state of the weather in Alaska.
