Signs of Fall

I wish you could see the clouds today.  The sky looks like a group of three year olds were finger painting up there!  There are loads of bumpy clouds piled up looking like  popcorn overflowing from a big blue bowl.  I see elongated cloud tubes that look like my Dad's hand-rolled cigarettes in giant form.  Some are swirly clouds looking like someone just wiped their hands on a heavenly towel.  There are dashes and commas and apostrophes as though a young English student didn't quite know which punctuation to use so he used them all!  It's a riot of white against the bluest blue ever.  And I get to watch it against a back drop of dark peaks with flashes of snow clinging to the sides.

Another amazing day in Alaska.  I have definitely found that trying to photograph scenes here is an exercise in frustration.  An artist would be hard-pressed to even begin to capture the majesty and beauty we see here daily.

We recently met an artist who came very close. Norman Lowell built a gallery to house his work about 20 miles from Homer.  At his gallery are displayed hundreds of his paintings and other works of art all about Alaska.  It knocks your socks off! In 1958 Norman and his wife homesteaded the land where the gallery is located.  They built a cabin, which is still standing, and raised five children there. They still live on the property in a house they built later. Gifted gardeners, they have a large greenhouse, huge vegetable garden and massive bouquets of flowers everywhere.  It is gorgeous and so interesting.

The Lowells actually host their gallery; so visiting it means you might be fortunate enough to meet and talk with them.  They are sweet, gracious people----courageous too!  I can't imagine what it was like to move to the wilds of Alaska all alone and have to build and develope land  single-handedly, and then raise 5 children there with no schools, no roads, no phones, no convenience stores.....  Oh, and by the way, build your own facilities, grow all your own food and then find the time and energy to paint outstanding pictures and market them.  But they did all that and more.  Their story is amazing and inspiring.

By the way, Norman told us that he wants to retire and sell the gallery.  He said this was a good time to buy one of his paintings.  Never mind they cost in the 5-6 figures!  Google his name and take a look.  If you have a hefty amount of spare money, you might want to consider an artistic investment.  Even if you don't, I encourage you to look at his work.  It's outstanding!

Believe it or not, we are beginning to see signs of fall coming on. Most of you reading this live in the "lower 48".  Signs of fall in your area like a chill in the evening, birds beginning to flock, back-to-school-ads, canning fruits and vegetables are probably becoming noticeable.

Signs of fall here are a little different. Our friends  are busy preserving food too but not fruits and veggies.  They are fishing, fishing, fishing to collect enough to dry, freeze and can for the winter.  There are colored leaves beginning to appear already.  A couple days ago a news report announced that two inches of snow fell on a river valley high in the mountains directly across the bay from our cabin.  And the most obvious sign to us is the changing light.  We now turn on our lights in the cabin more often.  The daylight/dark thing is changing very rapidly----5 minutes every day!  Right now the sun is setting around 10:00 and rising around 6.  Not only that, but the darkness is actually darker. An aurora lit up the Northern sky and was photographed near Anchorage recently. That takes darkness to see, along with colder conditions and sun spot activity.

The one big sign of fall I miss a lot is talk of football, particularly Penn State Football, of course.  I admit, it will be hard to wonder how Joe Pa is doing this year.  Fall is not going to seem right without watching and discussing each and every game.  Getting the information late will have to do, but nothing compares to watching the games first hand!  So far, this is my only complaint about Alaska.