13 Apr 2021 - Graham
previously: postcard 10: jubilee
Today, for the first time since I arrived in Alaska four months ago, it rained. Of course, it has precipitated plenty, just not in liquid form.
We’ve had wet snow, thick snow, big snow, snow with ice underneath, snow with ice on top, soft snow, bright snow, crumbly snow, snowball snow, snow the dog can walk on but I can’t, and, most of all, blue snow. Is snow always blue? Here it certainly is. My phone keeps trying to color correct my photos by adding yellow. But I’m not just a bad photographer, the winter here is tinted blue. It was a deep, midnight blue when daylight was scarce, now the snow is lighter, sometimes greyer and greener, sometimes even a spring-like robin’s egg blue.
Anchorage looks good wearing snow. In the summer, the city is boxy, beigey, and sprawly, but the snow fills in the gaps, hides the rough edges, and makes even the rundown motel behind the taco bell look like a ski chalet.
My favorite snow was the hoarfrost, a short-lived rime on all the trees that made the world sparkle even at dusk.
Now we have melting snow. These ridiculous Alaskans call this time Spring because there’s more daylight, even though it was below 15F all weekend. More accurately, they call this time Break-Up. The melt is dirty and wet, and treacherous when it re-freezes, but I’m thankful for the change. Puppy Jubilee has been less happy about it. We cleared her porch so now she has to go all the way downstairs to pee. And on yesterday’s walk she danced around the pavement, preferring the familiar feeling of ice underpaw.
Perhaps I could grant that this is Springtime because of the increase in ambient hopefulness. In part the sense of possibility comes from longer days, and in part, it’s thanks to vaccinations. It’s possible now to socialize indoors, which means a return to Frambly Dinners. Soon it will be safe to ride around on a bike with less-than-fat tires. And we can begin to plan trips back to America or, even better, plan for you to visit here!
next post: 3.1 it's been a while