Reclaiming the Back Yard

from the forest. Previous owners hadn't cleared brush, saplings, or weeds in ... well, nearly forever.

So between the chainsaw and tree pruner, my wife and I have doubled the size of the back yard. And there's nearly that much more still to be cleared.

Looking to right-center from the deck: the new Weber grill which arrived last night. Happy Father's Day to me! p.s. The first round of burgers and steak came out great. :)

Looking east from the deck

Looking to the west side of the yard, part of the area we cleared 2 weeks ago. Note the extensive root system and mounds. Will require a rather spendy root-grinder rental to level the area. Note: there's nearly that much more off the right-hand edge of the photo, which we also cleared by chainsaw.

It's definitely a work in progress, and not your typical suburban lawn. Technically speaking, we don't have a lawn in back ... or in the front yard either, for that matter. :)

Cloudy Skies

Literally, this morning. There's a good chance of scattered showers this morning, and it's unusually dark for this time of year. There was a prolonged light drizzle yesterday afternoon, too, so the prayers for rain are starting to work.

At least, here in Anchorage. That doesn't much help the million-plus acres already burned across the state. Older Daughter is outside of Tok this weekend, instructing another Appleseed event. She texted last night that there were huge plumes of smoke all around as they drove toward that location. Thankfully, none of those fires are close enough to Tok to be a threat.

Meanwhile, my wife and Younger Daughter are participating in the Color Run this morning, while I have an eye doctor appointment.

When that's done, I'll be grilling some brauts. Don't you wish you were here?

Yum.

I'll Take "Things That Start With Fire" for $500, Alex...

A huge wildfire burning on the Kenai Peninsula has grown to more than 123,000 acres Sunday morning, with 20 percent of the fire contained, officials said.

This image is from www.adn.com, and is copyright by the Alaska Dispatch. Such material is made available for educational purposes, and as such this constitutes 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Act.

The Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team said the Funny River fire was stoked by strong southwesterly winds for much of Saturday. By 11:30 p.m., when the winds died down, the fire was 123,649 acres.

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My wife barbequed burgers and a pork loin while I assembled a chest of drawers for the guest room. Lunch was a bit delayed, but well worth it. It was nice to smell smoke that isn't from the forest fire.

It's a quiet day otherwise, here in south Anchorage. I'm okay with that.

Mother's Day Dinner

Barbequed pork tenderloin (Sweet Baby Ray's sauce, of course), quinoa with Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce, and steamed veggies with just a touch of soy sauce, Italian seasoning, olive oil, and salt & pepper.

I'm stuffed.

It Was a Good Weekend

Saturday morning, I stood in line outside the neighborhood tire shop, waiting to get the summer tires mounted on our cars.

The view from the parking lot

Yesterday, we decided to go "non-traditional" for Easter dinner: barbequed chicken and pork, fresh homemade potato salad, and a selection of dessert pastries made by our younger daughter.

Uncooked chicken on the left, with the finished pork tenderloins in the stoneware pot on the right. BBQ sauce is in the tub, right front.

It was a warm, sunny weekend, with temps a few degrees above normal in the low 50s. Nothing to complain about. :)

Now we shall see what the day holds. I hope your Monday is a good one - and thank you for stopping by.

Another Day on the Road

Yesterday morning we drove another three hours from southwest to northeast-ish Missouri. Despite two full days at my mom's house in the Ozarks, it feels like we've been on the move continuously.

Going to bed in a different bed almost every night makes sleeping an iffy proposition. Some mornings, there's not enough coffee in the world to compensate for the groggies ... and you settle for "awake enough."

Today we'll visit my brother-in-law's place while he barbeques a mess of pork steaks and brauts, then double back to the mother-in-law's place for dinner tonight.

It's so nice seeing all the lush greenery that's been in full growth for a couple of months, compared to the bare branches and dead grass left behind by the melting snow in Anchorage. I know the trees at home are putting out buds now, but greenery is still a thing of the future. How long, exactly, depends on how long it takes for the frozen soil to thaw deeply enough to allow the sap to rise.

Well, it's time to go downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. I have no idea what included; here's hoping this meal doesn't come with "Surprise!"  :)

Thanks for stopping by, folks. I appreciate it.

Lunchtime Grilling

We just finished grilling a couple dozen moose burgers, into which we mixed a spicy mustard. We coated them in Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ sauce when they were done.

After they came off the grill, we cooked several large rib-eye steaks. Those were marinated for nearly 20 hours in Guiness Draught, and then hand-rubbed with our house blend of seasonings. I'm sure my wife or Younger Daughter could tell me what is in the blend, but suffice to say it's really good.

To these meats we added some freshly-baked russet potatoes.

Now that lunch is completed, we have LOTS of leftovers for dinner - and now we're going for a drive to enjoy the sun & blue skies.