It is snowing!!! Fortunately the temperature is above freezing. The snow flakes are very small and are melting as they hit the ground. Hopefully it will stay above freezing tonight although it does usually go down into the upper 20s at night.

For the first time this year, all the recorded temperatures for the state were above zero. The low was at 5 degrees. The highs are in the 50’s and nowhere does it really feel like summer is on the way. The ice continues to melt on the lakes.

Zack, my five-year old grandson, is also the Alaska Grand Champion Wrestler for the 45 pound bracket. He had an impressive record at tournaments with one second place and two first place finishes. This past weekend was the State Tournament where he again finished in first place. There were 10 boys in his bracket.

With wrestling over, he and his sisters will be very busy with soccer. He is awesome at that, too. Last year he played with the six and seven year olds because he already knew how to play. It wasn’t unusual for him to score 5 to 7 goals each game, then. His sisters are also very good at soccer and we go to watch their games quite often.

My seedlings are coming up nicely. I’m still waiting for the summer squash and zucchini to sprout. The solarium warms nicely during most of the days and then the temperature drops to 60 degrees in the solarium at night. Some of the tomato plants have flowers on them. I’ll plant the Siberian tomato plants outside near the house once it warms up to the 60s and stays around 40 at night. There are a couple other Russian tomatoes I’ve planted in the past, but didn’t get any of them this year.

I saw my first robin a couple days ago. My brother in Juneau said the hummingbirds finally arrived almost 2 weeks later than usual this year. He has a feeder outside his apartment window and thoroughly enjoys watching them. I have seen one hummingbird here, but they are very sparse this far north. The swallows usually arrive the first of May, but I haven’t seen any yet this year. We have several boxes in which they nest and raise their young. Robins also nest in our yard.

My cat allergy is continuing to drive me nuts and I continue to do whatever I can to rid the house and my body from the cat dander. Actually, I’ve still not be able to open my windows to let the fresh air in. I know that will bring some relief. In the meantime, however, my air purifiers are busily working and do make some difference.

Have a good night. Till next time…