Lookout. When this overlook was first built, it was littered with advertising signs that blocked the view. Now the signs have been moved and the lookout is a popular spot for all species, including this bald eagle, to stop and take in the view.

Ice Racing Over. The ice racing booth has been removed from Beluga Lake. How sad to see the muddy tracks and the water on the ice. Soon planes will be splashing down as it becomes a landing strip for summer traffic.

Let's Rent This Cabin. Two moose checked out our Wise Old Hunter guest cabin this morning. They have been hanging around trying to figure out a way to get inside and use the satellite TV. Their presence forces the dogs to stay indoors more. The three-legged boxer thinks she can take them on.

Skiing Caterpillar. By the end of my ski the other day I was hanging my head down, shuffling along after many falls and noticed, too late, a spider on the snow. I ran over him and went back to find him smeared. Then soon after I noticed a caterpillar. I spared him with an unusually agile sidestep. I haven't seen a caterpillar before while out skiing. I told this to my cousin and he had recently seen one as well. I guess even caterpillars like to use a well-groomed ski trail sometimes.

Roger's tree. Over recent years our trees have been infested with a beetle that has killed a large number of our spruce trees and changed the landscape of the area. This tree is along our ski trail and is a favorite of our friend's (pictured) husband. He checks on the health of the tree each time he skis the trail and has even considered finding a way to have it sprayed (an expensive and difficult job) to save it from the beetles. There are loads of pinecones on it right now and Roger is happy to see all the little baby trees thriving around its skirt.

Yellow Snow. How many steps will a three-legged boxer walk from the house to pee when it is below zero? The same as how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop - three.

Flying Tomatoes. There's nothing like that feeling of sledding down a huge hill, going airborne, and thinking, "Oh S***!"

Sled Train. When we take the kids out into the muskegs, we hook two sleds up to the back of the snowmachine. The first is a bucket sled that John built a wooden top for. The second is a long sled. It is a wild ride.

Ah, spring!

The bench. So, when we were skiing the other day we had brought a lunch with us. We decided that we would find the bench on the hill to stop and eat at. It would be nice to sit in a dry spot. We had a hard time finding it and cut across a hill in search of it. This short cut caused three of us to fall hard. We looked for quite a while. When we finally found it, it was, of course, all covered in snow except for the back rest. We kicked the snow off the seat and sat on the back to keep dry. It wasn't what we had envisioned, but it worked.

Face Plant. These photos are from our recent ski day. My daughter told me that the first big hill (second picture) was ominously named Face Plant. We safely sped down this with no snow in the face. However, I found four other hills that I would name Cartwheel, Butt Slide, Splits, and Gumby - based on MY experience. The first picture is the view from the top of the ridge. This is the view just before you get to Gumby Hill.

Winter King Salmon Derby. These are a few of the 255 boats that entered the winter salmon hunt yesterday. Over 800 fishermen brought in 210 kings, with the winning king weighing 33.48 pounds. Great picture, right? Why take a boring picture of a guy holding a big fish when you can get a picture of water with tiny dots representing boats? Sixty-two thousand dollars went to the top ten winners. We didn't enter the competition this year. Our boat was in Nomar getting a custom tent designed for the front deck to make our trips to Prince William Sound drier this summer.

The master at work. John has upgraded from lifting the logs with a pole and chain and pulley system, to using a boom truck.

A Scribe's Tool. This little tool is what John uses to scribe logs. It has a double bubble level on it to keep his line straight. Tomorrow, a photo of his current log building project.

Augustine Talking. On my way to Homer Tuesday night I noticed a row of cars on the lookout with a row of professional photographers in front of the cars. I shouldered my way between photographers with lenses as big as cannons and took this picture. The Anchorage Daily News printed a photo taken by one of these photographers and his photo showed lava flowing down Augustine. You have to imagine that since the camera I used fits in my purse.

Alaskan Scarecrow? Art? Someone took the time to assemble fishing gear and the body of a headless fisherman on the back of this truck. Maybe the orange raingear was stinky after the last halibut fishery and the wife insisted it air out.

Eleven Moose a Sleepin'. I spotted eleven moose along this one-mile stretch of the river bottom. This is a photo of three of them. I used to train for marathons on this road and had to yield to moose frequently. That and the treacherous ice talked me in to buying a treadmill.

Sunrise at Iliamna. I drove to the beach to take this picture this morning and found six other cars there. All were there to see the sunrise on the volcanoes. We could see four active volcanoes this morning. Augustine, which has been burping for months now was visible, but hazy.

A Saturday Battle. We were going to go on a ski Saturday and instead ended up staying indoors playing Settlers for 3 hours. This is all I have to show you from that day as I didn't even go outside. We didn't have the Internet for 2 days, so I was unable to post yesterday. I went on a 2 hour ski with the kids where we followed a trail up the ridge and had a spectacular view. I got my camera out to share it with you and my battery went dead. I'll spare you the 1,000 words that it would take to replace the photo and just say it was beautiful. If you like to play games, Settlers is really fun. A lot of it involves negotiations so it allows you to see who is a pushover and who is a tyrant. John won.

More Snow Chores. After a snow John usually spends around four hours clearing the driveways and his log building areas.

Illiamna Sunset. With spring equinox coming soon, everyone is talking about how much more daylight we have. On December 21 our daylight lasted a dim 5 1/2 hours. The sun now rises at 7:33 a.m. and sets at 6:47 p.m. We will soon be passing by all other states in our daylight hours. Now we can finally say, Na na na na.

Snow Chores. The kids use our tramp as much in the winter as they do in the summer. Even the dog helps keep it clear of snow.

Icicle Attack. These icicles, which looked like they were going to force their way into the house, finally succombed to the rising temperatures and fell just after this picture was taken.

Sunday Snowmachine. This photo was taken by John during his afternoon snowmachine ride. The lines across the sun aren't made by powerlines, but are an illusion created by the sun in the camera.

Winter car wash. No matter the temperature outside, we wash our car twice a year whether it needs it or not. The large Suburban is often seen driving the Alaskan highways to protect against injury in a collision with a moose. Over 200 moose a year are killed on the Sterling Highway.

Skis for six. After school we often ski from our front door on the trail groomed by John's snow machine. The youngest member of our family, Leo, 7, has been skiing since he was 4 years old. Our ski trails lead to a string of muskegs (swampy marshes) that allow us to ski for miles without seeing houses or roads.