outdoors: February 2009 Archives

Sunday, I was whining about our sky-high home heating bill for January. It's just about the only thing I don't love about winter. But while scanning through some old photos, I found this one. It reminded me that York winters aren't that tough to handle.

Taken on a four-month trip around the country while working on a 16-part series for the Record called States Of Youth, this photo shows caribou along the Alaska Highway that could have created a traffic jam-- if there was any traffic.

While January in York was cold, temps were mild compared to that trip. And although the Alaska Highway is now mostly a good paved road, winter presented unique obstacles-- and threats. To keep out of deep snow, animals used the highway as a path. On this entirely snow-covered road, I'd be buzzing around a curve and meet this--a herd of caribou. It made for some interesting emergency driving manuevers. When I finally slid to a stop, they just stood there and glared at me.

Temperatures started at -40 and climbed all the way up to -10, making driving with less than a half tank of gas dangerous. Slide off this road, and you'd need to keep warm until someone else showed up. That could be hours (or seasons?), depending on location. A few times, logging trucks forced me to the side of the road, and once into a ditch.

One of these days, I'll visit Alaska again in winter. It's starkly beautiful; it's absent of gawking tourists and clunky motor homes; it's cold; its people are extraordinarily kind. On the other hand, the long, dark arctic night smothers you like a dense black cloud and you pray for home and friends. At least, that's how it affected me. when you live there, it's called seasonal affective disorder. Tourists call it spooky.

Apparently, that's not something you get used to overnight. But next time, it won't be a solo trip, and that might make all the difference.

Winter isn't just a season in Alaska. It's a lifestyle. Someone once said that we can get used to anything but the stone in our shoe. Do you think you could become accustomed to Alaska winters?

I don't have many talents, other than angering my wife when I drop clothes on the floor or forget to turn off lights.

But I often wish I could sit down and draw. Paint. Sketch. Even use Crayolas in a coloring book. Maybe that's why I use the camera, because as much as I have tried, I just can't 'get' perspective on a piece of paper.

This photo is of a sparrow coming in for a landing. Thanks to Photoshop, it's muddled enough to look more like a painting than a photograph. On this photo are some paint daubs, some texturizer, some saturation.

I haven't decided for sure if it looks better than the photo, but I'm leaning toward 'no'.

Thats another talent I wish I had-- graphic artist.

This photo, taken 28 years ago, has always been a favorite of mine, not because of any photographic excellence, but because I remember the personality, even as other memories fade.

This little girl (I'm not even sure of that because of the snow suit) was obviously not happy about shoveling the walk-- but she had resigned herself to the fact that it was going to happen. The shovel was bigger than she was tall, the snow drifts nearly as high. But as I drove down the York street, I saw her sitting there, comtemplating her next shovelful.

But she was a cutie. And she sparkled when I spoke with her.

As I drove away, she was right back at it.

We occasionally take this kind of picture when, while cruising through town, we see a possible photo. But whenever I take pictures of children, I give them my Daily Record business card so they can show Mom and Dad who was taking their picture. Parents are understandably concerned when they run home and say someone was taking their photo. With a business card, they have a telephone number, email address and business address that parents can use to check credentials.

Even with that, parents have called the police to warn someone is taking their kid's picture. I stick around and talk with police to be sure they know what's going on. It's best to talk with parents before taking the picture, but sometimes, it's just not possible.

And if parents don't want the picture in the paper, it's not published. In fact, I deleted a Christmas blog entry because a parent didn't want her daughter's last name on the internet. Given her concern, I deleted not only the last name, but the entire entry.