It's springtime in Alaska

This has been a busy week at my house. First the people came to replace our aging furnace, then others came to take down a fallen tree in the backyard and trim some spruce that were hanging down into the street.

These are obviously spring things and that is the time to make those changes you have been thinking about all winter. Fortunately very little of the work is stuff I have to do myself. Both projects require expertise, of which I have none in the appropriate fields. My wife has somewhat more than I do but not enough to swing a chainsaw like the hired workmen can.

One thing we can handle ourselves is a visit from our son who lives on the Kenai Peninsula. And that will hopefully involve a nice restaurant where they mix drinks that go down well.

Spring affects all families and I suspect many people are going through something like we are. The seasonal change is generally considered a positive thing, an upbeat introduction to those lazy, hazy days of summer.

There are, of course, bad folks out there somewhere and they are hurting people just like they always do. That is just the way things are and we all have to watch out for the bad stuff and help each other recover when it comes.

One thing all of us can do is watch out for our friends and neighbors and offer help if they need it. Though spring is an upbeat time for most of us, for those of us suffering depression the rising sun can equate to increasing gloom. Having someone you like and respect offer their help can often bring sunshine to a difficult situation.

This Sunday is May 1 and with that major change in the calendar we are only a little more than a month away from salmon fishing season. And that means that somewhere under the ocean surface some fish that were born in Alaska are developing the urge to make their return trip.

Fishing is one of my favorite pastimes and the excellence offered in both food taste and the feel of a fighting salmon on a fly rod are promised for the months ahead.

Things can go wrong, of course, and they often do. But those who live in Alaska generally do so because they like the place and what it offers. They can take the bad with the good and hope that the good outweighs the bad, which it usually does.

My wife and I were looking out our living-room window the other day at the beautiful sunshine and the effect it has been having on the budding trees and bushes in our yard. Soon enough that sunshine will be having its impact on the grass and that will turn a beautiful green. I must admit, however, there is no sign of that happening as yet. But I am an optimist and am confident that it will.

Springtime is generally an upbeat time most places in the Northern Hemisphere. And with an abundance of wildlife as well as trees, bushes and grass, Alaska is a special part of that world.

Each year at this time we are reminded of why we came here and why we have stayed through the years. Alaska is a very unique place and tends to be at its best in the springtime.

I hope all of my readers are having a similar experience.

Tom Brennan is an Anchorage columnist and author of six books. He was a reporter/columnist for The Anchorage Times and an editor and columnist at The Voice of The Times.