Palmer egg week

Special Eggs—Check out the hand-painted Ukrainian Easter Eggs (Pysanky) at NonEssentials. The artist is local Sarah Haskin of Sutton, whose Grandmother is Ukrainian. 100% of proceeds go to the Ukrainian Red Cross for donation to Ukrainian families affected by the war.

Palmer Egg Week—On Easter Sunday there will be holy services, feasts, bunnies and colored eggs. In Palmer there will be carefully orchestrated reunions, religious services, bonfires, and chocolate. It’s a good time of year. Oh yes, and there will be snow.

April in Palmer—If you are sick of reading about the advent of spring in Alaska, I suggest you skip this column. But if you are like most of us, we thrill to every tiny glimpse of spring and this column will remind you of what to notice to enjoy it even more.

Still Stacks of Snow—But! The stacks of snow are getting lower and lower. What was five foot piles is now three feet. What was six inches of ice is now three. These increments still look wintery and are challenging but they are lessened in height and girth.

Look for the Babies—There’s at least a dozen new calves and a dozen new lambs on the Palmer planet now. They are tiny and dear and an absolute confirmation that spring is here.

Outside Life is Obvious—You will see bikers and hikers and walkers and ramblers. People are not in a hurry to get indoors it seems. It seems they linger and look and appreciate the warmer weather. At Freddys, you will see people on their lunch hours eating on their tailgates. Seeing life return is so much fun.

Freezers Are Getting Low—A friend explained this concept to me and it seems authentic and valid. Many hunters stock up their freezers in the summer and fall and of course use their provisions throughout the winter. So when the freezer seems empty, it is spring.

Snow Faces on the Mountain—If you look to the mountains, the faces pop out at this time of year. Various melts and slides have carved illustrated and organic faces in the lower flanks’ remaining snow.

Inside Potted Plants Are Happier—Those loyal inside plants have a major mood improvement now after hanging with us during the dim and short light days.

Sun Spots Draw a Crowd—Our animals are clever and they notice the increasing heat in sun spots indoors and out. Often-time the whole gang will hog a sun spot just because. This is a very reliable and comforting sign of spring.

Haggard Moose—It’s hard to watch these thin creatures starve. Hopefully many will make it but many have not. Deceased moose are the fall-out of this terribly hard winter and deep snows. Many of us want to feed them but we will not. We know that feeding them changes up the dynamics of moose/human interaction oftentimes with bad outcomes for both.

More Sounds and More Smells—There are continually increasing sounds of drips, bird song and outdoor activity. The world has an aroma again. These sounds and smells will only increase in strength during the coming weeks.

Birds are the Stars—It seems as if the birds know more than most. We’ve seen the swans, owls and a few robins and thrush. We’ve seen the flocking of nuthatches, bohemian waxwings, and snow buntings. The larger migratory birds are on the move. Now is the time to brush your dogs and put their fur outside so small bird nest builders can collect the fur to soften their little nests for their babies.

Bugs are Back—Moths, caterpillars, black flies and even an occasional mosquito have been documented by watchful spring seekers.

Next Few Weeks—This is the best time of year because we will see our Palmer landscape do a slow pivot. But the transition will be mucky and mushy and potholes will appear along with the great reveal of the underworld, from beneath the snow. All cars are pretty much the same color right now—slush grey. But that will change too in a few weeks.

This Week In Palmer—First Friday at Poppy Lane, Easter Egg Hunts, Live Music, Running Club, Good Friday, Holy Day Sunday, Trail Run and Trail Walks, and general goodness throughout.

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222