Palmer embraces October

If you haven’t checked out the busting bulletin boards in P-town, you should. There are activities for every person regardless of your inclination. Yoga, dance,music, bookclubs, fibers, knitting, health, volunteer opportunities, wildlife, nature walks, runs, brewing, pickling, recycling, cooking, faith, retail, massage, history, cleansing, birds, and classes on every subject. The Palmer Alaska Buzz FB social media site tries to keep most of these things available and up to date, if it happens in our Palmer Area. Many events are in person and many are zoom or online. Coincidentally, there are dozens of fundraisers, calendared to sync with the October Permanent Fund Distribution of 1100 dollars to every Alaska resident man, woman and child. Get up and get out and enjoy your community.

Local PFD time—Go spend money at Palmer restaurants, stores and businesses. You can do take-out from most places or mask up. Either way, drop some commitment currency clams in our town. The Palmer shopkeepers, innkeepers and bread bakers need some of our Permanent Fund bucks. Don’t just send it out to America’s Amazon or over to Wasilla Walmart. Those biggies don’t care; our local Palmer merchants do.

Share Your Gift—When our individual monetary gift arrives this week, it is just good juju to immediately share a bit of it with our hard-working volunteer groups.. Before you do your annual money dance, give to your community nonprofits for sustenance. Or share with the world. There are so many groups that work hard in our area. We have important nonprofits that feed kids daily, assist elders, make trails, patrol neighborhoods, snow rescue, help the teens, clean up trash, recycle materials, rescue the animals, help the homeless, and feed the hungry. So before you spend the big bucks, (which we get—just for breathing in the State of Alaska)—share with others. Good Karma will follow.

Safety First and Last—Safety is not just a noun; it’s also a verb, as in “safety up.” Lock your doors. Secure your stuff. Report suspicious things. Upgrade your Neighborhood Watch. Be careful in dark parking lots. Keep your eyes open. Don’t be passive. Walk with friends. Talk to your neighbors. Don’t turn a blind eye to the homeless. Make the call. If you see a marauding moose or a scary stranger, let people know. If you see youth being reckless in the roadways (or doing some stupid and dangerous tictoc challenge,) call it in or post it. Be prepared for winter and cold and snow and ice on the roads. We don’t have to be “locked and loaded,” but we have to be alert and anticipatory.

Alert Helper—Does the above paragraph imply that Palmer is crime-ridden? Absolutely not. However, it does mean that we must “up our game” as citizens and residents and watch out for others. And be a helper. Support our public health and safety efforts. Don’t be scared to help a stranger, but be careful and aware of your environment and surroundings.

Season of Desperate Black Flies—On your south wall, in the sun, they rest. Waiting. Waiting for the little crack to get inside your warm house. The Black Flies of Fall are fighting to survive. Cats play with them as autumn entertainment. And this large hatch of flies will continue until really good cold temps. And then they’re toast. Adios, black flies.

This Week in the Palmer Area—Walk about Wednesday is over at the Matanuska Experiential Farm. Wednesday night is Trivia contest at 203 Kombuchu. There is also a Palmer Hockey Booster Meeting. Thursday is a Master Composting Class at the Valley Recycling Center. Thursday a Go Run at Crevasse Moraine and live music at the Palmer Ale House. This weekend is Karaoke at the American Legion. Friday is open mic at 203. All farms are still open including Pyrah’s, Musk Ox and the Reindeer farm, which is having a fall family fun day on Saturday. There is some live music this weekend in Hatcher pass and plenty of other autumn activities all around town. The Skeethawk Ski Swap is Saturday!

Be happy and stay safe Palmeranians!

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. Her “2022 Palmer Buzz Community Calendar” is available at Palmer shops and museum in October. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222