Still no answer to the big boom

No one is certain what the HUGE Noise was last week at 8:38 pm, Oct 17th. In Palmer and other neighboring areas, It was one of the biggest noises to come out of the sky and everyone was talking about both hearing and feeling it. Guesses include a jet, meteor breaking up, blasting rock, breaking sound barrier, avalanche, earthquake, sonic boom, meth lab explosion or a basalt rock melt. On FB, Palmer Buzz, Mr. Martin shared the wikipedia definition of “sky-quake” which is a phenomenon where a loud banging sound is reported to originate from the sky and mysteriously causes noticeable vibrations.

More Lights Up In Palmer—We have a little over 10 hours of daylight now but it is shrinking. It’s kinda hard to deal with the active sunlight loss. But this is when we are proactive and planners. We know dark time is coming and we know outside lighting is more than merry. Outside lighting in Palmer is indicative of warmth, hope, and goodness, even in the darkness. It exudes a positive and safe environment. It is more than just being merry; it is welcoming and comforting. If you start paying attention you will see little pockets of lights starting to appear. There is a beautifully lit tree in 200 block of S. Alaska Street. It stands kinda on its own. The lights were put on last week….now, suddenly many people stop to take pictures of it. It’s just a tree but it is wearing lights and lights make people happy as the dark season approaches. If you look around town or your neighborhood you will see seasonal light patches becoming more common which in turn make our darkened world happier. Let’s take note of the light spots, share them, and applaud their presence!

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, chess, curling, 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 Alaska dollars to every Alaska resident man, woman and child. Get up and get out and enjoy your community.

Local PFD time—Go spend your PFD 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.

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 solid cold temps. And then they’re toast. Adios, black flies.

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