Brandon the Bruised

Just wanted to post new pictures of the bruise taken April 19. It is kind of like our snow.....just won't go away. His right leg really is a funny color from the knee down.

"Mule Kicked"

This is a post about Brandon and the hazards of what can happen at soccer practice when you are forced to practice in the gym for weather related reasons. The weather related issue would be SNOW! Not necessarily new snow but snow that has been slow to melt. Then when it does melt it will take additional time for the turf to dry out. This happened over the course of about 2 weeks, 3 direct kicks to the very same spot. The 3rd time was enough and when he got home from practice with his bag of ice I knew something was up. He tried to talk me into letting him tough it out another couple of days, but we ended up in the emergency room the next night. He was checked for a stress fracture but all the damage seems to be a large hematoma (bruise) so big that it has messed up his lymphatic system and the swelling can't drain very well. He has been on crutches for a week and probably won't be able to finish soccer due to the slow healing of this monster bruise. The good news would be that the weather is finally getting warmer and the snow is melting!!
These pictures were actually taken last Sunday April 12th.

Snow Camo Moose

I saw this moose for the first time last week and again last night. It has always been too dark for good pictures. So after last night I had figured out where this cow and her calf were bedding down and I headed out first thing this morning and I was able to find them. The calf with her is her 2008 calf and it is not "spotted" like her. The cow has a BIG belly and it would be really cool if her spring calf this year was spotted like its Mom. This cow is a Piebald. It carries the Albino gene but she only got splotches of white.

Kaboom!!!!!! Here we go again

After a few days of calm at the mountain it ROARED back to life at 5:58 this morning sending steam,ash and volcanic gas to a height of over 50,000 ft. above sea level. The ash cloud was carried south toward Homer, Alaska. We have been very lucky when it comes to the winds. Let's hope it stays that way. The skies are clear & blue, hopefully it will be a good day for viewing Mt. Redoubt.
The graph is from the Alaska Volcano Observatory website and the very prominent red and blue is the new eruption.

Volcanic Ash Helps Make Beautful Sunsets

Mt. Redoubt, our backyard volcano, has been calmer the past few days, but the cloud cover has been annoying. It has been hard to get a good look at the mountain with good light for pictures. Mt. Redoubt is in a constant state of simmering. It almost always has a gas, steam plume with some ash and when it erupts, has lots of ash. I went to the beach to try and get pictures of the volcano but no luck with the cloud cover. So when life gives you lemons make lemonade, right?
The particles of ash in the air made a fun addition to the sunset colors looking across Cook Inlet even if you can't see the mountain.

Ash Fall..........Snow Fall

This past week has been very eventful with Mt. Redoubt, lots of eruptions!! I have lost track of the total number of eruptions since the show began on March 22, 2009. Brandon got to see a lightening storm associated with one eruption on Friday night. He said it was pretty cool!! He was on his way home from a school dance and just happened to be in the right place and at the right time. We have had very little ash to worry about but we woke up to 3 new inches of snow this morning......I think Spring forgot about us, but the moose haven't!!

Volcanic Ash & Color Codes

The "Restless" mountain has shown a quiet, gentle side today which has been nice. Especially after the 6 eruptions yesterday. It is still venting steam and gas according to the latest news info. The clouds still prevent us from getting a look at what will be obvious changes to Mt. Redoubt.
The ash from yesterday went North and to the West, away from us. The photo is courtesy of the AVO/UAF-GI and it is an ash particle collected in Healy, Alaska. It is easy to see why the scientists say volcanic ash is very abrasive. Also included is an explanation to the color codes used for the volcano.
Aviation Color Codes
GREEN
Volcano is in typical background, noneruptive state or, after a change from a higher level, volcanic activity has ceased and volcano has returned to noneruptive background state.
YELLOW
Volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above known background level or, after a change from a higher level, volcanic activity has decreased significantly but continues to be closely monitored for possible renewed increase.
ORANGE
Volcano is exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, timeframe uncertain, OR eruption is underway with no or minor volcanic-ash emissions [ash-plume height specified, if possible].
RED
Eruption is imminent with significant emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere likely OR eruption is underway or suspected with significant emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere [ash-plume height specified, if possible].