It really doesn’t feel like summer here in Alaska yet. The snow is mostly gone, except the piles where it was plowed up or slid off roofs. The frost has not gone out of the ground yet, as there is a ton of water everywhere still. There are no leaves on the trees yet, and the nighttime temperatures still get down in the mid 30’s F.

But, the summer activities are starting. The greenhouse is now completely planted and most everything is doing well. I start a fire in the woodstove every night just to keep it well above freezing. So far it has kept the greenhouse around 50 degrees overnight.

We have had cloud cover since long before I got home from Utah, rain most days, and very little sunshine. But there is still enough that the greenhouse will get above 60 from the sun behind the clouds, and if it does happen to get sunny for any length of time, even just brighter than the dreary, cloudiness we’ve had, the greenhouse will get into the high 70’s for a while.

With the onset of the summer season, is the construction season. My husband is a small scale general contractor and he has lots of people chomping at the bit to get going on their buildings. Thus far however, the frost that is still in the ground has been an issue for digging foundation holes.

But one job had a gravel pad put in last year, and that is all thawed out and ready to go. Today begins work on the foundation and slab for that job. Finding help has been difficult for my husband since our sons left on their missions, so that’s where I come in. I don’t mind working for my husband short term, but I have a busy summer season as well, so we’ll see how this all works out!

Along with his jobs and the greenhouse, my season of selling art locally is also starting soon, so I have been getting product ready for a kickoff day, May 23 at Northern Spirit’s Rustic here in Willow. I am so excited to get things going, and I am excited about a couple of new options for products.

I have learned how to make notepads, the kind that tears off for like grocery lists and to-do lists. They have a magnet on the back for your fridge, and they are super cute! I have also been painting some tiny pieces of art, they are called ACEO’s (Art, Cards, Editions, and Originals). They are the size of a baseball card (2.5×3.5 inches). If you’ve ever wanted to own a real original piece of artwork but a large original is out of your price range, then these little ACEO cards are perfect little originals to enjoy!

I am very excited for this summer season, and look forward to the many activities and events that are planned, and I am hoping for some fun spontaneous ones as well. We will have family come up a couple of times this summer, which is always a treat. I have a campout for my young women group in June, and I am just overall excited for this upcoming summer season!

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