Fall Arrives in One Week

I left one week ago and everything was green. I came back and everything is YELLOW! Fall arrives in one week. I'm told that in one more week, all the leaves will be gone from the trees and it will be winter. So basically, the Fall season in Alaska lasts 2 weeks. I'll let you know if that happens.

When I first arrived in Anchorage on August 13, the sun rose at 6:05am and set at 10:02pm. Yesterday when I got here, the sun rose at 7:48am and set at 7:54pm...a difference of almost 4 hours in 6 weeks. In December, on the shortest day, there will only be 5 hours and 27 minutes of daylight. It is a land of extremes.

It was hard to say goodbye to Kelly and Stone; hard to leave home with the growing list of tasks that have to be completed in preparation for Christmas; but I did get the house decorated for Halloween and I'm pleased with the way things look. I think it may get a little harder to come back each time...but I don't know that. Once I'm here and busy, I'm fine. There is so much work to do and I continue to feel as though I'm making a significant contribution.