As the warmer weather begins to melt the ice and snow, lost items from last summer are revealed.
Found in the vegetable garden bed.
What are you finding under the snow?
As the warmer weather begins to melt the ice and snow, lost items from last summer are revealed.
Found in the vegetable garden bed.
What are you finding under the snow?
Posted by Aliza on April 24, 2011
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/things-under-the-ice-and-snow/
We’ve been getting shipments of fresh organic fruits and vegetables from Full Circle Farm the last few months, resuming service after over a year. We stopped service previously after helping to bring Full Circle Farm shipments to Tok with others in the community including the tireless efforts of Francine at the Tok General Store because the shipments in winter were arriving frozen. The truck (from an Alaskan shipping company) that brought the boxes of fresh produce to Tok from Anchorage where they are flown in from Washington State didn’t realize the devastating affect of Interior winters on the contents in the boxes.
We resumed recently when we heard that the truck drivers learned their lesson finally after much spoiled produce and were putting the boxes in their cab. All was well and earlier this winter, we had a few great deliveries, savoring the fresh and diverse offerings. But now, for a second box in a row, we are getting produce that is frozen solid including tomatoes, tangerines, apples, pears, mushrooms, carrots, beets, kiwi and potatoes. The boxes are in the back of the trucks again.
The vegetables will fare better upon thawing than the fruit which will turn to a semi liquified state (applesauce and pear sauce may be in order before they competely spoil). The shelf-life of the veggies thawed, however, will be just a few days.
While Full Circle Farm has a 100% satisfaction guarantee which is greatly appreciated, it is discouraging to get half-edible but great looking produce at a time in the year that every little bit of “sunshine” counts. Well, you do what you can do and get what you can get in these parts.
I’m off to sautee some frozen rainbow chard.
Got produce?
Posted by Aliza on January 21, 2011
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/perils-of-winter-frozen-fresh-product/
When I travel the country and tell people where I live, jaws drop, both out of awe and incredulity. “You live THERE?! Why in the world?? Boy, I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska!!” I explain that my husband’s job brought us here, first to Anchorage and almost two years ago to Tok. It’s beautiful here in the summers, cold as all get out in the winters.
My first winter here was the coldest, with our home thermometer capping off at -60 degrees Fahrenheit. Last summer was mild with many more minus 30s and 40s than past the minus 60 mark. Here are some of the things that happened to us, especially the first winter, that still cause friends’ eyes to pop open:
1. Temperatures can get below -60 degrees Fahrenheit for long stretches of time and most thermometers just don’t go any further.
2. We put cardboard or leather inside the grill on our vehicles to keep the cold air from freezing the radiator.
3. We get what’s called the “Tok Package” to insulate our vehicle engines – not just an engine block heater which is common in colder states but also an oil pan heater and battery blanket.
4. We get “square tires.” When we start our vehicles and start driving in the colder temperatures, the tires clunk and thunk like a flat tire. The tires freeze flat and take a while for the air inside them to warm up and smooth out.
5. Your breath freezes on the inside of your car windshield. After a certain point, even your car heater can’t keep up, and your breath turns into a crust on the inside of your windshield. Helpful to have a little credit card-sized inside the windshield ice scraper. Yes, they make them in Alaska.
6. School buses run until -45 degrees. We don’t have snow days here where kids get out of going to school. We have cold days when the temperatures become impossible for the school bus to operate properly and safely.
7. Our walls are 12 inches thick. Not everyone has the same kind of walls, although the log houses do have thick walls for insulation. But our place looks like a regular house but with walls a foot thick to keep out the cold and keep in the heat.
8. Wine does freeze. I learned this hard way when I brought all the wine gifts from friends from Anchorage on our drive to Tok. Needless to say I let the bottles thaw out and drank it anyway.
9. Moisture in your nostrils crystalizes. When you go outside in the colder temps, you can literally hear the moisture in your nostrils crackling and freezing up. Needless to say breathing in the air at that point is not good for your lungs.
10. We did see a thermometer at minus 71 degrees. My husband took a photo of it and it caused quite a ruckus across the Internet amongst weather geeks. Eventually, a representative from NOAA came by Tok to explain why it wasn’t an accurate reading. But we still have the picture! 😉
I haven’t experienced what happens when you throw a cup of hot water into the air outside. Everyone keeps telling me to try it, but I keep forgetting and going outside when it is cold enough to freeze midair isn’t my idea of fun!
Here’s a little video to give you a sense of winters at minus 60. Driving to General Store in Tok
Posted by Aliza on October 15, 2010
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/10-things-people-dont-believe-about-tok-alaska-winters/
…How dry are they?
This is what I’ve been going through but until this past week, nobody in Tok mentioned these issues because I think everyone – including the health practitioners – just take it as a given.
Now that I know what the problems seem to be, I can work toward being creative with solutions.
One thing the doctor in Fairbanks gave me was Ponaris sinus emollient that had been used by NASA. In 24 hours, my sinuses went from inflamed and parched to normal.
What are remedies you’ve heard about for very, very, very dry climates?
Posted by Aliza on March 27, 2010
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/tok-alaska-winters-are-so-dry/
Now we’re having the weather I remember from our first months here in Tok. Tomorrow – Winter Soltice – will also mark exactly a year that we’ve been here. Finally getting my “Tok Legs” which is an awful lot like sea legs. Takes a lot of getting used to, there are moments of unrest, and then it all feels like no big deal. Then you get out of Tok and realize once again how very different things are here, for better or for worse.
With cold, comes new anecdotes about the cold – things that may seem quite normal and typical to most Tokites, but believe me they are not normal or typical for many others. My latest fun Tok Winter Pics are of the frost and ice forming on the inside of our windows today. Keep in mind we have 12 inch thick walls and two layers of windows!
In my daughter’s room, we had lined all of her teddy bears on the window sill, and they were all stuck to the windows. After some tugging and a little bit of teddy bear fur left behind, all bears were wrapped in blankets (after the requisite teddy bear operations to minimize frostbite).
We’ve just ordered some wood for the first time and plan to light our wood stove for the first time as soon as the wood arrives. Now THAT will be cozy and warm.
How are YOU faring on this fine winter’s day?
Posted by Aliza on December 20, 2009
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/gettin-frosty-in-tok/
I’m playing around with Seesmic and seeing if my DSL connection will handle it. Here’s a little clip I just made about cold weather and vehicles. (I wish I could embed the video but WordPress.com doesn’t seem to allow it.)
What are YOUR cold weather vehicle stories?
Posted by Aliza on January 15, 2009
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/the-tok-report-car-in-cold-weather/
Here are some little details I’m learning about living in Tok that are interesting, curious or just plain good to know.
1. The Fairbanks News-Miner is delivered by truck each day. Usually after 12pm. Sometimes, it doesn’t make it into town. Most people rely on the Internet to access their “local” paper. $1.25
2. The real local paper here is called the Mukluk News, and it is a number of 13×17 inch sheets of paper stapled together. Filled with local tidbits, ads for local businesses, and lots of religious references and quotes. Fifty cents.
3. The Anchorage Daily News is only delivered Wednesdays and Sundays. By small plane. And when the plane can’t make it in to Tok, no ADN. $1.50
4. When your car gets down to minus 50 or colder, strange things begin to happen to your car. Such as your steering and brake fluid begins to freeze. As you are driving.
5. Most Tokites put cardboard or leather across their car grills to keep out the cold air. Otherwise, when you are driving, the cold outside air is forced into the car, quickly cooling it down until you literally have no heat.
6. If you have condensation on your windshield and are driving down the highway, it will quickly turn into a thin, opaque crust of ice. We had to scrape the inside of our windshield the other night. While driving. With actual windshield ice scrapers. But I think a credit card might do a better job. More flexible.
7. They have karaoke every other Saturday night at the Tok Lodge (bar). I have to get my Karaoke system out of it’s box so I can start practicing!
8. The outer walls on our house are 12 inches thick. My husband says this is not typical. Usually, walls are 6 inches thick, I believe. But the foot of wall between us and the cold is why we can stay so warm in the house.
More Tok Tidbits soon!
Posted by Aliza on January 9, 2009
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/8-things-i-just-learned-about-living-in-tok-alaska/
This is a shot of the weather station temp gauge at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge offices in Tok, Alaska.
I’m still looking for a thermometer for the house that will register lower than -60 degrees. Any ideas?
Posted by Aliza on January 9, 2009
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/and-for-those-who-need-proofminus-80-degrees-f/
AKRaven Surplus sells those Bunny Boots that you see on the folks in Antarctica…and in Tok, Alaska. Gotta Get me Some.
Posted by Aliza on January 3, 2009
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/gotta-get-me-some-bunny-boots-in-tok-ak/
I was wondering what temperatures might be like in Antarctica and what the affects of that kind of cold might be. These guys do a great job answering some of my burning questions.
And the temps, BTW, are more than 70 and 80 below zero. I’m guessing they are speaking Farenheit but either way, that’s freaking cold.
Even colder than Tok in winter.
But then again. It is Antarctica.
Posted by Aliza on January 2, 2009
https://livingintok.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/these-guys-are-my-new-heros/