A snow event...

It has again, been a while since I have posted.  I cannot figure that you would enjoy the mundane parts of life during this COVID-19 thing.  I get up, I putz around, I cook and eat then I go to bed.  Rinse and repeat!!

But once in a while, some fun things happen and they manage to get caught on one of my many cameras.

When I was in Parkesburg, I had many cameras all over my home so my family and friends could keep up with me and be able to look in to see if I was still alive and kicking.  It was a safety and comfort thing for me.  Those cameras needed a web site in order to be used.

After getting to Fairbanks, I decided to use different cameras.  There is a company called WYZE that has developed cameras that are small, high def, and cheap ($20).  I have been following the company since they began and have each of the three versions of their cameras.  They do not need a website, just a phone app for viewing.  I can share the cameras with my family members, so they are more secure with little chance of outsiders looking in.  Each camera has a micro SD card slot and can continuously record so as not to miss anything.  But the WYZE company provides the ability to save 12 seconds of a motion event and notify you, should you want that.  That way I can see that there was motion and check out what had happened.

I have several cameras pointed to the outside area of my home.  It allows me to see vehicles arriving, deliveries coming... and as you may remember... even porch pirates.

It has been a strange winter thus far.  We had a big thump of snow on November 7, 2020.  Then we had little sprinkles of snow that had me plowing a small layer off the driveway before Brian came at Christmas.  Then nothing until last weekend.  It has been cold and the snow that has fallen is still around.  We have had frosty weather that has kept the snow stuck in the trees and on the overhead electrical wires.

This is the front window view using my Sony still camera but taken from just above the "Waves" camera.  The "Waves" camera is a camera that I had given to Rob back when Kate was in the hospital in Seattle.  He used it to check on me when I was in Seattle and then after they bought this house, they had it here to watch the inside of the house before we pointed it outside.

When I am upstairs and I look out the front picture window... this is the view I see.  It is a picture postcard, lush in the summer and beautiful in the winter.  It gives me a sense of peace and calm when I take the time to sit and enjoy this landscape.

I want you to look carefully look at the picture.  Especially the power lines.  When the temperatures get below zero (and it happens frequently here in the interior of Alaska) Hoarfrost begins to appear.  The surfaces get so cold that any moisture in the air freezes on whatever it touches.  While the snow does land on the top of the wires, the frost builds up and builds up UNDER the wires.

As the temperature warms-up or as we get winds (which is rare here in the valley) the snow will fall off the heavily laden tree limbs and that will sometimes cause power 'blips' or outright outages when snow or tree limps interact with power lines.  The 'blips' are annoying as the power goes out and then comes back on in just a few seconds.  But it is out long enough to reboot the router for my internet and to make me have to reset the clocks in the kitchen.  Anything electronic has to restart and reboot. 

February 7, 2021, I was watching TV in my craft retreat (the place where I spend most of my time), it was light outside and there was no wind to speak of.  Suddenly the house went dark and quiet, only to come back to life a few moments later.  Annoying!

I took that time to go up and unplug the internet router so I could put that device on a battery backup device that I had brought with me from Parkesburg... I had unearthed it last year but put it in a safe place that I finally found just a few weeks ago.  Hopefully, that will prevent the router from turning off during the 'blips'!  Didn't think much about the 'blip' until I took a look at the motion notices for the cameras and saw the activity you will see below.

This is the view from the new Driveway camera.  I am just glad that I was not out getting the mail or walking Miles!!  If you can enlarge pictures on your phone or tablet or computer, you can get a close-up look at the action.

Please take note of the power lines after the snow dumps.  Enlarge the picture if you can to see the movement.  There is no wind, but something happened to give those lines so much sway and bounce.  You gotta love winters in Alaska!!!