As the winter solstice approaches, anticipation grows. Here at our homestead, Monday’s sunrise will grace us at 10:16 AM, but the sun will set as early as 3:39 PM. This provides just five hours and 37 minutes of daylight. Yet, soon enough, we’ll begin the journey back toward longer days, as time’s wheel never ceases to turn.

Alaska is renowned for its abundant wildlife—although the nightlife in local bars post-10:00 PM is also noteworthy for its liveliness. Our focus, however, is on the non-human residents. In this rugged terrain, you’ll find moose nearly a ton in weight, bears as large as Volkswagens, and wolves and wolverines that patrol the forests.

Among these creatures roam our vast herds of caribou. Occasionally, these majestic animals make unfortunate decisions, leading to unfortunate outcomes.

Regrettably, this was the case for a pair of caribou recently, and hopefully, the citizen’s vehicle involved in the incident is repairable.

Alaska Man Score: 3 points for the dry humor in reporting: “The two caribou did not survive their injuries.” A typical Alaskan might quip, “I hope someone salvaged the meat.”

Meanwhile, much of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough was battered by a fierce windstorm last week. Though Wasilla and Palmer seemed to escape unscathed, the intensity warranted a disaster declaration from Governor Dunleavy.

And boy, howdy, did much of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough have a windstorm in the week just past – although it didn’t seem to hit us here, in Wasilla and Palmer, it was enough to rate a disaster declaration from Governor Dunleavy.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to provide aid for individuals and local governments affected by the recent three-day windstorm.

The declaration, requested by Mat-Su officials Tuesday afternoon, provides grants to individuals and families to make home repairs, secure temporary housing or address other needs caused by the weekend storm, according to a state news release sent Wednesday.

Details on how much money may be available or how individuals can apply will be provided “in the coming days,” the release said.

Our part of the Valley was fortunate to be spared this nasty windstorm. The Susitna Valley, where we make our home, runs (like the Susitna River) more or less north-south. But on the other side of the Wasilla/Palmer area, the Matanuska, the other great river our borough is named for, runs from east to west, as does its great valley. That seems just to channel the prevailing winds, so when winds come screaming down that valley and leave it for the more open country to the west, they can be fierce and can cover the area from the Knik River bridges to Big Lake Road. That appears to be what happened here.

Alaska Man score: No score for this one. Let’s hope that the disaster declaration aids in the recovery of the people affected by this early winter weather blast.

Now, let’s talk about the weather.

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