Not global but Hemisphere warming

Just by chance today i ran across an article that tells more sides to this global? warming story. It is worth checking into more deeply. I have heard from others that the ice in Antartica has been getting thicker. Check out this
article.

Sea Ice

1979 to 1981

2003 to 2005

Here is an interesting article from NASA along with pictures and animations about the amount that the sea ice has been receding in the past 20 years.
Here is the article along with very large images from NASA.

Water on the Windshield

Lois does not like me taking photos from the car but this one turned out pretty nice. You can clearly see the drops of water on the windshield. (Click on the picture to see the water drops.)














OK geese, keep your heads up!














OK, now you can go back to eating...

Biking Buddies

Yesterday at work Bruce, Bill, and i were talking about old biking trips we have gone on in the past. This is a picture of the bridge at the half-way mark going up to Crescent Lake. Bruce is on the right. This summer we have been working so much because of the impending closure of the plant next year that we haven't even gone biking. There are some great trails on the Kenai Peninsula --- (there are also some that are not so great). We seemed to recall the trips that were not so great at the time.

Happy Birthday Heidi

Hope you had a fun birthday. Did you do anything special on your day?

One good thing about blogging is that we do not have to be late in wishing you happy birthday anymore because we can change the date on the blog to make it the 25th!

Like father - Like son

This is Bill, one of the smarter operators at our plant. There is another smart operator named Phil who is on another shift. Both of them drink a tankard or more of Diet Pepsi every 12 hour shift. Maybe Pepsi has some special ingredients that stimulates their brains and helps them to think better than most of us average operators???



Last week my wife and I went over to see Bill and his wife Liz. I glanced over toward the desk and was surprised at how much William Jr. looks like his dad! All that he needs now is some Diet Pepsi nest to that computer.


Bill is also kind of a financial genius. One way he saves extra money is by wearing uniforms at home!! (Liz said not to put this photo on the blog.)

Working for another year...

Pipealley(above)

Just before our vacation to Minnesota last month Agrium decided to keep our plant running at least another year. Ammonia and Urea prices are very high now. Natural gas is also expensive, but we will have enough gas for the plant, at a resonable cost, for the next year.

The Syngas compressor below is one of the most powerful in Alaska @ 38,000 horsepower. It uses a 1500# steam turbine and a 550# turbine (to the right and out of the photo) to make it spin 10,400 rpm's. That compresses the synthesis gas from 350 lbs. to over 3000 lbs.

This is the 1500# turbine taken apart a few years ago.

One final picture of hard, dirty work.... Must've been night shift after a big meal.

What kind of coffee????

I think these folks need to rethink their name.... There was not a long line outside waiting for this coffee.

Wild Fish

"Spamon Y"

"Summer School"

"Spenard Spawn Shop"

The last few years artists have been decorating salmon for the state fair.

New Pavement

They have been paving the highway in Nikiski .....all..... ...summer.. ...long... We have been driving on the back roads to avoid being stopped by flag ladies and having to wait for pilot cars. We also have a paved bike path. I don't know if snow machines and 4-wheelers will use it or make their own path. This was taken on August 4th. Today they finished the 7 miles of dotted white lines marking where the centerlines need to be painted. In the next month or two all the lines will be covered with snow!

Gooseberries coated with hornets

On Saturday the 20th we went to the Ninilchik for our Kenai Peninsula fair. It was kind of fun except there was so much smoke in the air from a fire near Fairbanks that it looked like fog. The following day after church we went to a 60th wedding anniversary near our home and there were hornets all over the place. Several small kids were stung. :( Some people think the smoke caused the hornets come out.
When we came home Lois Ann asked me to pick a few cups of gooseberries from a bush in our garden. There were a lot of hornets flying around it, but i was able to get over 2 cups of berriesfor some small pies. While we were picking we noticed all these hornets on one gooseberry. A few hours later they were all swarming on a different berry.

This isn't Alaska

This isn't Alaska but it looks like a pretty nice town. Water, hills, bridges, and nice people. Heidi and John, Mark and Lois Ann

Easy Fishing

You can see all the dipnetters lining the mouth of the Kenai River. The other side of the river has lots of folks also.
We can use a 5 foot net and just wait for the wild Red Salmon to swim into it. This day i was fortunate enough to get about 5 or 6 salmon in about an hour.
We used the new golf cart to haul the heavy bucket of fish to the car.

Sightseeing towards Homer

Mark and Chuck are standing in the center of Norman Lowell's gallery. We took some photos of the Russian Orthodox church in Ninilchik. See the northern lights behind Chuck? Actually, it won't become dark at night for a few more weeks.

Family Photo

We were all together one Sunday afternoon in July. In the bottom picture is Ivy our chocolate lab, then Holly, Christoffer, Lois Ann, Mark, John and Heidi.

Hike up Exit Glacier trail to Harding Icefield

Harding Ice field is in the background. CBS and Holly are posing for the camera.

John, Christoffer (leaning), Gabe, Holly. 

Exit Glacier on Saturday June 11 

Skyline Trail

John and Heidi with the mountains across the inlet behind them.

These photos are from May 14 on a hike up Skyline trail on the Kenai Peninsula. John, Heidi, Gabe, and Christoffer.