Fall

Rainy day at the beach

The leaves on the Devil's club are beginning to turn yellow so I suppose fall has come to Alaska.  The leaves are also turning on the aspen trees, but we don't have those in the village so we can't see their pretty colors as they prepare for winter.  Rain appears to accompany the fall as it finds it's way into the region as it has rained nearly every day for the last two weeks.  We are still under a boil water alert so I am assuming the continuous rain has prevented the water treatment from catching up with the increase in water.  We had hoped the boil water alert was so long due to the time it takes for water samples to be taken, sent out of the village, tested, and the results to be sent back to the village.  I suppose we'll just have to look at the water coolers in the hallway and hear the sound of water cups popping as the kids play them for a little while longer.  Fortunately Mrs. Carol in the office has a water pot that boils the water for hot chocolate so we can still enjoy that in the mornings.

The precipitation has also brought along cooler temperatures and fewer hours of sunshine with it.  Our temperatures are ranging from the low 40s at night to the mid 50s during the day so we'll have to start using our coats rather soon.  I had to remind myself of temperatures in the rest of the world to make sense of the Sunday comics, many of which referenced the heat of summer.  The sun is now rising at 7:30 and setting at 8:30 so it won't be long until we have less day light hours than our families back home.