People who take short vacations during spring break may experience temporal dislocation upon their return, especially in March and early April. Add in the bizarre above-average temperatures recorded across Alaska last month, and you might have noticed the following:
• The snow has melted dang near everywhere below 1,000 feet.
• Strange, exotic plants with vibrant colors have burst forth from the dirt.
• People other than teenagers wear shorts and shirt sleeves.
• Sandhill cranes have arrived. Yes, cranes.
Holy Equinox! Spring has come early here at Latitude 59 degrees and some change. There’s a reason the cool kids call it “Global weirding.” Just when you think you have the climate sussed out and all the patterns of nature calculated, shazam: things change.
For our sanity, it might be better to focus on the things that haven’t changed, like the following:
• Our roads remain a dusty mess despite the efforts of state and city street cleaners.
• Pioneer Avenue still looks like the morning after an American B-52 run over the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War.
• People still can’t figure out how to properly dispose of trash. Hint: Hurling it out the window from your car or truck is not socially acceptable.
• City politics remain contentious.
• The tide comes in and the tide goes out and our beaches remain as beautiful as ever.
In times of dramatic change, that might be the answer. Seek out beauty. Look for the wonders of nature and the glory of our amazing natural setting. Encourage kindness and compassion. Be patient. Help one another. You know the drill.
It might be hard sometimes to keep up with all the changes, but hang in there, Betsteroids. Things will settle out. The calm always comes after the storm. Be brave, be strong and be cool, and in the meanwhile, enjoy this awesome little hamlet we call Homer, perhaps with these Best Bets:
BEST DON’T GET WET BET: Well, try not to. That’s the challenge of The Slush Cup and Rowan Springer Day, starting at noon Sunday at the Ohlson Mountain Rope Tow. Attempt to ski, jump, kayak or teleport across a frigid cold pond at the bottom of the ski run. Admission is $10 to $25 and supports Alaska Youth for Environmental Action.
BEST GO GREEN BET: Want to learn about renewable energy? Have a remote cabin off the grid you want to power up? Check out a presentation at 5:30 p.m. today at Grace Ridge Brewery.
BEST GET WALKING BET: Work on those 10,000 steps with the monthly First Friday art walk. You’ll have to do some strolling, with events not just on Pioneer Avenue and in Old Town, but at South Peninsula Hospital and at The Shop out East End Road. Don’t miss retrospective shows for artists Shirley Timmreck at the Homer Council on the Arts and John Fenske at Kachemak Bay Campus. For all the events see the list on page 12.
BEST KEEP WALKING BET: Need to work on your gait and walking skills for May’s Homer Steps Up challenge? Physician assistant Rebecca Plymire is there to help for the monthly Walk With a Doc at 9 a.m. Saturday at the SPARC. She’ll talk about good walking and running posture and then you can practice with a stroll around the SPARC.
BEST KEEP IT MOVING BET: Help reduce plastic pollution by taking reusable bags when shopping. Can’t afford bags or forget them when you shop? The Boomerang Bag project has your back by making bags available at selected stores. Replenish the supply at a Boomerang Bag Sewing Bee at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies.
BEST INTO THE COUNTRY BET: Jean Aspen, Tom Irons, and their family and friends have taken some amazing adventures in the wilds of Alaska over the decades. At 6 p.m. Wednesday they show their latest film about their adventure, “Arctic Daughter: A Lifetime of Wilderness,” at the Mariner Theatre. Admission is $10.
