Homer’s Best Bets

February 18, 2015 2:25 pm
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Not all shorebirds visit Kachemak Bay in the spring. One species, rock sandpipers, spends the winter here. They can be seen in large flocks on the Homer Spit or sometimes alone, as this sandpiper feeding on the beach at Mariner Park.-Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News
Not all shorebirds visit Kachemak Bay in the spring. One species, rock sandpipers, spends the winter here. They can be seen in large flocks on the Homer Spit or sometimes alone, as this sandpiper feeding on the beach at Mariner Park.-Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News

With all the weird weather back east, Homerites have been tempted to gloat. It’s 19 degrees in Washington, D.C., and look — it’s 40 degrees here. Or, Boston has 8 feet of snow, and here we have barely a half inch on the ground. The Betster fully understands this temptation, but here’s the caution.

Paybacks can be deadly.

Remember the winter of 2012-2013? Remember when snow piled up so high second-story balconies turned into front porches? Remember that winter when the harbor froze so much we had to postpone the Winter King Salmon Tournament? 

Sure, the last two winters have been pretty warm. On top of $2.75/gallon heating fuel — not that you need a whole lot — and equally cheap gas, we’ve been saving on snowplow bills. Other than the fact that the state economy is melting faster than Beluga Lake, as far as the winter-expense account goes, hey, not too bad. But again — paybacks. Our good fortune won’t look so good when the state road budget gets cut so much DOT will be handing out shovels and buckets of asphalt as part of its do-it-yourself pothole filling campaign.

There’s an old principle of ecology that says, “You can’t just do one thing.” If it’s warm here, all that cold air gets pushed south. You know what happens when warm moist air from oceans meets cold air over land, particularly on the coast like Boston? You get big blizzards and ginormous dumps of snow, that’s what happens.

So count your blessings. If you want snow, send a flat rate package with postage to Any Suffering Citizen, Boston MA, and ask them to send it back with snow. We’re bound to get a few tons sent our way. Meanwhile, enjoy weather fine or foul with these Best Bets:

 

BEST MINGLE AWAY BET: If you haven’t been to the end of the Spit lately, here’s a good excuse. Land’s End Resort is the host of this month’s Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center After Hours event at 5 p.m. today. Watch the otters, gaze out on Poot Peak, mingle with friends and enjoy refreshments.

 

BEST ROYAL FLUSH BET: In the game of life, you want the best hand you can get. Learn how to increase the odds of staying heart healthy with “Gambling with Your Heart,” a presentation at 6 p.m. today at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Dr. George Rhyneer, visiting cardiologist, and Doug Duncan, South Peninsula Hospital pharmacy director, speak. Learn about heart medication, recognizing and responding to early signs of stroke, and preventive cardiac care. Healthy refreshments are provided.

 

BEST CAKE TIME BET: Attendees for Bunnell Street Arts Center’s Marie Antoinette Masquerade Ball have been making masks the past few weekends, but there’s still time to make one yourself for the big bash from 8 p.m.-
1 a.m. Saturday at Second Star Lodging on Kachemak Drive. That’s the huge mansion across from Northern Enterprises Boat Yard. The gala evening includes music, fabulous food and just wandering around the place. The ball benefits Bunnell.

 

BEST AUTHORS AWAY BET: At 6:30 p.m. Friday, nonfiction author and fisherman Dave Atcheson reads and gives a talk at Kachemak Bay Campus, part of the college’s visiting writer series. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, as part of the Friends of the Homer Public Library’s Big Read with Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” Alaska science fiction writers Don Rearden and Michael Armstrong speak at the library about dystopian fiction.

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