April 16, 1996
Dear Journey North friends,
I am in the 7th grade at Glennallen Middle School in Alaska. We are busy people in the spring, living in south-central Alaska. People start taking their snowmachines (you might call them snowmobiles) on final rides for the winter and packing them up for the summer. Dog mushers are ending their winter season. Athletes start track and field here, while others just run for fun or to keep in shape. Students think about the end of the school year and what they will do during the summer. Older students think about getting a job for the summer. High School seniors fill out scholarship applications, get ready for graduation, plan for the Senior class trip, and decide what college to go to (if they are going to college). Bird watchers start looking for different species to show up, and gardeners get anxious. Everybody seems to have more to do now that we are in spring.
Humans aren't the only things changing. The temperature is rising; now it is usually above freezing before noon. Every day we gain about six minutes of sunlight. The sun is up around 7:00 a.m. and down around 8:30 p.m. The snow on the road is almost non-existent, although some dirt roads are slightly icy. There is still snow on the sides of the road and elsewhere, but that too is melting. The bears are probably out of or soon to be out of hibernation. Birds are becoming a more common sight. The caribou are continuing on their endless trek across the tundra. Ptarmigan are changing color to camouflage themselves. The trumpeter swans will migrate north again soon, as will the Canadian geese. The spruce trees have long since lost the snow on their bows, and the pussy willows are beginning to show. This all goes to show that nature is as busy as humans during this changing period, and we are both very busy.
Sincerely,
Gary John Ridley
7th grade- Glennallen
Teacher: Jeff Szarzi
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