So we're starting to get excited about Spring, as it warms up and gets very bright and sunny. We had 8 or so inches of snow yesterday to make the rather grey and tired-looking deep snowpack look nice again. Tomorrow the Iditarod start should be a lot of fun for us and baby. Warm and bright day to be wandering downtown. Mommy's got her new digital camera all set up for the big day.

Thinking about spring gets us planning on some of our travel this Summer. We reserved a remote cabin for 4 days at the end of August across Kachemak Bay from Homer. Sea Star Cove - doesn't that just sound evocative? We also rented the yurt (a semi-permanent tent-like structure) high on a bluff above the Eagle River, just outside Anchorage, for a quick getaway in mid-July, once Donna returns from the East. It's a very nice, close and quiet place to go in a very scenic setting. The shorebird festival comes early in the season, first week of May, and we'll probably camp out two nights and treat ourselves to a night in a B&B. It's a little chilly still so early, but the festival is a great motivator to get out and make the 4-hour drive out of town to spend a long weekend on the seaside. Lots of activities, lots of birds migrating through Homer! That'll about do it for cabin rentals.. cabins are nice to get out of the rain and make life easier with regards to cooking and gear storage issues with bears. We'll probably get out for our usual berry picking trip near Denali National Park in mid-August, but maybe stay right in the park this time around. And do some fun hikes or canoe trips as the summer rolls along. Such a fun time of year, March, when we can see Winter drawing to a close and start getting excited about introducing Noah to the forests and ocean and tundra.