The Northern lights were out tonight. The whole sky was filled with an amazing show of shifting, weaving, spinning colors. Normally when we see them its not nearly as impressive, but tonight they were everywhere. Sometimes, when you stand completely still you can hear them. It makes an odd buzzing/crackle all around you. It's like nothing I've ever heard in the world before. It surrounds you completely, coming from every direction at once. I imagine that if the earth spoke that is what it would sound like. It's a little chilly tonight, about -1 and completely clear. The moon is so bright out that it washes the light display out a bit, throwing some amazing shadows in the woods. One of these days I hope I can afford a good enough camera and muster the talent to capture on film what we see on nights like these. If you find yourself not believing in magic I would challenge you to come visit on the night of a full moon, when the Aurora are displaying. It will change your mind, I guarantee it. It's nice to see the lights again. In some ways it's like I'm getting a message from Glenda, letting me know that she's okay and everything will be all right. Its a renewal of faith, hope, love and magic that I've been needing desperately for a while now. I feel like I can live again.

Well, the sun is shining, It's a beautiful day out. If it's like this tomorrow I think I'll take a hike out in the woods. Strap on the snow shoes, take the pistol and go out to see what signs of spring are starting to show up. It's the closest thing I can get to pushing the pause button on the world for a while. Not a lot to write at  the moment, so instead of useless babbling I think I'll keep it short tonight. Have a good night, everyone, Hug someone you love today and let them know how much they mean to you. You might not have the chance tomorrow.

Well, here I am, sitting and staring at a blank box again. Nick and I just finished up cutting some more wood, it looks like it's supposed to get down to around 0 again tonight so we need to keep a decent fire going or when I get up with the boys tomorrow I'll walk out of my bedroom and see my breath. It's a very unpleasant experience, By the way, although it DOES wake you right up in the morning. For anyone who is wondering, no, I didn't get any of the kids to school today, we'll try again tomorrow. I'm getting ready to start work on another blog, you can see it over at www.alaskacustomfirearms.com soon if you're interested. One of my best friends, Steve, owns the place and, if I may do an impromptu plug, does some of the best gunsmithing work I've ever seen. We're going to be doing some articles on shooting, hunting, guns in general, crazy stuff we decide to build in the shop, and, since I'm going to be doing a lot of the writing, a lot of the same nonsensical rambling you see on this site. It should be a good time. I've decided to throw myself more fully into my work, so expect to see some more content on here as well as there. I'm still tuning my script as well, hopefully it will be ready for prime time soon. If anyone knows any movie producers interested in some fresh writing, be sure to steer them my way! Of course, if anyone just wants to get hold of me without posting something here you can always get hold of me at dpwill99@gmail.com.  Well, anyway, that's about all I've got tonight, it's been pretty quiet around here for the last few days. The yearling moose still hasn't found the nest we built for him. Oh well, if he doesn't show up I'm sure something will eat/use it as a bed. Anyway, I'm off to begin building the new blog. Stay safe everyone and have a great day!

I have to say, things have been strange this week. As anybody who has read this much knows, This week marks a year since Glenda has been in her accident. I honestly didn't know how anyone in the family would react to it. It hasn't been like I thought. We're all just...tired. I can see it in the kids, I'm having a really hard time getting them to school since Sunday. I slept through my alarm for 40 minutes this morning. It feels like we're all just in a huge fog this week. It's a gray day outside, cold and snowing occasionally. It actually snowed all day yesterday. In fact, the only NICE day we've had in a while was Sunday during the Iditarod start. It was absolutely beautiful. I'm guessing Glenda had something to do with that. It was her favorite day of the year. She loved everything about that race. Her and I even worked for the race from 2007- 2009. LOL I had my picture in a bunch of international newspapers helping pick up a dogsled one of those years. Well, enough rambling for the moment, I need to TRY to get the kids ready for school. They'll be late today, but if I can get them there at all I'll consider it a small victory.

AUGH! Winter has done it to us AGAIN! Every time I think we've finally broken through to the warmer weather we get another blast of -10 just to remind us that old man Winter is a biter old guy that doesn't give up easily. It was beautiful day yesterday, Sun was out, sky was so blue it hurt your eyes, and it was in the mid-20s...then suddenly....GOTCHA! LOL Oh well, I guess if I wanted warm I'd live in Belize. only another month or so and then it'll start warming up and staying that way.
Well, I made it through the Iditarod.  The first hurdle for the month is jumped. A few more and I've made it through a whole year. Maybe I can really start concentrating on what I'm going to be when I grow up then. The numbness is beginning to wear off a bit. I'm starting to tingle mentally. It's a lot like your hand when you start getting feeling in it after it's fallen asleep. There is no question that I've changed a lot over the past year, I'm just not quite sure how I've changed yet.

It looks like we have an odd new pet. In an effort to keep our little moose buddy away from my porch and get him down into the ravine where e won't get hit we got some hay and built him a nest today. I have to say, I never thought I'd be a home maker for a yearling moose, but I guess everyone needs a helping hand sometimes. Today is the day of the iditarod, the day that the sleepy little town of 250 gets in excess of 10,000 visitors. It's a REALLY good day to stay home and not try to go anywhere, especially this year. We have so much snow I have no idea where anyone is going to park their trucks and snow machine trailers. Personally I plan on ignoring it as much as possible. In 3 more days it will be the one year anniversary of Glenda's accident. It's funny, we got married on St. Patricks day because she said she  wanted me to remember our anniversary, now there's a bunch of them I wish I could forget and I can't. The iditarod, the date of her accident, the day she passed away, St. Patricks day, the day I buried her.  I'll be REALLY glad when March is over.

Well, my little moose buddy was back again today. He's now decided that my porch is a great place to walk because it's a herd surface and snow free. I was doing my homework and thought someone was stopping by to say hello. I looked out my window and he was just standing there, looking in. I think he would have come in to have coffee if he was invited. I'm trying to decide exactly what to do with the little guy. He's not REALLY hurting anyone, but he's to young to be afraid and run away and he's big enough to really hurt someone whether he means to or not. If you've never had a moose problem think of it as the world's biggest squirrel eating your bird seed. I just got done talking to one of my best friends from my younger days online. You know the guy you knew who was always up for doing stupid stuff? The problem was that we were both that guy so there were pretty much no limits. Amazingly, we both made it through that period in our lives and survived. It seems like a million miles away now.  It was a bit disconcerting when we first came up here. We looked at a map and realized we were closer to Russia than we were to our home town anymore. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like you're walking into the middle of a never ending National Geographic episode. I always expect to hear an announcer talking about the mating habits of the Beluga whale or something when I'm fishing out on the sound. Walking down a trail I keep expecting to get interrupted by a commercial. It's a strange thing. I can say, though, I now have a much deeper appreciation for a lot of the humor in the show 'Northern Exposure'. Live up here for a few years and trust me, It's comedy genius. I know, I'm babbling tonight. It just seems like a good night to babble, so I'm taking advantage of it. If you want really deep thoughts I'm sure there's a philosophy website just down the road or something. Hmm..THe moose just walked across my deck again. He must be going to bed in my back yard. I wonder if I can start charging him rent? Eh, He'd probably just pay in fertilizer anyway. I really should be writing at the moment. Yes, I KNOW I'm writing right now, but I mean working on something that might pay the bills eventually. The problem with that is that in order to write effectively I need to have the picture in my head and I think the tube is on the fritz for the moment. Things have been pretty scrambled in my head lately. Sometimes I look at things objectively and wonder what kind of a moron I really am. I'm sitting in a cabin in the woods in the middle of Alaska, responsible for 3 kids and I've decided I'm going to be a writer. The sane, reasonable part of me thinks I've totally gone off the deep end. Luckilly for anyone who happens to be entertained by my rambling, that part of me is very small and insignificant. I'm going more with the gut feeling on this one. I probably am crazy, but what the hell, right? I have the opportunity that most people never get. For the most part I can stand outside of the world and watch it. Don't panic, people, the picture is sharpening again and I will be taking the proverbial pen in hand again soon. I have a million ideas bouncing around in my head right now, I just have to place them in some sort of cohesive order. March is a horrible month for me, as most of you know. The Iditarod is this weekend which just makes a bunch of horrible memories slam home again. I never thought pictures of running dogs would make me want to vomit. But..It's almost over. Once it hits the 20th of this month I can begin moving on again. Onward and upward, sowing the seeds of modern literature wherever I may go! Well, Ok, not really, but I should at least be able to put a sentence together again. I'm trying for Hemingway, but I'll be pretty happy with Suess. I do want to say thanks again to everyone that reads this. Hearing back from everyone is awesome, It reminds me that there's a big, wide world outside my little snowed in cabin. I wasn't really sure I'd like blogging to be honest, but hearing that maybe I'm entertaining at least a few people in the world is one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. THAT is probably the biggest reason I want to write. it's what tells the logical part of me to shut up,  get in the back seat and hold on because it's going to be a wild ride. Well, I think maybe I've staggered down the literary highway enough for the night. Have an amazing day everyone! Go out and do something fun and tell me about it! I live in a cabin in the woods, let me live vicariously through your experiences! Enjoy the life you have and envy someone else for theirs, because they're likely doing the same to you!