Happy Belated Winter Solstice!

Well, I meant to do a Winter Solstice post but am a couple days behind. Not to worry though, we’ve only gained 50 seconds of daylight, so it’s close enough right?

Here in Alaska, Winter Solstice is a very exciting time. It’s like we’ve rounded a corner. We still have a couple months of short days and cold temperatures, but those small increases in daylight each day, while not noticeable on a day-to-day basis, make big differences week-to-week. And for those of you who follow the social media pages, I talked about how many people say they couldn’t live in Alaska due to the winter darkness. While I do find myself wanting to hibernate in winter, I love the extremes of Alaska. Before we know it, the spring equinox will arrive, followed closely by summer’s midnight sun, during which time I’ll be craving darkness and the smell of the woodstove. As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side, but in Alaska, it feels like we get to sprint through all the lawns.

So what did we do on the Winter Solstice? The adults and I went for a long run, taking advantage of the almost full moon. Kalyn, Simon, and Mandy had a packed day of tours. Fairbanks has been a hot spot for guests this holiday season, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! Tucker took the yearlings for an overnight camp-out at a nearby cabin. More to come on their adventure. And Derek continued digging us out from the huge snowstorm that recently blanketed the area. And there’s more snow in the forecast!

The reindeer have also started losing their antlers! Well, just Pilot thus far. As Kalyn and Mandy were leading Pilot out of the trailer, his antler just….plop! Fell right off. Silly guy looks a little lopsided now with just one antler.

Shedding antlers is a natural process that occurs once every year. The timing of when they shed their antlers depends on the age and sex of the reindeer (or caribou). Typically mature bulls shed their antlers in November/December. Cows shed their antlers in the spring after they calve. And steers (castrated bulls) shed their antlers sometime in between. And of course, these are just generalities. There are always exceptions.

Pilot looking at his antler realizing he won’t get to be on Santa’s team this year.

Here are a few magical photos taken by one of the guests (Lindsay Saunders with Forest and Field Photography) from Chena Outdoor Collective. Who knew we could visit Narnia from Two Rivers?