Winter is still hanging on, but I'm pretending it's not

It's mid-May and our night temps are sometimes in the low 20's.  Our daytime highs frequently only get up to the mid 30's and they've even forecast a mix of rain and snow for the next couple of days.  (I just looked out the window and it is indeed snowing...on May 17).

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I have a box where we throw any mail that needs shredded or burned, and it was growing large (like 4 boxes of material).  My shredder can't handle that type of volume and after our scary incident attempting to burn a pile of paper and wood last year in too-dry Alaska, we were not eager to repeat that experience.  

I found a local guy that sells "incinerator" barrels for burning debris.  They have nice vents for air flow and a hatch to pull out the ashes.  And they limit the fire danger that is so scary here in Alaska.  

He paints them this bright orange color, which is a marketing decision, but it melts off after burning, which is not pretty.  I'm looking forward to my barrel getting the rusty burned color.

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I have been telling the kids that when the snow was finally melted off the deck, I would exchange their winter clothing for summer clothes (a huge project that lasted through watching the entire movie of BBC's "Pride and Predjudice").  

Isaac took matters into his own hands and pried the ice and snow off of the deck.  I see his point.  I'm so done with winter.

I was able to bleach and scrub down the deck yesterday, as well as do a little more raking on the yard.  

How's this for juxtaposition?  It is so weird to see snow and piles of leaves in the same space.  

So strange.  Thank goodness we live where the sun directly shines on our property, because many of my neighbors and friends still have tons of snow in their yards.  

Planting anything in the ground is pretty much out of question right now, so I'm just focusing on pecking away at my yard when I get the chance.  

On a good note, we're still mosquito free, at least until it warms up.