Volcanic ash

[Blue_In_AK]

We got a pretty good dusting last night. You can still sort of smell it, but I think the winds may have shifted overnight.





We are told that the particles are too big to get lodged in the lungs and cause trouble for healthy people, but HullBoss and I both woke up with sore throats. This stuff is nasty.

[Tindalos]

1. That looks messy to clean up

Do you have an air filter? Probably won't get rid of gases/smell, but it might remove the finer particles.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. No, we're just dealing with it,

and not driving around because it's hard on car air filters. At least we have the snow to kind of capture it, for the moment at least. We'll probably have some air quality issues this summer when the wind starts blowing around, but we'll deal with that when the time comes. It's good for the garden anyway.

[elleng]

5. You'll garden what, when?

Season?

Good Luck!

[Blue_In_AK]

6. We can usually plant by the third week in May,

although last year we had to wait until Memorial Day because it was so chilly and windy. Poppies, pansies, violas, petunias, all kinds of hostas, columbines, wild roses, bleeding hearts, ligularia, geraniums and many, many other flowers grow very well up here. This place is beautiful in the summer.

As far as veggies, I always grow peas, broccoli, kale, cabbage, swiss chard, lots of lettuce, beans (some years better than others), zucchini, herbs (the mint, tarragon, and oregano are hardy here). Some years I grow carrots, although they're not real big by the end of the summer. Potatoes grow really good here, but I don't usually plant them because they take up too much space. I know I plant some other stuff, but my mind's kind of blank right now.

The Matanuska Valley north of here is an excellent agricultural environment and we have a lot of locally grown produce in the stores during the summer.

If you go to this gallery at my website http://northernvisions.smugmug.com/gallery/3414875_hn8vU#191203145_8GuWo there are some photos of the giant cabbages, squash and kale that are grown out there.

[bridgit]

3. Thanks for posting & prolly don't have to say but volcanic ash has heavier particles...

maybe even silica be safe too :)

[intheflow]

4. Ick.

Reminds me of the wildfire ash that flew around Denver in 2002 or 2003. Messy, and disturbing smelling.