The Deracintors

No one appreciates the sun like Alaskans do. I doubt that Californians fetching their morning paper throw open the door here the robins singing and get all happy just because the sun is not only shining but it is warm at 6:00 am.

Today was one of those mornings, so not only was I giddy with delight so were my koffee drinking buddies.

We not only had a warm sunny day ahead of us we had a purpose. We had a mission. We were going Whacking, and invasive species were going to die!

Years and years ago the parks and recreation folks had a brilliant idea. Seems the moose were devastating the young indigenous trees they were planting to stabilize the banks of Chester Creek, and someone turned them onto (Prunus Padus) European Bird Cherry or May Day trees. The May Day trees thrived, everyone wanted one. Local greenhouses cash registers greened up with the sales to laskans who were tired of starving moose eating their precious costly ornamental shrubs.

All was right in the north till one day a regressive walking out to his car noticed a dead moose calf right there on his coiffured lawn. This was before cell phones so his driver had to take him all the way to his office before he could call the government, that he doesn’t want interfering with his life to come to his aid and remove the big dead smelly moose. The government not only removed the carcass but preformed a necropsy and discovered that this calf along with some others had died of cyanide poisoning.

Turns out that the European Bird Cherry trees contained lots of cyanide, and were not only harmful to moose but also to fish and birds, because they do not support the insects those fish and birds depend on.
Saturday was the annual Anchorage Weed Smack down, and we were removing may day trees from Valley of the Moon park.

It was a great event with over 140 people literally pulling may day trees out by their roots.

Our group won the prize for the tallest tree taken down 39 feet and some inches.

Bringing Out The Dead

Team Deracintor

Next week it's off to the Klondike for the Dust to Dawson rally and to ride the Klondike loop. As always bloging from the road, when a connection can be cracked!