Trees! There be Trees!

This week, the weather has gotten to the point that exploring outside my little village is possible. Now that the days are actually longer, it is not as dangerous as it has been so far. I also picked up a little "beacon" that will help folks find me in the event that I get eaten by a snow bank. I assure you this is a possibility!
So, off I went to explore a little bit. To my delight, I found a tree! An actual tree! Ok, I should back track a bit and explain my delight. I am from a beautiful, tree covered, mountain state in the lower 48. You realize how much you miss the simple things like pine trees when you don't see them surrounding you.
The Arctic is by definition, a desert. There is quite a fair amount of "berry bushes" in the tundra, but I have not found anything that is taller than my shoulder. Today as I was exploring a bit, I found this tree! It was about 200 yards from the path. I felt energized and had to challenge the snow covered tundra to check out this tree. Off I go! As I step off the path, it appears that the snow has melted and settled enough that I should be able to walk without difficulty. Suprise! After several steps, I notice that I am walking on ICE, again. Oops, not entirely true. After about 50 yards, I sink my left leg all the way past my thigh into the snow. It is a bit difficult to get myself out as I have now broken through a layer of ice/snow. I had no idea that it was so deep! Once I was able to "swim" my way back to the surface, I manage to make my way out to the tree. It is beautiful! I think they call it a "diamond cedar." I will have to investigate this a bit more. It is obviously an evergreen, with little needles like a Blue Spruce.
I head back to the path, being perfectly aware of the fact that the snow is deceiving me by looking like it is only a few inches deep. I fall through another few times, just to prove that the snow runs this place. Even as it melts, it still runs my world at this point. The ICE is really hard. I know that penguins live on the opposite end of the world, but I have discovered that they walk funny because it is slick, not because of their itty bitty legs. All the penguins with long legs fell, cracked their butts, couldn't lay eggs because of the crack induced pain and all the short legged penguins were the only one's left to reproduce. Yep, I have figured it all out as I penguin walk my way through my little arctic town. Just to clarify, I penguin walk for safety, not any broken tailbone issues. I bet you thought I wasn't having fun.....
I await my new camera to share pictures with you again. It should be here any day! Most of the time the United States Postal Service remembers we exist, however occasionally they too think that AK is Arkansa.
Next week, fishing on the frozen ocean!