sauna

The sauna benches were finished last week. 

The sauna's solid fuel engine with attached water tank. 

And the fuel - poplar tree trunks. 

Osprey

Perhaps no diving bird is more amazing than an Osprey at the moment its talons pierce the water.  Watch Nature: Moment of Impact: Jungle to see an osprey dive.  (Photo by Michael Wulf. ) I tried my hand at drawing the photo above, which reminds me of this drawing of a griffin, from Bill Peet's "Pinkish Purplish Bluish Egg".

woodpecker

A woodpecker near our house on 30 September.  I'll have to look up the species sometime. 

Denali landscape

Wonder Lake is 4 miles long and 280 feet deep.  Four fish species, including trout, live in the cold waters.  Denali is shrouded in thick clouds in the distance.

This big glacial erratic was probably set down about 10,000 years ago during the last big glacial advance.  The photo was taken from Polychrome Overlook.  (See also this close-up photo by Heather Webber.)  I am sure we will return, a fourth time together, to hike or bike through Denali National Park.

Denali animals

Three of the six bears we saw in Denali.  Though most of their diet is plants, these healthy and numerous apex predators are a sign of a productive environment. 

We saw a lot of dall sheep.  These last two scenes are frames from video I took. 

This is one of two big bull moose we saw.  It was rutting season.  When he turned his head the wide span of his spatulate antlers probably exceeded 60 inches.  A couple not far behind us said they saw 12 wolves cross the road in front of them.  A healthy bull moose is usually safe.

Last harvest of 2011

This is the last weekly vegetable pickup from Rosie Creek Farm for the season.  It is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm only a mile away.  Each week throughout the summer we enjoyed eating veggies from the farm.  In this picture: kale, spagetti squash, pumpkin, storage cabbage, celeriac, leeks, carrots, French breakfast radishes, brussel sprouts, potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic.  Past weeks have included a cornucopia of other fresh vegetables.  Biologist Tom Paragi has extended the eating local ethic even further. 

Waning Harvest Moon.  No matter where we are, we all share the same sun, the same moon, and to a large extent, the same atmosphere that washes the face of the Earth. 

The crown of leaves on poplar trees are set aflame by the dying sun.  On my evening drive home, I saw the birch, their weeping branches were laden with leaves of an intensely bright yellow.  (It reminds me of the Golden Spruce, a tree that grew in British Columbia and carried a mutation that kept it gold year round.)

from Japan

These photos were taken by my wife's sister who has young children that enjoy playing with rolly pollies. So do I (which is why she sent them to me).  Thank you! 

None of these in Alaska.  But after the tidal wave near Sendai, they seem more plentiful there than before. 

A cicada that just emerged from the soil to begin a new stage in its life.

Tussock moth

I took a photo of a male rusty tussock moth (Orgyia antiqua) this morning that was on the wall .near our house door.  The two eye spots on the wings send a clear signal.  Females of this species lack wings.  The camouflage abilities of moths are very creative.

Angel Rocks

Interesting erosion patterns on granite tors along the Angel Rocks trail.  As a mayfly is to me, I am to this ancient rock.

The weathered rock, the long view from a steep hillside, and the setting sun in autumn combine in one photo.  It reminds me of visiting "Finger Rock" along the Dalton Highway, while on our way to hiking along the northern side of the Brooks Range.  Overlooking the broad course of the Sagavanirktok River as it flows toward the Arctic Ocean was unforgettable.

Summit Lake

Summit Lake is one of my favorite places one can see along the Richardson Highway.  This photo reminds me of the documentary Salt for it's minimalist feel.

Matanuska Glacier along the Glenn Highway is a geographic feature along the same road system that is hard to ignore. 

Erimo Misaki

Erimo Misaki is a cape on the southeast of Hokkaidō.

A view from the east.  I walked down the side of this rock to the narrow strip of beach you see in this photo.  It was a cloudy day but the sun broke through to glisten off the dark wet rocks and seaweed.  (photo source)

Creamer's Field Migratory Wildlife Refuge

Last week I visited Creamer's Field during their sandhill crane festival.  Two times a year migratory birds visit Creamer's Field on their way north at the start of summer and on their way back south again before winter sets in.  In this photo there are a lot of Canada geese, sandhill cranes are in the back right. An aside: Creamer's Field is the northernmost place I know of that has woodchucks.

More action in this photo.  A few sandhill cranes are coming in for touch down.  Their annual migration takes them from Alaska to Nebraska (or further south) each year.  These feathered dinosaurs must have an amazing view of the world.  This scene is begging for quality close-up shots. 

A pair of sandhill cranes in flight.  Large migrating flocks of birds fly in V-formations, chevron patterns in the sky that improve their efficiency over long distances. 

Speaking of migration, another spectacular scene is migrating rays in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo by Sandra Critelli. 

Kenai Peninsula in 2010

At low tide in Ninilchik - blue mussels and barnacles.

We hiked a trail to Grewingk glacier at Kachemak Bay State Park.

Then sea kayaked around Yukon Island, and under the arch in Elephant rock. 

We ate lunch under this arch at the launching spot on Yukon Island.  But that was before we left.  It was high tide when we came back.

Katchemak Bay has gull island, a seabird breeding site.  This bird, a gannet, lives no where near gull island at all, but it is an excellent example of some of the adaptations seabirds have for ocean life. 

Camping in 2010

On a camping trip in 2010 we saw a moose in a lake – a classic Alaska scene.

This fungus on a birch tree looks like a cauliflower.

At a campsite in Anchorage I saw a colorful harvestman.

There were big slugs and small slugs at Hope, Alaska.  We stayed a night in our tents and hiked part of the way to Gull Rock. 

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

I recently declined an invitation to visit Hawaii.  Thurston lava tube is just one of many unique attractions on the Big Island that I want to see, someday. 

Colorado Springs

This is at Garden of the Gods, a place I visited when I saw my sister and her family a year ago.

Not only were the rock formations breath-taking, but the natural beauty extended to the desert vegetation.

This is a view of a canyon I saw near Cave of the Winds, also near Colorado Springs.  I imagine the area looks similar right now since it was the same time of year that this picture was taken. 

whirligig beetles

This is a whirligig beetle (specifically Gyrinus aeratus) from northern Eurasia, photo taken by K.V. Makarov.  It looks almost like a product of Hayao Miyazaki's imagination.  (How many animals have legs, fins, and wings?)  I recently read about these beetles, and many other freshwater invertebrates, in the book Aquatic Entomology by W. Patrick McCafferty.  It was very easy to spot whirligig beetles in Fairbanks.  At the nearest pond hundreds of them were skimming along the surface, forming small dimples in the water.

The only way for me to get close enough to take a portrait shot was to net out a few of these little speedboats and temporarily confine them to a yogurt container.  A freshwater amphipod grasping a seed is also visible. 

Their bodies are perfectly adapted for navigating the interface between water and air.  Supported by the surface tension of the water, they diffract the light creating interesting patterns around them.

But their paddle shaped hind legs are not at all suited for walking.  A fact clearly demonstrated when I put one of the beetles on a piece of paper.  Another interesting specialization these beetles possess is two pairs of eyes, one pair for air and one pair under their body for the water.

Only a macro lens is capable of picking up this level of detail.  Photo from Photomacrography website. 

Tohoku trees

In late summer 2009 I visited this lane of pine trees in Watari with my family.  I don't know how this same place looks after the earthquake in Japan earlier this year.  The ocean is on the other side of the wall visible in the distance.

Perhaps the most famous trees in Japan are Sugi trees (above and below). Shinto shrines have some of the best and most accessible examples of these impressive relatives of cypress. 

Jōmon Sugi is the largest Sugi tree.  Just as Tāne Mahuta is one of the largest kauri trees. 

Denali boulder

I think this is a glacial erratic.  I saw this in May last year during a short bike ride.  The chiseled surface has a really nice character and reminds me of gongshi.  I hope to see more natural beauty on a return trip to the park in about a month.