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.