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.