 |
| view of the Transantarctic Mountains from an LC-130 Hercules aircraft en route from South Pole to McMurdo Station, November 2011 |
In my life, I've been lucky to call home some truly beautiful places - a few wild and unique spots, one or two sought-after zip codes, even the bottom of the planet at the geographic South Pole. One thing that has remained consistent with these various locales has been my need to spend time in nature, to get familiar with each place's distinct flora, fauna and cyclical rhythms. To be sure, living on a moving ice sheet in Antarctica didn't include much in the way of wildlife (unless you count the occasional aphid that came in via lettuce from New Zealand), but even that land of cold and intense light or dark boasted noticeable seasonal changes.
Our time in Alaska is nearing one full year within the next few days. The 49th state is undoubtedly beautiful, full of breathtaking scenery, abundant wildlife of all sorts, and plenty of varied vegetation. The seasonal changes I've viewed with anticipation and perhaps a little dread (late December and January come to mind), and currently I am rather excited about spring, or as the locals call it - break up.
It seems spring has arrived in 2019 one full month earlier than usual. While plenty of folks are loving the upswing of temps into the high 40s and low 50s by donning shorts and flip flops and ditching their winter coats, I've been on the search for open water and returning birds. The landscape itself has also caught my eye and been the focus of my camera lens as well.
Our time in Alaska is nearing one full year within the next few days. The 49th state is undoubtedly beautiful, full of breathtaking scenery, abundant wildlife of all sorts, and plenty of varied vegetation. The seasonal changes I've viewed with anticipation and perhaps a little dread (late December and January come to mind), and currently I am rather excited about spring, or as the locals call it - break up.
 |
| Mt. Susitna (aka Dghelishla meaning "Little Mountain" in Dena'ina and colloquially as The Sleeping Lady) with mounds of dirty ice on the mudflats in the foreground as viewed from the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail |
It seems spring has arrived in 2019 one full month earlier than usual. While plenty of folks are loving the upswing of temps into the high 40s and low 50s by donning shorts and flip flops and ditching their winter coats, I've been on the search for open water and returning birds. The landscape itself has also caught my eye and been the focus of my camera lens as well.
 |
| one of a pair of American dippers bobbing on the ice above Rabbit Creek |
 |
| a lone harlequin drake on Chester Creek, nearly hidden among a large sord of mallards |
 |
| Barrow's goldeneye drake on Westchester Lagoon |
 |
| there were common goldeneye pairs on the lagoon as well, but this handsome bird was closest |
 |
| a mallard drake giving me the "side eye" along Chester Creek |
 |
| I'm always delighted to spot mergansers, and these two common mergansers were simply beautiful. There were dozens of mallards and goldeneye resting on the ice or swimming about, and then these two flew in to paddle furiously around. Gorgeous birds! |
 |
| some interesting growth on a rotting fence |
 |
| looking toward the Chugach Mountains from an overlook at Campbell Creek estuary |
 |
| view along Turnagain Arm |
 |
| closeup of the snow covering Maynard Mountain on the Portage Lake side |
 |
| Baird Peak in the middle with Shakespeare Shoulder to its left, looking southeast across Portage Lake |
 |
| another view of Maynard Mountain and Baird Peak |
 |
| icebergs floating on Portage Lake |
 |
| Byron Glacier via a snowy and slushy trail |
 |
| nice spot along Portage Creek to rest, have a snack, and enjoy the incredible view |
 |
| love these dead trees - strikingly ghostly |
No comments:
Post a Comment