(May 20, 2020) At 10 on a Saturday morning folks were lined up two or three deep on the platform above one of two large brown bear habitats at The Fortress of the Bear, a bear rescue center for orphaned … Continue reading Bear Aware Day
The little girl said a prayer over her fish before she released it into the Pacific Ocean. The baby coho, part of the Sitka Sound Science Center Hatchery class of 2023, had begun it two year Odyssey around the Pacific … Continue reading Swim Little Fishies, Swim.
Right now it is snowing, but it’s too warm for it to stick. Before that it was rain, hard rain and before that drizzle. It’s overcast with occasional bursts of sun through the clouds. It is 40 degrees but feels … Continue reading Herring Weather
Yesterday was a magic day. Our son, Brian, came to Sitka to visit and Sitka obliged. We were watching Jamestown Bay when a pod of whales exploded from a bubble net. Then there was a beautiful sunset, but the best … Continue reading The Camera You Have With You.
This is the final post in my Sitka Winter series. It is designed to allow me to carry home with me wherever we travel on this next adventure. It is winter shots from all along the 14 miles of Sitka’s … Continue reading Winter Scenes Along the Road
Wintertime Alpenglow is special. Because of the late sunrise (Just before 9 AM) and the early sunset (Just after 3 PM) I am up to see it on both ends. The snow is also further down on the mountains giving … Continue reading Winter Alpenglow
Sitka has many microclimates along its 14-mile road season. Even a few hundred feet of altitude or distance from the ocean makes a difference. And even along the ocean there are differences. As you approach Starrigavan Bay it gets colder, … Continue reading Winter at the End of the Road.
Winter in Sitka is a season the tourists don’t see. They often ask us “What do you do in the winter?” We smile and think about … Continue reading Winter on the Totem Trail
Sometimes I am out and about when the sun sets especially in December when it sets just after 3 PM. Fortunately I have a new iPhone 13 pro so I always have a reasonable camera with me. These are sunset … Continue reading Out and About When The Sun Goes Down.
October 18, Alaska Day, marks the anniversary of the transfer of Alaska’s sovereignty from Russia to America. The problem is that sovereignty was not Russia’s to transfer. The land was owned for thousands of years by indigenous people ranging from … Continue reading Reconciliation Day 2022
After a pandemic induced hiatus Alaska Day returned, in limited form, to Sitka. Alaska Day Commemorates the day that the Russian Flag was lowered, and the American Flag raised over Castle Hill (Noow Tlein in Tlingit) and the United States … Continue reading Alaska Day, 2021
Raptors, eagles, birds of prey, being chased across a lawn by a kid. That’s how I first encountered the Alaska Raptor Canter. It was set in a back yard to care for injured eagles. In 1983 it moved to the … Continue reading Raptors!
Fourth of July is a civic holiday. Christmas and Thanksgiving are for families and church. Labor Day and Memorial Day have evolved away from civic celebration to family picnics that bracket summer. Independence Day is a time for communities to … Continue reading Celebrate in Community
My most intimate experience with a bear was not in Alaska, it was in Albania. A man in our neighborhood had a pet bear that was also his source of income. He and the bear walked around Tirana, he gathered … Continue reading Smart Bears
After missing a year of parading Sitka’s 4th of July parade was back this year. This is the first tranche of photos of the parade. It’s good to see your friends marching down the street, waving and chatting. For me … Continue reading The 4th is back! (Tranche1)
For 50 years the Sitka Summer Music Festival has brought the world of chamber music to our remote island town on the fringe of the Pacific. Because we’re remote, we appreciate the world coming to Sitka at the start of … Continue reading Filling a Hole in June
The Parade of Species is a highlight of Sitka’s Earth Day. Usually, it has tons of kids dressed as different species, costumes made from recycled stuff. Last year there was no parade, this year it was limited to Spruce Tips … Continue reading Earth Day 2021
…That’s what I said as I looked across the sea walk toward Sitka National Historical Park. Good Lord! I have never seen that many bald eagles in one place save at Haines, Alaska in the late fall. That’s when they … Continue reading Good Lord!
Eighteen and twenty-one are milestone birthdays. When I was in my 20s the old saw “don’t trust anyone over 30” made 30 the milestone birthday where you became irrelevant. But what comes after 30? All downhill? NO! We grew up … Continue reading Raven’s “Jack Benny” Birthday
I have walked by this log hundreds of times and photographed it dozens. It probably washed ashore when the pulp mill was in operation and giant log booms, pulled by tugs, passed this point on their way to Silver Bay. … Continue reading Bumps On A Log.
I was walking along the Silver Bay path, a young family was coming the other way when a little girl pointed over my shoulder and behind me. “Mama, there!” “Good eye sweetie.” I spun around and saw two whale spouts. … Continue reading Pictures on Boxing Day
April 8, 2020, Sitka, AK My quarantine ended last night and I resumed my walks today — at a social distance. When I first got up it was blowing and raining and I thought “no way.” But this afternoon I … Continue reading Sprung …well sort of.
April 4, 2020, Sitka, Alaska As the days go by, I get more nervous. It’s like waiting for the shoe to drop. Will I have traveled through four airports with lines and crowded waiting areas and sitting for hours in … Continue reading The Quarantine Post
… Your Glasses Too. March 26, 2020, Sitka Alaska. Usually I’m a good sleeper, a short sleeper but a good one. I fall into a deep sleep and 6 and a half hours later my mind is racing with things … Continue reading Take Off Your Mask for the Border Guard…