We are right in the middle of an Auroral down cycle. Sunspot activity peaks every 11 years. The next peak comes sometime late 2025 or early 2026. So, if we are in the trough, why is Sitka getting so many … Continue reading This Aurora Brought to You by a Drought in the Rainforest.
For some deranged souls like me, it’s a tradition to swim, or at least dip, into the Pacific Ocean in the middle of winter. Saturday was the day. Many dippers dressed for the occasion. For instance someone dressed as a … Continue reading This is Fun. Now Get Me Outta Here! Polar Dip 2019
“Why does Sitka have so many great sunsets?” “I don’t remember that many beautiful sunsets when I lived in Sitka.” All during January I posted sunset pictures from Sitka on Facebook and I kept getting comments like the ones above. … Continue reading January Sunset Retrospective.
The weather conspired against us. Kevin and Shannon arrived on Dec 22, on Dec 23 Brian, Liz and the kids Liam and Fiona came to Sitka. Just before they got here we had some nice weather. Once they were here, … Continue reading Welcome to the first beautiful day of 2019
Our first family whale watch was more than 35 years ago. Alice and Chuck Johnstone took us out on the Fairweather. Carolyn Servid was the deck hand and we went looking for humpback whales. Some folks considered this an odd … Continue reading Our Sitka Christmas Tradition — A Whale Watch.
I love all the holidays around the turning of the year. But Solstice had particular meaning for me. It’s the root of Christmas, the reason the early Church Fathers chose this time to celebrate the birth of the Christ. But … Continue reading Here Comes the Sun — Winter Solstice 2018
Tommy Joseph is an imaginative Tlingit carver. With my camera I documented his carving a house pole for the Interior Department two years ago. Since then he has done a canoe and a library pole for Petersburg with characters from … Continue reading It Rotates! – Tommy Joseph’s new Sculpture at the Sitka Sound Science Center
December 14 was the first real day of winter in Sitka. There was a light fall of snow and some hear frost on the branches. We had had stormy November type weather the day before but the 14th dawned with … Continue reading Winter Brings Frost and Whales
There were two different worlds, the natural sciences and everyone else. At least that’s what it seemed like when I was in college more than half a century ago. The dean organized “Two Worlds” seminars to try to bring us … Continue reading One Ocean, One World, One Health. Whale Fest 2018
Yesterday I celebrated a gray (or grey) day on the water. Overnight the weather turned and today it was bright and the light the hour before the 4:06 sunset brought out all of Sitka’s autumnal glory that ended with a … Continue reading November’s Caprice
Here is the third tranche of pictures from the Alaska Day Parade. There are three tranches of photos total In past years I have been more selective but many people asked “why isn’t my group, kid or spouse, in these … Continue reading 2018 Alaska Day Parade — Tranche 3
This is the second tranche of pictures from the Alaska Day Parade. There are three tranches of photos. In past years I have been more selective but many people asked “why isn’t my group, kid or spouse, in these pictures?” … Continue reading 2018 Alaska Day Parade — Tranche 2
Today is our day. Alaska Day celebrates the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States 151 years ago on Castle Hill in Sitka. It’s a state holiday but for most of the state it is little more than … Continue reading Alaska Day Parade 2018
I made several Facebook Posts on and around Alaska Day. I am collecting them on this blog page, with a few extra pics added. On the Sunday before Alaska Day I posted this: “Alaska day is well and truly launched. … Continue reading 2018 Alaska Day Facebook Posts
In an earlier post, September Turning, I posted pictures of September sunsets from my front deck. Here are some other pictures. The ones of the moon and the plane taking off were also taken from my deck, others were downtown … Continue reading September Song
On September 1 the sun sets at 286 degrees so can’t see sunset from my house but I can certainly see it’s affects from my deck. I can actually first see the sun set, that is go behind the north … Continue reading September Turning.
The last day of September was a great time to be out and about. In an earlier post I have pictures from Harbor Mountain. Earlier on Sunday I hiked a little along Silver Bay, the day before I also walked … Continue reading Silver Bay September
Sitka gets relatively little color at sea level. Some imported maples color out red, the mountain ash gets bright red berries and the alder give us some yellow but look up. The mountain sides that were green become gold, rust … Continue reading Harbor Mountain the Last Day of September
The University of Alaska told us that there was a magnetic storm coming. I started looking for aurora just after 10 PM on Sept 10. I watched and photographed the Aurora at Starrigavan. There were several people there, which was … Continue reading Overnight Aurora Sept 10 – 11
Every June I know I am exactly where I should be, home in Sitka, enjoying the Sitka Summer Music Festival. At the end of every June I go over my Facebook Posts, and review some of the pics that didn’t … Continue reading June’s Over, but oh what a June!
Around 150 Sitkans joined other people in other cities around the US in a “Families Belong Together” march. To be precise Suzi and I counted 147 people march past us while I was taking pictures. We met several more at … Continue reading Remember — It Could Be Us.
Last weekend the Carnival came to Sitka. It seems more wholesome than the carnivals of my youth. Carnivals, as I remember them were a bit seedy, in an exciting way. The Golden Wheel is run by an Alaska family. Several … Continue reading Everything Comes on the Ferry
Everyone in Sitka has a story about our town veterinarian, Burgess Bauder. He is our town character. I mean when people come to town they wonder why our cars have bumper stickers reading “What Would Burgess Do?” On Saturday Sitka … Continue reading “Animal Nature.” Celebrating a Local Character
Our family has a Christmas Tradition of going out on the water over the Christmas Weekend to look for whales. It is a good tome to look because their breath crystallizes in the cold air and they are easy to … Continue reading Christmas Whale Watch