Posted in alaska on Apr 13th, 2010 8 Comments »
Sunday was such a gorgeous day, so we decided to take a little hike up to Heart Lake. Isn’t it beautiful??? Very cold water. Only Cassie (our dog) was brave enough to go in. The rest of us stuck to the floating dock… Checked out a little waterfall… Examined the geology, both small… and large… [...]
Posted in alaska, Catholicism, nature study, volunteering on Apr 3rd, 2010 10 Comments »
Today the Alaska Raptor Rehab Center was able to release 4 rehabilitated Bald Eagles into the wild. And here is a video Ed took of me having the great honor of releasing one of those Bald Eagles! (I am the one holding the huge bird, btw.) So breathtaking to see these birds take off, soaring [...]
Posted in alaska, nature study on Apr 1st, 2010 9 Comments »
Herring!!! This is the time of year when huge schools of herring come pouring in to these waters for spawning. And with the herring come a whole host of critters just waiting to cash in on the bounty, including… Sea lions!!!! I’ve seen a whole bunch of them lately swimming about in front of the [...]
Posted in alaska, nature study on Mar 24th, 2010 5 Comments »
A walk in the park… Wanna help me id this guy? C’mon all you birders, help me out! He was smaller than a red tail, but larger than a peregrine falcon, if that helps at all. Out of the woods and down to the shore…. Lemon nudibranch And this nasty looking fellow… is a sea [...]
Posted in alaska on Mar 23rd, 2010 4 Comments »
Barter Life has loveliness to sell, All beautiful and splendid things, Blue waves whitened on a cliff, Soaring fire that sways and sings, And children’s faces looking up Holding wonder like a cup. Life has loveliness to sell, Music like a curve of gold, Scent of pine trees in the rain, Eyes that love you, [...]
Posted in alaska on Mar 16th, 2010 7 Comments »
Yep, that’s right, we finally got our first good dose of the fluffy white stuff this year. And since it will also most likely be our last, coming so late in the season, we decided to enjoy it! Here’s the proof: Snowballs small and large… A snow pirate? Then we decided to work together on [...]
Posted in alaska on Feb 27th, 2010 10 Comments »
We took off on another explore yesterday. After a morning of volunteering at the Raptor center, we headed up Harbor Mountain to take a hike in a small corner of the glorious Tongass National Forest. The place is ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR. (honestly, these pictures do it no justice.) Huge trees, moss-carpeted forest floor, fantastic long-range views…so [...]
Posted in alaska, nature study on Feb 24th, 2010 7 Comments »
This glorious weather has put us in the mood to be outdoors! We’ve explored high… and low… and discovered some really cool stuff along the way… Cassie likes to come along on our explores. Especially if there is water involved. And we are really, really happy to have this guy along with us more often, [...]
Posted in alaska, Curriculum or Lack Thereof..., nature study, science, volunteering on Feb 21st, 2010 9 Comments »
So, as I’ve been saying, the kiddos and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer our time at the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, which happens to be right here in beautiful Sitka. Though the center treats, rehabilitates, and releases as many birds as possible, some birds are too badly injured to ever [...]
Posted in alaska on Feb 19th, 2010 4 Comments »
It’s all about the footwear, folks. In Western North Carolina it was hiking boots. In Fairbanks it was insulated snow boots. In Key Largo it was flip flops (or bare feet) . Here in Southeast Alaska , the footwear of choice is the ubiquitous brown Xtra Tuf boot. Stylish, no? (And as for volunteering the [...]
