Now that a little time has passed since SAIL magazine published our “Starry Night” photo as their double-page spread opener in July, I wanted to share the photo here – it’s one of my all-time favorites 🙂
BoKoa Farms and Forest Video
We recently created a video for BoKoa Farms and Forest, an off-grid farm on slopes of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawai’i. They practice restorative forestry, reducing invasive plant species and propagating native and endemic ones. Specifically, they remove strawberry guava and chip it, creating a great product for use in grilling and smoking: the wood chips impart a really nice flavor to all kinds of meat and veggies. In the cleared land, they propagate Koa seedlings, reforesting the land with these beautiful native trees. It’s a great cause and a creative way of addressing a problem that exists throughout the Hawaiian islands.
The video tells this story, along with an explanation on how to use the wood chips in your grill.
Critter Post 7: Atlantic Blue Tang
A big departure from my earlier Critter Posts: this one doesn’t live in Alaska and doesn’t breathe air! The Blue Tang is a reef fish native to the tropical Atlantic, so with this Critter Post, we’re harkening back to Seth’s and my global circumnavigation aboard HERETIC, during which we snorkeled with Blue Tangs in the Caribbean on the way out (2006/7) and the way home (2010).
Critter Post 6: Least Auklet
Another bird-nerd critter post! I have a soft spots for goofy-looking birds and they don’t get much goofier than auklets. On our sail to the Arctic in 2015, Seth and I spent several days on St Paul island in the central Bering Sea, binoculars and cameras trained on cliffs full of nesting auklets. It was a toss-up for my favorite, but the Least Auklet was certainly a contender.Continue reading “Critter Post 6: Least Auklet”
Critter Post 5: Snowy Owl
All my critter posts so far have focused on mammals, but we see so many interesting birds while sailing that I thought it was time for an avian critter post. Two years ago, on the Alaskan North Slope, we were lucky enough to see a snowy owl. We watched him for hours as he swept low over the tundra and perched on whalebones. Since it was summer in the Arctic, he was hunting in full daylight (even though it was close on midnight), and the low angle of the sun made for lovely light for photography.Continue reading “Critter Post 5: Snowy Owl”
Critter Post 4: American Mink
Last year on our way south through the Alaska Panhandle, we spotted our first American mink, the animal I’ve decided to make the subject of my fourth Critter Post.
Basic Facts:Continue reading “Critter Post 4: American Mink”
Critter Post 3: Caribou
Despite a paucity of images, I’ve decided to write about the caribou for Critter Post 3. Caribou are an integral part of life in the Arctic and we were lucky enough to see one on the shore of the Beaufort Sea on Alaska’s North Slope – quite the sight, the lone antlered creature on the vast tundra. He was too far away to photograph, so for Critter Post 3 we’ll have to content ourselves with a couple of images taken on our trip to Denali National Park in 2015.Continue reading “Critter Post 3: Caribou”
Critter Post 2: American Black Bear
We saw our first black bear of the 2017 summer on the shore of Wrangell Narrows as we passed through on our way to Petersburg, Alaska. So I decided to make the American Black Bear the subject of Critter Post No. 2. (For those of you who didn’t see Critter Post 1, the inspiration for this series came from fellow blogger, sailor, and birder who writes a regular Bird Photography Challenge post on her site s/v Take It Easy.) Continue reading “Critter Post 2: American Black Bear”
Critter Post 1: Steller Sea Lion
As many of you know, the wildlife we see on our voyages is one the big highlights of sailing for us. So I’ve decided to try out a few posts exclusively about critters. This is mostly inspired by fellow birder, sailor, and blogger Chris of s/v Take It Easy, who writes informative posts about bird species that she sees, accompanied by her excellent photos. After spending a recent afternoon watching sea lions on a navigation marker outside Petersburg, Alaska (see photo above), I’ve decided to make the subject of my first Critter Post the Steller Sea Lion.
Avian winter visitors
2016/17 was a bit of a tough winter for living aboard our sailboat – the harbor froze over; it was unusually cold and snowy for the Pacific NW; and the short days were a bit depressing at times – but we made some great friends and, being amateur bird nerds, we really enjoyed all the wintering avian visitors – harlequin ducks, long-tailed ducks in their winter plumage, American widgeons, buffleheads, common goldeneyes, and hooded mergansers. Here are a few pictures we took on one glorious sunny day in January:
American Widgeons:
Alaska’s 150th
Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of the sale of Alaska from Russia to the United States – the famous “Seward’s Folly” of purchasing Alaska for 7.2 million dollars, about 15 billion today. There have been lots of articles out there on this event, so those of you who’d like to know more here are some interesting links:
- For the history of Alaska, Wikipedia is a good start
- Sitka’s home page on the sesquicentennial
- New York Times article on how “Russians have second thoughts”…
- NPR interview
To mark 150 years, here are 15 of our favorite photos that we’ve taken of The Last Frontier:
Hiking the Olympic Peninsula
This fall we’ve been “stuck” on the Olympic Peninsula while repairing Celeste, but it’s been a great place to be stuck. Not only have we made some wonderful friends, but we’ve gotten to explore the peninsula quite a bit. It’s the northwesternmost part of the contiguous United States and the mountains that form its spine are the second largest range in Washington State. The highest peak is the glaciated Mt Olympus, at nearly 8,000 feet. Rainforests and lakes surround it, draining to the dramatic Pacific coastline of beaches, breakers, and rock formations. Much of it is national park land, so is beautifully wild and undeveloped and full of animals. It’s been a wonderful area to hike and explore on our days off from boat projects and work. Here are a few photos:Continue reading “Hiking the Olympic Peninsula”
