Cool Weather Picnic

We had a cool weather picnic at Manmade Hole on a recent evening.

Stew and strawberry shortcake were on the menu.

The Sailor and Flossy tried some casts in the Hole to no avail.

I walked about looking - here is some 'chicken of the woods', an edible fungus.

Our maple bush is turning delicately orange.

Leaves are changing everywhere.

Here is a little glimpse of the second piece of beading I have done for the Tongass Rain Forest Festival art show, 'Archipelago', which opens at the Clausen Museum Saturday 09/01.

Scene, Recently #30

In the Forest, mushrooms are springing up....

...wild flowers are blooming...

...leaves are turning...

...and the Sailor is home again in time to pick blueberries!

Wet Afternoon Walk

I had to force myself to go back out after getting home from town late this afternoon, and actually waited a bit for the rain to slow down to less than torrential; then, go back out I did.  I wanted to show you how the past few days have brought an end to the season of screaming green, ushering in the first hints of autumn.

Rain and wind made for a perfect imitation of October all day.

Devil's club leaves are among those starting to turn color.

Devil's club fruit - inedible by you and I... but I think the birds enjoy, and perhaps this has medicinal uses for the Indigenous Ones.

The Devil's club fruit will turn bright red before the end of summer like these already have.

Wild celery has gone to seed in a starry way.

wild celery - this plant stands about eye-level tall

salmon berry

New mushrooms are poking through the wet forest floor.

 Hope this post refreshes you, if you are living in the hot dry parts of the world!

Return of Two Forest Favorites

William Wallace, our Norwegian Forest Cat, is the elder statesman here on the beach, and beloved Uncle to the other pets.  

William Wallace and Thomas on the Couch of Comfort

Although devoted to our family, he does take a vacation from time to time.  No matter how many times he has taken these leaves of absence, I end up worried sick about the old duffer. 

I woke to the squeal of eagles in the trees outside my bedroom window this morning – like a welcome home chorus for Uncle William who was peering through the French door when I came downstairs.  His disappearance lasted two weeks and a day this time, and I was thinking maybe he was gone for good.  He is 17, after all.

Also reappearing in the woods this weekend, the noble blueberry - ripe enough to start picking!

Scene Recently, #27

While I was away, the scene turned GREEN. 

Even with the temperature hovering below 55 degrees F (13 degrees C) and steady rain our hardy plants are growing and flowering.

Salmonberry - we are going to have a great berry year, I think.

This muskeg plant is called Labrador Tea.  The leaves can be brewed in the fall.

Flossy, looking - wise?   Inscrutable?  Steely-eyed?

Scene Recently, #17

Getting Off the Island

Sunday Mighty Girl and I took Flossy to Friend C’s and boarded the Alaska State Ferry bound for Juneau, pathetically the New York City of Southeast Alaska.

After shopping and a great visit to the Alaska State Museum, we caught a real lucky break in the torrential rain just in time to have a look at the Mendenhall Glacier – one of the main attractions of Juneau.  

Mendenhall Glacier

We hiked around taking pictures with the rest of the tourists.  These pictures are taken from a vantage point approximately 1 ½ miles from the glacier.  

Heavy rains over the past two weeks have flooded creeks and streams. The waterfall to the right was roaring.

 Mendenhall Lake was full of big slabs of floating ice, calved off of the glacier.

The weather held while we made a little hike on the East Glacier ‘Trail of Time’.  This marker indicates the position of the glacier face in 1916.  It is at least 4 miles away from the present day face of the ice.

We heard the sound of rushing water ahead and soon came upon a breathtaking waterfall.  

Moving on up the trail, we heard a louder water voice – and this crashing creek to cross over on a foot bridge.

A rock spirit revealed himself around a turning in the trail.

The next day, we got back aboard the ferry for the long trip home.  

No end of beauty to see as we glided through the Alexander Archipelago toward Peril Straits.  

 

The commercial salmon fishing season is still going and we passed by lots of boats like this purse seiner.

The entrance to Rodham Bay appeared, moody in its shroud of cloud and mists.

At Sitka we had a three hour layup, and got off the boat for a hike around the Starrgavin trail system, built and maintained by the US Forest Service.

Part of the trail skirts the edge of a beautiful estuary.  

 

 

A bird observatory has been beautifully constructed of local red and yellow cedar by the Forest Service. 

Coming back toward the ferry, we walked along the beach a bit...

...and found a local edible plant called goose tongue, the grass-like plant on the left in this picture.  Its flavor adds a salty tang to salads.  It's good to be home - I will be getting caught up on lots of things, including visiting your wonderful blogs.