Cooling Off at Tern Lake

Yesterday was way too hot for this long-time Alaskan.  Ninety degrees is almost unheard of in this area which is influenced by coastal weather, but still in the mountains.    This is Fairbanks weather, not Kenai Peninsula weather.

After hiding in the house most of the day, which really didn't do much good because I had all the windows open and it was almost as hot inside as it was out, I loaded the kayak in the truck and went down to Tern Lake.

This my favorite place to kayak.   There's an abundance of birds nesting here, tiny flowers on the islands, and it's close to home.

Guy walked into the frame just as I was pushing the shutter button.

This (above)  is the most scenic third of the lake.

The middle part,

and the last third.   The middle and last portion are where I aimed my kayak.

Cotton grass.

Cotton grass.

These are maybe 5/8 to 3/4  inches across.

These are 1/4 inch across.

I paddled close to the islands, taking photos of the tiny flowers and snagging assorted floating litter that  blow out from the parking area onto the lake during the winter.

At the far side, I checked on the beaver lodges.   There are two, though one looks big enough to be a beaver condo.   I haven't seen any sign of beavers for two summers and I suspect they've been trapped.

This is one long beaver lodge.

They dug a canal for a short cut to another part of the lake, using the mud for their lodge.

More cotton grass while heading back to the truck.

 
I dodged Arctic Terns and Mew Gulls that were telling me I was too close to their nests.  One almost got me with an explusion of white stuff that landed right beside my kayak.

The yellow litter bag.

And I found the perfect place to get out of the kayak.  Not as agile as I once was, it's hard to get out because my butt is lower than my feet while I'm in the kayak and even lower when I jam the bow onto land.  I need a place where I can lodge the kayak so it won't tip over while I'm trying to get safely ashore.

In fact this was the best place ever.  I jammed the kayak in between the shore and the stump and all was well.   The upper part of this photo is the reflection of the mountain across the lake.

It was the perfect place to spend a couple hours.  A gentle breeze across the water kept things cool and comfortable for shorts and tank top.  There were no bugs on the water, even though we are experiencing one of the worst mosquito seasons in memory.   Ashore there were white sox and no-see-ums, so I lingered long enough to take a photo of Bluebells blooming in the Wild Rose hedge along the shore.

Perfect.   Absolutely perfect way to escape the heat.

The Hardest Part about Picking up Litter... (part Two)

...is trying not to step on the wildflowers.   I've been in wildflower heaven the last two weeks.  This stretch of the Seward Hoghway leading to Turnagain Pass is in bloom. 

I spend a lot of time taking pictures and tip-toeing through the daisies (except the daisies haven't bloomed yet). 

Wild Geranium

Don't know this one

Dandelions and Buttercups

Lupine

Lupine

Don't know this one either

Same as above

White Aster

Star Flower

Lupine

Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder

Lowbush Cranberry

Labrador Tea

Chocolate Lily

Dandelion and Buttercup

Addendum to Previous Post

Jonah and I (mostly me) got caught fibbing to Google Blogspot yesterday and it refused to allow me to set up a blog for said 11 year old.   We had to bring mama in and set it up in her name, much to the dismay of Jonah.  Therefore when you go to his blog, you will find "Really Jonah" where the profile info is listed.  We aren't finished setting it up yet.

I don't know Jonah very well (yet), but I'm somewhat responsible for him being here.  Years ago, when my husband and I owned a lodge in Moose Pass, a friendly, outgoing young lady called from Texas, inquiring about employment opportunities.  After a couple minutes conversation, I guaranteed her a job if she came to Alaska.

She arrived and was a wonderful employee.   She met her future husband, and as these things progress naturally, Jonah arrived, followed by a younger brother.

I was so impressed with Jonah's abilities and talent for photography that yesterday I helped him set up a Google blog so he can post his bird photos.  

Jonah's using a digital SLR camera and says he understand how to use all those different settings on it.  I asked him if he would start a camera class.....   Probably fruitless on my part, because I cannot retain all that f stop and aperture stuff, no matter how many times I read about it.

Here's the link to his blog.

http://jtlbirding.blogspot.com/

And here's a photo I took of Tern Lake at 11 PM last night.   The camera caught the sunlight  reflecting off the mountains and water and darkened the rest of the scene.   It was broad daylight, thanks to our wonderful Midnight Sun.

 

Who's Spying on Whom?

Wednesday evening I attended the second meeting of the birding club started by Jonah, age 11.  We met at the Tern Lake picnic area for a field trip, and we had a grand time.   Jonah is our local bird expert.   I've tried to stump him a few times with an unusual bird, but he was always way ahead of me.   Jonah can also identify each bird by its sound, and mimic it.

His mom held her hand out at about the three foot level, indicating how high Jonah's stack of bird books would be if he piled them up.  "And they're reference books, not kids' books."   He was three when he first expressed his interest in birds.

Jonah was carrying a DSLR camera with a fantastic lens.   "Wow, Jonah," I said, "there's your first year's college tuition right there."  The camera was a gift from his grandfather.

He also got a great shot of a yellow warbler that was flitting around and not holding still.  Tough to do.  I could not.

This boardwalk is where people can watch spawning salmon entering the lake later this summer.

A part of the lake from a viewpoint I rarely photograph.

The highlight was the Saw-whet Owl's nest.

The owl's nest is in the box fastened to the tree.  Rose has an app on her smart phone that shows us a close-up of any bird.

 We spied on the obliging owl for a bit, then wandered the trails looking for more birds.  Yellow Warblers showed up, and at the lake, Mew Gulls and Arctic Terns were flying around.  Yellow-legged Sandpipers passed by and disappeared in the floating vegetation on the lake.


My very thoughtful neighbor Miles brought two kayaks and escorted first Jonah and then Hanna onto the lake to see the birds close up.

That's Jonah on the boardwalk, Hannah getting into a kayak while Miles waits in his kayak, and Jonah's mom.

While Miles watched over the youngsters on the lake, I had a chat with fellow litter-picker Sam from Seward.   He's been tending a stretch of highway just out of Seward for many, many years.  We swapped litter stories and techniques.

Sam is looking for Mountain goats on the mountains across the lake.

 

Sam picks up litter while riding a four-wheeler (ATV) with a garbage can on its cargo deck.   He said he's put 2500 miles on it since he started picking up litter, and asked me how many miles I've put on my truck.  I hadn't a clue, because I do only a mile a day.   My farthest point away from home is 40 miles.

But, back to birding.

 Another neighbor, Rose, read off her list of birds spotted recently.   Most of them were in her yard, some here at Tern Lake, and another at Kenai Lake.

"TL" is for Tern Lake and "KL" is for Kenai Lake.

My goodness. 

On the way home, I stopped to check on the Red Necked Grebe.  I understand when the ducklings hatch they climb up on mama's back.   I would love to see that.

Looks like all is fine.   The three-year-old brown bear hasn't found her yet.   Miles' mom chased it off the highway near the lake at noon, and that evening his dad had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting it in his driveway.   Mom says it acts like it doesn't know what to do.   It's on its own for the first time.


As to spying on the birds,  who's spying on whom?

Love this picture.   Too bad it isn't in tight focus.

Gullible's Gazette

MUNDANE ITEMS
OF CASUAL INTEREST

 
YOU ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION:

I've been hearing about them so on a recent hot day in Anchorage , I stopped at McFastfood and ordered a McFlurry.

This is how it was presented to me:

The McMess looked like it was barfing.

MORNINGS AND EVENINGS:

Trail Lake in the morning

Summit Lake in the evening.  The camera can't quite capture the golden hue on the water.   That's a campground across the lake.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, INSTANT GRATIFICATION:

Speaking of lakes, I stopped one evening at the Tern Lake overlook and took this photo.

This is the smaller part of the lake.

Then I drove down to the pullout where a photographer asked me if the view was better up above.   He climbed the hill, took photos, then later came back down to the lake.

He has a camera on a tripod, a camera hanging from each shoulder, and he's taking photos with his smart phone.   Instant posting instant gratification.  I wonder if he uses the phone to video an explanation of where he is so he can identify his camera photos?

FORGET ME NOT:

I came across these Forget-Me-Nots while picking up litter.  In covering 50 miles of Seward Highway, this is the first time I have seen this flower along the highway.

Not quite in focus on macro, but a better representation of the true color.  One of the reasons it's the state flower is its color--blue and gold.   The state flag is also blue and gold--blue of the sky and gold for the Great North Star.  The Big Dipper and the North Star are represented on the flag against a field of blue.

This is where I found the flowers, right above where my yellow litter bag is sitting.  I think the seeds were placed there intentionally.

Beautimous:

 CHANGING OF THE SEASONS:

Dogs shed, moose shed, bears shed, and mountains shed their snow white duvets.   This occurred yesterday afternoon while I was assembling the mow deck on my John Deere tractor.

The mountain somewhat behind my home.

It started in the cornice at the top.

                        

LITTER PICKING SPONSORS:

This summer's litter picking brought to you by Carlene, who told me about lamb's wool, and Celiene, who picked up four rolls of paper tape in Anchorage for me.

Warning:   Graphic Photo.   Sensitive eyes might want to turn away now.   Hide your children.

Ready to go.