Tree roots.Looks like the perfect location for a little fairy village or a gnome home!Near Jackalof Bay.Tree creatures.Each one teach one session.Huge tree stump from selective logging.Forestry hike
This was the first part of the journey, a little forest ecology field trip. We learned that there are naturally hybridized Sitka-White spruce trees here in this temperate rain forest. And they grow huge!
Tree roots bleached from the salt water.The remains of an urchin, the test.A sea cucumber me thinks.Hermie the Crab.So many barnacles.Lil Bit walking in the deposits of broken shells. ASMR esq.A boy in the cleft of the rock.So many sea snails. AK Boy found a skeleton of a sea star with muscles and barnacles attached There’s a tiny little sea star right in the center, on the kelp. Tide pooling adventures.
Afterwards it was back to the bunkhouse for some much needed rest. Walking miles in mud boots is not advisable. But we were ready for the next adventure come morning!
AK Boy at the microscope 🔬Lil Bit zooming in.What type of creatures we might see.Alexa explaining how the plankton samples are taken.Lab time!
Lab time was quite eye opening. 🫤🔬🤢 Remember that time at fish camp when pulling nets and a bunch of sea water splashed on your face and some got on your lips and you licked them… Yeah, you ate plankton.
Big chunky sea star.Color stripes on this sea star.Lil Bit stuck to the net.This tank was full of sea stars that are in the stage 3 (super low) tides. Not usually seen but sometimes.He finally worked up the nerve to pick one up. The basic bish of sea stars. 🤩There was a large table of readily found beach combing treasures. Labeled neatly for identification purposes.A crusty crab! I think this one is a “decorator crab”.Touch Tank & interactive lab.
That’s it for our end-of-year field trip. Lots of learning and fun was
List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?
Being limited to three is somewhat of a torture I think, but here goes.
Books were an escape for me as a youngster. I could go anywhere, to any time. I remember reading many huge (by teen standards) books but a few stand out to me. Clan of the Cave Bear, Gone With the Wind, Pet Cemetery. Limitless numbers of horror books, King and Koontz being my two favorite authors. Oy. None of them hold the same meaning for me that they once did. I doubt I would read any of them again, but they were perfect for a certain place in time.
The assortment of books collectively known as the Bible, specifically the Book of Esther “for such a time as this“, Daniel, Ezekiel & the Revelations of John, and the Psalms & Proverbs are all full of meaning.
Once my Dad told me if I wanted to understand him and his philosophy on the world I should read Atlas Shrugged. I did. It is still on my shelf.
Although not a specific title, my assortment of do-it-yourself, how-to resource books are probably my largest topic section! From herb, tree, flower and fungi identification books which are timeless & well loved resources. Then there are my cookbooks… The Sourdough Bible, cheese making guides, Gluten Free Gourmet and Canning books. Animal husbandry, gardening, hunting and home repair manuals. Oy. The list goes on and on.
I suppose every book I’ve ever read has had some sort of impact on me. Little snippets embedded into my psyche.
But the three that I would pack into my last bag would be The Bible, Atlas Shrugged and Edible Mushrooms of Alaska! 🧐
It’s been a decade +1 now. Looking back over some timeline photos with gratitude and admiration for the many wonderful people in our lives and glorious experiences. And for the young people (grown-ups?!?!) my oldest two have become (the first becoming the “Legal” for sure grown-up age today!)
I’m often scratching my head in wonderment of how, exactly, the time has gone so quickly. The business of life steps on the gas when you’re not looking.
This summer is getting underway and we are trying to take advantage of every single moment of decent weather! (Two summers of rain and dreary days has us in a deficit !) We’ve got a to-do list a mile long to get done and life moments to pause and celebrate. Which of course leads to the aforementioned warp 9 speed of life.
Near Jackalof Bay, Alaska
I hope you take a moment today to pause, breathe deeply, walk barefoot and be grateful.
Alaska on my mind... 