Under the Weather

After running around between school, dentist appointments, orthodontist appointments, swimming practice, School Open Houses, etc., the kids are now home with colds. Poor babies. I'll try to post something soon.

Ship Creek

The best thing about Alaska is the wildlife all around you. The Elmendorf Fish Hatchery on Ship Creek is just outside the Post Road gate. There is a very pretty waterfall there, and it's a great place to watch the salmon. We also came across this little bird catching fish. She caught it in her beak, and beat it against this rock over and over again. Then she took the fish over to Junior and tried to feed it to him. (Never mind that Junior was bigger than Momma. ) Apparently the fish was still too big, so Momma went back to her rock and started beating it again, trying to break it into small pieces.
Poor Junior. He just had to hang out near the bank and wait for dinner.
Back to the salmon. This is the final resting place for these fish. They can't jump up the waterfall because it's too high, so they spawn at the base of it and then die.

It doesn't keep them from trying, though. They will jump and jump until they are just too tired. Then they will drift to the side and another salmon will take their place and start jumping all over again.

They turn this deep red color right before they die. I guess this is what they mean when they say "Going out in a blaze of glory."

Grizzly & Salmon

We went down to the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage this afternoon. They had announced that they were going to hang salmon in the Bear's enclosure to show how grizzly can leap up to get food. Very cool. The bear had other ideas. They tied a frozen salmon to the end of a backhoe, and maneuvered it up and over the fence to the grizzly habitat. Trust me when I say, this was no easy feat in itself. The bear were interested, but nervous with all of the noise. Finally, the salmon was in place. Siblings Joe Boxer (JB) and Patron checked it out first. They REALLY wanted the fish, but weren't very trusting of the situation.

Maybe this situation needs to be examined from another viewpoint. Hmmmmmm. I think I am figuring this out. It doesn't look that high from here.
Just a nibble. They are SO close, they can taste the yummy salmon. Still, the bear have no interest in jumping today. The bucket above their heads was just too intimidating, so the nice folks at the center tried another method. They took the salmon and attacked it to a thick rope and just tossed it into the enclosure. The idea was that keeping the frozen salmon tied up would allow us to see how they ripped apart and ate the fish. The bear were still on their own agenda. They yanked hard on the rope and broke the fish free, running off into the woods to enjoy their meal.
Along comes Hugo. She is the more timid of the group and had been playing in the pond while the other bear were trying to get the first fish. She came up to discover another fish waiting just for her.
After a few tugs at the rope, she just sat down and started eating the Salmon. Check out the size of her claws.
It was a very interesting afternoon at the Wildlife Center. The people working there really know about the animals and are very friendly and informative. If you are ever in Alaska, this is the first place you need to visit. This is the only place you are guaranteed to see Alaskan wildlife in it's natural setting. For more information about the center, check out their web site.
http://awcc.org/animals.html

4-Wheeling At Bird Creek

If you love to go 4-wheeling, this is the place to live! You get to go places you would never see from your regular vehicles. Bird Creek is not too far south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway. They have a parking lot there on the side of the highway if you want to fish or just check things out. If you go a little farther past that, there is a gravel road that leads to the Bird Valley trail.

I love this sign. Please make sure that you are on the sign before you access the trail. If you are not on the sign, turn around now. :0) The first time Russ went down this trail, he took Brandon, and was with another friend and his daughter. They had a great time exploring.

After riding for over an hour, they came around a corner and ran into a grizzly. I am not sure who was more surprised, them or the bear. The grizzly took off in one direction, and the guys headed off in another. Needless to say, they turned around and started back toward the head of the trial and the vehicles. On the way back, they ran into another grizzly. This one was in a bend of the trail, and they had to go around him to get out of there. Luckily, neither bear was interested in the people or the 4-wheelers.
Russ stopped and took a few pictures. (Just in case all that was left of this expedition was a camera and a couple of 4-wheelers. Actually, he knows how I am. It didn't happen if you don't have a picture of it!) The first thing Brandon said as he came in the door was, "Mom! You won't believe what we saw! You are gonna be so mad you weren't there with your camera!" Does he know his Mom or what? Russ took me back there a couple of weeks after that, but no bear. Oh, well. It was still a great ride.

Tink & the Great Escape!

We used to have just one cat. At 13 lbs., Ashley is a whole lot of woman, but she is a good cat. The vet was concerned about her weight and suggested we get her another "friend" to play with. Enter "Tink." We adopted Tink from the pound when she was an adorable little baby. We had no idea what we were getting into. Ashley was (and is) not amused. We named her Tink ( short for Tinkerbelle) because she was so tiny and always getting into trouble. Now that Tink is almost a year old, she has a daily goal of trying to drive Ashley crazy. She chases Ashley up and down the stairs, attacks her from hidden locations, and constantly picks on her. Then she wonders why Ashley won't let her cuddle up to her. Tink waits until Ashley falls asleep, and then sneaks up near her and takes a nap. Sometimes Tink is weird. Yesterday, Tink tried to run away from home. She loves to go outside, but we only allow her out on the enclosed back patio with adult supervision. She can not be trusted. Brandon went to play with friends yesterday and didn't fully shut the front screen door. Tink snuck out, and the door fastened behind her. At least that is the theory we are going with. (The other theory is that Ashley pushed Tink out the door and shut it behind her.) We aren't sure how long she was outside before she realized that it was not a good idea. Brandon had also left the garage door open, so Tink entered the garage and started scratching on the door leading in from there. Luckily, Russ heard the sound and went to check it out. Tinky was glad to be home. She was loving and grateful for a full 5 minutes before she started checking out the doors.

Helicopter Fun

On my birthday last year, our Army neighbors asked if I would be interested in watching him jump out of a helicopter. Would I? Are you kidding? How cool is that! We headed out to the drop zone and settled in for a great show.Standing on top of an old viewing stand right near the runway, we had the best view around. It couldn't have been a prettier day, either. Everything was perfect!
They divided into groups, loaded up into two helicopters, and took off.
I can't imagine how scary it must be to jump out that high, because I am a big chicken! These guys (and gals, too!) loved it. It is awesome to have a job that you love. It was awesome to be able to watch it all, too!
It was a fantastic day, and definitely something I won't forget!

Mountain Ash Tree

I have two Mountain Ash trees, one in the front yard and one in the back. Around this time of the year, the berries on the tree turn a bright red. They are beautiful little trees. It seems I'm not the only one who enjoys them. When the weather starts to turn colder, we are visited by moose. Even though they are very large creatures, they are extremely delicate when they eat. They carefully grab the limbs between their teeth, bite down slightly, and slide their mouths down the branches. The branches are left intact, but all of the leaves are gone. They nibble on the front tree, and then head around the building to try out the one in back. They just take a little off of the trees each visit, and then head back into the woods. We have 3 moose that come and see us often. As the weather gets colder and the snow falls, they return. The leaves are more brittle now, and the moose are just as delicate. I had thought that maybe the berries were too bitter to eat, because they seem to pass those over. Maybe they just don't appeal to the moose.
Pretty soon, there aren't many leaves left at all, and the tree is just covered with berries. The moose lose interest. Then the birds appear. The Bohemian Waxwings come in large groups, and settle all over the tree. They aren't as delicate or well mannered as the moose. They grab the berries and swallow them whole. I am amazed that they don't choke. They are like beautiful little locusts. They swarm in, eat everything, and then disappear just as quickly. Then my little trees are bare. And we wait for spring.