Photography-Life in Alaska-Random Thoughts
Photography highlighting Alaska, the most beautiful place on earth.
Mama Moose and baby were back in the front yard last night having a late snack. We see this pair all the time, but I'm worried about Mama--she was limping and didn't want to put any weight on her back leg. Hopefully not a very serious injury so she can get strong for the coming winter.
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I've been going to Denali National Park on and off for more than 30 years. This week we got to witness an incredibly rare sight these days--a pack of wolves with what looked like 6 pups. If you're at all aware of the wolf controversy in Denali Park, you know the packs have been decimated the past few years by trappers just outside the Park boundary. Several breeding alpha females and males from a couple of different packs have been killed and researchers inside the Park are concerned that the surviving pack members would break up, or not survive at all. Being able to see an apparently very healthy pack could be a once in a lifetime experience. I've never seen more than one wolf at a time before this. And yes, I was really wishing I had a monster lens when we saw them!
Devany's brother and nephew were visiting Alaska for the very first time, and we're having a hard time explaining just how incredibly lucky they were to see the wolves--not to mention the fact that Denali was out in all her glory after weeks of rain. Beginners luck I guess ;) Come along for a couple of magical days. Click on the photos for full screen and then swipe your cursor over the picture to see the captions below that tell the story. Hope you like it.
Drove down to Homer for a long weekend of hanging out at the Spit, long walks and runs with Xena on the beach at low tide, watching the kite boarders and seeing whales spouting in Kachemak Bay.
We see this guy in the yard quite often. Today, he posed for a portrait. I wonder if the bent antler is the result of an early injury or just mother nature with a sense of humor. You'd think if it grows out this way every year and keeps getting bigger it's going to block his side vision.
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We've been wondering if the McHugh Creek forest fire just south of us might drive any animals into our valley, and maybe it did. Happened to look outside at just the right moment this morning to see a brown bear casually walking through the front yard. We've seen a lot of black bears right around the house over the years, but never had a brown in the yard before. Pretty cool. Click images to view fullscreen.
