Adventures at Dog Bay

Bruce and I took a Valentine's walk around the beaches of Dog Harbor, where the float planes dock, on Near Island. We saw two planes land, which was exciting-planes landing on water seems to defy nature. A schipperke disembarked from this craft at left, which delighted us. He was all business on the docks and could not linger for me to pet him.

Another strange presence on the docks: this electric car. Bruce was afraid to get too close, but I managed to snap this quick shot. Which Kodiakan owns this vehicle? Such a mystery...

While doing some beachcombing I came across the partial remains of a starfish, which was pink and therefore Valentine-esq, but also stinky and partially decomposed. I didn't hold it for long after we finished our examination. Interesting fact of the day: starfish lack brains, something I have been accused of from time to time.

Bruce sighted a merganser which we viewed through the binoculars for some time as he swam around, clearly miffed by the presence of interlopers in his bay. We weren't sure if it was a common merganser or a red-breasted merganser. My eyes need a more powerful scope for birding. We also sighted a heron-Bruce thinks it was a black-crowned night heron, but I don't think their range extends this far north...we'll likely never know.

The beach and rocks were covered with barnacles. A barnacle is a type of arthropod belonging to the infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence distantly related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive settings. They are sessile suspension feeders, and have two nektonic larval stages.
Around 1,220 barnacle species are currently known. The name "Cirripedia" is Latin, meaning "curl-footed".

We rounded out our 2009 Valentine's Day celebration by sharing a lovely dinner with lovely friends. The menu: a choice of seafood chowder or tomato basil soup, salad, Tanner crab legs and prime rib, followed by creme brule and a chocolate souffle. Yum...