Sundowner

5:46 pm

Update: Russian gray whale on the move

Meghan scans for gray whales off Narrow Cape during Kodiak's 2009 Whale Fest

It looks like Flex, the wayward Russian western gray whale, successfully crossed both the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska and was recently swimming off the coast of Vancouver Island. A local BC paper reports that although Flex is following a well established eastern gray whale migration route, he is keeping his distance from his eastern Pacific cousins.

Flex is now more or less following the migration route of Eastern Pacific gray whales, but he's aloof, staying farther offshore than they do. The reason for uncertainty about Flex's uniqueness is that researchers have never tracked a Western Pacific gray so extensively.

Flex's speed and determination indicates that he may join other grays at their Mexican breeding grounds. He'd better hurry though, by March most of the single whales will have begun their northward migration to Kodiak and beyond.

Saturday sun

Saturday offered clear skies, sun, and crisp air - perfect for snapping pics of the Anchorage Bowl. The Great One and the Alaska Range were on display to the north and surrounding ranges - Chugach and Tordrillo - showed their stuff as well. I took the camera along on an afternoon ski and dropped the shots into a slideshow between grabs from an FAA webcam located in downtown Anchorage.

Evening commute - no flash

Today was cloudless and we finally got to see how much light we've gained this week. Like Candlemas Day, the first day when it's possible to make it home from work without lights marks winter's turning point. I left the office at 5:30 and skied home under civil twilight. As the days become longer energy levels increase and moods brighten. - just in time for Meg's big test and the big race.

Candlemas Day

Halfway between the solstice and the equinox, Candlemas Day (Imbolc, in Old Irish) celebrates the return of daylight to northern latitudes. We will reach eight hours of light in a day or so and welcome the rays. Candlemas Day is also the precursor to Groundhog Day. Traditionally, depending on the environs, folks watched for critters like serpents or badgers to emerge from their dens. According to the limerick below, most of Alaska and the L48 will be rewarded with an early Spring - no shadows to be seen today.

For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,

So far will the snow swirl until May.

For as the snow blows on Candlemas Day,

So far will the sun shine before May.

The trail

Assorted sights on the Anchorage trail system

Smartly cloudy

As the light slowly returns to 60 degrees north (we've more than 7 hrs./day now) and the weather patterns shift a bit, the clouds that fill the Anchorage Bowl begin to put on a show. Perhaps the convergence of weather that crosses over the Chugach Mountains to the east with the warmer air sitting above Cook Inlet to the southwest is a factor in the area's picturesque cloud formation. Although never quite as spectacular as some of the clouds found in other parts of the world, the Alaska clouds are remarkable in their own way. During most weekdays I can watch the sun rise from my office window as it pitches light against the clouds. (the first photo is from my desk chair; photos two and three are from Meg and Nicole's visit to Denali this summer).

Birthday up on Hatcher Pass

This weekend we joined a few friends to celebrate the 30th birthday of Leslie, a good friend whom Meghan met while in law school. The party was a surprise and all celebrants had to sneak up to the Hatcher Pass Lodge undetected. Although the Alaskan winter sun had set hours before, the drive up the pass to the Lodge was white and serene as fresh snow blanketed the area. We enjoyed hot drinks, halibut, a delicious cake, and shared a few laughs before heading back toward Anchorage. On the return trip down the Pass, Meghan used her headlamp to "shine," then tried to call in a bull moose crossing the road to no avail.

The Lodge at night

Leslie's husband Harry presents the piece de resistance

Harry provides levity for the bar-weary Meghan

Skiing fast slowly

Ice floats to the sea in Knik Arm

A good friend passed on a word of advice after a training ski this week. He quoted Olympic great Gunde Svan, a Swede with four cross country golds, who said that one should 'ski fast slowly.' In other words, it's much better to relax and be patient with each stride to maintain maximum efficiency. Much of the Big Race in March involves long efficient strides, so I skied 20 km of the course slowly, building speed by concentrating on each kick and glide. Along the way I stopped to watch the flowing tide carry ice down the Knik Arm to the Gulf of Alaska.

Russian gray whale defecting?

Deb and I with Kodiak Gray Whale Project Coordinator Stacy Studebaker

Remember when Sean Connery, playing a Russian nuclear submarine captain in The Hunt for Red October, threatened to defect to the US ? Well, a western gray whale might be doing just that. The whale, originally from a population residing in the waters off the coast of Russia, has been making a beeline for the Alaska coast since October. Oregon State's Marine Mammal Institute is tracking "Flex" the whale:

Flex departed the Kamchatka coast on 3 January. and took one week to cross most of the Bering Sea before arriving at the slope edge of the eastern Bering Sea shelf on 9 January. Since 3 January, he has covered 1,689 km in 238 hours for an average of 7.09 km/hr. Since attaining the slope edge, he has trended to the south, toward the Pribilof islands. During the last several days we have obtained individual transmissions during several orbits, so we know the tag is still attached and functioning, but not enough transmissions to obtain reliable locations. Some of this may be due to regional bad weather.

This great swim is quite remarkable for a western gray - once thought to be extinct - especially considering the difficulty of crossing the Bering during the depths of winter.

Ice cold

We experienced the coldest weather of the season over the weekend as temps dropped to -25 at night and warmed to -10 during the day in areas of the Anchorage Bowl. Fearing the snow on the ski trails would be slow and sticky I decided to try a pair of nordic skates as an alternative to skiing this weekend. Nordic skates are simply straight blades attached to a boot using ski bindings, making it easy to switch from skis to skates. I skied from the house down to the Lagoon, stepped off the skis and onto the nordic skates. After a few laps on the freshly hot-mopped big loop I soon got the hang of it and could feel the similarities between skiing and skating. The nordic skates are less forgiving than nordic skis and provided instant feedback (skidding) when I didn't transfer my weight smoothly from a glide to a kick. Though not as fast as a traditional speed skate, I really enjoyed the way the nordic skates felt like freestyle nordic skiing. And like barefoot running, the nordic skates provide self coaching - it only feels right when using the correct form.

Frost in the doldrums

It seems that the "January Doldrums" have kicked in. For the past couple of weeks, we've been under clear, cold skies with nary a flake of snow. Although the darkness up north seems to exacerbate the month's toil, a quick Google search for the term yields several results of bloggers elsewhere dealing with feelings of boredom and ways to shake the torpor. I, for one, am quite impressed with the local nordic ski association's impeccable trail grooming which has turned ice into snow and provided great skiing conditions. The forecast suggests several more days of cold, dry air in the future - better increase the vitamin D intake.

Study escape

This weekend Meg and I left Reb with a friendly boarder and spent two nights at a B&B in Girdwood - home of Alyeska Ski Resort. Meghan was able to catch up on some much-needed sleep and study in peace while I hit the slopes with some friends. The rental property was nice and quiet and featured an outdoor hot tub. Saturday offered as much sunshine as 60 degrees north latitude allows in mid-January. And the skiing - er, snowboarding was great. Nursing a nagging knee injury, I decided to take it easy and rent a board. It's been over 12 years since I was on a single plank and, for most of the day, I felt like a kid again - until the next morning's soreness arrived.

Data Viz

Soon before the blog took a 6 month sabbatical I added a few sites to the blogroll on the right. And you, the reader, might ask, "what are these blogs and why are they there?" Well, I maintain a bit of a fascination with data visualization - using thoughtful representations of information to tell an interesting story. More than just a colorful pie chart or nifty scatterplot, data visualization, or data viz, done right can distill large sets of data and provide an elegant view of patterns and trends. Some even argue that journalists will need to become more adept at narrating with data. As it happens, I get to do a bit of data viz in my job. It's quite a rewarding process. Here's part of a data viz project from work. And don't forget to check out the sites to the right.

New Year Chinook

Valley of the Moon Park

Downtown Anchorage under a southeasterly flow

A New Year Chinook blew in over the weekend bringing 40+ degree temps and unsettled air aloft. Although it's nice to head outside and leave the gloves and heavy coat at home, I hope the warm southern air blows through soon. The longer the warm weather sticks around, the worse the skiing becomes. Last winter we were the envy of our friends in Kodiak who got hit every few weeks with strong Chinooks that bypassed the Anchorage Bowl. We enjoyed monthlong stretches of crisp winter days and soft white snow, while Kodiak experienced a very cloudy and rainy winter.

Confronting Winter

In the depths of winter, when temperatures drop and the sun barely pokes above the horizon, humans and animals either confront winter's short chilly days or retreat. There are several strategies for confronting the year's coldest days.

Chickadees cache food early in the winter to conserve valuable energy.

Moose and caribou use a circulatory system that warms blood in their legs as it returns to the heart.

Ptarmigan stuff a night's worth of food into their crop while roosting in snow.

Musk ox stand still. And wood frogs freeze.

Here are a few images of the Anchorage Bowl confronting winter.

Making albums

Our friend Bekah atop Loveland Pass - "14ers" Greys and Torreys in the distance

M & B 1st Christmas

Pheasants in WI

With a bit of time off of work this week I have been able to get all of our photos in one place on our new computer. I've making new albums to organize the thousands of photos that inevitably accumulate in the digital age. Combing through the old photos allowed me to free up many MBs of memory and jog memories of years past. The first two photos here are from our time living in Colorado's high country. Meghan and I worked for Vail Resorts and experienced the ski bum lifestyle for a winter. We celebrated our first Christmas together there and hosted Meghan's family in a tiny one bedroom apartment (my parents lived just down the road). The last photo is of Meghan's brother (Patrick), Dad (Tom) and me on the family farm in Wisconsin after a day of hunting. I am about halfway through the old photos and hope to get them consolidated before going back to work next week.

Back to bloggin

A Chugach panorama

The Holiday hearth

Skating on the lagoon with Ben and Laura

Armed with a new camera and computer that makes blogging a snap, N2F is primed to return after a six month hiatus. Don't expect to hear much from Meghan though, she's hard at work preparing for an important test in a couple of months.

Bruin news

Photo: James Poulson

A couple of great shots in the ADN today of a cellist serenading brown bears in an old Sitka paper mill. And a fellow Anchorage bike commuter is surely thanking his lucky stars this evening after a run-in with a brown bear on his morning ride to work. The (defensive) attack occurred less than three miles from my daily commuting destination north of Tudor Road.

T-minus one month

The countdown begins as Megatron and I drift closer toward an officially recognized life together as Husband and Wife. Thanks to all who have helped us ready the matrimony ship for a sail on the Pacific.

Wild Fruits - planting season at the urban homestead

It is a grand fact that you cannot make the fairer fruits or parts of fruits matters of commerce; that is, you cannot buy the highest use and enjoyment of them.

You cannot buy that pleasure which it yields to him who truly plucks it.

Thoreau, Wild Fruits

our prized brown hog

the trees are blooming

veggies and flowers in Bruce's raised beds

Recycled fence post planters

Bird Brains

Arctic terns

This weekend I had the chance to attend a presentation by Badger alumnus, former Kodiak resident, and "twitcher" (Australian parlance for birder) Richard Nelson. Nelson, a cultural anthropologist, is the mastermind behind the uniquely entertaining Encounters radio program. Aired primarily on Alaskan public radio stations, Encounters features 30 minutes of uninterrupted recordings of the natural world. The show will focus on an ecosystem, a specific animal, or phenomena like snow or rain. The first time that I heard the show Nelson was quietly watching a herd of muskox. When the oxen approached Nelson, you could hear their snorts - I was hooked. Nelson also narrates the natural history of the sounds during each show. It really brings Alaska's wilderness to life when sitting in the office or riding in the car.

Semipalmated plover doin' the macarena

During Nelson's presentation he played several of his recordings, many of which were birds. He also told the audience that he would be recording urban wildlife in Anchorage sometime during his visit. I left the talk excited to get into the field and listen. Saturday morning I walked Reb to a pond near our house to spot a few feathered friends. From shore, I was able to add northern shovelers, and a yellowleg to the life list. Later at Potters Marsh near Turnagain Arm I spotted arctic terns and a canvasback. The pictures featured here are courtesy of our Kodiak friend Raymond who has a really nice camera.

Short-billed dowitcher

Whale-less

Looking into Resurrection Bay from Seward Harbor

We've been away from the blog and our readers (i.e., Moms) have voiced discontent. Job hunting, projects at work and travel plans have squeezed out bloggin' time. This here post is a belated entry from our Seward whale getaway last month. We left Rebel the weinerdog with some friends in Anchorage and drove over Turnagain Pass late Friday night after work. After driving through heavy snow and grabbing a quick sleep in the Holiday Inn Express, we caught the first boat out of the Harbor Saturday morning for a glimpse of migrating grey whale.

Aboard the Kenai Star

Before boarding the Kenai Star on Saturday morning we were excited to hear a few people say that they had seen "killers" and "greys" at the mouth of the Bay the day before. We popped in our whale eyeballs and donned raingear (temp: 41, winds: 40 mph, rain). On the way out of Resurrection Bay our captian pointed out a couple otters, several pods of Dall's porpoise, "bald-headed eagles," and a mountain goat with her kid on the shore.

Kittiwake rookery and sea lion haul-out

After passing a kittiwake rookery and a sea lion haul-out we "trawled" the mouth of the Bay for about 40 minutes hoping for spouts or a fluke. Although it felt great to get a face-full of seasalt air, we had to steam back to port with nary a whale in our scopes. The trip refreshed our sealegs and gave us a taste of our all-to-brief year on the water.

Almost Kodiak, but not quite