Science Projects

Nora and Stuey recently completed their Science Fair projects.  Nora investigated milk and mold while Stuey made a sundial.  Nora discovered that certain kinds of milk are more susceptible to mold.  Soy milk molded the fastest.

I helped Stuey create his sundial using a box, kayak skeg fin, and an old Brunton 'pocket transit'.  The Brunton had belonged to the famous archaeologist William S Laughlin, and has his name written on it in sharpie. I think I may be the only one who thinks the latter point adds to the project.  Anyway, Stuey had to learn about magnetic declination, the cardinal directions, and that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Earlier in the week at St Marys they had to explain their projects to a panel of judges.  The judges asked Nora which type of milk she liked the best.

Stuey managed to explain the sun in relation to the cardinal directions and his sundial  won an honorable mention.

Patrick

Tarzan and Alex Haley

Today I toured a Coast Guard cutter. After working as the Coast Guard Base Physical Therapist for 2+ years, I was long overdue for checking out the steep ladder wells, fitness room and berthing area on this ship. WOW! I'm in awe. As someone who gets sea sick, I don't know that I could do it. Gave me a better appreciation for the men and women who spend months at sea.

Posing with 'Jane' from Tarzan!

Last weekend I took my brownie troop to the local production of Tarzan. One of our own Brownies, Cassidy, was a gorilla in it! So fun to watch the show with my Brownie troop. I'd totally do that again.

Zoya

Sunday outing in Anchorage

Lots of people hiking and skiing on the trail, but no one other than me went more than halfway up the valley

After the anthropology conference in Anchorage ended I had a day to kill before I came home.  When I first booked my tickets the plan had been for Zoya and the kids to join me after the conference and participate in the Tour of Anchorage ski race.  However, the race got cancelled, and so many people had come to Anchorage for the Iditarod start that I found it impossible to change my ticket.

I was stuck in snowless Anchorage - or so I thought.

Funnily enough Anchorage DID have great groomed ski trails right in town until Friday.  During the conference I went out to Hillside every afternoon and found freshly groomed skate ski tracks.  And then Thursday night it rained, and rained, and even Hillside became a sheet of ice.  The Anchorage bowl had finally lost its snow (although I gather the icy Hillside trails were been groomed back into skate skiing corduroy on Monday).

So I tried Glen Alps - a State Park trailhead a short drive above Hillside 2700 feet up into the Chugach range. And the rain had fallen as snow up there.  It was like a return to winter.  Fluffy powder on spruce trees, glinting ice crystals, and ptarmigan tracks on top of the snow.

To kill time on Sunday I decided to go back as far up the valley behind Glen Alps as I could.  The parking lot was packed and the trail up valley reminded me of the trail up the mountain to Dawson in the 1898 Gold Rush - a black line of traffic.  Fat bikes, hikers with strollers, cross country skiiers, dogs on leashes - lots and lots of dogs.  All the traffic had packed down the snow and I flew up valley in my cross country skiis.

But about halfway up the valley all traffic petered out.  No one had gone more than halfway and I had to use my skate skiis like classic skiis to bust trail the rest of the way.  Since I had no grip wax on my skiis I mostly pushed with my poles as I slowly climbed to the back of the valley.  I was amazed to find a place so remote so close to downtown Anchorage.  I was also amazed that I was the only person who went back there on a calm, sunny, weekend day.

The return was slightly downhill and I glided back in my broken trail to where all the people were on the hard-packed trail.

Patrick

My skate skiis were perfect at the start where the trail was beaten in

It's been windy! 

My skate skiis were NOT good for breaking trail beyond the well-travelled trail section

The reflected light in the shadows was pretty spectacular

View back to where I started on the horizon just below the cloud

View of the bowl at the head of the valley

Ammo Cache

Concrete pad

A couple of weeks ago I went exploring in behind Boy Scout Lake with Nora and her friend.  This winter the area has been a favored destination for family exploration (click here for another blog post).  The area is full of old WWII structures, and when we explore we try and imagine what each one we find was used for back in the day.

On our recent trip we found the very unique structure shown below.  It had a grate at either end and was neatly roofed with slate shingles.  I suggested storage of some sort; Nora thought it might be a house.  So I asked my co-worker Marnie who has been researching the area and she tells me it was for storing small arms ammunition.  The slate roof was supposed to keep the bullets contained in the event of an explosion.

While attending my recent archaeology conference I saw a few talks about historic archaeology surveys (lot of old mining camps and tin cans), but nothing as cool as what we get to find on an ordinary walk on a Sunday afternoon here on Kodiak.  Patrick

the back end of the 'ammo storage' building

Time with other archaeologists

For the last few days I have been in Anchorage attending an archaeology conference.  Four days of nothing but archaeology-speak.  Almost everyone at the conference is an Alaskan archaeologist and this is the yearly get together where we all compare notes.

My paper was all about the Alutiiq Museum's archaeological surveys of the rivers on the southwest corner of Kodiak.  We've been surveying them for the last 10 years and have pretty much finished - so I was able to synthesize a bit of what we've learned.

I put all the sites we've found on a map and then mapped all the resources and various river characteristics on the same map.  I determined where silver salmon spawn, bears concentrate to feed on fish, where the rivers are shallow and deep, and much, much more.  Then I looked for patterns.  Where did the Alutiiq choose to build their villages in relation to resources?

I discovered that Alutiiq people have always mostly focused on catching spawning silver and red salmon at their inland settlements.  What's interesting is that where they have chosen to catch the salmon has changed through time as Alutiiq society changed and evolved.

In the beginning, more than 4000 years ago, Alutiiq hunter gatherers speared spawning fish in shallow water - the same places where bears concentrate to feed on fish.  These are the easiest places to catch fish.

Later in time, when the Alutiiq began to live in larger villages and needed more fish for their growing population they started to use nets to catch fish.  They would set their nets in shallow, slow-moving water where the salmon pool up - mostly on the lakeshore.  This is the most efficient way to catch lots of salmon.

Finally, around 800 years ago, when the Alutiiq people had become a ranked society with chiefs and large villages, they started to use weirs and spears to catch fish.  Their villages moved down river from the lakes to shallow strategic places where they could control the river and catch fish earlier in the run - not necessarily the best places to catch fish.

Anyway, that was my story and the other archaeologists seemed to like it.  That's always a HUGE relief.  Patrick

Sundogs

Today when I climbed Pyramid it was foggy at the parking lot.  So foggy that I could barely see a couple of hundred yards.  I also gather that quite a few flights out of the airport got cancelled.  But when I got high up on the mountain I broke out into glorious sunshine.  It was an unexpected bonus.  Hard to believe the gloom and doom below the fog.  And yet, when i got back down again it was still foggy and grey.

Up on top, the sun had some pretty good sun dogs on either side.  'Dogging' it so to speak. Very pretty but as harbingers of bad weather they are a bad sign.  And indeed it is supposed to rain some more.  Patrick

Can it be Spring?

Can it be Spring if we never had Winter?  Or should we just call it Blah?  At least yesterday we had a light frost.  Today it is raining again.

Yesterday while walking around the house I noticed that the crocuses are blooming, the daffodils have put up their leaves, and the salmonberries are budding.   The birds are beginning to sing in the morning and the lawn is turning green.  UGHHHH  I feel cheated.

Come on Winter show us your power.  Put all these harbingers of Spring to rest.

Patrick

Sometimes Island With Stuey

Recently I haven't had enough one on one time with Stuey. I  can just tell when he becomes extra needy. Or doing not-so-wonderful things to get my attention. With Nora in girl scouts, I have lots of mommy-daughter  time  with her on our way to/from meetings but haven't had good connection time with Stuey away from Nora.

This morning, Stuey was way excited at the prospect of mommy-son outing AND going to Sometimes island-a place he's never been to before.  I knew the tides were low and I appreciated how excited he was to go check it out.

The rain and wind pelted us from the sides and our jackets were soaked just a few minutes into the walk.  But it didn't matter  as we walked across the mudflats towards Sometimes Island and the bunker on the island which Stuey was very excited to see.

On the return hike we took the beach route and the tide was starting to come in. Stuey took joy in seeing how deep the water was and testing out the heights of his boots.

Zoya

Deluge After Deluge

These pictures were taken during and after the last deluge earlier this week.  During the storm the eagles hovered on the updrafts above the cliff in front of the house.  After the storm all the snow froze and turned rock hard on Pyramid.  I was actually sort of surprised that we did not lose all that much snow high on the mountain.

Now there is another one coming.  Gale force winds, temperatures in the 40s, and inches of RAIN.  UGHHHHHH.  All these storms from Hawaii are pushing our cold air down into the lower 48, and judging by the news stories they clearly don't appreciate it.

My fear is that with global climate change this could be the new normal.  Last year was the warmest year on record for Alaska and this year is shaping up as even warmer.  Perhaps a changed climate and warmer Gulf of Alaska waters has changed the flow of air across the Pacific.  Perhaps every year we will see the same jet of warm air from Hawaii to Alaska setting up the same series of wet, warm storms we have endured for the last 2 winters.  Could this storm pattern be the new normal?  I hope certainly hope not.

I'm too old to sell my skis and take up surfing, or as Nora put it, 'Maybe we should move to New England so we can enjoy the snow'.  Patrick

No Winter Here

Lately the national media has been all over the recent snow and cold on the East Coast. Street scenes with towering banks of snow and talking heads jabbering away about the hardships everyone is experiencing and all the snow accumulation records.  Supposedly it is 'unprecedented' - with 'records going back to the 1870s'.  And yet I think they have missed the real story.  The real story is the warmth and lack of snow in Alaska.

I don't think East Coast weather is big news because cold and snow is what's supposed to happen in winter.  Maybe it is a little more extreme than usual, but its still winter weather.  What's happening in Alaska and on the West coast really is unprecedented.  Here on Kodiak Island in Alaska we are still waiting for winter to arrive.  This is sort of like having no Summer on the East Coast.  Imagine if it snowed in July?

Funnily enough, it did snow a few times in New England one summer way back in 1816 after a series of volcanic eruptions had caused a dramatic global cool down.  It was a year 'without summer' and contemporary accounts relate that many lakes stayed frozen for the entire summer.  Imagine if that happened today?  Can you imagine the uproar on CNN if there was no summer in Boston?

The reverse is happening here on Kodiak Island - we live in Alaska, and yet, no winter yet.  On Kodiak none of the lakes have frozen over, my garden is still going strong, and we've barely gotten any snow.  It's barely even dipped below freezing.  It's been more like a normal winter for Richmond, Virginia than for Kodiak, Alaska.

Researching this blog post I noticed that the Anchorage Daily News picked up on Alaska's abnormally warm winter in today's paper (click here for link).  But they did not make all that big of a deal about it.  And Anchorage has had some winter - if not as cold and snowy as usual.

This morning I culled these weather maps on the internet.  Check out the temperatures across Alaska today as compared to the lower 48 (but also be aware that the color scales are offset about 20 degrees).  It's above freezing in Fairbanks, Alaska in mid February!  That's AMAZING - far more amazing than sub zero temperatures in Boston.

Also check out the forecast for Jackson,  Mississippi as compared to Anchorage, Alaska.  Pretty darn similar.  WOW!  And that kale in my garden is still kicking - and not just surviving but putting on growth.  Patrick

Stuey with a healthy kale plant still producing in the garden

Surf's Up

Surf's up at Mill bay Beach

On Sunday and Monday Kodiak experienced a pretty serious storm.  Pretty dismal Monday morning with high winds and pouring rain.  It was President's Day so no school for the kids or work for the parents, but no one wanted to go outside either.  It looked like a holiday spent cooped up inside.

But in the afternoon it cleared off and while returning from my daily ski I noticed that the surf was still pretty big at Mill Bay beach by our house and there were a few people surfing.  So I grabbed the kids and we went to the beach, cameras in hand, to catch the action.

Mill Bay is not known for its surf but it sure is convenient.  I'm sure that surfers with more time on their hands went elsewhere for the perfect wave, but the waves seemed big to me at Mill Bay Beach.  Pretty cool that people surf within 150 yards of our house!  Patrick

Stuey capturing the surfers in action

Nora camera in hand

Nora took this picture of a boogie boarder in action - I have not looked at Stuey's pictures yet

Relentless Surf

Ft. Abercrombie on a serene day this winter. 

When my soul feels unsettled, I enjoy watching the ocean  surf crash against the rocks of shore. Somehow it reminds me how seemingness small I am in the world, and what powerful forces of nature are at work all around.

 I've started a routine where on my Ft. Abercrombie walks, I stop and sit and watch the surf at the same lookout. The waves roll in and crash against the large rocks which comprise the shore.

Why or how have I walked through the park for so many years and not taken the time to sit and watch the ocean is my only question. Makes me realize how getting exercise, or fresh air, or conversation with a friend, or the dogs exercise are the reasons why I go though the park. Its  just as important is to sit and be. And enjoy the ocean.

It has been windy for the past day and the waves today were remnants from yesterdays storms. Even after the winds have died down locally, the large waves still roll in…off of the gulf of Alaska.

These rollers along with a high tide cause a large white froth on the rocks as they crash. And then it all churns under. Debris gets thrown around. And then it happens again. And again.
Relentless.

Zoya

Fountain Day

Patrick found this picture deep in his shelf when looking for a book. I chuckled at the memory!

Ithaca College Fountain Day-Its after our last physical therapy final exam. My physical therapy class had just completed our pharmacology final and had wet suits ready to get into to jump into the school fountain. It was a cold, overcast May day and we were glad to have the wet suits! Several of our physical therapy professors watched on as splashed around like crazy people in the fountain. The beverages were on the strong side, as I ended up in the college infirmary for a few hours after.

I googled "Ithaca College Fountain Day" to see if it is still a senior tradition-and it is.  There are videos of seniors splashing around and cheering. Its a rite of passage…a time to celebrate the completion of an era of our lives.

The girl second from the left is my friend Amilia…she was my BFF in college. She was raised in Ashland,   Oregon and she and I were good friends-two of the 3 people from the West Coast. The others in the 90 person program were primarily from the East Coast.  Amilia and I were similar in our West Coast thoughts and likes. Amilia now lives in New Mexico and I hope to visit her someday there.

These moments seem like another life time ago. Even though I don't see my college friends as much as Patrick, I know that when we connect again it will be like no time has passed. I can imagine the laughter and stories now….I think I'm yearning for a college reunion!


Zoya

Survival Skills & Sometimes Island

The tidal flats of Sometimes Island

Today I piled 4 girl scouts in my car and we drove out to Bells Flats for an afternoon gathering. As the girls talked about their pets in the back seat,  I obliquely listened to their conversation about how many pets they have, how long they've had them, etc and my mind wandered back and forth from their conversation to my life.

The rain came down on the windshield. It was heavy. Thoughts ran through my head.  

My  week at work.  Clients I wonder about. Friends who are on my mind.  Today being Valentines day. The rain.  I hope the rain stops in time for the hike. Hiking in the rain would stink. But I would do it.

"Mom, we're not going to hike if its raining, are we?" Nora asked. I think she must have been reading my mind. 

I smiled. "Uhhh….yes. I don't believe we'll melt in the rain" I responded. She didn't respond back. She must know her efforts in persuading me otherwise would be futile. All the girls came well prepared for hiking in any type of weather, yet I know it will be much more fun if the rain stops. "Please stop in time for our hike" I said silently to myself. 

We arrived to the house where one of the scouts family lives. A scout dad (Ryan) was leading the patch skills for Arctic Survival Skills. Last session with him we learned about stages and symptoms of  hypothermia and space (emergency) blankets. All the various uses…blanket, tarp, reflective device…

 Today we learned about signals; how to make signals in case of emergency. It was so much more than SOS. Anything in 3's can be a signal. 3 large logs on a beach. 3 Piles of branches in snow. 3 blares of a horn. The possibilities are endless. Ryan in his prior rescue swimmer day talked about when they would fly in helicopters, they would look for things in 3's.  So much I learn at the scout meetings.

 I looked at the girls faces- they were curious and thinking too. All the possibilities of 3's. 

All this survival outdoors talk made me  want to hike. Far. Get away by myself. Never before have I craved an adventure on my own. I just saw the movie "Wild" in Oregon and I was inspired.  I  think I could do an adventure on my own. I don't know where I'd go, or if I'd go with someone,  but I just want to go. Plans swirl in my mind and I"m not as afraid of the unknowns. Being outside and with the elements of nature are some of my favorite times.

And it helps mitigate the emotional pains which come along with living and being. And loving.

The sky cleared, rain stopped and we headed to Sometimes Island for a hike. This is an island which is hikable only low tides. On high tides the small isthmus leading to it is covered by ocean.

Today, the tide was in our favor.  The girls ran ahead on the tidal flat. This group of scouts loves exploring beaches.

The sun made an oblique appearance through the cloud filters. We reached the trees and enjoyed hot cocoa and valentine rice krispie treats.


We walked along sharing the day together.
Not just surviving but enjoying. 

Zoya

Facebook Break

A few days ago I decided to forgo Facebook for a while.  It was taking up what  I like to call "Emotional Bandwidth" which I could be otherwise using for writing, reading, doing nothing, watching a new miniseries, etc. Even though I don't spend a lot of time on Facebook, 10 minutes here and there adds up fast.

There have been a lot of blog posts "in my head" that I've wanted to write for a while and now I can do that. My last post about physical therapy clients who don't get better was one of them.  I also am back into letter writing mode big time and returning to part of an old self of pen/paper which has always been a strong part of who I am. From having a penpal as a child, to writing my grandparents and aunts/uncles…I'm all over hand written words on paper.

Zoya