KA-POW!
Impatiens noli-tangere, also known as jewelweed, western touch-me-not or yellow balsam, has spring-loaded exploding seed pods!
I took a trip across “to the other side” (Homer, on the other side of Kachemak Bay) over the weekend, and while hiking I noticed these yellow jewelweed plants growing along the trail. I recognized the plant from my time living in New England and Michigan, where there’s a different species that’s orange with spots. I didn’t know we had jewelweed in Alaska! I haven’t seen it in Seldovia, but will pay attention now and watch for it.
#seldovianaturetours #seldoviaalaska #thealaskalife #floraofalaska #plantlove #plantlover #summerplants #slowmotion #slowmo #slowmotionvideo #slomo
#kachemakbay #summerinalaska #flowersofalaska #alaskabotany #alaskaflora #botany #wildplants #nativeplantsofalaska #wildflowers #circumboreal #naturalakbeauty #naturealaska #ecotour #ecotourism #alaskaphotography #wildlyalaska #akbeauty #naturealaska #impatiens
It’s been pouring rain all night and all day… but somehow the sun is shining through all that?! It’s not especially gloomy, or cold. Weird!
I’m always amazed to see that spruce grouse can fly when they are still just itty bitty fluffballs. Sound on to hear mama clucking.
Seldovia’s Fly In! So many cool airplanes!
My “nature” tours are sometimes more along the lines of “culture” tours. It’s all good.
Feeding frenzzzzzzzy!
#wildroses #bumblebee #seldoviaalaska
A raven “singing” is the coolest and craziest sound!
Seldovia, Alaska
April 15, 2024
#seldovianaturetours #seldoviaalaska #otterbahntrail #birdsofalaska #birdsongs #naturalsounds #naturerecordings #naturesounds #spring #springishere #nature #naturesounds #naturesmusic #naturesymphony #birdsong #natureheals #ravens #corvuscorax #corvidae
Raven Song
A raven “singing" is the coolest and craziest sound!
Seldovia, Alaska
April 15, 2024
#seldovianaturetours #seldoviaalaska #otterbahntrail #birdsofalaska #birdsongs #naturalsounds #naturerecordings #naturesounds #spring #springishere #nature #naturesounds #naturesmusic #naturesymphony #birdsong #natureheals #ravens #corvuscorax #corvidae
Anemone dancing in gentle waves
We are waaaaay off the path for today’s total eclipse, but it’s sunny here and this is what I got to watch instead. Not too shabby.
Give a listen to the amazingly loquacious Pacific Wren!
#seldovianaturetours #seldoviaalaska #otterbahntrail #birdsofalaska #birdsongs
Flat calm at Hoen’s Lagoon. #seldovianaturetours #seldoviaalaska #AutumnInAlaska #october #boating #alaskalife
Harbor Seal
Mellow curious buoyant
These are the ways
I view the world
—Harbor Seal
A quiet moment with some determined pink salmon, a.k.a. humpies.
#seldovianaturetours #seldoviaalaska #fish #salmon #pinksalmon #humpy #seldoviaslough #spawntilyoudie #oncorhynchus #kachemakbay #ilovealaska #thealaskalife #fishingalaska
This strange creature is a sea mouse. In spite of first-glance appearances and its common name, it is actually a segmented marine worm (genus Aphrodita). Burrowing in mud or sand, feeding on dead and decaying animals, lacking eyes, and getting around on lots of bristly paddle-like appendages, it really isn't similar to a cuddly mammalian mouse at all. Or perhaps, instead of "it," I should use the pronoun "they" - sea mice are hermaphroditic and have functional reproductive organs of both sexes in the same individual. Wild! Marine life sure is different from terrestrial life.
#seldovianaturetours #seldovia #seldoviaalaska #seamouse #aphrodita #annelida #wildlife #photography #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #travelphotography #alaskabeach #kachemakbay #beachesalaska #tidepool #intertidalzone #lowtide #rockpooling #ocean #invertebrates #outdoors #summerinalaska #marinelifephotography #seacreatures #wildlyalaska #akbeauty #naturealaska #ilovealaska #thealaskalife
Glimpse of an octopus!
It’s down in a cave and hard to see, but definitely an octopus! This is only the second one I’ve ever found on my own, so I was really excited. (Usually the little kids see them first.)
Pollen Megastorm 2023
It pays to learn some ancient Greek.
Spruce trees are pollinated through anemophily [anemo- (“wind”) + -phily (“liking for”)]. Other types of pollination are entomophily (insects), ornithophily (birds), and zoophily (animals). Why should we care about these words? Just do an image search on "entomophily anemophily" and you will learn a lot about different types of flowers and their relationships to their pollinators. Understanding what’s going on can be helpful when you have to shovel spruce pollen off every surface. And this coming winter, pay attention: we may have a bumper crop of spruce cone seeds, and big flocks of crossbills, siskins, and other finches. It’s all connected.