Rage against the Mosquito

Summer has arrived with a vengeance. The weather has been sunny and HOT for several weeks now, and I'm ambivalent as to whether field work is easier in the sun or less pleasant. 

Pros: it's not cold and you aren't wet, equipment stays dry, you can wear a t-shirt, bears and hazardous animals are hiding away in the shade

Cons: the mosquitos are still bad, it's hot so wearing long clothes to protect against mosquitos is almost as intolerable as the biting bugs themselves, sunburn, the mosquitos are so bad you would rather have bears any day, ...

Lately, most of the wildlife we have seen has been porcupines. 

Pros: Perfect weather for canoeing on the Chatanika! 

I have been busy getting my summer vegetable garden growing, but the battle against the mosquitos is never-ending. 

 The wild roses are having their first big bloom of the year! The cabin is surrounded by them, and the pretty pink flowers almost redeem all the scratches and thorns I incurred over the winter. Maybe if I'm brave enough I'll go hiking in the woods by Creamer's Field to see more roses.

Sculpture with found objects

Last week Dashiell went on a caribou hunting trip in the Brooks Range, and although he didn't see any caribou he did find some cool antlers, bones, and feathers. These have been incorporated into some new art for the walls of the cabin.



Flight Mobile
Caribou vertebrae, driftwood, ptarmigan and spruce grouse feathers

Below is a detail of the beetle-eaten driftwood (from Delta Junction) that the vertebrae hang from.

Recycling
Shed caribou antler, acrylic

Detail of the leaf prints on the antler

And here is a cartoon which describes coming out of winter. People actually keep competition amongst themselves as to who sees the first robin, or junco, or warbler. And the first time you can SMELL the woods again - it's like a  blind man regaining his sight. Winter was nice, but it was long enough that I forgot there were other dimensions to the world.

Baby rabbits! This is the second litter of the summer, they are about one month old right now (this is my favorite bunny age - still have big blocky heads and slow enough to catch easily!)

The Watershed at leaf out

Spring at last! The transition happened so quickly that there wasn't any time to slowly watch the hills green up - in two days we went from brown to brilliant green. At least we didn't have to wait long after a very cold April and May.

Before:

After (1 week later):

Flickers displaying/courtship

Porcupine!!

A bell mushroom-fungus

Taking the autosamplers out required driving our ATVs on the roughest, muddiest trails, some still with lots of ice. It was a harrowing experience that pictures cannot do justice

Iceberg remains at the confluence of streams. There was an incredible amount of silty mud left behind after the flood abated.

In the birch forest

We were clearing a fallen tree from our path when I noticed the heart-shaped stain on the wood! Even trees have feelings?

The burn area as we were leaving the watershed at 10 pm

The Chatanika in the evening. It was a loooong field day, but we got most things set up and ready to run for the summer field season!