Fieldwork is ongoing, but the focus has shifted from data collection to packing and cleaning up our gear from this summer.
The blueberries are past their prime now (sort of dried and overly ripe), but the cranberries are just getting sweet. Willows are a spectacular bright yellow, and the birch are just starting to catch up!
We have had plenty of rain the past few weeks, so the lichens are becoming really vibrant.
Black spruce forest is redeemed by the beautiful blueberries they shelter! The bright colors make one forget that their clothing is being yanked and torn by grabby spruce branches.
The horsetails make such a fascinating understory during the height of summer. The effect from a large stand of them is somewhat like looking through window blinds - somehow, there is a geometric organization despite their randomness.
Horsetail Helicopters, watercolor and pen
We went hiking at Wickersham Dome again, because it is one of the best places to see fall colors close by Fairbanks. We were not disappointed!
Up close, these plants have the texture of tongues. Now I can't get that image out of my mind when I look at them...
I didn't see a woodpecker on this hike, but I do see them around my cabin pretty often.
Hakespekk, pen
The mist and clouds actually made for a very dynamic landscape as we hiked along the ridge line. Burn scars in the forest take on a lurid red color because of all the shrubs.
Looking down at Wickersham Creek, where all the willows make a bright gold ribbon through the spruce forest.
I told myself before this hike that I wouldn't stop to pick berries, that I would just hike and be content. I even chose not to bring any containers deliberately! Yet I couldn't resist, and picked a couple liters of cranberries. They were so abundant, and the plants were so fruitful, that you could just grab handfuls at a time.
The White Mountains in the distance. Not white yet.
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