The intricacies of the aspen. 

 

When the sun is out in Alaska, everything is bursting with color.

Ice and Fog

Harding Icefield Trail, Kenai Fjords National Park

Rainy day reflections

The opening in the canopy is reflected in water collected on this little mushroom.

A pale aspen provides a nice backdrop for

 the intricately armored body of a crane fly.

Two spiders and a slug

The other day as I was walking through the woods two spiders caught my eye. After watching them for a few moments, I noticed a small slug above them.

 As I watched, the slug moved down the plant and crawled between the body of the spider and the plant and rested there. The only reaction the spider gave was a little twitch after resting one leg on the slug.

I walked away with a renewed appreciation for the little things that often go unnoticed in every nook and cranny in the woods. 

Mushroom portraits

The rainy season has descended upon Anchorage and with the rain comes plenty of fancy fungi. 

Wolverine Peak

In an unusually wet summer in Anchorage, a sunny Saturday is not to be wasted.

One such day last month, we set out to climb Wolverine Peak. The peak was high, it was already noon, and I was sick, but we climbed anyway, determined not to miss out on the sunshine.  Four hours later, we stood at the summit and stared down into glacial valleys made miniature from the view on Wolverine Peak.

I saw this little fellow perched on a rock.  Even flies enjoy the view.