Happy New Year!!

Wishing Everyone Peace, Good Health, and Happiness for the New Year!!

This is a photo of a Stellar Jay who is one of my daily visitors.

I'm sure he is hopping for lots of peanuts this year!  :o)

Chickadee!!!

It's easier to get out and take photos of birds with the warmer 40 degree

temperatures.  This is a picture of a Chestnut-Backed Chickadee.

These seem to be more common on the Kenai Peninsula.

48 Degree Temperatures!!!

Forty degree Chinook Winds are making a lot of the snow melt away.

I was so excited to see these little Matchstick Lichens melt out of the snow

during this warm spell!!!

I love the lovely soft green colors...really good on the eyes after

so much white!!

Raven on a Mission

I love this raven photo, he looks so determined to get to his destination.

These birds never cease to spur on my curiosity about them.

They are very smart and can be very amusing to watch.

Ice Encrusted Hedges

Some of our hedges are encrusted with ice, due to the warmer temperatures....

so beautiful!!!!

Frost Flowers

I have seen photos of "Frost Flowers" taken by a grad student on his way

back from the North Pole on the frozen sea.  They are little protrusions of ice,

delicate, like snowflakes.  I took this photo this last November on Kenai Lake 

right after it had frozen over....

Winter Vegetation....

I love all these spent lupine seed heads in the garden.  

They are a sign of whats ahead for us as our daylight hours begin to 

grow longer again.   We already gained 12 seconds the other day!!!

Icy Creek View

Natures little window to view the flowing waters of a creek.

Winter Flowers in Alaska!!

Well, sort of!!!!  :o)

I found this spent Dogwood flower several weeks ago...

You wouldn't believe how I excited I was, lol!!!

Lakeshore Ice Crystals

Several months ago before Kenai Lake froze over the shoreline was

a magical place of ice crystals.  

The lake is now completely frozen over except for a very small opening

at the head of the river.....so beautiful!!

Too Early for Pussy Willows!

I spotted this little pussy willow about a month ago..

it's way to early for these to be out when it's 14 below zero in the mornings!

I'm hopeful Mother Nature is trying to tell me that this is

going to be a short winter, lol!!!!

Sunset....a time for reflection

What a week of sadness it has been...

peace to all Gods children.....

Ornamental Frosted Apples

These little ornamental apples look so Christmasy with all the 

little hoarfrost crystals attached.  Enjoy!

The Hoarfrost Returns With the Cold Weather

Our nice warm 30 degree temperatures have left us and as the

cold air sets back in, so does the hoarfrost. 

These little branches were forming only inches above the flowing waters of a creek.

Wild Mallard

The wild Mallards at the Public Library Park are loving the warmer weather.

It certainly feels better than the 9 below zero weather we were having.

Icy Waterfall

A beautiful icy waterfall!!!

Sunset at Skilak Lake

Off in the distance is Mount Redoubt.  This is an active stratovolcano

 located in the Chigmit Mountain subrange, the mountain is just west of

 Cook Inlet, in the Kenai Peninsula Borough.  Mt. Redoubt has erupted five 

times since 1900.  In Russian the name means, "a fortified place".

This sunset photo was taken at Skilak Lake.  This lake is 15 miles long and in some

places it is up to 4 miles wide.

Fresh Blanket of Snow

Fresh snow finally!!!  

We needed this....way too many pipes freezing!!!!

So happy to be rid of the below zero temperatures even if its just for 

a little while! 

Natures Scrimshaw

A tiny driftwood branch caught my eye a couple of weeks

ago when I was walking along a frozen lake shore.....

I love all the markings that all the bugs 

have left on this little piece of wood.

Natures natural engravers  :o)

Hoarfrost...

Beautiful Hoarfrost out towards Portage before Friday's snowfall...

Icy Days

It's been bitterly cold lately, but today we reached 34 degrees!

I'm ready for my swimsuit!!!

Hope it stick around for a long time, really tired of double digit below zero temperatures!

Moonlight View

A great moonlight view of the mountains near Hope, Alaska

Popular Tree Canopy

These trees have beautiful canopies with their bent branches and log trunks.  

Always remember to look up when your walking in a popular or aspen forest.

Cook Inlet at 9 Below Zero

Thick hoarfrost and an ice filled inlet make for a wonderful

photo combination.   Note:  this photo was taken in the middle of the day...

this is as high as it gets right now!!!!!

Cold Frosted Days..

Beautiful hoar frosted trees along the Kenai River on a very

cold day.  The river is steaming due to the water being warmer

than the air.....that's pretty amazing since our water is extremely cold!  

The rivers streamflow comes from the Harding Icefield and some of it's glaciers.

Feathery Hoarfrost

Feathery Hoarfrost that is almost three inches long.  

So many feathery crystals, and so amazing!!!

Round Mountain

This is a side view of Round Mountain.

Right now there is a lot of hoarfrost on all the brush and trees due to the 

very cold days and nights.

This mountain is home to Alaskan Dall Sheep.