posted: February 29th, 2020 |
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This page begins with February 15th and a long series of photos of moose in our back yard.  There were two yearlings and the mother and they hung out browsing on our birch and aspen saplings from around 12:30 - 4:00 PM and then they decided to go into the deeper forest for the night.  Then there are four images which show what we refer to as Diamond Dust Snow - it's probably actually frozen fog, but who knows, it looks like diamond dust when it floats in the sunlight.  The final thing on this page are a few shots which were taken at the Ice Park.  Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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Begin February 15th |
  As the header says, here begins a rather long series of Moose (Alces alces) in our back yard. There were two yearling calves and the mother and they hung out here on our property for about 4 hours browsing on the birch and aspen saplings. We wonder how many pounds of this kind of material they must eat every day to maintain their huge bodies. |
Feb15th_004_ Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15_07_ MooseInYardRC |
Feb15th_010_ Moose_HomeRC |
  More moose photos. In the center shot I have outlined the moose so that there is no doubt that you can find it. By the way, most of these photos were taken from inside our house while looking out various windows. That explains weird reflections, the Aloe plant, feathers and whatever other weird things you may see. |
Feb15th_014_ Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15th_022_ Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15th_024_ Moose_HomeRC |
  The third shot in this row shows the mother moose lying down and chewing her cud while her year-old children browse through the store. |
Feb15th_035_ Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15th_040_ Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15th_045_ Moose_HomeRC |
  The third shot in this row again shows the mother moose lying down and chewing her cud. It's not going to be too much longer before she sends these yearlings off on their own. It is approaching the time when she is going to be having a new baby or new babies, and then she's going to tell the year old ones that they must leave and make it on their own. |
Feb15_22_ MooseInYardRC |
Feb15_23_ MooseInYardRC |
Feb15th_069_ Moose_HomeRC |
  The center photo in this row shows the entire family and that photo is book-ended by photos of one of the yearlings. |
Feb15th_096_ Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15th_076_077_Auto Panorama_Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15th_097_ Moose_HomeRC |
  The first shot in this row shows the nice color of the moose when they stand in the sun. The second and third photos show the two yearlings. |
Feb15th_138_ Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15th_175_ Moose_HomeRC |
Feb15th_180_ Moose_HomeRC |
End February 15th, Begin February 21st |
  On February 21st I looked out the window and saw this weird Diamond Dust snow drifting by. It was quite obvious to the naked eye, but it doesn't show up very well in the photos. In the second image here (which is the same photo as the first image) I have increased the contrast and it shows up a little better. |
Feb21_2_Dia mondDustSnowRC |
Feb21_2Contrast_ DiamondDustSnowRC |
  These two images are also the same photo. In second position I have converted it to an HDR photo. The Diamond Dust Snow doesn't seem to show up any better, but I think it added a certain attractiveness to the photo. |
Feb21_3_Dia mondDustSnowRC |
Feb21_3a_HDR_ DiamondDustSnowRC |
End February 21st, Begin February 22nd |
  On February 22nd we went to the Fairbanks Fairgrounds Ice Park. This is where the 2020 World Ice Art Championships are being held. When we visited on this date the Multi-Block Event had been completed and the winners had been announced. We didn't take many photos because night is a much better time to do photography of these incredible ice sculptures. A Single Entry ticket is $16, so we bought Season Tickets for $45 each. We need to visit only two more times to pay for the season tickets. By the way, in the third photo, you are reading that sign through at least 6 inches of very clear ice.
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Feb22_05_ IceParkRC |
Feb22_01_ IceParkRC |
Feb22_06_ IceParkRC |
  Here are two more sculptures, again, please note the clarity of the ice. The event obtained the ice from a different pond than usual this year, and they had never had such clear ice to work with in years past - they are calling it "Arctic Diamond" Ice, |
Feb22_07_08_Auto Pano_IceParkRC |
Feb22_10_ IceParkRC |
  This is only a small portion of one sculpture. I have included it, and a part of the photo to show the clarity of the "Arctic Diamond" ice. |
Feb22_22_ IceParkRC |
Feb22_22Part _IceParkRC |
  Here is the grand Prize winner of the Multi-Block Event. The title is "The Heart of the Universe" and it was sculpted by a Latvian team. The second shot shows some blocks of blue ice. Interesting, to say the least. This is, apparently, being saved for something else. |
Feb22_26_ IceParkRC |
Feb22_31_ IceParkRC |
End February 22nd, End February 2020's Photos, Begin Our Publications Links |
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End Our Publications Links, End Page 3 of 3, February 2020 |
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