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posted: May 2nd, 2024 |
This page actually begins with the series of Annual April 30th photos which I take while looking south in our driveway. You can compare the difference in eight years of photos. After that are photos taken while on our April 9th trip to the Castner Glacier Ice Cave, including some caribou we saw on this trip. There are photos from two trips to Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. You can see how we collected Birch Water from one of our birch trees, and finally, some of our earliest spring flowers - the Pasque Flower. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin April 30th |
These first three rows on this page show what this scene looked like in each year since we have been here for April 30th. The three shots in this row show April 30th in 2017, and 2018, as well as May 1st in 2019.
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 Apr30Adj_iPhone _THE THAWRC |
 Apr30_1_2_3_AutoPano_ Driveway_Yard_SnowRC |
 May1_1_2_3_ AutoPano_AtHome_2WebRC |
Here are the same photos from April 30th, 2020, May 1st, 2021, and April 30,2022.
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 Apr30_3_ FromPorchRC |
 May1_2_3_SIPCrop_AutoPano_ FromPorchLookingSouthRC |
 Apr30_iPh_CropSIP _ComparisonPhoto_PreviousYearsRC |
And finally, here are the photos that were taken on April 30th, 2023, and 2024.
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 Apr30_iPhone_Annual PhotoUpDrivewayRC |
 Apr30_Annual SouthLookingPhoto_CropRC |
| End April 30th, Begin April 9th |
On April 9th we took a long drive down south to Castner Glacier and its associated Ice Cave. This ice cave has changed a great deal since we first visited here in 2022. It is still impressive, but not nearly as impressive as it was back then. The first shot in this row shows the entrance area. The second shot shows Daniel hiking towards the cave. The third shot shows the ice wall, and it has been warm enough so that a good deal of dripping of melting snow has been happening.
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 Apr09_3AT_Castner GlacierTripRC |
 April9th_ CastnerGlacier_024RC |
 April9th_ CastnerGlacier_040RC |
These three shots were all taken from inside of the ice cave. As you can see, we were not the only people here today.
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 April9th_ CastnerGlacier_054RC |
 Apr09_01_ CastnerGlacierTripRC |
 April9th_ CastnerGlacier_059RC |
Here is a final shot of the ice cave, with the long ice crystals hanging from the ceiling. On the way back towards Fairbanks, we happened to see a herd of Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) feeding off the side of the highway near Donnelly Dome. Some sources say that these animals might belong to the Delta Herd of Caribou, while other sources indicate that these animals may belong to the Macomb Caribou Herd.
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 April9th_Castner Glacier_094RC |
 April9th_Castner Glacier_Caribou_134RC |
Here are two more shots of this Caribou Herd on the side of Donnelly Dome, south of Delta Junction along the Richardson Highway.
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 Apr09_13_CastnerGlacier Trip_MacombCaribouRC |
 Apr09_15_CastnerGlacier Trip_MacombCaribouRC |
These are the final two shots of this group of Caribou, whichever herd they may belong to.
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 Apr09_16_CastnerGlacier Trip_MacombCaribouRC |
 Apr09_17_CastnerGlacier Trip_MacombCaribouRC |
| End April 9th, Begin April 14th |
Here are two shots taken at home on April 14th. The first shot was taken while looking south from our porch and the second shot was taken from our West window.
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 Apr14_1_AtHome_ SouthFromPorchRC |
 Apr14_2_AtHome_ FromWestWindowRC |
| End April 14th, Begin April 20th |
These three photos were taken at Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, on April 20th. The first shot was zoomed in quite a bit, so it appears very foreshortened. That small white building is in actuality, about 300 yards from the camera. In the second shot you can see some Trumpeter Swans and Canada Geese in flight.
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 Apr20_01_Creamers FieldVisitRC |
 April20th_031_ CreamersFieldRC |
 Apr20_21_Creamers FieldVisitRC |
| End April 20th, Begin April 22nd |
Please compare these two photos with the two in Row 9. The two sets of photos were taken eight days apart, and it is very obvious how much snow had melted in those eight days.
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 Apr22_2_ FromPorchRC |
 Apr22_1_From WestWindowRC |
| End April 22nd, Begin April 23rd |
Well, even after some years in Alaska, we can still find new things to do. Let's tap a birch tree for some birch water and see what happens, see what we get, taste it, experience something new. The literature says that a nice birch tree can produce 1 - 1.5 gallons of water per 24 hour period, but we have collected it at the rate of a gallon in about 6 hours, or 4 gallons per 24 hour period. The glass jar in this photo is 1-gallon capacity. After we had 2 gallons, we reduced it down to the 1/2 quart shown in the second photo. The birch water has an obvious sweet taste, and is very refreshing. The reduction is obviously sweeter tasting, and obviously richer in color. The plain water itself is very rich in manganese, magnesium and other things. One 10 ounce glass of the water will give you about 130% of your DV of manganese.
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 Apr23_06_Birch Tapping_WaterRC |
 Apr23_4_Birch WaterReductionRC |
| End April 23rd, Begin April 24th |
Now we are obviously at Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge again. These two photos show a number of Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) and Canada Geese (Branta canadensis).
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 Apr24_01_Creamers FieldSwans_GeeseRC |
 Apr24_10_Creamers FieldSwans_GeeseRC |
The first shot here shows four Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) and the second shot shows a single Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons).
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 Apr24_27_Creamers FieldSwans_GeeseRC |
 Apr24_36_Creamers FieldSwans_GeeseRC |
| End April 24th, Begin April 26th |
Now it's April 26th and we have gone out in search of our first spring flowers. It is four days earlier than we have ever found them in years past, but this is a weird year. We drove directly to Mile 57 of the Elliott Highway and climbed up this cut slope that is steeper than a cow's face, and we found what we were in search of - Pasque Flowers (Pulsatilla patens. WOW! AMAZING!
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 Apr26_08_Pasque Flower_57MileSteeseRC |
 Apr26_17_Pasque Flower_39MileSteeseRC |
 Apr26_23_Pasque Flower_39MileSteeseRC |
After we finished up at 57 mile, we drove back to another spot where we find this species (39 mile) and also found them in bloom at that spot.
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 Apr26_29_Pasque Flower_39MileSteeseRC |
 Apr26_40_Pasque Flower_39MileSteeseRC |
 April26th_071_Elliott HWY_PasqueflowerRC |
We are both at our best when we are outdoors hiking and we find amazing flowers in bloom - just look at the smile on Kazuya's face.
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 Apr26_34_Pasque Flower_39MileSteese_KazuyaRC |
 April26th_078_Elliott HWY_PasqueflowerRC |
| End April 26th, End April 2024's Photos, Begin Our Publications Links |
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| End Our Publications Links, End Page 1 of 1, April 2024 |
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