Only in Alaska!

[Ron Thorne]

Yesterday, while headed to our daughter's home to pick up my wife, I couldn't resist taking a few shots of a beautiful bull moose enjoying a Halloween treat of crab apples, twigs and leaves in a neighbor's front yard. I was really glad that I had my new camera with 18X zoom with me! I took these photos from inside our car.

We've already had a cow moose and her spring calf and a black bear in our yard in the past month. Yes, urban wildlife is a fact of life in the 49th state.

Note the lack of snow.

[patricia]

Great shots, Ron!!
Last time I saw a moose up as close as the last picture, he was standing outside my window................in four feet of snow.
We were living at a lake, fifty miles from the nearest town in central B.C.
Moose really ARE that big.
He saw me looking at him and strolled out of my yard paying no attention to the snow, as if it wasn't there.
Magnificent creatures!!

[Valerie]

you and your new camera are a very good pair, Ron!

[Gentle Giant]

Watch out.


Alaska volcano has geologists on alert

January 29, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska --Mount Redoubt, a volcano 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, is rumbling and simmering, prompting geologists to warn that an eruption may be imminent.

Scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory have been monitoring activity round-the-clock since the weekend.

On Thursday, the observatory said: "Seismicity remains above background and largely unchanged with several volcanic earthquakes occurring every hour."

The last time the 10,197-foot peak blew was during a five-month stretch starting in December 1989. It disrupted international air traffic and placed a layer of volcanic dust throughout the Anchorage area.

Volcanoes in Alaska, including Redoubt, typically erupt explosively, shooting ash almost eight miles high. Volcanic ash features small, jagged pieces of rock and glass.

This differs from volcanoes in Hawaii, which usually have slow rolling lava ooze out.

The difference is gas trying to escape gets blocked, possibly by a lava dome or a viscous magma that increases the power from beneath, said observatory geologist Jennifer Adleman.

"Its pressure keeps building and building," she said.

Depending on wind, the ash plume could be pushed straight at Anchorage, the state's largest city. This has prompted state and city officials to post bulletins on how to deal with the ash. Tips include staying inside, wearing a mask or wet bandanna if going outside and wearing goggles over contact lenses.

[Ron Thorne]

We're definitely aware of this potential, Jason.

It's a really beautiful mountain when it's in a "peaceful" mode.



More information from Wikipedia


As you can see from this map, it really is in our neighborhood and could make things very unpleasant, depending upon wind direction.




Here's a photo taken during an eruption.

[Ron Thorne]

So, Patti and our granddaughter were grocery shopping and I was watching the NBC Nightly News when I noticed that our front porch lamp was swinging wildly. "Hmmmm ... I wonder if one of our resident woodpeckers or Stellar Jays landed on it and started it swinging when they flew away?" Moments later, I noticed movement of our Lilac bush out the same front window and wondered if the young moose we'd seen this morning was back browsing on our Lilac. As soon as I looked back toward the television, another motion caught my attention out of the corner of my eye ... "damned moose", I thought. "No, it's a bear!" A full-grown Black Bear was standing on its back paws, having just swiped down a portion of our bird feeder which we'd meant to bring in as soon as we returned from our Hawaii vacation. Too late. Also, the remaining suet in its holder had been snatched, probably the reason for the bear's presence in our yard in the first place. I yelled at the bear from our mud room, scaring it into our neighbor's driveway and beyond.

We know to bring in our suet and bird feeders, but our usual springtime awareness has been altered by our vacation trip and being busy with other things in our house and around our yard.

I called Patti on her cellular phone and alerted her to be on the lookout for a bear when she returned, then joined her in our driveway when she got home. The coast was clear, so we unloaded our groceries. We probably won't see this beautiful creature again.

Life in the Land of the Midnight Sun is seldom boring.

Sorry, no photos.