Sticky Fingers or Nature's Natural Bug Trap

Drosera rotundifolia, Sundew, Cedar Bay, Alaska and a small spider both out hunting for prey. Sundews have a sticky, sweet nectar on their hair-like stalked mucilaginous glands that cover their leaf surface. The "nectar" attracts small bugs which quickly get enmeshed by the closing stalks where they are digested for their nitrogen. The bugs supplement the sparse nitrogen available in the acidic bog environments that these plants favor. These nifty little plants will propagate from leaf cuttings, given the proper environment, sprouting a new plant from the leaf section as might an african violet.

But for the Grace of God

Turnagain Pass, Alaska.

I was filling gas at the gas station today when a young lady of perhaps 25 years came up and asked for a dollar. Now, I've heard all the stories about how the "bums" cook up stories to get money without working and then use it for liquor and drugs. In fact, a friend at work takes every opportunity to remind me not to give money to beggars. Of course, those stories typically go in one ear, swish around in that empty skull of mine, and then out the other ear.

The girl had long brown hair, sad brown eyes and the most worn out tennis shoes I had seen in a really long time. She looked so bedraggled you could not help but feel horribly sorry for her. Still, in spite of it all, she looked truly embarrassed to be asking for money. I know I would be embarrassed asking for money but most beggars are quite bland to the act. She was different.

I somehow managed to stuble out, "What happened to you? How did you get here?" Poorly phrased but she understood. She explained that she had come to San Diego from New Hampshire for a job in a restaurant. The job lasted all of 6 weeks before the restaurant closed down and she was jobless and moneyless. An uncle was mailing her bus money to get home.

Now, I don't know if it was true or not. I'll never know. However, it felt true and I have a decent feel for honest people. Perhaps, sometimes you need to go with your gut. So I ran off to get change and gave her a dollar...and off she went in an embarrassed-to-be-here kind of way. Had she let me finish filling gas, I would have bought her dinner and maybe even a bus ticket home but she was gone in a blink of an eye. I could only think that this recession has been hard on the most vulnerable among us and that, but for the grace of God, that girl could be any of us. Good parents, great schools versus abusive parents and flunking out of bad schools... Why us? Call it fate, call it luck, call it grace or anything else...but for that bit of circumstance, whatever the cause, that gird could have been any one of us.

I don't think a dollar goes very far these days. I found myself wishing I'd given her more. Still, if nothing else, this dollar bought a little bit of extra perspective. But for the grace of God... Besides, even if I was hood-winked (and my gut says no, this wasn't a con-job), the perspective was well worth it.

Turnagain Pass

Turnagain Pass, Alaska in mid-June. Beautiful huh? The wind and the tide really rip through here. Makes for some awesome windsufing or so I was told. Hoho! Wait, I cropped out the water didn't I? Grin.

Red Footed Kittiwake

Red Footed Kittiwake, Seward, Alaska. Huge colonies of these guys nesting on the cliffs along the water in Alaska.

I'm Not Proud

Cascade, Barry and Coxe Glaciers in the Prince William Sound, Alaska. It is an awesome experience to be up close and personal with those glaciers. The silence broken by the crackle and roar as they calve off huge chunks of ice and your kayak rolls in the resulting wave that blazes through the bay! Wow.

So I dropped a class. I think this is the first time ever. Me, the wonder student. Mr. Smarty pants himself. I stared at the syllabus several times over and, while I really wanted to take that class, I decided I just didn't have the time to do it. Defeat? ...or maybe just some respect for my personal sanity. What's it competing with? The day job, the "night job", the other 9 credits of law courses, the orchid habit, the photo habit and some small modicum of social life. Did I do the right thing? Yeah, I guess so... Happy Thursday! I have to go write out some bills (bleah).

Duck Napped

This little female long tailed duck appears to be napping on the job. You can still see the droplets of water, however, from her last dive.

Cascade Falls, Alaska

This is the view from the top of Cascade Falls, Alaska. It was a beautiful, sunny day but there were clouds for just long enough to take this picture.

Dall's Porpoise

Some Dall's Porpoise that were keeping us company in Prince William Sound, Alaska. They stayed for the entire time while we fished for halibut. We didn't catch anything other than a few beers.

Surf Scoter

There are Surf Scoters. Seems like kind of a funky name. These ducks hang out fairly far from shore and this particular flock took to wing when the boat passed by.

Kittywake Colony

A colony of kittywakes in Prince William Sound, Alaska. They glue their little nests up against the steep cliff walls so bears, foxes and other hungry critters don't get the eggs/chicks. It's pretty impressive but I suppose you need to go through extreme measures to stay alive when you're on the bottom of the bird food chain.

Alaskan Falls

The Prince William Sound is full of waterfalls. Probably the only other place I've been to that comes close is Hilo, Hawaii. The dot the cliffsides wherever you look. Some are just trickles and others are huge cascades. This one was a medium sized one that was falling right through the trees.

Happy Days

Picture from Prince William's Sound (near the Cascade Falls), Alaska. Well, Happy is the dog's name and it is totally fitting. Happy is just ecstatic as long as there is someone to play fetch with. I've never seen a dog so determined to play fetch. If there is no stick, he'll make a stick off of a nearby tree. Amazingly good natured and tough as stones. Cool dog. If only people were all so happy and so simple.

Bear Glacier

In spite of global warming, Alaska is still jamm packed with glaciers. This one is called Bear Glacier. You can also just see the bow of the boat we were on while we waited for the glacier to calve.

Seal on Ice

More pictures from Prince William Sound, this one en route to Cedar Bay. There were seals and otters resting on little ice bergs. This one was so comfortable, he wasn't budging as the boat slowly chugged by. I love the way the water was glassy and reflective, showing off his beautiful fur coat.

Back From the Cold North

I'm back from Alaska. This is a picture of me in front of Meare's Glacier in Prince William Sound. The park ranger told me that the snow crystals are packed down under tremendous pressure and that pressure changes their crystal structure to produce their wonderfully cold looking icy blue color. It is really stunning and if you sit there long enough, you can watch the glaciers calve off huge chunks of ice into the sea. It's a little scary watching the huge glacial wave coming towards you realizing that the water is incredibly cold but, hey, that's why you're in a boat (that floats over the waves...). It's quite a rush. Overall, it was a fun trip with lots of stunning vistas and cute furry animals (heh). More later.

Heading North

I'm heading North to take some pictures so the blog will be quiet for a little bit. I hope to come back with all sorts of pictures of whales, bears, birds and otters. We have a little boat chartered to go into the Fjords for day hikes and overnight mooring. I've got a little case of the pre-trip jitters but, being the world traveler, not too bad. Stay tuned.