instagram love

September 5, 2011 in photography techniques | 13 comments

I’m addicted to Instagram.  It’s been such a fun way to explore photos in a new light.  Snapping a picture and then thinking about crops and edits–something I never do with my DSLR shots.  I occasionally do some editing in iphoto, but most of my photos are straight outta the camera.  So this is new and exciting to me.  I’ve always loved my iphone, but this is the one little thing that has made me want to keep it in my pocket forever and ever.  I now just might have to learn how to use photoshop someday.  Oh the possibilities!

Here’s some of my favorite shots.

Are you on Instagram?

 

 

 

humpies at the harbor

September 2, 2011 in exploring nature, harbors, salmon, wildflowers | 1 comment

Yesterday brought us a very unexpected and very welcomed day of sun. Oh sun!  At this time of year, that encounter is like sipping on a glass of honied Kentucky bourbon. You know that feeling.  Just warming. It’s is still high enough in this Alaskan sky to cozy everything up in its brief appearance.  I’d planned to clean out the basement… but yeah, that didn’t happen.  Micah and Lola took me for a late afternoon walk at Statter Harbor.  This is what we saw…

Lots of pink salmon. Also called humpies (which makes me snicker for some silly reason) because of the big humpback the males develop during the spawning migration. These are near the end of their journey. It was incredibly beautiful.

And some bonus sunny harbor pictures. Kind of reaffirms why I love it here so much.

looking toward Mt. McGinnis and the majestic Mendenhall Towers

throwing salmon roe to the fish and seagulls

Today it’s back to grey, wet skies. Guess the basement will get cleaned after all.

lucky

August 26, 2011 in juneau, little bird | 10 comments

It’s been so nice to have some solo time with my girl again.  She has such an assertive personality around her brothers (naturally), but when she is alone with me, a whole different attitude comes out… she acts like such a big kid!  So sweet and full of stories.

Yesterday, we went downtown to have lunch and a walk with Daddy.  We walked down Basin Road to Perseverance Trailhead, got a hot chocolate and goofed around at the old Capital School.  We rarely go into town to explore, and even though it’s a relatively small downtown, she appeared so wide-eyed and bewildered.  You’d think I took her to Manhattan.  Except that one end of town had  us along a creek in the mountains watching gold panners and the other had the capitol building and a few massive cruise ships.

She kept telling me, “I’m such a lucky girl!”  I’m such a lucky girl to get a hot chocolate! I’m such a lucky girl to be alone with you and Daddy!  I’m such a lucky girl to get a lollipop from Daddy’s office!  I’m such a lucky girl that it’s a beautiful day! I’m the lucky one, sweet Lola.  I “lud” you.

I also really love our little downtown. Isn’t it pretty?

summer in flowers

August 23, 2011 in exploring nature, summer, wildflowers | 13 comments

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my fireweed post.  It’s comforting in a sad time to know there are sweet people in this world.  As summer was flying by around me this year, everything seemed emotionally straining and rough… but looking back, I realize there was a lot of beauty happening around me, too.  That’s why I love taking pictures. It forces me to stop and see things in a new light.  Even when I’m a complete disaster, I become pleasantly distracted by the way the light hits the mountains or by a sweet moment shared between my kids.  I don’t know that I would be so aware of such instances if I didn’t love to take photos.  Even if I don’t have my camera or I choose not to take a picture, I notice and I remember those little snapshots of time and they bring me great joy.

If you ask me, summer is officially over in my book.  Though we technically have a month left on the calendar, school started today… the boys are gone and the house is way too quiet… and the rains have set in here BIG time.  Despite the rain, I love fall.  The colors and the settling in after a summer of manic activity.  So, in an ambivalent farewell to summer, I’m posting a wildflower catalog of sorts; or a tribute to the relics of a bygone season.  Starting a new chapter beholden to the earth for sharing its bits of beauty that appear every year just for me (and you).

roseroot

lupine

shooting stars, northern rice root, western buttercup

rocket weed on the hillside

oxeye daisies + forget-me-nots

beach peas

wild beach carrot (?)

sitka sedge (?)

white clover

red columbine

wild carrot (queen anne’s lace) + grass

sitka burnet + yarrow

northern geranium

thimbleberries

yellow mountain-heather

self-heal

mountain monkshood (extremely poisonous)

common harebell

robin’s egg found in a patch of foamflower near ebner falls

maidenhair fern

forget-me-nots (the alaska state flower)

arrow-leaved groundsel

fireweed

(I’m no expert here, so please correct me if I’m wrong on the names!)

august fireweed

August 9, 2011 in birthdays, family, summer | 17 comments

Today, I am thinking about my beautiful sister in California, Emily, on her birthday. Also, I am saddened and joyous all at once to acknowledge the loss of my dear uncle who passed away hours ago surrounded by my Arizona family. Emily and Uncle Bob, together we experienced insane road trips (Lean on Me and stomach bugs), swimming pool gossip, mean Manhattans, Arizona sunsets and Texas two-stepping… to name a few.  You both are in my heart always.  And to the rest of the H gang, as Rachel said, you are exactly where you need to be–how wonderful. I love you all and your strength and optimism is truly amazing.

Emily, I’m so glad I have you to share the ups and downs of this life. Remember your birthday dinner at the Fiddlehead and that crazy bus?! And your 30th in Montana… I’ll never forget.  I’ve been saving my fireweed pictures for my August girl. Celebrate today, ok?

Sister I see you
Dancing on the stage
Of memory
Sister I miss you
(the Nixons)

catch up time

August 4, 2011 in summer | 8 comments

Summer and writing just haven’t jived for me this year.  We’ve been out and about so much, or home and buzzing around, that I’ve had little time to collect my thoughts.  I walked outside this morning and there was a misty rain and it was pretty chilly.  I thought, “oh fall, I am kinda happy to see you after all.” Fall comes early up here, you see.  Though with that said, I will most certainly be soaking up any last bits of summer that come our way.  We still haven’t even picked blueberries, for goodness sake.

I think I’ll try to spend the next few days catching up here, if only for my own record of what went down this summer.  If you want to stick with me, great! Otherwise, you can come back in a week or so for more current events.  Mostly, this catching up will consist of lots of pictures of fishing and hiking. Surprise!  Of course, there’s some eating, drinking and merrymaking in there, too.

So, hopefully after I get all this catching up done in my little space, I can move over to yours and see what everyone else has been up to this summer! Time to make another pot of coffee. Cheers, ya’ll.

camping on the sand

July 15, 2011 in canning, exploring nature, family, foraging wild edibles, summer, weekends | 6 comments

We discovered a new favorite camping spot last weekend.  We went out to Boy Scout Beach and camped right in an open field of wild peas and fireweed.  And to top it off, there is real sand on the beach. It’s not the typical rocky Juneau tideline.  Sand!  Like you can walk barefoot. That never happens here!

The beach is located off a very accessible 1.5 mile trail that runs along Eagle River (very appropriately named as we were literally swarmed by bald eagles). A friend and I packed in with Lola in the stroller while the boys and Brian biked. Because Brian pulled the bike trailer, we were able to bring along a bunch of stuff that we wouldn’t normally be able to pack in.  Like a real campstove. I’m not good at packing light.

We have walked out to the beach for day excursions before, but this is the first time we’ve actually made a weekend trip out of it. The icing on the cake is that the weather was gorgeous. It makes me happy that my kids were able to stay in bathing suits just about the whole day. Much like the happy camping trips of my youth in Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona.

Wild critters and wild edibles were at every which turn. Unfortunately, the strawberries weren’t quite ready but we did manage to scavenge a few handfuls of ripe blueberries. And how adorable is this bunny! She was still as a doorknob until she took off in a mad dash.

Did I mention the sand? And the sun?

Sand is fun to play in. We made up games, like stick-tac-toe. And created beach creatures.

And of course, we did some fishing. Catch and release this time. Lots of pink salmon and double uglies (sculpin) brought in. Jonah also brought his Red Ryder BB gun to practice shooting at targets. He’s a waaaay better shot than I am.

And then there were my favorite things about camp: campfires, camp snacks, and black coffee.

This weekend will be a little different… the boys have their first soccer games of the season tomorrow and we have a few fun social activities planned. Also, king crab season is opening for just a few days so we hope to go out with a friend to pull pots and see if we can have ourselves a crab feast. Ah summer… seems like you’re going by too fast.

 

little feather

July 8, 2011 in exploring nature, foraging wild edibles, in the kitchen, mighty, summer | 12 comments

There’s an abundance of little feather growing on the beach near our house. Or, if you prefer, old man’s pepper… or perhaps, more commonly known as, yarrow.

We drink a lot of tea in our house and yarrow is one of my favorite flavors. Not to mention, it is great for allergies and colds–both of which I have been suffering from all summer long. Yarrow has the same properties as aspirin for reducing fevers and historically was most commonly used for regulating blood flow. Achilles carried yarrow with his army to heal battle wounds. One article that I read suggested that when consumed in large doses, “…you may notice a shift in the color and intensity of light around you. For artists or photographers this photosensitiser can sometimes provide a useful shift in perception.” Wild! A yarrow high made for photographers!

Mighty and I went on a harvesting walk several nights ago and brought home enough to preserve for use throughout the year. We mixed fresh leaves and flowers with mint leaves from the garden and made a delicious cup of tea, with honey as sweetener.

**I’m totally not an expert but everything I read about yarrow said not to use it while pregnant or nursing… just fyi.

independence day

July 6, 2011 in holidays, summer | 6 comments

Just about the only thing I can think of at this point in my post-holiday exhaustion are the lyrics to that Katy Perry song that I have been hearing played over and over again for the last month.  So I’ll just share some pictures from our fantastic Fourth of July in which the sun actually shone on our parade!

A Juneau-Douglas Fourth of July celebration is just about as All-American as watermelon and apple pie.  Boom, boom, boom… even brighter than the moon, moon, moon.  It’s almost as bad as having Jingle Bells stuck in your head for weeks!

summering

June 24, 2011 in in the kitchen, summer | 9 comments

We’re here, just kicking around.  Nothing special other than the stocking of the freezer happening, mainly due to Brian and his king salmon-whispering skills. The kids and I are at the beach, playing, relaxing, readjusting to a summer routine. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s a giant fail. We’ve been making some great summer meals, again mostly salmon… a little crab… and a little bounty from our gutter gardens, which are growing spectacularly.

The highlight of the summer was my adventure to Boy Scout camp with Jonah.  Holy mama did I learn a lot!  Jonah had a blast, and I realized just how many boy things I was missing out on. I learned how to tie a bowline and I have already put my skills to use plenty with all the carting around of this and that I’m doing. And I never knew there were different ways to build fires for various purposes.  Maybe I was just never really paying attention (likely).  And how nice is it to have camp in a place like this?:

I hope my girl has interest in learning all of these useful “boy” things because it sure will come in handy growing up here (or anywhere her life adventures take her). She already likes to fish.

And I’m still thinking about life on a boat. Especially one with a circular deck shower, a rustic lantern and a rose in a water bottle. It’s even appropriately named.

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