Wildflower Medley

Fairbanks has a harsh climate, but there are a lot of wildflowers that thrive here. After a long snow-covered winter it is such a joy when they begin blooming. All of these photos were taken in my yard today. The first photo is of a wood violet. One of the hardiest flowering plants is the prickly rose.

The bluebell is a favorite of mine.

The dandelion is a beautiful flower, even if it is considered a weed. Now if I can just figure out how to keep it from growing in my lawn!

Views Across the Fields

I took these photos while walking along one of the trails at Creamer's Field on Wednesday.

Old Barn at Creamer's Field

Creamer's Field is now a 2000 acre wildlife refuge, but it started out as a dairy farm owned by the Creamers. The old barn has been preserved and is a landmark in Fairbanks. For more about the refuge check out earlier posts in my Labels section on the sidebar under Creamer's Field. The first photo I took on April 29th of this year. I think the turrets on the top of the barn are particularly interesting. I took the following two photos on May 27th.

Sandhill Cranes in Flight

I took these shots of Sandhill Cranes yesterday at Creamer's Field. Just as I was getting out of the car a large group were coming in for a landing. Needless to say I was scrambling to get as many shots as I could. Seems that's always the way--you should have been ready a minute sooner!

The day was windy and overcast, so I got some flight shots that look like silhouettes against the sky.

Northern Shoveler Pair

I visited Creamer's Field again today. I walked back along the Seasonal Wetlands Trail, and I managed to get some shots of a pair of Northern Shovelers.

This is a view of the pond they were in.

Tomorrow I will post some flight photos of sandhill cranes.

Icy Kingfisher

Our temperatures here have been into the 80s the last few days. Time for a little cooling off! I posted these photos back in March when the Ice Carving Championships were going on in Fairbanks. The title of this carving was Surfing Kingfisher and it won first place in the Single Block Competition. One of the carvers was from Japan and the other from Canada.
This very rare kingfisher has long since migrated--okay, he melted! He only existed for a fleeting moment in time, but his beauty lives on in photographs. Our Ice Park is open for a few short weeks in late February and early March. It brings much needed light and color at the end of a long winter. Carvers come from all over the world to compete, and it is one of my favorite photo op occasions.

Snowshoe Hare Hop

Yesterday we had a couple of snowshoe hares hopping around our yard off and on all day.

They are still in the process of changing into their summer coats, but still have some white on them. As you can see, they have very large rear feet, thus the name snowshoe, and it helps them get around on the snow easier.They are very quick and I am just a bit slow, so these shots are not as good as I would like. I did not see them today, but hopefully they will be back again and I will be able to get some more shots. Hopefully they will be more respectful than Mr. Robin!

When I told Marty that I had seen them taking a shortcut through his new shop, he started thinking of rabbit stew. I think a better solution is to get the doors onto his shop! They are just too cute for stew.

Robin Taunt, the Sequel

This evening one of our backyard robins popped up onto my deck. I got off a couple of quick shots and was happy because I felt sure I had gotten a good shot. When I looked at it on my computer, I was right. The robin had posed for me quite nicely. However, when I looked at the second shot, the robin had turned his back, and left a little extra deposit!

Taunting me? You bet! Who says birds don't have a sense of humor?

Robin Taunt

I have been trying all week to get photos of the robins in the backyard. They have been taunting me and I think they are laughing at me. They've hidden behind the trees and I've gotten good back views.......Views high in the trees--their song has a taunting lilt to it...... Views flying away too quickly to get a good focus on them.....

Today I got a few shots that are okay......

But I have in my mind's eye the lovely shots that Shellmo had on her blog a few days ago. Her grass is much greener and we don't have the earth worms, so I can't change that part. Still I need to keep trying!

Dark-eyed Juncos

I took this photo of a Dark-eyed Junco last June 21st on our longest day. Juncos have a great geographic variation in color. The ones who visit Fairbanks are in the Slate-colored subspecies. They are a common bird, but really quite handsome.I took the two photos below a few days ago.

Sparrow Camouflage

This White-crowned Sparrow has the perfect camouflage suit.

Squirrel Scold

When we took the bird feeders down, there was a big mess of seeds underneath. We raked that up and, along with the dry grass that it was mixed with, dumped it at the edge of the lawn under the trees. Our resident squirrel has claimed that as his stash, and when I came close to photograph him, he scampered up a tree and proceeded to scold me.

Go away! That's mine!
Can't you hear me?

Has she left?

Good grief. Will she never leave?

Finally! I was beginning to think I would starve to death waiting for her to leave.

Tulip Festival at Mt. Vernon

Elizabeth has been posting lovely photos of her visit to Mt. Vernon, Washington, in early May. Check out http://elizabethsphotojourney.blogspot.com for some stunning photos. My son lives in Mt. Vernon and we've visited there often. We were there during the Tulip Festival in 2004 and these are a few of the photos I took then. Elizabeth, these are the red fields that I remember the most.

Here is a red and yellow field.This photo is my very favorite. I asked my family to pose for me in front of the beautiful tulip field. This is the view they presented me with! Well, it's not a customary group shot, but I like it because they are admiring the beautiful tulips and mountains in the background, and, of course, for the memory of the fun we had that day.

Soaking Up The Sun

Today it warmed up to 70 and the forecast is for more of the same. It's about time!