Three-toed Woodpecker

A few weeks ago this Three-toed Woodpecker visited my backyard.  They are uncommon in Interior Alaska, so it was exciting to see him.  As luck would have it, my friend Mona from Montana Girl was here visiting.  It was a first time sighting for both of us.

Take a look at his upper foot and you can see why he is called a three-toed woodpecker.  Most woodpeckers have four toes.  The yellow patch on the top of his head is also noticeable.

The Old Gray Barn

The old gray barn, she ain't what she used to be!

I took these photos 10 days ago in the Skagit Valley in Washington.

The poor old gal looks like she needs a bit of help.

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Click on the barn above to see more old barns at Tricia's Barn Charm.

I have two different giveaways in the last post.  Click HERE to check them out.

Jingle in July Giveaway + Another

Many of you may be familiar with the Jingle Bell Run/Walk that is held by the Arthritis Foundation in many locations around the country in December. That doesn't work here in Interior Alaska because December can see temperatures of minus 40 and only a few hours of daylight, not to mention the snow-covered ground. Last year we held our first Jingle Bell Run in July starting at Santa Claus House in North Pole and circling around through a park and along the streets of North Pole. This year's Jingle in July is being held on July 9th. I have won a couple of giveaways in the past, and thought that this would be the perfect time to pay that forward. The Giveaway has two parts, one for my followers and one for the Arthritis Foundation. The Giveaway for Jingle in July is two Alaska books. The first book is Jon Van Zyle's Alaska Sketchbook, Four Seasons in the Far North. Jon Van Zyle is a well known Alaska artist. The book is a collection of paintings, sketches, pencil drawings, and personal diary entries that depict nature in Alaska over the four seasons. It is truly a small gem. The other book is a 2001 quarterly publication by the Alaska Geographic Society, Exploring Alaska's Birds. The organization ceased operation in 2003, and the trademark was bought by the Alaska Geographic Association in 2005. Although back issues are still being sold and certain issues of the old quarterly journals are re-released occasionally, this is an out-of-print book. It contains information and fantastic photos of birds in Alaska. To be eligible for this Giveaway you will need to go to my Jingle in July web page and donate at least $15 to the Arthritis Foundation through my personal web page. Click HERE to go to the Jingle in July web page. The link to my personal web page is incredibly complicated and long, so if you click on the donate button, then click on donate to a participant, and then where it asks to enter participant's name just type in Elaine and then click on Elaine at Reindeer on Vacation. You'll know you're on the right page when you see my photo with reindeer antlers and Hawaiian leis. Also, leave a note back on my blog so I will not miss your name in my drawing. Just for your information, 81% of the money donated will go to research and program services. Fundraising costs are 13% and management and general are the other 6%. Check out the website for more information.

The second Giveaway is actually three Giveaways. All you have to do is be a follower of my blog and comment on this post. Actually, my follower list keeps disappearing during the disruptions that Blogger has been having recently, so I won't actually hold you to that requirement. I will draw three names and send an Alaska Wild Teas Sampler to each. There are sixteen teabags in the sampler, four each of Cranberry, Wild Rose, Raspberry, and Blueberry. I will draw names for both Giveaways on July 10th, the day after the Jingle in July Run. I hope to see Alaska teas and books travel a long ways from Fairbanks! Good luck!

Below are some shots from last years Jingle in July. That's my team in the foreground, Reindeer on Vacation.

You can see the trail is a pleasant walk, including some beautiful wildflowers.

The photo below is of part of my team before the start. Walkers of course began after the serious runners had taken off. There's some kind of race in Fairbanks every weekend throughout the summer.

We'd all agree the sweetest member of my team was my granddaughter Sydney. She was content to ride in her stroller last year. She's two this year, and usually prefers to run on her own, so we'll see if she will stay in the stroller for the length of the course.

You can click on the logo below to go the Jingle in July website. You can do a search for Elaine, and my team, Reindeer on Vacation, should pop up. There's also a link in my sidebar.

Yikes!

We returned from our trip to Washington late Sunday night. Yesterday was our longest day, with 21 hours and 50 minutes between sunrise and sunset and twilight in between. We were gone for six days and everything in the garden grew a lot. I took my camera out to get some photos of the flowers. That's where the Yikes! comes in. There were some unexpected visitors enjoying the flowers. It seemed everywhere I went I saw the little critters.

I have a lot of flowers growing in containers and in flower beds and there are many wildflowers growing around the yard. They all seemed to have at least one or two buzzing around--yikes, I hope they don't sting!

I cannot give you a name for these guys, but they are small, maybe a half inch, and black and white with brown wings. All I know is they are in that category of critter likely to sting, and since I have an allergic reaction when I get stung I am very careful not to get too close to them. They really seem to only be interested in the flowers at this point, unlike our usual yellow jackets, who seem to be just as interested in my hide.

Did I mention that there are a lot of them?

I think it might be time to get out the yellow jacket traps!

Faded Red Barn

We saw this faded red barn on Thursday not far off of I-5 near Mt. Vernon in the Skagit Valley in Washington. It's looking like it's in need of some TLC before too long, but it's not doing too bad.

In a field of buttercups next to the barn there was a herd of goats. Washington has had a lot of rain lately, so I'm sure they were very happy to frolic in the sunshine!

Click on the barn below to see more old barns at Tricia's Barn Charm.

Class of 2011

Across the country at this time of year every high school holds its graduation ceremonies. We traveled to Washington state to attend my grandson's graduation Wednesday evening.

Rogan graduated from Anacortes High School and will be attending Rochester Institute of Technology in New York state in the fall, where he will be studying photography and film making. He is deaf and he chose RIT because they have an excellent program for deaf students.The traditional throwing of the mortarboard hats into the air is always an exciting moment for the graduates. There are many happy faces and their arms seem to stretch to the future.

Congratulations to all of the Class of 2011! May all their hopes and plans become a reality.

Washington Park Squirrel

Creamer's Dairy Barns in June

Last week I showed the view of the old Creamer's Dairy Barns from the back. Today we're around front. Look closely in the foreground and you'll see Sandhill Cranes gathered around one of the ponds.

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Check out more old barns at Tricia's Barn Charm.

Hitchin' a Ride

Yellowleg at the Seasonal Wetlands

The photos in the last post were taken a short distance from the seasonal wetlands at Creamer's Field. Although the water level is down considerably from a few weeks ago, there is still plenty of water for various waterfowl and shorebirds. On Tuesday we saw a new bird for me, a Lesser Yellowlegs, feeding along the edge of the water.The breed in open boreal forest with scattered shallow wetlands, so this is an ideal location for them. They build their nests on the ground and the babies leave the nest a few hours after hatching and feed themselves.

This little guy didn't seem to even notice that we were there, and just kept wandering along, searching for food. They feed mainly on insects. I don't know if they eat mosquitoes, but the mosquitoes were certainly out in force. There is a bumper crop this year, and I am sure there are lots of happy birds.

The Yellowlegs winter mostly in Central and South America, breeding in Alaska and northern Canada, so they have a long migration route.

We also saw some Mallards, Northern Shovelers, and American Wigeons on the ponds.

Creamer's Dairy Barns in Early Summer

The old Creamer dairy barns have many faces. Walking around the barns provides many different views. The shift from winter to summer changes the barns and fields very dramatically. A month ago much of the field in the foreground of the photo below was covered in water and the branches of the trees were bare. Now in early summer the wild roses are blooming prolifically across many parts of the fields.
The leaves on the birch trees soften the roof line and the sun shining high in the sky throws a shadow of the cupolas on the roof.

The roses in full bloom will soon give way to wild iris and then fireweed. The color and patterns are constantly changing as the year progresses. Click HERE to view earlier posts on the barns at different times of the year.

To see more old barns go to Tricia's Barn Charm by clicking on the barn below.

Hummingbird Moth Transformed

I took some photos of a hummingbird moth a few days ago. Whenever I see one they seem a bit surreal......
......and so I added some neon to the photo to make it even more surreal.....

......and now I think I might have dreams of walking through a neon world.