Three Bears, Dandelions, And A Moose

Some leftovers from the drive back to Alaska.


BEAR 1

Just leaving the Cassiar Highway, we saw our first bear.  A black bear.  Who was busy eating dandelions.

It seems when bears come into town, they ignore the dandelions and go after other things.  A shame.

So there's no doubt, here's a picture where he has the dandelions in his mouth.  I'm sure they would have been tastier when they were fresher and hadn't gone to seed yet.

I did stay in the car.  These photos result from a combination of the bear being close to the road, not concerned when I stopped,  my Canon Rebel telephoto lens, and some cropping. 

One more of bear 1, heading off. 
















BEAR 2

This black bear was mostly brown and we first saw him sitting in amongst the dandelions. 

His reddish brown fur was a bit mangy. 











BEAR 3

The next day, between Haines Junction and Kluane National Park, we saw the brown bear. 

It too was at the side of the road eating dandelions.  I stopped well before I got to the bear and was able to get a couple of shots when a big pickup pulling a huge trailer passed me slowly and stopped right next to the bear. 

Thanks, I muttered, and thought some choice things about the driver as the bear turned to the brush and disappeared. 

There must have been some discussion in the cab of the truck.  At the visitor center at Kluane National Park the trailer pulled up just after we did and a woman got out and apologized for her husband chasing the bear away.  The husband didn't get out.  I imagine this woman might apologize for her husband a lot.  I told her it was fine, I'd gotten my pictures. 

Then we went for a short hike to the first viewpoint on the nearby trail the rangers suggested. 

Kluane is a huge park and is a World Heritage site  combined with several other US and Canadian parks. 

The Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek national parks and protected areas along the boundary of Canada and the United States of America are the largest non-polar icefield in the world and contain examples of some of the world’s longest and most spectacular glaciers. Characterized by high mountains, icefields and glaciers, the property transitions from northern interior to coastal biogeoclimatic zones, resulting in high biodiversity with plant and animal communities ranging from marine, coastal forest, montane, sub-alpine and alpine tundra, all in various successional stages.

 It has a tiny, fairly primitive visitors center.  So far, it hasn't been spoiled with an adjoining commercial cluster of hotels and restaurants and other encroachments on the wilderness.  The hike was pretty much straight up, but the view was wonderful, the temperature delightful,  and there were a number of birds and insects (besides mosquitoes).  A visit to this national park is a visit back in time as well as space.  This won't last too much longer I suspect.

Then, driving on, in the 30 mile no-man's land between the Canadian border station and the American border station, we saw this stock image of a moose in a lake in the wilderness.  But I couldn't resist getting a picture.

Monday's Becoming Cop Day, LIO Remodel, Fog, Green Bike Trail, Moose

It's May in Anchorage.  We're greened up a little bit early and yesterday (Monday) was a little cooler than it had been.  People were biking in short sleeves and in jackets.

I ran into police action as I left home.  That's two weeks in a row now.    There was a car that clearly was involved.   It appeared that the red truck on the far right was also somehow involved.  It was easier to get by this time because I was on my bike.

I'm not sure why it took 3 police cars and fire truck to handle this.  You'd think Anchorage had no crime and the cops had nothing to do but wait for a call.  Maybe the insurance companies should be paying the police if they require these lengthy police reports before they pay claims.


I had to support a friend in the State Court building yesterday and the building offered a great view of the Legislative Information Office remodel.  I suspect that this fiasco will be forever linked to Rep. Mike Hawker.  The only winner here is developer Mark Pfeffer.

In the ten years from 1996-2006 he make $1.36 million in political contributions  alone, mostly related to building a private prison.   So one might understand why the Legislative Council didn't pay close attention when Hawker worked out this deal.  Sounds like a lot, and it surely gets the legislators' attention.  But it's not much when you keep getting multi-million dollar contracts from the state.

Then down to the Captain Cook statue as he watches the fog forming  in Cook Inlet.  It was all over town this morning, but burned away fast. 

 

Here's a view of the fog from the mudflat level next to the bike trail from downtown to Westchester Lagoon. 

                      There was even a moose munching the new green along the bike trail.

And this south facing hill was full of blooming dandelions.

Isn't this a much better way to travel than by car on the roads?  Especially when summer comes so early? 

Raking Leaves for Mulching Reveals The Moss

With all this back and forth, I find myself waking up and wondering where I am.  When we get to my mom's or back home or to our granddaughter's, we have to readjust to a new setting, new routine, new organization and time schedule.  And gardening.  Oh dear.  Can't plant seeds.  Too much to ask a house sitter.

But today in the sunshine I raked the leaves and mulched the flower beds.  It felt good. 

As I pulled leaves to one side, the bright green moss below was revealed.  I'm all for letting nature do most of the work, and she comes through with the moss every time.

Such amazing stuff, the moss.  Some of my neighbors are not as excited about our natural look, but I'm always able to find justification for my inclinations.  From Garden Trappings:

"Years ago moss was viewed as an interloper on the lawn and great pains were taken to eradicate it.  Now, ever so slowly, moss is creeping into garden landscapes and in some gardens has become the surprise star of the show.  This fragile, sun-shy species believed to be one of the first forms of plant life on earth has delighted Japanese gardeners for centuries.  Moss gardens are edging into western landscapes as gardeners finally pay respect to its serene beauty and its utilitarian benefits of drought resistance and low maintenance.  Moss is a great substitute for the thirsty grass lawn."

Landscaping
Benefits of Moss

• Drought Tolerant/Uses less Water than Grass
• Low Maintenance/Never needs Mowing
• Hypo Allergenic
• Stays Green Throughout the Year
• Adds Beauty, Charm & Serenity
• Repels Weeds
• Prevents Soil Erosion"

What more could one ask for?  Unfortunately the moss is mainly on the north side of the house, only about as far as the house blocks the sun in the summer.  From that point on, natural means dandelions and clover.  I'm working on justifications for that too.  Clover's good for the soil and dandelions are such a beautiful yellow.  And they're edible.

And as long as we have to yoyo up and down the West Coast, the garden is going to have to mostly look after itself. 

417

I recently had a contest here to see who could come closest to counting the number of dandelions I picked last week.  The underlying intent of the post was to also to poke a little fun at our recent municipal election.  People were more interested in the dandelions.  Nan Mundy guessed there were 390 dandelions in the bag.  That was the closest guess to the actual number I counted when I picked them: 417 - buds, blossoms, and spent blossoms.

Thanks to the others who participated. Nan is someone from Anchorage who has moved to Juneau.  Someone I 'know of' more than I know.  I've notified her and we're working out a dinner at Thai Kitchen when she's in Anchorage next.  No one claimed the bag of dandelions.

Blog Contest: How many dandelions are in the bag?

 Be the first to get the right answer and win a prize.  Details below.

This contest arose when I saw the yellow flowers in the lawn.  Pick them now, this voice said, or they will multiply beyond counting.  OK, I’ll pick 200 today and maybe get my wife to do another 200 and keep that pace until they are gone.  [I know, purists dig the whole plant out of the ground, including the long deep roots.  That’s just not going to happen.  I can do the minimum which is stop the seeds from forming and blowing all over.]

So I got a bag and started picking and counting.  I stopped at one point and took the picture below just to have a record of what I’d done - besides the bag. 


   

As I counted toward my 200, my mind wandered to the recent election and the problem of counting the ballots.  Would readers challenge my count?  How could I prove how many dandelions were in the bag?  And I found myself picking not just yellow dandelions, but also dandelion buds that hadn’t opened yet, and dandelion flowers that had finished, but not yet turned to seedballs.  Do all three all count?  In the ultmate number in the bag? 

If someone challenged me, could we do a recount?  Maybe I should build a dandelion counting machine.  I could put them in the machine to verify the handcount. 

Was it necessary to count at all?  Couldn’t I use the picture of a patch of dandelions and see how many dandelions were in six square feet of lawn?  We could, but not every six square foot patch had the same number of dandelions. 

How important is it to be exact?  Well, if I have a contest and four people were within five or six dandelions from the exact number, surely they would want to be sure that the person who was the closest won.  Unless, of course, they were close but not the closest.  Then a miscount might make them the winner.

In the recent election, assuming that no voting machines were hijacked, the margins of victory were high enough that miscounting by three or four, even 20 votes, wouldn’t have mattered.  It was close enough to know who won.  But what happens when the elections are closer?  Where three votes off would change the winner? 

And because we have machines, we need to do hand counts regularly because that seems to be the only way to be assured that none of the machines were hijacked.  I tend to think this didn’t happen in this election, but I also have no patience with people who dismiss this possibility completely.  It’s more than a theoretical possibility.  It’s happened in other locations using the same machines.  If you haven’t watched the film Hacking Democracy, (it's free online at the link) I think you have no standing to dispute me on this.  If you have watched it, and still think it’s impossible or even unlikely, then tell me why.  People are spending billions of dollars to get their favored candidates elected.  Why wouldn’t they be likely to try to tamper with the cards in the voting machines? 



CONTEST DETAILS

OK, back to the important things.  How many dandelions are in the bag? 

How to participate:
1.  Post your answers in the comment section.  You can post anonymously if you like, but you need to sign a name (any name you like) and city (real city) in the comments.
2.  Email me to let me know that you made a comment, the number of dandelions, the name you used, and the city. 

Deadline:  Thursday, May 31, 2012 5pm Alaska Daylight Savings Time.

Prize: 
For people near Anchorage - I'll take you to dinner at the Thai Kitchen.  (People in the Seattle or LA areas, we can possibly work a dinner somewhere in late June.)
For others:  I’ll make and send you five hand made greeting cards using images you choose from this blog. (I have most, but not all, in high enough resolution to do this.)

Verification/Security:  
Although this contest has relatively minor consequences, it seems important, even here, to have reasonable security measures, so that you can be assured the contest is not rigged in any way.  Therefore, I have emailed the actual number to an Anchorage expert on plant biology.   I won't name her now so people do not pester her for the number (which she wouldn't give anyway.) 


Additional notes:
1.  I went well beyond 200.
2.  There will be no recount of the dandelions, but you can have the bag of dandelions if you pick it up or pay for shipping.

Signs of Spring And Photoshop Fun

Despite the chill still lingering, it's spring and we can tell from these two pictures I took yesterday.

There's no snow left in the parking lot, but this visitor can't find a parking place.

The rest are all the same picture with a little photoshop enhancement.  This was one of three dandelions blooming in my front yard. 

From top to bottom: 

• Stamp 

• Glowing Edges

• Colored Pencil and 

• Bas Relief

filters in Photoshop. 

OK, You Hate Congress, But Are You Still Voting For Your Own Congress Member?

In a recent show, Morning Edition reporter Andrea Seabrook talked to Cincinnati voters about Congress.

None had anything good to say.  Here's how it begins:

ANDREA SEABROOK, BYLINE: These days, when I stop people in the street, there's this thing that happens all the time.
I'm a reporter with NPR in Washington. Anyone interested in talking about Congress?
BILL BELLMAN: Congress - there's nothing good to say.
SEABROOK: People's instant reaction to the mention of Congress is: Ugh, what a mess; there's nothing good to say.

Here's the audio.





She asked all these people how they felt about Congress, but SHE DIDN'T ASK:


 "Are you going to reelect your own Congress Member?"



That seems to be the key problem.  All the other guys are bad, but we like our own Congress Member.

Let's remember that the people in Congress got more votes than the other candidates, so the people to blame for Congress are those who voted for the winning candidates and those who didn't vote at all.  

I've been voting against my Congress Member for 30 years, so, while you might say I've been ineffective, at least I'm not part of the group that's responsible for re-electing Don Young.  But people like me need to work harder to retire the problem Congress Members.

Of course, you can pull all the dandelions you want, but more still pop up.  Getting rid of bad Congress Members and reelecting new bad ones isn't the answer. We need to plant Congress with representatives who promise NOT to take pledges that restrict their votes and promise to work constructively with ALL the other Congress Members for the public, regardless of threatened political consequences.  Better yet, there should be negative political consequences for being a hack and good ones for being a mensch. 

Not all incumbents are problems.  When they campaign, make them demonstrate how they worked with others, how they bucked the party when its dictates weren't for the good of the public, how they advanced, rather than blocked, needed legislation and confirmation of appointed officials, and how they did NOT play brinksmanship with the US budget and our country's credit rating.  

Hold all candidates to reasoned cooperation. (Ask them how many members of the other party they had over to their home for dinner this session.) Hold them to voting for the long term benefit of the United States (and the world) and not to voting based on how they think it might affect the next election cycle. (Did they vote against needed legislation or to add toxic amendments so the other side had to vote no?)   Their only pledge should be to vote for the needs of the public, not of their party, not of the lobbyists and their clients. 

Do your homework.  Check out your representative and senators.  Here are some websites that give you information.  Check different perpsectives:


Vote Smart
The Washington Post's The US Congress Votes Database
Don't know who your congress person is?  Who's My Rep?     My Senator?
Big Marine Fish's Friend or Enemy of Fish?
C-Span's Researching Your Members of Congress
Congress Link's How Influential Is Your Member of Congress?
The American Conservative Union's Congressional Ratings
National Journal's Vote Rating 2010
ACLU's Congressional Scorecard
The Hill has Lists of Ratings from Different Groups for Each Lawmaker

Then ask your representative to explain his votes.

When you find a good candidate, you need to give her some money and some time.  

Or, if there are no good candidates, run yourself. 

 It was still 74˚F out at 8pm tonight according to our indoor/outdoor thermometer.  [I decided the thermometer was aesthetically boring so I fixed it up a bit in photoshop.  The outdoor temperature is the blue vertical line.]

So we ate out on the deck tonight.
I didn't do a lot today, but I did cut the dandelions before they turn to white seed puffs. 

 It's nice being home. 

Time to be Outside

Yesterday at this time it was 69˚ in the shade (20.5C) according to our indoor/outdoor thermometer. It's a few degrees less today, but just as nice. So after reading the newspaper on the deck, I decided it was time to get the leaves out of the flower beds.









Six loads piled in the back. I was able to get some of last year's compost onto the newly uncovered beds, but down below it was still frozen. The compost heap doesn't get that much sun. So these are temporarily over at the old compost heap. I'll want to get some of my neighbor's lawn clippings to layer in with the leaves. But his lawn has to green up first. When the new solid waste collection system hits our neighborhood, I wonder how many people will start compost heaps?




I certainly don't claim to be an expert here, but I do know what happens in my yard after many, may years.

Some of the plants, like the phlox, stayed mostly green from last year under the leaf mulch.






Some of the lamium did too; some of these might not make it, but most will and others will be out soon. I'm still amazed when these come back. They just don't look like plants that should make it through the winter.




Others don't make it through the winter in plant form, but they send up new leaves as soon as they can. This one has light blue flowers, but I just can't remember their name. Some of these I only know what they are or what they are going to do because of where they are in the garden. If I just saw them at someone else's house, I probably wouldn't know them at this early stage.

These are wild geraniums and will be the first to bloom in the back yard. (The others are all in the front with more sun.)




Posting to the blog gives me a chance to look up a few things and learn something new. According to GardenGuides.com:

Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla spp.) is a traditional perennial herb enjoyed in flower gardens for its attractive yellowish-green flowers, which are small and numerous. The soft-looking foliage has a bluish cast. Named after the Virgin Mary's cloak because of its scalloped leaves, Lady's Mantle is often found in northern European gardens, where it is native. Some species can grow to a height of about 24 inches and most species bloom from late spring until early fall.

The root is edible, as are the leaves, which sheep and cattle are said to relish. The entire plant is normally harvested in midsummer and can be used medicinally for bruises and wound healing. Lady's Mantle tea is said to be helpful for excessive menstruation.

And it spreads.



It wasn't even May yet yesterday, but the birch buds were showing. If the weather stays this way for a week, they could fully open pretty early this year.


You can see what some of these will look like in five or six weeks by looking at some posts from last year and 2007. The blog is turning out to be a good way to keep track of when my flowers bloom over the summer months.

Of the ones on those old posts, a few wild iris leaves are poking up, but I didn't see the chocolate lily or the dandelions yet. Nor the lillies of the valley, and the forget-me-nots. Not sure the lilac will bloom this year. It's hard for me to tell the flower buds from the leaf buds. The mountain ash buds are there, but no green yet.

This Week's Blooming Flowers

Maybe this can be a regular during the summer - flowers blooming in our yard. And maybe someone will even tell me the names of the ones I can't remember.

The phlox form a carpet of bloom right now.






The chocolate lily is one of my favorite Alaskan flowers, but they don't smell at all like chocolate. Sniffing not advised.













The forget-me-not is the state flower and another favorite.













And the yellow lamium flowers.


















And there are still plenty of dandelions.