The size of the Kodiak Archipelago

 

The Kodiak Archipelago superimposed onto a map of New England - from Chirikof Island on the lower left to the Barren Islands on the upper center (basically New Jersey to Vermont).

Pretty soon I am off on my first archaeological survey of the year (fingers crossed). Over the last 25 years or so the Alutiiq Museum working with various landowners has systematically surveyed about two thirds of the whole Kodiak Archipelago (by my guesstimate).  This includes Chirikof Island - the pear-shaped island shown down near Trenton, NJ on the map above. The map below shows what has been surveyed through 2023. Everything in red has been well surveyed while everything in purple needs survey.  The green areas have been partially surveyed. On my next survey I hope to turn the top island (Shuyak) on the map below from purple to red.

Anyway, I got to thinking that this is a pretty HUGE area for such a systematic archaeological survey. In terms of Alaska 'scale' Kodiak is not such a big place, but when you put Kodiak over a map of New England you realize the true scale of Kodiak and of our survey work. In terms of New England over the last 25 years we have basically surveyed the State of Connecticut.  Of course we have mostly just surveyed coastlines, river and lake banks because that's mostly where Alutiiq people lived or harvested resources.  But I also think in New England the archaeological sites are mostly on the coast or river and lake banks too.

Kodiak is a big place and I am lucky to work here!

Patrick

Kodiak survey coverage - this is NOT exact but a rough tally

Retreating snow

 The snow is now quickly retreating up the mountain.  But there is still plenty of snow above 1500 feet and on the north side of the mountain.  On the north side you can still ski down to about 900 feet whereas on the west side only down to about 1200 feet.

However, the snow is not yet in total retreat. Above about 1800 feet we are still gaining snow. In the past, at this time of the year, I have noticed the 'snow gain/loss' line moves up the mountain at about 500 feet a week.  So it is not long before the snow is in total retreat everywhere on the mountain. This is a few weeks earlier than usual.

Patrick

My Kraft dinner fix

Maybe I should not admit this but I love the macaroni and cheese that comes in the little blue box.  The stuff Canadians call 'Kraft dinner'. It used to be a stand-by quick dinner when the kids were small. But on occasion I still like to make it just for myself. It's too good just to be wasted on small kids!

Anyway, to make it more of a meal I generally add a vegetable of some sort to the boiling water just before I drain the pasta.  Usually I add broccoli or kale, but yesterday I decided to add nettles from my garden. 

Another trick I use is to make it even cheesier by adding a baby bell cheese to the mix. I break up the baby bell cheese ball with my fingers and tuck the pieces in with the hot noodles in the colander while they are draining. 

Last night I ate the whole 'family sized' box.

Patrick

 

Bumper Crop

 

This year the blueberries really are blooming like crazy. On this last walk I also noticed that the blueberry leaves are starting to sprout out too. The blueberry bushes really do look spectacular, but it is hard to catch the look in a photograph. They look like glowing clumps of white and green with red limbs.  Usually when I take blueberry blossom pictures I try and get up close and show the individual blossoms. On this walk I decided to try and get the whole bushes - to show just how many blossoms are on the bushes this year.  

What I did was stand a long ways away from the bushes and then used my telephoto lens to focus in on the blossoms.  This way the nearest blossoms were in focus but everything in the background is out of focus - it sort of high lit the closest bush. I found that if I backed off and did not use the telephoto then everything was in focus and it looked kind of boring.

Patrick

Salmonberries blooming like crazy too

Red ready for the ski chase

Last ski to the knob

Alders in the yard

 

Red Alder catkins - alnus rubra

The last couple of days I have been examining the alders in my yard. I have 2 different species of alder growing around the house.  A few years ago I planted some red alders (click here for post about the start of the process). They are not native to Kodiak, but a bunch of them have been springing up around town.  I like them because unlike the native sitka alder they turn into tall trees. There are not many tall deciduous trees that grow on Kodiak.  They sort of remind me of the ash trees I remember as a kid in New England.  The sitka alder also does get pretty big - like 20 feet high - but it always more of a bush with multiple  trunks bending out and up. 

Anyway, I initially planted the red alders in my yard because I wanted tall trees. But I have come to appreciate their 'flowers' in the spring.  The red alders have all these long red and yellow catkins that hang from their branches in the spring.  They are very pretty.

I like the sitka alders too.  I think they are very much an under appreciated tree.  The sitka alder that I planted in my yard has turned into a HUGE bush. It also seems to hang onto its leaves in the Fall far later than all the other trees in my yard. And then in the winter the multiple curving trunks have their own beauty.

Patrick

Sitka Alder - Alnus sinuata

Sitka alder

red alder

sitka alder

sitka alder

Spring Skiing

 

It's officially Spring on the mountain. During the storm early last week we passed the point of 'max snowpack' on the mountain. For a couple more weeks we'll still get more snow on the top of the mountain, but it will not offset how much snow we're losing lower down on the mountain. 

Lately it has been freezing at night and then during the day it gets up into the mid to upper 40's. The frosts have kept the snowpack solid and the warm days just thaw out the top few inches for skiing.  Spring corn snow. Hero snow. Perfect spring skiing conditions. Probably the best skiing of the year.  But it is a little sad because it also means the ski season is coming to a close.  

It has been a low snow winter, and, despite the relatively cool spring, I fear that this year the skiing on Pyramid is going to end a little earlier than usual.

Still the skiing is good now!

Patrick

First Salmonberry Blossom 2025

First blossom 4/16/24

Yesterday I saw my first salmonberry blossom of the year.  It was at the usual spot right by the Cliffside entrance to Abercrombie Park. I always wonder why these bushes are among the first to flower because it is in a slightly shaded spot.  But maybe the surrounding spruce trees provide insulation, and enhance the direct afternoon sunlight?  Or maybe it is genetics?

In any case, mid April is pretty early for the first salmonberry blossom (click here for past posts on the subject). Usually we get our first blossom in early to mid May.  The earliest I saw a blossom was in late March and the last couple of years it has been in late May.

This year Spring has been tracking early - the first crocus was super early.  But I thought we were having a cool spring after an unusually warm winter.  But I guess despite the recent frosts and snow that spring has kept up its relentless pace. I hope I am not mowing the lawn in April!

In the park the blueberries are in full blossom and it seems like there are more blossoms than usual.  I think we might get a bumper crop of blueberries this year.

Patrick
 

This is new kale growth on last year's stalks

nettles

elderberry sprouts

It looks like a bumper blueberry crop this year