A Merry Christmans Walk

Just in case you are feeling a little warm,
here are pics of a recent walk up the Island Trail.

We start just off Mill Bay.

 Walk along the stream

Get a little tired.

But march on to the Winter Wonderland.

But, with the 44 on the side (just in case  a bear is awake).

And enjoy what is around us.

Till we reach the road,
and have to head back home.

And since it's this time of the year,
Merry Christmas to you.

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Making plans for Christmas dinner

I am sureyou are making plans for Christmas Dinner.
So are we.

And as you can see, we start early in our preparation.

This youn lady got her deer by Thanksgiving .

Not bad for a 4th grader !

But just look at her stats.

Yes, we start preparing them for subsistence when they are quite young !

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Earthquake effect on our pendulums

 We live in the Ring of Fire, part of the North Pacific where volcanoes and earthquakes are quite common.

The other day we had a small 5.3 to 5.9 earthquake.

It was the third time we noticed one in the past 5 years.

And each time  we noticed them, it was either because the grandfather clock's pendulum was moving from front to back or (when over 4.5) the weights `themselves start to move.

The 1 PM sun

At this time of the year the sun doesn't get too high around here.

Here it was on 12/13/12 at "high" noon.

 Just over 9 degrees above the horizon !

And here is more data about today, December 16, 2012:

Date                  Sunrise       Sunset          Difference                
Dec 16, 2012    9:49 AM    4:22 PM      6h 32m 18s − 46s        

Maybe only 6  1/2 Hrs of sun, but by 9 AM its is almost bright enough to ride the bike to work.

As for when the sun will be the highest and it's elevation over the horizon:
Solar Noon time         Elevation
1:06 PM                     9.0°

(I was wondering why it seemed higher at 1 PM than Noon.....
guess that is just the way it's supposed to be .....
at the top of it's arc after 1 PM ! )

As a consolation for these short days, just think:
It might be short and low on the horizon, buy it's still up there
(unlike those villages in the Arctic Circle who don't see the light of day  for 6 weeks) .

Shorter but more meaningful days

Kodiak days are getting short.

You've seen it on our recent blogs:
pictures of the changing ocean scene at 3 PM
and on the surfing blog at 4 PM ,

But on Tuesday, I saw 8 employees at work,
standing outside at 32 degrees,
in just their shirtsleeves.

Well, this is what they'd all gone out to see:

The rising sun at 9:50 AM. on December 11
...... ten days before the shortest day.

Makes you think you're somewhere in the Southwest, doesn't it?

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Watching the weather change

We had our daughter visit for a few months.
One day she came asking,
"Why do so many people sit in their parked cars and watch the sea?
Are they all suicidal?"

No, it's just what we do in an island, watch things go by.

So here are some of what we watched this Saturday,
as we sat in our parked car and watch the fog come in and the day go out.

(Incidentally, within a few weeks, she too was routinely stopping at the water's edge.)

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Surfing after the storm

The day after some rough weather is always a day to consider surfing.
After all the water is still a "nice and warm" 39 degrees.

So as the fog rolls in and daylight fades out,
you consider it's still a good thing to do.

So you leave it all behind

and wait in the fog, with no horizon behind you

till a wave comes and carries you in.

 and then you wait for the next one...

 because...after all,
Kodiak IS the northern most of the Hawaiian islands .
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Our more "regal" bald eagles

Yesterday's blog of eagles at the dump might not have seemed appropriate for our national bird.

So here are a few more pictures, for those who want them to look more "regal".

A grandfatherly type watches younger ones fight for a better place to perch.

While other pairs keep an eye out for a good morsel to eat.

 Meanwhile, another arrives

 to check out what the younster is looking at.

And the young one takes off

leaving another old one who keeps watch over the city's leftovers.

All that in just a few minutes at the Kodiak city dump.

Kind of neat to watch, we think.

Our Eagels Have Returned

Yes, our bald eagles have returned.

Not to the Baseball Fields, like you might think form these pics.

But to the city dump.

Where they will feast till the new year,
before moving on to the canneries downtown.

Perhaps not too honorable for our national bird,
but survival is the goal of the game.

Washing the car in winter

Cars get awful dirty around here.

So, when the sun comes out and it feels a little warm, it's time to wash the car.

But sometimes it feels warmer than what it really is.

On those days, this is what you get:

A dirty car

whose dirt freezes, before you can rinse it off.

So, you work real fast and try to brush and rinse before that happens.

But, if you are too lazy to dry the windows....


you will be hearing from your wife about

how she had to get out in the cold to scrape the ice off the windows.

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Surviving in cold water

If you are one that goes skiing or skating on frozen lakes  (or boating in cold waters)...
you MUST see this video on how to survive a fall into cold water.



Only 74,000 people have watched this. It's trange how millions have watched You Tube videos of slugs mating, but are not interested in things like this.

Take a guess...

What does this picture look like to you?

Kind of looked like a Killer Whale at first glance.
Do you agree?

Well, it's just a pile of Kodiak black rocks coverd by snow, next to the Wal Mart parking lot.

NOT a beached whale.

Obvious ! Yeah, I'm sure you got it!