Jr. ~nuff said~

Here is a shot of Jr. showwing off his first captured smile. Quite adorabe I think. The lil guy is always hungry and loves to be held. We will add more pics as time goes by.

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The Steamy Bering Sea

As I was headed back to the office today, I stopped at the top of the hill, near House 17 and got this pic of the Bering Sea steaming. The steam on the water shows up much better in this pic than the one I had previously posted. The weather over the next week is not supposed to be all that great. I think it has to do with the weather front coming into our area. The ice pack is getting closer, and with it, ususally, comes clearer skies, but also, much lower temperatures. Catch 22.

Views of Zapadni Beach - 3.1.10

Max Jr. and I went to Zapadni Beach this afternoon to check for dead sea/shore birds. As we started out from were we parked, this was the first image to catch our eyes. I thought it was nice and had to snap a shot. Thank goodness the squall to the far left never made it to the beach.

Here is a shot about180 degrees from the first pic. I thought this sight was equally impressive. I think these first two pics would have shown up nicer in B&W with the contrast adjusted, but for the sake of the blog they do nicely.

Half way down the beach, the snow which was drifting and hanging over the edge of the cliff became a distraction. I had to get a shot of it. This was one of the only shots that seemed to have much color. All the rest seemed to be a bit, muted. Maybe it was the weather today.

Once we reached the end of the beach, and turned around, it seemed as though we were further from the truck than either of us could remember. I think the cold temperatures, (-18 F, or so), seemed to add distance to the walk. That, or maybe it had something to do with the wind being in our faces this time around.

Shots Around the Island, 2.26.10

Although it does not show up too well, you can make out some of the steam rising from the Bering Sea. This is common when the air temperature is lower than the water temp. The main reason the water does not freeze is because of the level of salt contained within it.

Here is a pic looking west at Starya Artil. Here you can see the start of where the high bluff rise from sea level to, where at their highest point, they reach just over 1200 ft. The ECo office on the island is doing a project here where they are monitoring errosion on a portion of the beach. There have been several feet of beach lost in the last few year. One of the major reasons behind the errosion is the severity of the storms that regularly pass through the Pribilof's.

In the distance, you can see where the harbor starts to disappear from view. Visibility was limited on several sections of the road. The snow had not yet begun to drift yet, but there were signs of it starting to build up on the roadsides near the airport. The last few years have shown near record snowfall, causeing closures of the airport, and a majority of the road leading out of town. We have been quite fortunate this year that the snow accumulation has been limited, but we still have several cold months ahead of us.

Sea Lions at Dalnoi Point

On tuesday the 16th, Mike Williams and I went to Dalnoi to check on the cams in the area. Upon reaching the point, we noticed numerous Stellar Sea Lions hauled up on the beach below us. I have not counted the animals yet, but Mike and I estimated the numbers to be around 250-300. As we looked though the herd, we noticed at least three animals that were branded. We had previously seen animals that had been branded in SE Alaska, and one that had even been branded all the way down in Oregon. It is amazing how well traveled these animals can be.

Kobe Prepping for the 2014 Winter Olympics

Near the end of january, we finaly got enough snow for Kobe to try out the snowboard we got him for Russian Xmas. Here he is making a run down one of the hills in town. He eventually crashed, but got up giggling and let out a loud, "Did you see that?", afterwards. That kid loves the winter.

Weeeerrrrreeeee Baaaaccckkkk!

After several months of nonexistant blogging, we are back. Part of this is due to the fact we have a new computer with the ability to store, and view numerous pics that we have accumulated over the past 6 or so months. We look forward to posting additional pics in the future. If any of you who have been to STG, or lived here, have requests of specific things you would like to see, let us know. We will do our best to try and post pics of interest.

Needle Rock and Grass....

EPIC! I have to admit, this is one shot I don't see too often! This is also my current wallpaper. In the foreground you can see Needle Rock, and if you look hard enough, you can see some of the buildings in the town. The weather on this day was phenominal! There was hardly any wind, the sun kept peeking out from behind the clouds, and the only complaint was the temp, it had to be about 20-25 F. I look forward to getting back in a week or so.

After a few moments acting like a "tourist", at home, I turned around and prepared to walk back the the 4 wheeler and noticed the sun shining through the grass and all the ice that had formed on it. The pic shown does not due justice to the actual sight, but it is still quite pretty. It also serves as a reminder that I really need to get out more often. Home, Sweet, Home!

Kobe & his Pledge

Pledge In Aleut

This is Leah & Kobe practicing their Pledge of Allegiance in Aleut, much thanks to Edna Floyd:)the kids are super stoked when they come home at the end of the day with a new Aleut word to announce:)