35 replies to this topic

[Juthro]

Just wanted to share some wildlife porn from my Alaska paradise. All of these pics where taken(today) from inside the house, through the living room picture window that we jokingly call our TV, as we do not have satellite service. So we can watch DVD's or the lake channel. Truth be told I find the lake channel a better choice most of the time.

I put the first pic with out any zoom, to give some perspective, and to show how high the lake is. Then there is this young moose that got a little too close to the 'real' edge of the lake. The edge caved off and he fell in. For the record it was dam funney to watch. After he left, he wasn't gone but maybe two min. and mama duck and the little ones came to sun them self on the dock. So I snapped another pic cuz I could.

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[bigjimmy]

Wow, Juth!

You are a fortunate person to be able to live in such a place!

It is obvious by the way you speak of your home that you
are keenly aware and appreciative of this fact.

You are living the dream, my friend.

Thanks for sharing!

yfj

[jonah1]

:kewl:

[Juthro]

Thanx for the likes and kind words everyone, It is my pleasure to share my pics. I am very aware of how special the life my wife and I have is. We have worked very hard, and sacrificed a lot to get here, but here we are, living our dream. For that I try and say thanks every day.

Now why everything is green right now, winter is hard here, not nearly as hard as some other places in the state, but still. We get on average, a little over 5 feet of snow a year, and an average winter(Dec, Jan, and Feb) temp of about 14F. That's average temp, not average low temp. And the shortest day of the year you get about 5 1/2 hours of daylight.
As I get time and motivation, I will try and post some more of the cool Alaska things that my camera has seen.
I figure to post them to this thread. So as not to start a bunch of threads and clutter the site.
As long as people enjoy looking at my nature porn, I am more than happy to share it. I wonder if this is how Marlin Perkins felt?

Even on the short days, the lake channel provides beauty and entertainment. Here is a pic of the sun at high noon on the shortest day of the year(@ the end of last Dec), If I remember correctly the temp was about -15F at the time.

peace
Juth

[Stoned Angel]

That's so beautiful. Living the dream for sure. Really enjoy your pic's. One day my Husband and I will be like you and your wife, happy in our home, where we want to be. It might be a while, but we'll get there. Can't wait to see some more pic's.

[Juthro]

Thank you for you kind words Angel. Im sure you, and your husband, will find and make your own special place in this world. If it came free and easy, it wouldn't mean as much, or be as special. I wish you god speed, and success on your journey.

peace and friendship
Juth

[Batavion]

That looks amazing, I've always wanted to visit Alaska someday.
My childhood best friends mom moved there a few years back, she loves it.

Good vibes friend, you've got an amazing TV.

[Juthro]

Thanks Batavion, for the kind words. Alaska is a truly wonderful place, IMO anyway.

I have some bird pics today, not like Jupiter's avatar(though I do like that one). I think that they are of some pacific loons, and of a sandpiper. I really don't know very much about birds, so if anyone can help identify them please chime in. The pics of the loons are a little grainy, but they were on the far side of the lake, and I was running out of zoom.

The pic of the dragon fly was taken on the deck. He was a big boy, I would say about a 4 inch wingspan. I love the way their wings remind me of a stained glass window.

The frog was just cool, and smart, he got my attention before I got him with the lawn mower, so I tossed him in to.

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[Sidestreet]

Lovin this stuff. Keep em coming, please!

[Juthro]

Ok, for my next installment, I'll toss out some scenery pics, with a couple of train pics, cuz trains are cool. The first pic is of the parking lot at an Anchorage Walley Mart(none of the rigs are mine, so no license plate worries). Pretty nice view for a center of town type view IMO. Is it just me, or all of those one way signs a little confusing? I think maybe they just like telling people where to go.

The next pics are taken from the Seward highway, along the Turnagain Arm of the Cook inlet. This is just outside of Anchorage. The Alaska Rail Road runs parallel to the highway on this stretch. I would like to ride it someday. Think of all the cool new pics I could get from the train. :)

Trivia fact of the day:
The Turnagain Arm, of the Cook Inlet, experiences one of the world's largest bore tides. The rush of the incoming tide can have a wall of water, sometimes as high as ten feet, traveling up to 15mph. The total difference between low and high tide generally needs to be more than 27 feet(it can be greater than 35 feet in the Cook Inlet) for a bore tide to form here.


I am going to be on a short leash this weekend. So I most likely wont get any more pics up until next week some time.

peace and friendship
Juth

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[Stoned Angel]

Do people climb those mountain's?

[Windy]

Cool! I would love to see a Moose! Closest I got to one is a skeleton in my local museum, they are huge animals.

[Skywatcher]

Great pictures Juthro. I have driven the stretch of Seward Hgwy from Anchorage to Portage Glacier every year for the 10 years I worked there every summer in August. It is a most beautiful state. I have watched the bore tide come in, and it is impressive. It has been 4 years now since i have gone that way, but it is imbeded in my fond memories permenantly.
Appreciate you sharing.

[Juthro]

@Stoned Angel, I'm sure that some of the mountains get climbers, but this beatup old man doesn't. Cool avatar by the way.

@Windy, The moose are way cool, and way huge. Even grizzle bears don't generally mess with a full sized moose. Last year during mating season, I had a frisky young bull who didn't want to let me drive past him and down the road. He stood in the middle of the road, and actualy charged at my 1 ton truck. I stomped the gas and threw a bunch of gravel while laying on the horn, and got him to move off the road. But its not something I would have felt comfortable doing in a car.
We live on the edge of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, it is 1.92 million acres in size and has been set aside for the animals since 1980, if I remember correctly. So its pretty normal to have a lot of moose moving through our area. Bear are not unheard of but much less common.

[alycewander]

omg, I would love to climb one of those mountains, at least rappel off em. The farthest I have rappelled without rock under my toes was 800 ft. off a bridge. These mountains would be a blast! Wonderful pictures!!!

[Juthro]

Skywatcher, thank you for the praise, and for the POTM nomination. That pic of the winter solstice is one of my favorite.

The Portage Glacier is a very cool place(sorry for the pun). When I brought my belongings up on the ferry, I landed in Whittier. It is a very beautiful area. The train tunnel that you have to drive through is kind of strange, but also way cool.

@alice, I have some more mountain pics for your viewing pleasure. These where taken along the Sterling highway between Soldotna, and Homer. I admire you for wanting to climb and repel some of these peaks. I myself will refrain. Gravity has a stronger pull on me then most, and I'm to old to bounce.:)



peace
Juth

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[Juthro]

I wasn't going to post again today, but while I was getting ready to BBQ some steaks I heard mama duck start to make a hell of a racket. By the time I was able to get my camera I was only able to get snap one pic as to why, but I thought I would share it with all my topian friends.


This is what brought him here.




I have to remind myself sometimes how lucky I am to be able to see the things I see. Not everybody gets to see this while they are trying to cook dinner. I am truly a lucky man, for witch I am thankful, and I am also glad to be able to share with all my friends.

peace and friendship
Juth

[Il19z8rn4li1]

I wasn't going to post again today, but while I was getting ready to BBQ some steaks I heard mama duck start to make a hell of a racket. By the time I was able to get my camera I was only able to get snap one pic as to why, but I thought I would share it with all my topian friends.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]311769[/ATTACH]

This is what brought him here.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]311770[/ATTACH]



I have to remind myself sometimes how lucky I am to be able to see the things I see. Not everybody gets to see this while they are trying to cook dinner. I am truly a lucky man, for witch I am thankful, and I am also glad to be able to share with all my friends.

peace and friendship
Juth

I FUCKING LOVE THIS!!! I couldnt resist the cuss word ;) Excuse my french.


I totally get what you mean about not being able to see things liek this.


Its not even all about the ABILITY though sometimes; Its, IMO, more so about how aware some people
are of their surroundings lol. WE can all be frank and say that Most people dont notice a damn thing around them.



I have a Hawk that nests near my garden, like few hundred feet.
I see her all the time flying like a jet fighter through the trees, pretty cool stuff for sure.



also the Bald Eagles are starting to move BACK into my area after like 50years of not being here...
PRETTY CRAZY!!! Largest american bird is back on the rise again :) Extinctions... cya you later lol

[Juthro]

My wife and I were driving to go and see some friends, and we came upon what we thought at first to be a traffic accident. It turns out a bear was eating some road kill along the highway. It caused quite the traffic jam before it was over. You can tell the difference between tourist season, and winter here just from the way people stop to take pics, lol.

I have to say, the people getting out of their rigs to try and get a better pic of a bear while he is eating, not so smart. For the record I snapped my pics from the window of a minivan. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Juthro

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[Sidestreet]

Wow, the second two shots are like something out of a nature mag. And I like how you labelled the first one. :D