Mahay's Power Boat Ride Talkeetna

We took a day trip to Talkeetna, Alaska for a power boat ride (Mahay's) up the river.  It was our only trip north of Anchorage and our only view of Denali (Mt. McKinley) that we had all week.

We stopped at a scenic overlook just outside of Talkeetna with a gorgeous, relatively cloud-free view of the mountains.

Going upriver, we were riding against a 35 mph current.  The trip back was much faster.

Mount McKinley

(only 33% of visitors actually get to see it because it is so often covered by clouds)

The clouds did move in and cover the mountain view before we left, so we were some of the lucky ones!

our only moose sighting this day

White-Spotted Sable Moth

Lilacs were in bloom everywhere!

 White-Banded Black Moth

Arctic Skipper (life butterfly!)

Twinflower (the pink one)
My favorite wildflower of the trip!

Bank Beaver Lodge

We learned that the rivers are too deep for beavers to dam them, so they build their lodges on the banks of the rivers and are thus dubbed "bank beavers".

Damage to the trees along the river shows just how high the ice floes are during the spring thaw.

Bank Swallow nest holes

We saw bank swallows flying in and out of the holes, but I never could catch one in a photograph!

Common Merganser (fishing where a creek fed into the river)
(head in the water)

Bald Eagle nest

Mount Foraker (sits to the left of Mt. McKinley)

This cute general store was a main attraction in Talkeetna.  Even the inside looked like a traditional general store with shelves up to the ceiling.  Only the contents have changed!

Cottonwood Tree

The winds picked up while we were there, and there was so much cotton dropping, it looked like it was snowing!

Lupine at the edge of the highway.  A must stop for a photograph!

That gusty wind brought rain and then hail, which built up quickly on the road back to Anchorage.  Most pulled over, but not George.  Not caring about the rental car, he forged on through the tracks in the slushy hail.  The sound of it smashing on the roof and windshield of the car was alarming!

Birch

We were at a stoplight, and I thought this was so pretty!  The Georges asked me what I was photographing!  Oh, just some trees!

MBC Field Trip to Horn Pond Mountain

In spite of being a bit jet-lagged, I joined the Massachusetts Butterfly Club field trip to Horn Pond in Woburn.  There wasn't a lot flying, but we had some good sightings.  I got separated from the group twice, accidentally, and the second time, I just decided to throw in the towel.  I was hot, thirsty and tired so I had enough!  The part I attended was good, but I've had better years at Horn Pond when more plants were in bloom.  Apparently, the electric company sprays the mountain to control the growth, and it is possible that that, in combination with a late spring, really limited the amount of nectar sources on the mountain.

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Edwards Hairstreak

Silver-Spotted Skipper

Red-Spotted Purple

Boston skyline from Horn Pond Mountain

American Lady ovipositing

Striped Hairstreak

Edwards Hairstreak
(Thanks to Facebook friends for the correction!)

I think this is a Spring Peeper.
baby American Toad!
(again thanks to Facebook friends for the correction!)

Several crossed the trail in front of me as I descended the mountain.

 Orchard Oriole (female)

Orchard Oriole (male)

Damselfly

possible Familiar Bluet

Ruby Meadowhawk

poss. Northern Rough-Winged Swallow (juvenile)
Thanks to Alan M. for help with ID.

Meanwhile, back at home, a couple of Red Fox kits may have moved under our shed while we were in Alaska.  George's noisy sports car will certainly scare them away in short order, but for now, they are still hanging out in our back yard.  I also spotted a Woodchuck coming out of the hole under the shed, so maybe they are competing for the same space.  I haven't seen a mother fox around, so don't know if these juveniles are on their own already, or if she is only around at night.  They are very cautious, much more so than adult foxes.  I had trouble sneaking out onto the deck to photograph them!

 Woodchuck

 Red Fox kit

Freddie and I took an evening walk at BHCL.  As soon as we hit the wooden bridge at the parking area, a juvenile rabbit took off into the brush.  It ran down the cow path so fast, it looked like it was on a race track!

Rabbit

 Eastern Bluebird (female) with insect

Cabbage Whites (mating)

The best sighting was a beautiful White-Tailed Deer with fuzzy antlers.  He came quite close to us as he grazed through the meadow.  He was a real treat to see!  It's nice to have some wildlife sightings in my home state after so much excitement in Alaska.  While we were on the back meadow, we ran into one of the people who attended the nature walk earlier this month!  It was a beautiful night for a walk!

Kenai Fjords National Park Tour

We drove down to Seward for a 6-hour cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park.  This was the best day of the trip!

Because we built in some cushion time, we were able to stop on the road to Seward when we saw wildlife.  First stop was for Bald Eagles.  It was overcast and windy at this stop.  The weather improved as we journeyed south.  I couldn't get a crisp photo with the wind gusts.

Next stop was for moose!  I spotted one from the bridge as our highway crossed this river, so we pulled over and walked back to the bridge.  Once we saw it, we realized it had a baby with it!

Seward

This was our boat for the day, the Calisto Voyager.  Very comfortable compared to the whale watch boats we are accustomed to in New England!  We saw so much wildlife on this cruise, it was wonderful!  We were lucky to have sunshine for most of the cruise.  It was cold, but beautiful!

We first passed some cliffs where Black-Legged Kittiwakes were nesting.  I never expected I'd see this.  These cliffs were just covered with nesting birds.

And right next door to the birds were....

Stellar Sea lions

Tufted Puffins (life bird!)

closer

Horned Puffin (life bird)!

Common Murres (life bird))!

Thar she blows!  A humpback whale

Bald Eagle

 Orca Whale

and a family of Orcas

a raft of Sea Otters

closer

See the Bald Eagle?

Harbor Seals

chilly tourists

SPLASH!  A big chunk of glacier broke off and fell into the water.

As you can see, by the end of the six hours, the weather had turned and it was grey and beginning to rain.

The best nature stop on the return trip was a mother humpback whale with a calf.  The calf was just jumping and rolling and so happy to be alive!  It was fun to watch!

We also saw Dall porpoises which played with the boat, swimming under the bow and jumping out of the water when they reached the other side.  You could see them coming, but it was just so fun to watch them, that I didn't want the camera in the way!  We also saw a fin whale off in the distance.