Merry Christmas from Kodiak Island, Alaska
Wishing you and your loved ones a Christmas filled with joy and light,
Insights, Kodiak, AK
Insights, Kodiak, AK, Photography
Let it snow, please. How about that winter 2015-2016 forecast, anyway?
Every morning at 6 AM, our public radio station wakes us up with Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac. If you haven’t heard the podcast narrated by Keillor, it’s a wonderful, 2 to 3-minute, “this day in history” snapshot, followed by
Insights, Kodiak, AK
How Black Friday contributes to global warming, violence
A recent snowfall found me in a nostalgic mood, so I sat down to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the animated story narrated by Burl Ives as Sam the singing snowman. While tapping my foot to
Gardening, Insights, Kodiak, AK, Photography
My garden, my teacher.
My humblest inspirations seem to occur in the autumn when I’m putting the garden to bed. It’s fall and the garden says, “I am growing old.” The potato vines are limp and the tubers huddle underground in their rough, weather-proof skins, waiting to be dug. Is there any greater treasure hunt than digging for
Insights, Kodiak, AK, Photography
Summer eagles of Kodiak: A feathered photo essay
Eagles around Kodiak are plentiful as crows during the winter. Perched shoulder-to-shoulder with their fellow raptors, they haggle over fish scraps, those leftover bits that fall below seafood processor radars.
Cooking, Kodiak, AK
This fudge cake recipe disguises three veggies
Okay, this photo of cake batter might look scary and unappetizing, but trust me, the finished product makes the best fudge cake that’s ever tiptoed across your tastebuds.
Cooking, Kodiak, AK
Get in the pink with rhubarb pickles [recipe]
Just when you think you’ve tried all the rhubarb recipes on the planet, then comes… Oh, sure, you can find rhubarb pickle recipes online, but I found most of them to be impractical, with silly ingredients and silly instructions. My motto is to keep it simple, tasty, healthy, and quick, which I tried to accomplish in
Cooking, Gardening, Kodiak, AK
First Rhubarb: My excuse to dream up a new recipe
In coastal Alaska, it’s traditional to celebrate the season’s First Salmon, usually around May 15. Well, we live in coastal Alaska (and love salmon), but we celebrate another “first”: The First Rhubarb.
Insights, Kodiak, AK, Photography
Pink ribbons at low tide: A pictorial week in Kodiak, Alaska
As I left the greenhouse and walked toward the house, I heard a loud puhhh-HUP behind me. I twisted around and took two steps toward the ocean, just in time to see an orca whale’s black, dorsal fin disappear below the surface. I’m always humbled by gifts like this; surprise snippets of life. Like this morning:
Insights, Kodiak, AK, Photography
A New Year’s message from Helen Keller and friends
It’s 10:30 PM on December 31 in Kodiak, Alaska. Dogs are barking outside, thanks to fireworks. Yes, I’ve received invitations to parties, but I’m not going out tonight. Rather,
Kodiak, AK, Photography
Photo essay from Kodiak Island: Captain Santa and a Christmas tree made from bird deterrent tape
Thirty years ago, in December 1984, I moved from Seattle to Kodiak, Alaska. My Mom fretted. “When are you coming home?” To describe island life, I wrote letters to family and friends, and slipped a photograph or two in the envelopes.
Insights, Kodiak, AK, Photography
The language of wreaths: They’ll save you from lightning, but not love
If you’re off to a party, consider placing a wreath made of violets, roses, myrtle, parsley and ivy on top of your head. According to Pliny the Elder, a corona convivial was thought to counter the effects of intoxication.
Cooking, Gardening, Kodiak, AK
How to prepare and appreciate those beautiful rose hips
It’s funny how marketing wizards embedded in my brain that only oranges were synonymous with vitamin C. But over the years I’ve learned that papaya, strawberries, bell peppers, kale, cauliflower–even broccoli–have more vitamin C than
Cooking, Gardening, Kodiak, AK
A recipe for stained glass potatoes, and late summer gardening tips from Kodiak, Alaska
To a plant, it’s all about light. Light is the magic engine that drives growth. It also drives my gardening activities here in Kodiak, Alaska. Not to poo-poo gardeners in the Lower 48, but during August, we lose a whopping two hours and 20 minutes of daylight. Poof. Just like that. So, what to do?
Insights, Kodiak, AK
Blue on blue, with reflections on St. Francis
My best times in the garden happen in the early morning: Dew-kissed strawberries, slow bumblebees (an oxymoron, I know) and flowers backlit by the new-day sun.
Cooking, Insights, Kodiak, AK
Dancing with whales
Sunday morning arrived with calm winds and a sky dotted with pudgy clouds. So my husband and I packed some carrot-berry muffins and took our boat for a short cruise around our front yard, the waters off Kodiak Island.
Insights, Kodiak, AK, Photography
Up a creek without a camera
When I grabbed my camera bag and headed out the door, I had no particular agenda in mind. The sky was still peppered with stars and faint outlines of clouds meant the sunrise had potential. So did the day, as I soon learned.marion_owen_photography.