Saturday 24 June 2017, week 6: Buldir Island I take such joy in naming crevices that I’ve decided to revisit this topic from last year. Once again I’ve chosen to follow the creative route, this time choosing themes for each of my work areas. Like I said last year, finding new nests is one of my favorite activities. Up until this point in the season – because eggs are hatching…
Saturday 17 June 2017, week 5: Buldir Island Coming up with weekly topics is proving more difficult this year. Of course it doesn’t help that I’m struggling to balance it with my same two hobbies from last year, either; reading and journaling are still the evil culprits. Just to send all the blame away from myself, it’s also Kevin and McKenzie’s fault that I’m not writing. They’re always reading, so…
Tuesday 6 June 2017, week 4: Buldir Island When driving to Seattle from Fairbanks on a free ride from Craigslist a couple autumns ago, my driver Jim told me that I’m pretty much the definition of low maintenance. Given my nature of being content sleeping on any surface, living without running water, and eating basics rather than going out, I’d agree that it doesn’t take much to cover my needs….
Saturday 3 June 2017, week 3: Buldir Island, 22:52 The most geographically isolated island in the Aleutians. The most diverse seabird colony in the northern hemisphere. The westernmost home of bald eagles. The westernmost volcano in the Aleutians. All of these extremes are descriptors of Buldir, making it my most decorated summer home. From learning of its existence in 2010 until last year, working out here had been a dream…
Saturday 27 May 2017, week 2: Buldir Island If there’s one thing I learned from last summer, it’s that I love riding the Tiglax so far west that it becomes east. Unlike everyone else on board, I hope for headwinds and troughs to slow down our progress and rock the boat. Because my love of boat time is common knowledge, I surprised everyone – the ship’s crew, Kevin and McKenzie,…
Thursday 18 May 2017, week 1: at sea in Unimak Pass, 9:05 (through 20 May 2017 as we enter Dutch Harbor in the evening) Riding a ship down the Aleutian chain is not for those who don’t know how to sit still. This year’s cruise west features only a few stops on random islands compared to last year, so in our first 4 full days at sea we’ve only stopped…
Saturday 13 May 2017, end of weeks 0a / 0b in Homer: too late… it’s really Sunday Can someone please explain what’s wrong with me? At the beginning of the month I left the above Mexican Alaskan set-up, my neighboring puppies, and the chance for a real summer of hammock time, biking, and friends for another season of fieldwork in the Aleutians. I believe there comes a time in every…
Why haven’t I followed the dream of a kiwi life? I’ve figured it out.
My relationship with biking and a recent ride
When you grow up in the suburbs of Detroit in the 90s, you grow up a Wings fan. How can you not? While there was never any uncertainty about my team, one drawing I made in 3rd grade cemented my favorite NHL athlete and hockey team in place. We were learning how to draw faces, and our teacher had pictures of Detroit Red Wing hockey players for us to use….