For the weekend we traveled down to Homer to celebrate our anniversary (a bit late, but better than never). Our original plan was to take in some extreme tubing, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. However, upon our arrival we decided these activities would not be very enjoyable with winds up to 21 mph. The snow that was falling was coming at us sideways. Instead, we watched the waves and wildlife. The wildlife was definitely huddled in groups in an attempt to get out of the wind. We spotted four or five sea otter in what was probably the calmest part of the bay and a slue of crows tucked away behind some trees. To keep out of the wind we poked around a couple of gift shops and visited our favorite winery, Bear Creek. In the evening, following church, we discovered a fabulous Pho and Thai restaurant. It will definitely receive another visit from us.
On Sunday morning the wind had died down but the snow was still falling. We took advantage of it being calmer and walked the shores of the spit. We spotted four more sea otters swimming on their backs. And unfortunately, a dead otter that had washed up on shore. The bald eagles were out making their sounds. As we walked on the harbor docks we spotted a loon in its winter plumage. The wind began to pick up after our beach walk so we decided to head back to Kenai. The closer we got to Kenai, the more the skies cleared. It ended up being a very sunny afternoon.
Despite all the wind and snow, wildlife is abundant and on the move. Last weekend we saw two coyotes as we were crossing the Kenai River flats. They were digging in the snow, no doubt looking for a meal. We have also seen a number of moose in the past week. The chickadees and red-breasted nuthatches have also been busy visiting our suet feeder. Rumor has it we are about 6 inches away from beating the Kenai snowfall record.
sunrise- 7:55am
sunset- 6:38pm
No comments:
Post a Comment