Island Byways

Salmon in the Circle of Life, storms bring much-needed rain to the rivers and streams where coho salmon patiently wait their turn to head upstream to spawn.

Autumn is beginning to show her colors and the landscapes, miniature and otherwise, are a photographer's dream. 

Remembering 9/11 and celebrating the good in your life. Life on an island in the North Pacific.

Labor Day weekend means some extra time for salmon fishing here on the island. Pink salmon are rushing upstream but the silvers are only trickling in - perhaps waiting offshore for the pinks to get out of their way. Life on Alaska's Kodiak Island. 

We finally get some much-needed rain and, as expected, the pink salmon that have been hovering offshore rushed upstream to spawn as soon as there was enough water to make the attempt. Life on Kodiak Island in the North Pacific. 

An unusual Kodiak Crab Festival in an unusual year! Sportfishing for salmon pickups, for humans and bears. Life on Kodiak Island in Alaska.

Salmon fishing is picking up on the Buskin River just in time for the Kids' Pink Salmon Derby. Now is the time to be bear aware when on the trails - make noise, carry an air horn or bear spray, and pay attention. Life on Kodiak Island in the North Pacific. 

Berry picking, fishing, watching young birds, seeing young bears learn to fish, and the Perseids! Life on Alaska's Kodiak Island.  

The accessibility of the great outdoors, combined with the pressures of a pandemic means many of us on Kodiak are outside as much and as often as possible. Be a good neighbor and Leave No Trace when you are out exploring - and don't forget your bear spray!  Life on Alaska's Kodiak Island. 

A late-night tsunami warning kept our hearts pumping this week. The threat of natural disasters has a way of making you realize what's important and, sometimes, of how poorly we are prepared to "grab and go" in an emergency. An exciting week on Alaska's Kodiak Island.