I should write more about Alaska because it was such an amazing time. One of the great things about it was meeting Bob Armstrong. http://www.naturebob.com/ Bob has been photographing Alaska Wildlife for about 40 years. He is one of the rare people who got to retire early and followed his muse. He lives in Juneau overlooking the Gastineau Channel and spends his days investigating nature. He has many books out, chronicling all sorts of wildlife, from birds to insects. One of his most interesting books deals with natural connections. He discovers and describes the connection between various unlikely animals, insects and natural processes. He uncovered the connection between hummingbirds and sapsuckers. The sapsuckers tap holes through the bark of certain trees, like cottonwoods, where they eat sap, but the sapsuckers aren’t the only ones eating from the well. Hummingbirds also grab a sweet snack when they can. Then there are things that you wouldn’t think of, like why do mink go into marmot holes? It turns out that the mink is eating the larvae that grow in the marmot’s dung and in eating the larvae, inadvertently cleans out the marmots den by dragging the dung outside with it.
It’s the kind of observation that can only come through years of spending hour upon hour in the forest watching the animals.
I was lucky enough to have Bob treat me to a walk around the mountain top in Juneau, which is accessed by a cable-car tram and is full of tourists. Bob has a free lifetime pass from the tram company because he has added so much interest to the top of the mountain by photographing the animals and wildlife. Many of his photos are on display at the Tram’s mountain top station. When accompanied by Bob up the mountain, I was treated like royalty or at least part of the royal entourage. I don’t have many photos of Bob because we were always pointing out lenses towards the wilderness, but he’s probably one of the most content people I have met, and someone to emulate.
