Island Byways

All Alaskans look forward to the winter solstice when we begin to gain daylight. Kodiak celebrates with the rest of the state with the Harbor Lights Festival and Parade and the Light the Rock Holiday Home Lights Tour.  Winter Solstice on a little island in the North Pacific. 

Watching the Geminids, learning about the winter birds of Kodiak, and a special holiday retrospective concert by Isle Bells. Life on Kodiak Island. 

Let the decorating begin...oh wait! It has already begun. Many of us on the island are anxious to add some light to the holiday season - perhaps a little earlier than usual. Right on cue, the full moon lights our night sky next week, too. Life on Kodiak Island. 

Blustery November weather, looking for Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, and Mars in the night (or morning) sky.  Life on Kodiak Island. 

Stories are the fabric of cultures worldwide - including Kodiak. Learn about Galley Tables, a local storytelling event and how you can participate in a nationwide story gathering effort over the holidays. Life on Alaska's Kodiak Island. 

The Taurids meteor shower, finding the North Star, and the American Dipper. Exploring the celestial and things terra firma on Alaska's Kodiak Island. 

A pumpkin parade, a relatively unusual full moon, and familiar celestial sights. Life on Kodiak Island in Alaska. 

Stormy seas, blustery days, a Galley Tables storytelling event, and a visit by a pod of killer whales. A busy week on Alaska's largest island, Kodiak.  (Trivia tidbit: Kodiak is the second-largest island in the US - second only to our neighbor to the south, Hawaii.)

Big tides, changeable weather, and the Orionid Meteor Shower are all topics on this week's edition of Island Byways. A little show about life on an island in the North Pacific. 

The winds of November come early to the island. 

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. 

Our night skies have been graced with a beautiful moon, Mars, the comet NEOWISE and magical, electric-blue noctilucent clouds! Life on an island called Kodiak. 

Wild roses decorate the hillsides, the meadows are full of wildflowers, and the comet NEOWISE is gracing the night sky these days. Life on Alaska's Kodiak Island. 

Gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, courtesy of Siberian wildfires. Life on an island in the North Pacific. 

The view from Deadman's Curve...celebrating 31 years on the island. 

Summer Solstice and a visit from a pod of orcas. Life on Kodiak Island!