Episode 17: “Summer’s Hourglass”

This episode's featured image "Summer's Hourglass" is a great example of grabbing onto a concept and then hunting for the best shot to illustrate the idea.  As I watch the Alaska wildflower fireweed grow and bloom in the short but sweet summer season, I'm taken with the idea of finding the perfect shot to showcase the progression of flowers opening gradually in succession from the bottom to the tip of the plant.  I want to evoke the sense of time passing and simultaneously the realization of the importance of slowing down in order to grab on to each precious moment.Today I'm watching the weather, and I'm watching the meadow on this rainy afternoon, and I'm watching the bear in the meadow.  So much going on!  Squalls sweep through from the southeast, obscuring the view of the ridge with a gray curtain, and then in a quarter hour the curtain opens again.  The Alaska fireweed is a brilliant magenta swath across the green expanse of meadow grasses, shielding the sweet strawberries growing close to the ground.  That's what the bear is after, as it's time to eat but still too early for salmon.  We watch her for most of the afternoon.  She raises her head every so often to check out the surroundings, but is otherwise focused on the bounty below.  As anyone will tell you, harvesting our small local wild berries in any meaningful quantity takes a lot of work.There might not be salmon in the river yet, but there's some kind of fish, evident as the next incident unfolds.  An eagle takes a dramatic dive from the cottonwood on the riverbank and comes up with what is very plainly a fish in its talons.  The fish struggles, flipping and squirming, but it's no match for the eagle.  Still, it's a big task carrying that fish, and so the eagle comes back to the bank and lands halfway up a tall spruce to take a breath.  The nest is across the river and on the other side of the meadow, in a stand of spruce several hundred yards away.  In time, the eagle takes off with a bounce from the bough and flaps mightily, hanging on to that fish, determined to bring home the bacon.Summer is in full swing all around us, marching on towards fall.  This week marks the halfway point between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox, a time known as First Harvest.  I had a lightbulb moment years ago watching fireweed blooms advance up the stalk, and ever since have called this showy wildflower "Summer's Hourglass."  They start with buds in June, and as the buds develop and flowers bloom, the color lights up the landscape.  It's bittersweet to watch them progress, knowing it is only a matter of time until it's over and done, but the saving grace is that it usually takes at least a month for the blooms to run their course, sometimes longer.  So now as the clouds part again after the latest squall passes by, we are treated once again to the incredible beauty of the moment.  It's a gentle reminder:  this is our time, this is the only time we have, and this time is precious.Alaska fireweed notecards and prints by Gustavus artist Lillian Ruedrich.  Click here to purchase now.  Enjoy it as a blank notecard or matted giclee print.