{"id":187583,"date":"2025-07-24T07:43:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/?p=187583"},"modified":"2025-08-12T13:43:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T18:43:57","slug":"the-bear-in-the-bedroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/the-bear-in-the-bedroom\/","title":{"rendered":"The bear in the bedroom"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Watch your step<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here’s a selection of snapshots from my visit to my sister’s place near Fairbanks in Alaska. It’s a very different world than Kansas. As usual, click on the pictures to see them larger and with better color.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Path in back yard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

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Front yard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Side yard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are probably more trees in my sister’s yard than there are in the entire neighborhood where I live. These are mostly white spruce, black spruce, paper birch and quaking aspen.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Paper birch with lichen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Iris setosa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Iris setosa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Iris setosa in my sister’s garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blue iris was everywhere.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Chamaenerion [Epilobium] angustifolium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Chamaenerion [Epilobium] angustifolium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the buds at the top of the fireweed stem finally open, the first snow is six weeks away.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Castilleja elegans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Linnea borealis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Tanana River, with bird vetch and fireweed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Meadow, with white vetch and DYC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Spruce trees stunted by permafrost<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although I did see a few short forests, I didn’t spot any toads.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Vandalism<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Target practice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Outside the cities, roads in Alaska are seldom flat, due to frost heaving. Travel is often like riding a roller coaster.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Trollius<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Trollius<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Silene pendula “Sibella Carmine”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Thimble weed, Anemone virginiana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Stachys macrantha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few more plants at the Georgeson Botanical Garden.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Eielson Air Force Base<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Eielson Air Force Base<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is an air force base nearby. Jets frequently flew quite low and loud over my sister’s place.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alaska essential<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was told before I set out north that the mosquitoes in Alaska were monstrous. In fact, in the Fairbanks area they were no worse than they are in Kansas.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Once you’re away from civilization, though, they are ferocious.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Faceted glass sphere in window<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The highs in Alaska during summer are lower than the lows in Kansas. Even though it never got dark, it was easier to sleep there than in hot, humid Kansas.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bear in my bedroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a selection of snapshots from my visit to my sister’s place near Fairbanks in Alaska. It’s a very different world than Kansas. As usual, click on the pictures to see them larger and with better color.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[692,22,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-botany","category-photo-gallery","category-real-life-adventures"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xam3-MNx","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187583"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":187664,"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187583\/revisions\/187664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}