Life

An Outdoor View: On fish hooks and danger

In 2005, “Forbes” editors, readers and a panel of experts made a list of the 20 most-important tools of all time, based upon the impact… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR THE WEEKEND OF DEC. 12-13 AND THEREAFTER - In this Feb. 14, 2014 photo, snow experts Mike Janes, left, and Ed Shanley assess conditions on Mount Roberts above Juneau, Alaska. The 2015 Southeast Alaska Avalanche Center's Southeast Alaska Snow and Avalanche Workshop featured topics included decision-making, a forecaster's perspective on assessing avalanches, how wind affects snow conditions, emerging technology and the Department of Transportation's programs. (Bjorn Dihle/The Juneau Empire via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Avalanche workshop aims to give people tools to survive

JUNEAU (AP) — On a Friday night about a dozen years ago, Tom Mattice, then the owner of a snow cat skiing business, told a… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR THE WEEKEND OF DEC. 12-13 AND THEREAFTER - In this Feb. 14, 2014 photo, snow experts Mike Janes, left, and Ed Shanley assess conditions on Mount Roberts above Juneau, Alaska. The 2015 Southeast Alaska Avalanche Center's Southeast Alaska Snow and Avalanche Workshop featured topics included decision-making, a forecaster's perspective on assessing avalanches, how wind affects snow conditions, emerging technology and the Department of Transportation's programs. (Bjorn Dihle/The Juneau Empire via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

How to choose the right chili pepper for your garden

There are hundreds of chili pepper varieties from which to choose for the home garden, so it pays to know which deliver the most flavor… Continue reading

An Outdoor View: Boats and docks

Boats and docks   For most of my life, I’ve owned some sort of vessel that could pass as a boat. I sold the last… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: Fire in the winter

As the new Assistant Fire Management Officer at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, many people ask what exactly my job entails. At least nine months… Continue reading

This winter, give cross-country skiing a try

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — The first time I ever went cross-country skiing, I wondered if I would ever get the hang of it. Then… Continue reading

Fairbanks falconer puts in time, effort for love of flight

FAIRBANKS — Dave Lorring spoke to his peregrine falcon named “80” as he unfastened the leash and sent her out on a duck hunt.“You behave… Continue reading

This April 26, 2013 photo shows a blooming shrub of rosemary, bordering a yard near Langley, Wash., which is a multi-purpose plant like many other herbs. Rosemary has an array of uses - as an ornamental alongside other flowering perennials, for crafting, flavoring, attracting pollinators and as an aromatic. (Dean Fosdick via AP)

From flavors to fragrances to cures, herbs deliver

Herbs are among the most useful plants in nature. They deliver flowers, flavors, fragrances and cures. They’re also good for repelling deer, attracting pollinators, clearing… Continue reading

This April 26, 2013 photo shows a blooming shrub of rosemary, bordering a yard near Langley, Wash., which is a multi-purpose plant like many other herbs. Rosemary has an array of uses - as an ornamental alongside other flowering perennials, for crafting, flavoring, attracting pollinators and as an aromatic. (Dean Fosdick via AP)

An Outdoor View: On having fun with fish

We humans have changed a bit since the 17th century, when for entertainment we suspended cats in a sling over a fire and shrieked with… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS, NOV. 21-22 - FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2012, file photo, a long line snakes back onto the mountain as of skiers and snowboarders wait to step onto the Brooks chairlift at Stevens Pass, Wash., ski area for the first run of the season. Many major ski resorts plan to open around the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. There's still time to get yourself in shape to enjoy the good snow when it piles up by mid-December. I've compiled a few good reasons to get off your duff and tune up your body. (Mark Mulligan/The Herald via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

With ski season approaching, tune up your body

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — When the snow starts falling, people think of tuning up their skis or snowboard. You might check out your boots… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS, NOV. 21-22 - FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2012, file photo, a long line snakes back onto the mountain as of skiers and snowboarders wait to step onto the Brooks chairlift at Stevens Pass, Wash., ski area for the first run of the season. Many major ski resorts plan to open around the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. There's still time to get yourself in shape to enjoy the good snow when it piles up by mid-December. I've compiled a few good reasons to get off your duff and tune up your body. (Mark Mulligan/The Herald via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
A male cluster fly suns on the siding of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge headquarters building, March 23. (Photo by Matt Bowser)

Refuge Notebook: The mysterious life of the vagabond cluster fly

Last February through March as our snow melted away, some of early spring’s most precocious invertebrates pranced in the sunshine, warming themselves on south-facing wood… Continue reading

A male cluster fly suns on the siding of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge headquarters building, March 23. (Photo by Matt Bowser)
This Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 photo shows sneakers, headphones, house keys and a cellphone displaying the Couch to 5K app - all the gear a jogger needs to head out for a run. The Couch to 5K app offers gentle guidance for novice runners looking to go from being a couch potato to being able to run 5 kilometers. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

Learning to run in middle age with app’s help

NEW YORK — It’s the last five minutes of my 45-minute run. I’m panting. Sweating. Tuning out the occasional twinge of pain from a knee,… Continue reading

This Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 photo shows sneakers, headphones, house keys and a cellphone displaying the Couch to 5K app - all the gear a jogger needs to head out for a run. The Couch to 5K app offers gentle guidance for novice runners looking to go from being a couch potato to being able to run 5 kilometers. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)
Photo courtesy Wikipedia Simplified anatomy of the structural components used in bird flight. If you prefer eating white meat at Thanksgiving, you're eating the turkey's pectoralis and supracoracoideus muscles

An outdoor view: On being thankful

Something I’m very thankful for is that I wasn’t present for what’s now called the “first Thanksgiving.” In September of 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth,… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Wikipedia Simplified anatomy of the structural components used in bird flight. If you prefer eating white meat at Thanksgiving, you're eating the turkey's pectoralis and supracoracoideus muscles

Refuge Notebook: In honor of turkeys

Did you know that you were not alone yesterday in eating turkey? According to the National Turkey Federation, 95 percent of Americans eat turkey on… Continue reading

In this Nov. 23, 2015, photo, Bob Zimmerman from Greensburg, Pa. walks up one of the restricted roads at Pennsylvania state game lands 74 as he hunts bear in Fisher, Pa. This area of the state game land is one of the more than 30 "Deer Hunter Focus Areas" the Pennsylvania Game Commission created throughout the state in hopes they will draw more hunters to spots where they're likely to see more deer when rifle season opens Monday (Nov. 29). Meanwhile, game commission foresters are hoping hunters will kill enough deer to safeguard the rebounding forest vegetation meant to attract deer to the focus areas in the first place. Zimmerman, who was out hunting bear, but was also scouting for deer hunting sites, said he was glad the commission is spending some of the money from hunting license fees to help the hunters. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Deer here: Pennsylvania game commission to steer hunters to prime spots

FISHER, Pa. — Yo, hunters! Deer here.The Pennsylvania Game Commission is giving hunters an assist this year, using bright yellow-and-green signs to steer them to… Continue reading

In this Nov. 23, 2015, photo, Bob Zimmerman from Greensburg, Pa. walks up one of the restricted roads at Pennsylvania state game lands 74 as he hunts bear in Fisher, Pa. This area of the state game land is one of the more than 30 "Deer Hunter Focus Areas" the Pennsylvania Game Commission created throughout the state in hopes they will draw more hunters to spots where they're likely to see more deer when rifle season opens Monday (Nov. 29). Meanwhile, game commission foresters are hoping hunters will kill enough deer to safeguard the rebounding forest vegetation meant to attract deer to the focus areas in the first place. Zimmerman, who was out hunting bear, but was also scouting for deer hunting sites, said he was glad the commission is spending some of the money from hunting license fees to help the hunters. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
A Chinese ring-necked pheasant is pictured near Morgan's Landing on the Kenai River. Feral pheasants likely support a breeding population in the wild on the southern Kenai Peninsula. (Photo courtesy Ken Marlow)

Refuge Notebook: Feral wildlife can be a problem

A couple of weeks ago, the Peninsula Clarion carried a story about the Bunny Task Force, formed to deal with the 200 or so once-domesticated… Continue reading

A Chinese ring-necked pheasant is pictured near Morgan's Landing on the Kenai River. Feral pheasants likely support a breeding population in the wild on the southern Kenai Peninsula. (Photo courtesy Ken Marlow)
This Dec. 2014 photo shows a drone hovering by a skier as he makes his way down mountainside at resort at Revelstoke, B.C., Canada. Some US ski resorts are exploring the possibility of "drone zones" where professionally operated drones can produce customized video that show off individuals skiers in action. (Jason Soll/Cape Productions via AP)

Some US ski resorts explore possibility of ‘drone zones’

DENVER — A drone hovers about 30 feet above the skier’s head, then quickly swoops down for a tighter angle so its video camera can… Continue reading

This Dec. 2014 photo shows a drone hovering by a skier as he makes his way down mountainside at resort at Revelstoke, B.C., Canada. Some US ski resorts are exploring the possibility of "drone zones" where professionally operated drones can produce customized video that show off individuals skiers in action. (Jason Soll/Cape Productions via AP)
This July 5, 2015 photo shows a bumblebee gathering pollen from a clump of eryngo, late-summer-blooming wildflowers, that are members of the carrot family, in a yard in Langley, Wash. Bees tend to confine their attention to one flower species during a single foraging trip, but they move from plant to plant, favoring cross-pollination. (Dean Fosdick via AP)

Keeping bees helps gardeners understand plants better

Want to become a better gardener? Then learn something about beekeeping. Become a matchmaker who ensures that flowering plants and honeybees enjoy a beneficial relationship.Keeping… Continue reading

This July 5, 2015 photo shows a bumblebee gathering pollen from a clump of eryngo, late-summer-blooming wildflowers, that are members of the carrot family, in a yard in Langley, Wash. Bees tend to confine their attention to one flower species during a single foraging trip, but they move from plant to plant, favoring cross-pollination. (Dean Fosdick via AP)

An Outdoor View: Buying space

Author’s note: With tongue only partly in cheek, I wrote this column, which appeared in the Clarion on May 2, 2008. In the succeeding seven… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Dave Atcheson Good fishing etiquette includes handling fish properly.

Tight Lines: River etiquette

My reasons for fishing vary. Sure, sometimes it’s utilitarian, to fill the freezer, but more often than not it’s about the experience, and escaping the… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Dave Atcheson Good fishing etiquette includes handling fish properly.