June 5: Swans in tundra lake

Not far behind the cabin is a shallow little lake. A caribou trail runs around the lake. The far side of the lake was scorched in a fire in 2009 - a fire that called out smoke jumpers, helicopters, and a WWII bomber that dropped flame retardant to try to prevent the fire's spread - to our cabins, among others.

I heard the call of a swan this evening and I know that a pair of swans often make their summer home in that lake, so I grabbed my camera and a pair of boots and walked along the caribou trail. On the way out, I saw that the tundra is beginning to wake up. What once was brown is turning green and even growing some berries. I followed the caribou train around the lake to try to get the swans and the cabin together. Although tundra is hearty stuff - it thrives in this cold and wet climate - it is also very delicate. It doesn't get much foot traffic, so it's vulnerable to it and takes a long time to recover. That's why we try to stick to boardwalks and existing trails.

And while I was there, I noticed a lot of tundra cotton coming up. I understand that they have this in Scotland too and there they call it "bog cotton." I don't usually visit the other side of the lake - this is the first time I saw (a) the scar from the fire; and (b) that it was just the lake's distance from my cabin. That fire occurred on July 5, right in the middle of the run, and right at the end of a tide. Once we determined that there was nothing we could do to help and that the fire was unlikely to spread to our cabins unless the wind changed and once we got a good look at the helicopter and bomber action... we all went to sleep and missed the smoke jumpers. We would be up soon fishing the next tide. This photo shows the tundra high ground that hasn't grown back yet.

Following the caribou trail back, I noticed this moss or lichen or ... whatever it is.