Mount Redoubt on 31 Jan 2009 Note the cloud of steam being vented

Well, Mount Redoubt continues to rumble.  According to the Alaska Vocano Observatory this morning:

A high intensity burst of volcanic tremor occurred from about 2:44
through 2:50 AST this morning at Redoubt. The tremor episode appears to
have ended for now. There was no eruption associated with this
tremor.AVO continues to observe potential activity with seismic,
satellite and radar data. The volcano has not erupted.Clear weather
views from the web camera show nothing but darkness so far this
morning.The Aviation Color Code remains at ORANGE and the Volcano Alert
Level remains at WATCH.

Currently, the volcano is belching clouds of steam and gas. So we may have an eruption today… or not.

Fumaroles venting hot gas and steam. Taken by an AVO fly-by on Jan 31 2009

The bad news is, the winds have changed. If Redoubt erupts with a significant ash cloud, we, along with Kenai, Soldotna and Anchor Point, will get the brunt of it.

Photo Credits: Waythomas, Chris

Images courtesy of AVO/USGS.

Is Mount Redoubt about to erupt?

Seismic activity has increased lately on Mount Redoubt which is about 100 miles northwest of Homer.  According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, earthquakes and tremors have been occuring almost hourly for a few days now which may possibly be a precursor to an eruption.  The last eruptions and activity from Redoubt occurred in 1989 -1990  Typically when Redoubt erupts, instead of flowing, gushing lava like the Hawaiian volcanoes, it tends to emit explosive quantities of ash high into the atmosphere where it can travel for hundreds of miles before settling back to earth.  The ash tends to be a of a very fine hard granular consistency,  under the microscope looking like sharp little shards or needles of rock.  The ash fall is certainly not cataclysmic, but it can prove harmful to people with respiratory problems and can potentially wreak havoc with engines and machinery.

What does this mean for us Homerites?  Hopefully not much than a little excitement.  Currently the winds should blow all that ash to the northeast towards Anchorage.  For Anchorage, this has the potential of shutting down the airport and rerouting all air traffic through Anchorage to alternate routes.

A map of local volcanoes

Here is a map showing  the series of active volcanoes that run down the west side of Cook Inlet.  Either flying or driving down from Anchorage, one can get some majestic views of both Mount Redoubt and Moun Iliamna.  These volcanoes are part of the famous ‘Ring of Fire’ that roughly circles the Pacific with volcanic activity.

Jean Keene, the Eagle Lady 1923 - 2009

Last week a sad event happened here in Homer, On Jan 13 Jean Keene, the famous Eagle Lady, age 85, died peacefully in her home at the Eagle Spot on the Homer Spit.

Jean was known around the world for feeding the eagles here in Homer, every day each winter for over thirty years. She has been profiled and publicized in Reader’s Digest, National Geographic, The Washington Post, People, Life, “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”, and on “The Rush Limbaugh Show” and Jon Stuart’s “The Daily Show”.  There’s a biography written about her called The Eagle Lady by author and photographer Cary Anderson.  Jean also received the 2004 Lifetime Meritorious Service Award from the Bald Eagle Foundation.

Born on October 20, 1923 in Aitkin County, Minnesota, Jean was the oldest of three sisters and one brother. She grew up on a dairy farm where she learned to ride horses and became a talented horse breaker and trainer. By her late twenties, she was working as a trick rider in a traveling rodeo. Her career was cut short by a terrible riding accident during a performance where she slipped from the saddle, hit her head and went unconscious, her foot stuck in the stirrup. Her leg was trampled by the horse and Jean spent the next few months in a cast from her waist down. After the cast was off she could still walk and ride but her career in the rodeo was over.

From there she went on to be a a professional truck driver hauling cattle. Then she opened up a dog and cat grooming business and also raised and bred cocker spaniels. She later became the owner and operator of Jolly Chef Truck Stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1977, Jean moved from Minnesota to Homer, driving a used motorhome up the Alaska Highway. She parked at the end of the Homer Spit in a campground and took a job with the local seafood processing plant.

There were a few eagles hanging out at the end of the spit and Jean started feeding them scraps from the processing plant. And thus her career as the Eagle Lady began. Over the years more and more eagles started showing up. The current population of eagles varies somewhere between 200 and 400. And with the gathering of eagles came the influx of photographers to capture their images. It is estimated that about 80% of the eagle photographs on line and in the media were taken from here in Homer. As photograhers came to see the eagles , they also came to see Jean Keene and her celebrity increased and spread literally around the world. If you google her name, you’ll see her obituary mentioned in photography forums, magazines and newspapers around the world.

Rest in peace, Jean Keene. You wii be missed.

Lone eagle at sunrise

Yes We Can

It’s a great day for America.  A fresh breath of air.  Hope.  A chance to make this country great again.

I guess “Hello, World” really is an appropriate way to start a blog.  After all, that’s what we’re doing - announcing ourselves to the world.   So here we go.

The Good Karma Inn is a beautiful bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Homer, Alaska with a spectacular picture-postcard view of Kachemak Bay and the snow covered Kenai Mountains complete with glaciers.  So where the heck is Homer?  Here’s a map:

Map of Alaska

Inset: Kenai Peninsula

As you can see, Homer is at the bottom of the Kenai Peninsula, at the end of the Sterling Highwayand on the coast.  This works out nice for us because the warm ocean currents travel north from Mexico and California, up the west coast of North America and warm the coastal communities of Alaska.  The difference in temperature from the coast to 20 miles inland can be 20 - 25 degrees!. So our winters are relatively mild. Much milder than Minnesota, Wyoming, or the Dakotas. The coastline here is called the “banana belt” of Alaska.

Our winter weather can range from about 0 degrees or slightly below (a cold snap) up to about 45 or 50 degrees. Right now, it’s a balmy 40 degrees, sunny and clear.

Aloha from Homer.