Musk Ox and Eider Ducks

While I'm sure that were I to walk up to this animal and feel his fur, I would not describe his fur this way, but from my distance, the new fur coming on as the the old fur sluffs off, looks quite clean and comfy. In a well-kept state, musk ox are not bad looking.

Of course, when they turn to face you, you realize that these are not creatures to be treated casually. The combination of the curved horns, the curvature of the spine that puts the head and face close to the ground and vertical, and the shaggy fur really sends the message that is not something that you want to test.

It is interesting to see one half of the ox with new fur and the other half with a full season's growth. They really put on quite a lot of insulation during the winter. Another indication of just how cold it really gets here.

With a full season's plumage near his face, this fellow looks a little like some sort of distorted lion surveying his kingdom. There is not a lot of personality in the face, but there is a strong sense of determination.

We en this interlude with the wildlife in Alaska, with a brief look at a pair of common eider ducks. These large sea duck are skittish and I have very few photos of them from this trip, but this os one of them. Fortunately, there is another, better view of them coming later in the trip.

I know you are wondering why it taking me so long to get these photo on the blog. Two reasons: first, there is that issue of a trip to Europe to process photos from and blog about, and secondly, there are several thousand images from this trip that I have to go through to find the ones that are in focus, actually have the subject in them (and are not simply a photo of where they used to be), and process them. This takes time and much of that that has been spent traveling and planning or the next trips. 

Be patient and good things will come to those who wait.