And now for a three week break in the lower 48!

 I've re-crossed the 49th parallel to end in the lower 48, with 47 reasons to fortify for freedom.  Being just past independence day, I am depending on many in the coming weeks for company and raspberries, but soon I'll go back to the last frontier of the north.  Meanwhile, how about a few more pictures of things I saw since my last blogging?  A golden crowned sparrow might tickle your retina...  I guess this one was collecting mud for a nest, or for his gizzard.  He was not too interested in flying away as I approached with my camera, so I got a nice identifying shot. 
Summer is in full bloom, though it does rain a lot, and some of the flowering plants are pushing their petals vigorously at anything with wings that can pollinate.  I don't have wings, so they seem to turn their heads away when I pass.

 I like this picture of a humpback whale breaching because he is spitting water out of his mouth in the process of jumping, kind of like clenching for the impact.  There were two jumping and playing around the boat for a while and it was a great time of watching them.

 The sea lions are our staple of wildlife that we can usually pin to a location, so we go to this one spot to find them and they are always on their haulout rock.  This shot has the Fairweather Range in the background.

 There is a cool little beach about 1/2 mile away from where we normally drop people off for a hike, and twice I've gone over for a look with nobody else on the skiff.  First I was nearly attacked by an oystercatcher defending his nest, and the second time I got a nice glimpse of the young ones.  They are sort of like dirty wretched chickens with a long bill and ugly eyes, not at all like the elegant "crow smoking a carrot" look of the adult, with those hypnotic eyes. 
I haven't been flying the kite much but just a few days ago I got a moment as we were heading towards Margerie Glacier, the most famous of the Glacier Bay glaciers.  You can see it in the upper left.  We're in Tarr Inlet, and heading mighty close to Canada.  I think the boat looks pretty good from the air.