Most people who haven't been to Alaska will think it is cold, and barren. That's what they teach in school about the tundra and permafrost at certain lattitudes. However, most of Alaska is actually coniferous forest. The tundra makes up some of its outskirts, but the interior is mostly forest. The Chugach National Forest is all around my new home. And I was surprised this year to find out just how lush and rich the vegetation here is.
These little red berries grow in abundance out here. I am not sure what they are, and if they are edible or not. I googled them, and there are several small red berries that are edible, like the backpacker berry, and several reds that are poisonous, like the moon berry. The nature center offers guided tours that explain the local plants...I shall have to attend one next year.
The weeds were over my head, literally.
My first trip to the nature center was in March, when little patches of snow still clung to the trail. The jungle like transformation in just a couple of months amazed me.
This is the alleged trail through the center, the Albert Loops Trail.
The huge tall plants made me think I was in Jurassic Alaska.
There were loads of little wildflowers. Alaska summers explode in color...made up of tiny little flowers in an expanse of the grey, blue, and green landscape.
These little blue flowers were absolutely stunning both in their bold color and their delightful symmetry. I loved this little patch of color I stumbled across.
This last plant is probably a weed, but if you look closely, each one of its seeds has the shape of a heart. There is a lot of beauty, a lot of variation in that beauty, in a short stroll in one tiny little patch of this huge Alaska world. I can't wait to see more of it!
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