Inspired by Alexandra’s stories from the Chupa conference on the biological resources of the White Sea and especially its algae we went out to the littoral to collect said resources that presently appear to be on their way to becoming fashionable in the sense that there is a lot of talk about them being underutilized (see an article on the subject by Olga Maximova, an algologist from Moscow). more >>
The Common Eider and Homo Sapiens: Fourteen Centuries Together
A popular science book by Alexandra Goryashko
Publication expected in 2019
The preparation of a popular science book on the world-wide history of the relationship between humans and the eiders – A Wild Bird and a Cultured Man (The Common Eider and Homo Sapiens: Fourteen Centuries Together) – for printing is nearing its end.
The author is the biologist and historian of science Alexandra Goryashko. This letter is to inform you about the upcoming publication which will be published in both Russian and English versions.
It is a pleasure for me to announce that my mate Alexandra’s mega-project of the last four or five years, the book on the relationship between the Common eider and Man, has its end in sight. My role was that of a translator and occasionally a lightning rod for the outbursts of the author’s anger at the world dearing to interfere with the process.
Below is a letter from Alexandra to all those interested in acquiring the book or perhaps helping financially in its printing.
On several occasions in the past I mentioned Valentin Zhiganov from Apatity, Murmansk Region, who takes outstanding photos of Aurora Borealis. Very recently my mate Alexandra called my attention to a Metro article with his recent photos of very rare vertical Aurora Borealis. Enjoy!
Local tap water will not kill you. At least not immediately. And if it does its destructive power will be in its taste rather than chemical content. It is a proven fact that tea and coffee taste better from water obtained from one of several springs around the city. Here is how it is done at the City Park on the left side of the Niva river..
Somewhat belated Season’s greetings!
After a long grey fall, the real winter has set in, with short days and lots of fluffy snow. As to the color scheme, it has been reduced to just three: black, white and, in the brief hour or less the sun is up, pink.
Normally this little and rare (several hundred pairs in the entire Murmansk Region) birdie lives in a rather dispersed fashion, with one to three pairs per 10km of stream. But today we have been observing at least five individuals at once, diving into bubbling water to get their bugs and worms and what not.
Last night, October 7, at about 10 pm, we were treated to spectacular northern lights display clearly visible right over the town despite light pollution. That may have been the brightest display I’ve ever seen. First we even thought the building was on fire.
Here are some photos taken with an ordinary camera.
A moose is said to have been stuck in the hydroelectric canal of the Niva hydroelectric station, about 10km north from Kandalaksha, on Sunday morning. Apparently the animal tried to swim across but could not get out on the opposite side. The moose was successfully pulled ashore..
The fall reproductive season has started in the Murmansk Region moose, which makes the animals careless and aggressive, and likely to end up in front of your car. I hear of at least a couple of accidents each year involving vehicles hitting moose on local roads, usually with ugly consequences. And yes, they can be aggressive. I was kicked by one in the Sokolniki part in Moscow a few years ago, after trying too eagerly to take a good photo. And in my younger days I witnessed a scene when a female moose chaced a boy. Never thought a human could run so fast! Come to think of it, both incidents happened when the animals were likely to be in heat, in spring in the former and in the fall in the latter story. You’ve been warned.