Good morning from Kenozero!

It’s been such a long time since I updated my blog! I was building an extension to my house (that ended up being larger than the original building). If you remember, I have promised myself not to touch my camera or go online before I finish with construction work. On top of that promise, in the middle of June, a lightening strike has burned down the satellite internet equipment and I was completely cut off from civilization (mobile connection is very weak and unstable in my village in Bryansk Forest).

Now, since I’ve completed the roof on the new part of the house and only interior work is left to finish, I decided to take a small break and visit the North, my favorite place on Earth along with Bryansk Forest and Kamchatka.

This is Kenozerje, surroundings of the lakes Kenozero and Lekshmozero in Kargopolsky and Pletsetsky region in Archangelsk oblast. This is a land of harsh northern climate but it has been developed by generations of brave local people. Nowhere else in Russia can you feel such a strong historic atmosphere and culture. Past century wars did not come so far north with their destruction and, therefore some of the wooden houses, chapels and other buildings over hundred years old survived here as well as patriarchal life style.




I did not visit Kenozerje for eight years and now I live in a tent near a village Glazovo. This is not a first time that I am telling you about Kenozerskyi National park and about this village, at the link you can read my previous post at this link. My tent is hidden in the middle of this summer blossoms. Interestingly, cell phone coverage is pretty good over here, and on the top of the hill I even get relatively fast internet. Therefore I will share some of my photos with you.

Originally posted by at Доброе утро из Кенозерья!

Beach vacation season.

Last week life brought me to US for a short time, and right now I am living in Miami, very close to warm Atlantic ocean. The smell and noise of the ocean, the cries of seagulls stired up my memories about another ocean, about other beaches, where the ice floes should be melting on the black volcanic sand now. Where you can go for several months without seeing a human footprint. There are only brown bears swimming and relaxing under soft northern sun there.

My little fox-friend, Alisa, in winter and summer outfits.

Originally posted by at Алиса зимой и летом.

Frosty mornings in Kamchatka

The coldest time of the day is just before the daybreak. But it is also the most beautiful, mystic and photogenic. Here are several early morning photos from my last year wintering in Kronotsky Nature Reserve in Kamchatka.

On the top photo there is a larch tree with an ospray (or sea hawk) nest on the foreground and Kronotsky volcano in the background.


Eruption of Kizimen volcano. It is still erupting, but much less intense than last year.


Larch forest on the banks of Kronotsky Lake.

Frosty morning.

Originally posted by at Морозным утром.

Portraits of Mary of Kronotsky Nature Reserve.

Today I checked my photo-archive to see what was I photographing last January. And it turns out, I was working on portraits of Mary, my female moose neighbor at Kronotsky Nature Reserve ranger station. How is she doing there this winter?









Originally posted by at Портреты кроноцкой Машеньки.

Waiting for the summer...

And this is the owner of the nest.



Originally posted by at В ожидании лета...

Wolverine in twilight.

For several years I haven't been outside of Russia - Kamchatka was the only thing on my mind and it was taking up all my time and resourses. But finally I decided and visited a photo-festival in Germany last week. I made two presentations there in front of different audiences and noticed that this photo of a wolverine caused a unanimous "aaaah" in both cases.

I remembered that I did not show this photo in my online journal, so here it is...

Originally posted by at Росомаха в сумерках.

"Frozen" sea eagle.

This is a story from last year wintering in Kamchatka.

It is a bright and fresh December morning with the temperature somewhere below -13F (-25C). But the sun is rising, so it's getting slightly warmer. I am pacing along the banks of Kronotskaya river, if I'd walk slower my feet would freeze in my rain boots. The fog is coming from the water. Large fish is leaving crease marks on the surface - the coho salmon ruts are still going upstream for spawning. Next to the spawning ground, on top of an old Erman's birch tree I see tree Steller's sea eagles sleeping. As I approach two of them fly away. When I come closer I notice that the bird that stayed did not even move: his head was under a wing, just as a common village rooster.

"The eagle must be dead," - I'm thinking -

Happy New Year!

We have almost accepted the fact that the New Year's Eve in Bryansk Forest will be rainy, but just recently the rain has turned to snow and the ground turned white.

The New Year has already came to the Eastern regions of Eurasia, and in several hours we will all be celebrating the start of 2012!
I wish you happiness and love!

Originally posted by at С Новым годом!

Little bison favorite pastime!

Good morning from Bryanskiy Les nature reserve! The favorite pastime of a one and a half month old bison, that we call Mefodiy as my readers suggested, is to butt with grown up bulls. It seems like adults like this game as well, they even step down into the ditch to level themselves in height with a baby.

Originally posted by at Доброе утро из заповедника "Брянский лес"!

Dreary days...

The days now are the shortest in a year. My home village Chuhrai, population of 9 including my family, looks colorless and melancholic. I already wrote about my village in this post

(Translator's note: also you can read more about people and history of the village in a book The Storks' Nest, written by Igor's wife, nature writer Laura Williams)









And this is the border of the neibouring village, Smeglizh. This is the road I use every work day to take my two sons to school.

Originally posted at Тусклые дни.

Don't wake a sleeping bear up!

Originally posted by at Не будите спящего медведя!

Summer on Kurile Lake. Kamchatka dreams.

Sockeye salmon runs.

Originally posted by at Камчатские сны. Лето на Курильском озере.

Steller's Sea Eagle and volcano Ilyinskaya Sopka. Kamchatka dreams.

Originally posted by at Камчатские сны. Орлан и вулкан Ильинская сопка.

At the back of beyond: Koryaksky Nature Reserve.

This is an image of part of Koryaksky Nature Reserve situated on Govena peninsula in Koryakia in the north of Kamchatka peninsula.

Originally posted by at Край света. Корякский заповедник.

What shall we call him?

We have wonderful news! It is unknown yet, if it's a "boy" or a "girl".

Originally posted by at Как мы его назовем?

Why does a bear rise on his rear feet?

How does a bear behave when encounter a human? In most cases he runs away. But before running he almost always would rise to stand on his rear feet. And this behavior does not indicate the attack, as many people think... (Click below to read more)

By doing so this animal orientates himself on the ground and satisfies his exploratory instincts. Bears have excellent scent and hearing, but his vision fails sometimes. It is difficult for a bear to clearly see human or another source of danger through tall grass, tree branches and among stones. So by standing up tall he can see better.

On a rare occasion a bear might start an attack on human after getting up on rear feet. But for the actual attack he will get back on all fours anyway.

It is an amazing experience to see a bear standing up on his rear feet: animal resemblance with humans is phenomenal. The head of this large mammal is usually raised over 6.5 feet above the ground at these moments.





Sometimes a bear stands up on his feet during fishing; this way he can better see fish in the water.




Originally posted by at Зачем медведь поднимается на задние лапы?

The first autumn frosts. Kamchatka dreams.

Originally posted by at Камчатские сны. Заморозок.

Hidden road in pine forest.

Good morning from Bryankiy Les Nature Reserve!

Originally posted by at Доброе утро из заповедника "Брянский лес"!

Autumn moods. Kamchatka dreams.

Originally posted by at Камчатские сны. Осеннее.

Are there any foxes in Bryansk Forest?

Very frequently I recieve this question in the comments, so I will answer in a separate post.

Of course there are foxes in Bryansk Forest. I see them almost every day. But I do not have any photos of them. They are very cautious, and no wonder, they were hunted for for many centuries in this part of the world. Bryanskiy Les nature reserve's area is too small to establish the population of foxes that would not be afraid of people, as they are in huge Kronotsky Nature reserve in Kamchatka. However I found this photo of local naive fox-cub. I took it in the beginning of May several years ago not far from his borrow that was less than a mile away from my village house.

Originally posted by at Есть ли в Брянском лесу лисы?

Alisa and a meadow mouse. Kamchatka dreams.

Translatior's note: Alisa is a fox that we know from the previous stories, such as this one and many more, that can be found under foxes label.

Originally posted at Камчатские сны. Алиса и полевка.

Our little herd of bisons is getting ready for winter!

Good morning from Bryanskiy Les nature reserve!

In the end of October three more bisons arrived from bison nursery in Prioksko-Terrasnyi nature reserve to to Bryankiy Les: Murkuaza, Muntanna and Munatep (see the full story at european-bison label). Our little herd of total 10 animals, 5 cows and 5 bulls, will soon be released to start a new population in a wild. But for now our bisons are adapting in a large enclosure. Some of the animals will be wearing satellite collars and the reserve scientists will be monitoring their position in real time.

This work on restoration of european bison population in Bryansk Forest is part of a larger project aimed at bringing these bisons back to the wild throughout all the forests of European part of Russia. Among approximately 200 bisons, that are living in the wild in national park Orlovskoe Polesye and in nature reserve Kaluzhskie Zaseki, there are many, that were born in a wild! And that is a great accomplishment!

Originally posted by at Доброе утро из заповедника "Брянский лес"!