As we update our blog here at the end of August, surrounded by the most beautiful little yellow, black and red catepillars that seem to have taken over the low lying vegetation, and enjoying the damp Southeast weather, our thoughts wander back to Rowland Shelly and his graduate assistant who stayed with us several weeks ago.  Rowland is one of the foremost academic experts on Milipedes.  Hailing from the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences where he serves as Curator of Terrestrial Invertebrates, Rowland came to Alaska looking for new discoveries, including hopes of finding the “missing link” of millipedes, the Asian connection.  That would be proof of the creepy crawly things making their way across the Bering land bridge, following in the footsteps of our Alaskan natives.  OK, so perhaps we overstate the scope of the research, but you too would be swept up in Millipede madness if you spent some time with Rowland.  Unfortunately, the visit corresponded with one of the driest stretches of the summer.  We do get graced on not so rare occasions with seemingly endless days of sunshine.  And while there’s a temptation to view that as lucky, Roland’s trip reminded us of how crucial the rain is to the nature that we emerse ourselves in every day.  The millipedes were digging deep for wet, and thus harder to find.  And for the rest of us, the creeks were trickling and warming up, which makes the fish a bit more lethargic.  And finally, the sun promotes a rapid bloom on the saltwater, that can sap Oxygen and make the fish a bit less active for the angler.  Now you know why we love the rain in Southeast Alaska.  Fortunately, mother nature is so strong here, almost untouched by human development, that our fun perseveres in every kind of weather.  So Rowland – we’ll keep digging and call you when we find the Asian looking multi-legs.