Odds and Ends and Apologies to DC

As you have probably heard, winter has come to the island in a big way this past week and I think it is here to stay for awhile. Wave after wave of winter has flowed across the island; at my place halfway up the valley you can be sitting in sunshine,watching a wall of darkness moving up the valley, the wind picking up and tearing the powder from the snowy peaks as it advances, stray snowflakes announcing the arrival of the next wave, building to a crescendo of near white-out conditions and fading back to sunlight, the next wave already visible behind Ballyhoo, the metronome of winter continuing for days, alternating bands of dark and light - zebra weather . . . . .

I've been on call this week so I haven't strayed too far from home and work, work and home, putting off those chores requiring crawling under the house or getting covered in sawdust for just a bit longer, semi-enjoying the looming deadline of the approaching vacation and the enormous list of items to be completed before departing the island, knowing I'll get it all done in a manic multi-day burst . . . . ahhhh, stress, the true opiate of the masses . . . .

King crab season is just ending out here; Goldfish just came back from work, another crab delivery paperwork completed and just a small handful of deliveries left. It looks like things might wind up j u s t in time for us to step on a plane - I'm pretty dispensable but they can't accept a crab delivery without the gals that do the fish tickets, print out the checks and record the landings to the authorities, all three of whom are leaving at more or less the same time. We bought our plane tickets back in March, trying to calculate when crab season would be over, looking at historical averages and trying to get our vacation time used up before the end of the year . . . all that planning and now it comes down to a matter of hours for it all to work out.

I turned down an on-camera appearance with Deadliest Catch yesterday for a couple of really good reasons but felt terrible for poor Ben who was under the gun to set up the scene at the Trident dock to coincide with the Northwestern making a delivery. I could have filled the role he was looking for - it has to do with a strange fish coming up in one of the Northwestern's pots, and the crew thinking it was a new species. I promised him I would find him somebody else within 15 minutes that had the expertise he was looking for but he forlornly headed to dock, muttering about maybe having to re-write the scene at the last minute and lamenting that no one on this island wants to deal with Deadliest Catch.

Ben, I'm sorry . . . I really did locate someone for you as promised but you left too soon. You have to understand that for a seafood processing company, there is really no "up side" to talking to you guys - most have a standing policy expressly prohibiting it. I've worked on the water, I have a tremendous respect for what all our fishermen do, and any fishing vessel, DC or otherwise, gets my full attention in solving their problem when they come see us. But look at it from our perspective, DC guys are just guys, you can't throw a rock out here without hitting a boat crewman or captain, and if we wanted to be on TV we probably wouldn't be living year round on a rock in the Bering Sea, right?

Setting Up for Success

Whenever you are endeavoring to accomplish something difficult for the first time, and for perhaps many times after that until the act is committed to muscle memory, there is always the idea of "setting yourself up for success" - the idea that there are things you can do in life ahead of time to ensure a better result further down the road.

It is also a good idea to learn from ones experiences; the first time the wind blew over 100 mph out here and threw my bike on it's side, cracking the fairing, it caught me by surprise - now you can see I take precautions! It is still quite warm for the middle of November, the snow from last week is all gone and the temperatures have been very mild. I can't quite bring myself to concede the end of the fall but this weekend I guess I should do the end-of-season service and make a spot to store it in the shed until Spring.

My mind is racing and full but I can't think of a thing to write - I don't even like what I've written so far . . . . time for a warm shower and hopefully bed if the EMS runs slow down a bit . . . . .

Another Try at the Pass

I got turned back last week just shy of the pass in the Ford but we've been having some really warm weather lately and I thought I'd give it a try on two wheels from the Summers Bay side - I made it to the last switchback before the snow got serious on a ride home from work yesterday. Maybe the pass really is closed for the year?? It will 5 months or so before Roger breaks through in the spring with a loader; looks like it's snowshoes from here on out!

Only a couple weeks until we leave on vacation - can't wait to see the boys, the grandkids, and all the other family! King crab season is getting close to winding down and we are starting to send crew home for a break between seasons. Cheers everyone, I'm off to bed!

F/V Fierce Allegiance

Fierce Allegiance made another delivery today at work and it was a beautiful day for wandering the dock and taking photos. The snow was melting, there was no wind, and the Bering Sea was pretty flat - what a change from the last week!

Museum of the Aleutians Auction

A very rare photo of the elusive Pipa filming the auction action for Channel 8. In the background is just a small sample of the items offered this year. The little black dress on the right ended up going to our Mayor Shirley!

Well, it wouldn't be an ALASKAN auction without a big case of shotgun shells on the block! Just out of frame on the right is fellow blogger CB taking a photo.

Our little table of 6 people had paddle fever and have some amazing items to show for it, and all for a great cause! I think we all set a new record for the auction due to the generosity of all the folks that donated and then came out to bid. Thanks to all the businesses and individuals that made this event such a success, it truly demonstrates what gives Unalaska such a special sense of place . . . . .

Sooo Close & View from the Living Room

The pass is just 50 yards right around the corner but the beast was starting to fish-tail a bit and there really isn't much room for error up there so I turned around and headed back to the ranch. You can't really tell but the snow gets quite a bit deeper just beyond where I turned around. I think unless things change dramatically I'm going to consider the pass closed for the season - if the big Ford is sliding around in 4WD and granny low then it really isn't safe for anything besides Roger in a grader . . . . of course I could still give it a try on the motorcycle!

Not the best place to turn around but it beat backing down in a whiteout with a 600 foot drop on one side and no guard rail . . . .

View from the living room - the interesting part is this was taken today at lunch, and the pass photos were taken just 5 hours later. Never a dull moment with Unalaska weather!

As usual, I can't decide what view of the eagle I like best. You can see from the photo above that even though the sun was shining the wind was still gusting pretty good. Last night was a pretty good blow and tonight is shaping up to be more of the same - it really drives home how well this place was built when the wind is howling outside and we are warm and cozy. I love being under a pile of blankets listening to a really good storm raging outside.

About 56% of the red king TAC (total allowable catch) has been delivered from the 70 boats participating in the fishery this season. Our dock has been busy as many boats chose to come in and make a delivery and let their pots soak instead of riding the storm out on the Bering where waves approaching 30 feet have been reported. I've been watching the deliveries closely and we just got some amazing bairdi last night worthy of being this year's Christmas crab - just have to get some to the airport and on the way to Idaho and Maine!

This is a really tough time of year to take photos - it is dark when I go to work and almost dark when I get out. It was great to video chat with Sis tonight - ain't technology grand? Cheers everyone!

Happy Halloween!

I just want to set the record straight - yes, there was a chicken outfit involved, and a monkey suit as well (isn't Goldfish the cutest monkey ever?). Yes, we did get to meet Joe's twin, and yes there were some vampires and a robot in attendance. There was even an afro and a smoke machine, but most of all there were 30-something really good friends who came out and drove to the edge of town to help us celebrate Halloween - thanks for coming everyone! Love you guys - now what are we supposed to do with all this food? ? ?

What Happened to October?

You can see the snow has made it just about down to my place; the sun was shining today and the snow covered mountains were at their best. Red king season is in full swing and just five days until Halloween!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

This guy is 46 and has been spending his spare time lately taking naps with his dog.

This guy is 69 and spends his spare time chopping holes in the ice so he can swim. (Photo Credit Vasily Fedosenko, Reuters.)

Yes, I've been feeling a bit lazy lately in the odd bits of spare time I can carve out. I feel like I'm poised at the top of a roller coaster run, just starting to gain speed, enjoying the anticipation of all that will follow while still reveling in the calm. I haven't quite figured out when to take photos yet as I shuffle the puzzle pieces of life's changes, trying to make them fit together again. My cup is full of life's experiences but I can't remember how to pour it on the page so I selfishly admire the reflection within and quietly smile. . . . .gotta go walk the dog . . .

Fall Cleanup

Yesterday they were power washing the moss off the church, a sight interesting enough to make me grab my camera and come back after work to watch. The moss grows so well because eagles love to perch on the cross and fertilize the surrounding area. No wonder Goldfish likes ravens better . . . . .

500th Post!

Well, it took me two and a half years, but this is the 500th post on Sense of Place. When I moved out here, there was no one blogging on the island, now there is a whole little local blogging community and I have made some dear friends all over the world. I had a blog before I moved to Unalaska but of course the unique location and exposure through some television show (does anyone who lives out here watch it?) draws lots of interest to all the local blogs - the last time I checked, maybe four months ago, I was getting around 2500 unique visitors totaling over 10,000 visits a month - I just hope that one of those visitors is my Dad, reading while he eats his cereal in the morning, still the primary reason I maintain a blog.

I've been super busy the last few weeks, turning an empty house into a home - unpacking, ordering and assembling furniture, hanging artwork, little maintenance projects, settling into a new routine. Goldfish and I are very happy with our new abode; there are some adjustments like the grueling 2.5 mile commute, quite a ways compared to when I slept just a couple buildings over from my office, but not bad I guess by most standards. Chico is settling in nicely - you can see him in the top photo, clearly utterly miserable in his 56 inch orthopedic dog sofa - he had a sofa before we did! We love being able to just walk him out the driveway a ways then let him off the leash and let him run and can't wait for snowshoeing season!

So life is good, the crab boys are all in town and most are very rested compared to seasons past because very few fished for cod prior to the beginning of crab season as the price is down. I'm going to try be be more regular at posting between ambulance runs, a college class on Wednesday evenings, fire/EMS training on Thursday evenings, yard work, getting some wood laid in for the winter, dog walks, working out, Book Club, hikes, work - work - work . . . you get the idea. Hope everyone is having a fabulous October! Cheers and good night . . . .

Odds and Ends . . . .

I was sorting through pictures, filing away old ones, when I realized that although I posted a lot of pictures on my password protected family blog from my brother's visit, I only posted a few fishing photos and our flight in the Goose on Sense of Place. For anyone that wants to try out blogging but doesn't want to share too much with strangers, I recommend a password protected, invitation only blog. I set one up for all my family to contribute to and it works great - it's a place to let your hair down and relax.

Here is an eagle spreading its wings to dry on top of the balls by the airport. No wonder they are a protected species, the electronics are probably making him sterile . . . .

Bro and I did some cave exploring . . .

. . . and some shooting . . . .

. . . the processor wreck on the side of Ballyhoo is an interesting stop . . .

. . . we made two trips to Seafood Buffets, and one Sunday Brunch (comped by a very classy and dear friend), throwing my diet completely out of whack . . . .

. . . a little Tiger Woods wii golf . . .

and a few hikes rounded out his trip! It was wonderful to have him visit - I hope he felt the days of travel required to get here and back to Maine was worth the trouble!

Night Off at Morris Cove

The weather was too nice to stay at home Friday night so we loaded up the dog and the grill and went out to Morris Cove for some family time by the water, the perfect way to recharge after a along week!

The Old and the New

I love this view - on the far left at the base of the mountain, the place I live now; the glint of blue halfway up the mountain above the house is one of the alpine lakes we like to visit; on the right in the distance you can see work and where I used to live, bracketed by Haystack Hill and the East Channel. In the foreground, of course, Chico and Goldfish, walking in the sunshine and admiring the fall colors. A collection of images, a collage of all the things precious to me on Unalaska, representing my life on the island . . . .

The Boys are Back in Town

F/V Early Dawn is in the process of making a brown king delivery this evening, they should be wrapping up around midnight making a late night for Goldfish to file the landing paperwork. It's always fun to go down to the crab chute and watch the unload, especially the first of a new season.

I'm off to bed, cheers everyone!

First Snow

Yes, snow . . . those of us up early saw a mixture of rain and snow this morning, and there is clearly "termination dust" on the tops of some of the higher mountains. It was chilly enough I briefly considered wearing gloves when I rode the Kawasaki to work. Good timing, I picked up a beater truck today for that brutal 2.5 mile commute in the morning, a '79 Ford, the last of the good ones (sorry Troy). Looks rough but runs great and it gives me an option when two wheels doesn't seem inviting and it definitely has "go anywhere" capability. Chico is very excited that we are putting the rear seats back into the Honda Element, turning it back into a people car, and not just a glorified dog taxi - he is pickup truck dog at heart, to be sure. Gotta get to bed, the first wave of furniture for the house is hitting the island tomorrow and I need my rest . . .

Overcoming Obstacles

I was lighting a fire in the wood stove a couple nights ago and it was burning briskly (no shortage of tinder in a freshly unpacked house). I was just shutting the door to the stove when small bird shot through the flames and landed on my chest, clenching my sweatshirt and calming surveying the room. We've all seen panicked birds, trapped in places they don't want to be, crashing into windows, but this bird was different. After resting a bit on my chest, the bird flew around a bit, exploring. The picture I wished I would have gotten was when it landed on the kitchen counter next to a stack of books - all the books for the coming Book Club meetings - and looked for all the world like it was reading the titles. I was too busy running around, looking for something to catch it while keeping one eye on it, to think to snap the photo. Without a better plan, and given the very calm behavior of the bird, I just reached out my hand and picked it up. It didn't even struggle, it just looked at me while I took a couple pictures, then flew away when I opened the door, stood on the deck, and opened my hand.

I've thought about this bird since then, and how it obviously came down the chimney somehow, and faced with a fire elected to fly through the flames and into the room instead of away from the heat, back up the chimney. I can't help but feel there was a bit of a lesson there for me, maybe for all of us. When things got tough, the bird didn't panic. It embraced the experience, and it learned from it. Most importantly, it accepted a helping hand . . . .

The Hunt Continues . . . .

I've been scouting for berries with not much luck but I did catch the Goose landing over the Stimson tonight so it was time well spent. The berry situation is dire and I am heading to some other possible spots this week but have sort of reconciled myself to the idea there will not be the usual 10 gallons of berries in the freezer this winter!

On the home front we are just a few days away from being completely unpacked and there may actually be some furniture here before the end of the month. More tomorrow, have to walk Chico!

A Different View

When I blogged from the company apartment it was always a trademark of mine that I would throw in a "View From the Living Room" post once in awhile, usually of something interesting happening in the East Channel.

You can see Chico and I have very different views now and I'm looking forward to watching the seasons change and exploring the surrounding mountainous terrain. I still stay connected to the ocean, even though we can no longer see it from the house; I work all day by the water of course but I also make a special effort to walk and ride near it when I can.

End of Season BBQ

The weather didn't cooperate but we still had a great BBQ to celebrate the end of the "B" pollock season. Two 80 pound pigs were roasted with care on a spit for hours, basted with a secret sauce and quickly devoured, nothing left but a snout (which someone no doubt made soup with later). There were mounds of crab legs (of course), steaks, burgers, and hotdogs for the kids with cake and pie for dessert. It was nice to see the night and day shifts together for a change - now lets hope for some nicer weather so we can fly some of the crew home for a break.

After work today I took Chico for a walk on the beach at Humpy Cove. The salmon that were jumping in the cove when my brother was here are now clogging the creek and spawning with many spawned out carcasses littering the beach. I ate handfuls of salmonberries as we walked in and Chico ran with unfettered abandon, glad to be out of the car after an unaccustomed ride (we have been just walking him in the "backyard" since we moved to the house).

The wind was howling and the Bering Sea was angrily pounding the shoreline. I kept one eye on the huge breakers and one eye on Chico as he has a nasty habit of sneaking a bite or two of dead salmon, the more ripe the better. Like a diabetic grabbing a guilty bite of a donut, Chico will glance over to see if I'm looking and nip a quick bite - a practice he will continue long into winter when the fish are more leather than fillet. If it didn't inevitably upset his delicate digestion, then frankly I would let him eat his fill - I wouldn't want him to make me stop eating cheese, after all . . . . live and let live until it comes to dog vomit on the carpet, that's my policy.