The salmon berries are fading but the blueberries are coming on strong! Goldfish's Mom has been a regular in the berry patches this past week and is hauling her hard earned booty back to the mainland tomorrow, all vacuum packed and frozen. It was great having her visit and we hope she comes back soon!
The evening of the closing ceremonies I pedaled my mountain bike over the pass, 14.6 miles from doorstep to doorstep with a big hill in between. The most bizarre transformation occurred over the course of all that television watching - towards the end I found myself grabbing a pair of binoculars and watching a pair of sea otters playing in the East Channel in front of the house (while a commercial was on, of course!). What I realized is that the world seen through the television had become my new reality, and what was happening in my own front yard had become something distant and foreign. Biking the pass kicked my butt (and involved a fair amount of pushing the bike on the steeper sections), but it was my way of reconnecting to the island.
Some of you might remember my sister took a photo of an eagle posed similarly when she was visiting last month. I just wanted you all to know I too was capable of capturing "poetry in motion" . . .
I'm starting to see a few more vehicles on the side of the road, drivers off in the bushes loading up on nature's bounty. This island is truly a berry picker's paradise - Goldfish came home from walking Chico last night with this haul and tonight we're both meeting up after work to pick to start loading up the freezer. I eat local berries 3 or 4 times a week, year round, and the best benefit is the gathering!
When you reach a certain age - and those of you of that "certain age" know what I'm talking about - you can look ahead and make predictions on where your working life is going to lead. You've had enough jobs to know what you're good at and enjoy doing, and you may even be in that job you can see yourself doing until retirement. The fun part is to look back on your earlier years and marvel at how you ever ended up where you are today.
I missed half the opening ceremonies because I took a motorcycle ride out to Morris Cove and walked on the beach. Tonight, I missed the first hour of coverage because I was in the spare bedroom installing bike computers on our bikes, but gradually I'm starting to get sucked in and have a feeling I'll be parked in front of the dreaded boob tube more than my usual couple hours a week, at least for the next couple weeks.
I took this photo when my sister was visiting and I am posting it mostly to tease her - we were walking home along the beach frontage road after taking oodles of pictures of eagles and her camera batteries were all completely dead. The lighting behind the Russian Orthodox Church was getting really interesting and I took a couple shots and poked fun at her for not being prepared . . . . it was wonderful having her out for a visit - so Sis, how did your church photos come out? Ohhhhhh, that's right, ead batteries . . . . :o)
The sun and fog were combining to create surreal landscapes all over the island when I got off work today so I headed out to explore. I had a tough time picking a photo out to post but felt drawn to this one - sometimes you just have to be there to experience things in person. I know I live in an amazing place but I've traveled all over the United States extensively and feel anyone can walk out their door and see something amazing. Life happens outside . . . . .
I rode out past Humpy Cove tonight after work and this youngster was sitting on the little bridge across the creek. He's keep one eye on me and every once in awhile he'd check the creek below for new arrivals, fresh from the ocean on the last high tide. The salmonberries are just starting to ripen - should be good picking when Goldfish's Mom comes out in two weeks!
Goldfish and I went to dinner at a coworker's house tonight; fish tacos, beans and rice, mango and banana crepes and good conversation made for a relaxing evening. Now I'm poised at the emotional summit, distantly aware of the enormous amount I need to get done in the next 24 hours but not ready to commit to the task just yet. In this state of mental neutrality I thought I'd throw up some tidbits of Alaska Steve trivia for general consumption . . . . .
Ulatka Head is the portion of Ballyhoo farthest from the airport. These were taken when my sister was here - in the top photo she is on the top of a bunker looking down the cliff and then Chico and I are completely upstaging her in the bottom photo. This bunker is maybe 300 meters from the bunker in the photos from my last post. Saturday night Goldfish and I walked Chico at this same spot under completely different weather conditions, looking for a reported beached whale on the rocks below Ulatka Head; we could barely make out the anything as the whole area was in the clouds.
After a really busy month of July I declared a productivity holiday this evening and stayed in, reading and napping. I've got a million projects and the end of month reporting looms on the horizon but tonight was pure self-indulgence. Bro, great to talk to you at lunch!
