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.