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.

The Spawn is On!

I've seen salmon choked streams all over this great state of Alaska and it never ceases to make me stop and reflect on the cycle of life. This is Illiuliuk Stream, or "Town Creek", and it runs right through town and empties into the Bering Sea right by work.

Busy, Busy, Busy . . .

Well, we are moved in and the phone, cable and utilities are all switched on. So many changes that I am still processing but Goldfish, Chico and I are very happy so far, even without much furniture (most of it is ordered and making its way slowly to Anchorage and then the island).

I attended a two week fire fighter recruit academy while we were packing and moving so tonight was the first night when I could pause and take a breath. I also had a birthday a couple days ago - Goldfish made an amazing peanut butter cake pictured above. Academy graduation also involved cake so needless to say my diet got a bit sidetracked . . . . .

Sorry for the absence but I'm back on-line and ready to get caught up with all my favorite blogs! Cheers and goodnight.

Home Sweet Home

Not much posting this week, when I haven't been working or attending Fire Volunteer Academy, I've been packing.  Goldfish and I are starting a new chapter out here on the island, we bought a house and are moving out of company housing into a place of our own.  It was a tough decision - as any regular reader of the blog knows, I have a great view from the living room in my company housing, and I have a 90 second walk to my desk at work in the morning.

Despite all that, we're pretty thrilled with our new digs - 2 bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths, a hobby/laundry room, a beautiful entry room, and open living/dining room and kitchen all combined.  The huge hot tub is just gravy . . . .

So, since my company housing comes furnished, any spare moments I've had have been devoted to looking at furniture on-line.  Heaven help me . . . . . . . 

A Quick Word About Poor Photos

I take bad photos on purpose . . . . usually, it's because the picture calls for something I just can't provide at the moment - a tripod, a better lens, different light, fresh batteries, a better camera, more time - but I still want to remember the moment anyways, so I snap the photo.  Here are a couple photos that are bad taken in the last week or so.

In the top two, Goldfish and I had just dropped my brother off at the airport and were leaving our place to go on a walk with Chico when an eagle landed in the water, capturing a salmon.  We saw this from our front doorstep.  I turned around and ran back in the house to grab my camera, knowing full well the batteries were pretty much dead but hoping there was a little juice left as I didn't have time to raid the Wii controllers for fresh batteries.  By the time I was back outside, the eagle had managed to fly/flop itself onto the riverbank with the fish and was getting ready to take off - I took the top photo and everything worked fine.  The last gasp from the batteries was the second photo where the autofocus has already given up the ghost and the rest of the camera died soon after.  It pains me deeply that an eagle flew right by me, 10 feet away, with an eagle in its talon, and I could do nothing but watch but I'm still glad I took the poor photo and I'll keep it because it reminds me that day, and how emotional it was to put my brother on the plane after a great visit, and the irony that perfect eagle pictures escaped right under my nose, just steps from my door.

The bottom photo is a night version of A View from the Living Room, and I knew it would be blurry because I wasn't using a tripod and I was having to expose the shot for over a second to get the effect I wanted - I knew I couldn't hold it that still that long but I still wanted to remember how that huge container ship looked in the fog.

Of course the best pictures are captured by the mind's eye when you don't even have a camera.  A favorite mind's eye picture for me was the day my sister and I were walking along the beach out here last year when puffins flew right by our faces, right at eye level, just a few feet away.  They had fish in their beaks and the sunlight flashed on the fish and the bright colors of the puffins and we were glad we didn't have time to consider taking a picture so we just watched, a magical sight that no camera could have ever captured.  

What is the most amazing sight you have seen in the last year that you didn't take a picture of - or took a picture you knew would turn out poorly just to remember the magic of what was happening?

Quick Post

I've been staying up way too late all week burning the candle at both ends but I wanted to post a quick picture of these two partners-in-crime I ran across on the pass road.  They were heading home after hiking Ugadaga Bay trail when they came upon me pulled to the side engaging in a guilty pleasure and admiring the view.   Good to see you CB and CD!  I'm sure they will be posting photos from the hike soon.  Okay, night all, I'm off to bed, Goldfish is covering the pre-bed Chico walk for me so I can get some extra shut-eye, the 4 or 5 hours a night is catching up to me, I'm trying for 7 tonight!  Cheers . . . .

Kicking Back, Watching The World Go By . . . . . .

M/V The World left Unalaska this afternoon and here are four very different looks of the departing vessel.  I like the one on top, it looks magical and surreal, and of course Steve's Rule of Photography #83 - any image is improved by including a passing bird!

M/V The World

I'm sure every island blogger will post pictures of the cruise ship in town today, The World.  You can learn more about the beautiful vessel here.  I have been fascinated by this floating residential community ever since it was launched in 2002 and made a big splash in the press so I was thrilled when I saw it was going to dock out here for a couple days.  I spoke with some of the people that live on The World today and they said the best thing about the experience was the other passengers and the sense of community.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today with a rainbow splashing up the walls of the valley enclosing Summers Bay.  A picture really doesn't do it justice.

Steve's Rule of Photography #37 - any scene is enhanced by including a passing boat!

A view of The World from the spit.  We went for an easy dog walk today as Chico has sprained his paw and is limping around.  We spoiled him with bison meat and rice for dinner and he is passed out on the couch in ecstasy.

You know, Cookie Dough's husband's vessel actually still looks pretty big, even parked next to the whole world . . . .

And my lesson to everyone today is that sometimes, no matter what fabulous things are happening, the very best view can be right from home - I took this photo this evening about 25 steps from my front door after the dog walk.

A Few More Pictures from the Goose

There are a few more pictures I took when we were circling the town that I thought might be interesting to my local friends.  Here you can see Strawberry Hill.

This shows a view of the work at the new small boat harbor.

Here is Strawberry Hill in the foreground and Bunker Hill in the background with Unisea in between.

A nice shot of the Safeway grocery store and the hotel.

A look up Summers Bay.

Little Priest Rock - I thought it was interesting there are WW II fortifications visible at the top of the frame - now I want to hike up there and check them out!

Another view of Little Priest Rock and Summers Bay.

It is humbling to contemplate what a tiny portion of the island is easily accessible - and exciting to dream up new ways to explore!  Some of us scheme of finding the perfect undiscovered berry batch, while some of us dream bigger and plan to trek the length of the island, each to their desires and abilities.  What a wonderful place we live!