Adak Memories December 30, 2008

Memories from our summer adventure in the Aleutian Islands have been drifting in and out of my mind the last couple of days, so I thought I would dedicate a post to them.

May 22nd 2008 Bernie and I departed from Portland Oregon on the Thomas G. Thompson research vessel. The size of this ship was impressive, and since it was my first time on open waters, I was happy to be on a substantial boat. We had a rough go the first couple of days out, unfortunately the weather was a little intense, and we were quite sea sick for a few days. Once we got our sea legs we emerged from our cabin and joined the rest of the crew, only to learn that a few of the well seasoned crew members even got sick, that made me feel a little bit better…..

After an eight day journey straight across the Pacific we landed on Adak, one of the many islands in the Aleutian chain. We picked up a crew of scientists, and headed out to the end of the Aleutian chain. We stopped at various islands along the way, most of the scientists were divers doing subtidal work. Bernie and I would walk the beaches looking for Sea Otter remains. We made it to the farthest point of the Aleutians and made our way back, stopping along the way. We had pretty wonderful weather along this journey out and back, a few days with swells here and there, but good weather in the Aleutian Islands is hard to come across some times. One day in particular was amazingly calm. The water was perfectly glassy, on the way back from a beach walk, the fog that had hung over the island all morning lifted, and I got some beautiful shots of the Thompson.

When we arrived back on Adak, Bernie and I were dropped off at our own personal retreat. Alright, retreat might not quite be the right word, but many aspects of it were spectacular. It was a small ‘cabin’ (more like shack), with a creek that did a big U turn right around it, and just a very short walk to our own private beach. We were out there doing Sea Otter research, and our main research site was about a 20min zodiac ride from our cabin. The landscape that surrounded us on our whole journey this summer was breathtaking! We really were blessed with our spot at the little cabin. Right behind the cabin the hills rose abruptly into twin mountains, to the other side rolling grassy hills spread out into a long peninsula, called Caribou peninsula. As you can guess, we had caribou around. They were introduced to Adak in the late 50’s early 60’s, for entertainment (hunting) and an emergency food source for the people stationed at the Navy base on the other side of Adak.

We lived in our little cabin located in the Bay of Islands for a bit over two months. With our zodiac we got to explore and do research on a handful of the islands nestled in our bay. Mount Moffet looked across the bay at us, when the clouds would lift long enough for us to see it. Many of our days there were cloudy, and a good percentage were rainy, but when the sun would break through we had wonderful vistas in all directions.

Every 10 to 14 days we would take our zodiac across the bay and hike over a pass to the other side of the island to take showers, wash clothes and relax for a day or two. After our time in the little cabin at Unalga Bight, we moved to the ‘base’ side of the island. We lived in the USFWS bunk house, and did research in a large lagoon. This area of the island is truly surreal. There is a full blown town that was built for the roughly 6,000 people stationed at this base. Houses, warehouses, shops, McDonalds, a bowling alley, and WAY more. In the mid 90’s the navy packed up and gave the place to the native Aleuts. Now there is a full time population around 100 to 200 people, with seasonal contractors and biologists that come throughout the summer. It really looks like a post apocalyptic scene, all these abandoned buildings everywhere. The energy of that place is very strange.

Toward the end of our stay, to add a little excitement a volcano 50 miles away decided to cascade itself out of dormancy, and erupt rather enthusiastically. The two biologists that had been working on it were rescued off Kasatochi just about 1 hour before it went off. It was amazing to me to be 50 miles away, I truly can not imagine being on it that close to its eruption. We got to spend some time with these two men, and hear their stories.

When we were done on Adak we traveled by boat the rest of the Aleutian Chain back to Homer Alaska. On the way we went right by Kasatochi to see what it looked like. It threw out so much ash that it extended the shoreline 100 meters and more in places, the whole island was covered in ash, along with some near by islands. The winds carried the ash away from Adak, so we were never hit by it except a minute dusting. It released so much sulfur that the cloud drifted out across the US and even made it to Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

Our entire summer was an amazing experience. It had its ups and downs along the way, but that’s what keeps it so interesting. I got to see some amazing scenery, and beautiful animals! So there is an extremely shortened account of our summer, I am leaving out so many wonderful details, perhaps I will elaborate more in future posts.

To see some more photo’s of our adventure, you can visit Bernie’s blog, he has a whole series of posts on our summer:

To see other peoples experiences visit:

Reflecting On The Holiday Market December 29, 2008

 

 

 

Well, its only been one week since the end of the craft show, but in certain ways it seems like a month. I never did share my total experience over the four weekends at the show, so I thought I would post a few pictures that Bernie took on the last day.

I love this craft show, because we are set up for a month, we become a little community. Everyone bonds with different people, forging new friendships. Some of the people you will never see again, or at least not until next year at the same show, and others you will become close friends with. Last year I was lucky enough to meet Christie, and I did get to know her a little bit through a couple of shows last year, but we didn’t have the chance to be super close. I had the insight to keep in touch with her over the summer, sending her updates of our adventure in the Aleutian islands. This fall and winter I have become close with her and her daughter Jessica. They are a very sweet family, and I am happy I got the chance to meet them through these shows.

This year I was across the isle from Christie, so I got to visit with them the whole time. And then I got to know the lady across another isle from me, Connie. Her husband and her make wooden puzzle books. She was another very enjoyable person to get to talk with. We had some nice in depth spiritual conversations about health. She was diagnosed with MS 20 years ago, and has made some key changes in her life. She is doing well, and she is looking for other ways to improve her point of view in life. So I suggested a couple of books that have helped for me.

I have a wonderful time being around like minded people. And its great to see how all these people are expressing their souls through their creativity.

Merry Christmas! December 25, 2008

 

We Have had a most beautiful Christmas! We got a good bit more snow over night, so we are having a wonderful white Christmas! Its been an extremely relaxed day of opening presents, eating brunch, and going outside.

Bernie and I went out to do a bit of sledding. This is the new sled that we got as a present. We don’t have the biggest hill in the world, but its still pretty fun. We have a pretty good track going on it now, so the sled flies down at a decent speed.  

 

I spent some time doing scenery shots when the sun came out, and Bernie headed over to the pond area with his camera to get some birds in the snow. I love this shot of our big Fir tree’s shadow stretching out accross the field in front of me. We have had feeders up since it started snowing, and we have quite the flock of birds coming to visit us and eat. The list of birds grows on a daily basis. Today the most exciting ones for me were the slate colored junco, fox sparrow, Oregon junco with no tail, mourning dove, and towhee. I love to sit by the window and watch them. Bernie will probably be posting some of his photos from today over the next couple of days, if you want to see what he has been up to visit:  

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday, and enjoying each beautiful moment! For those of you with snow, I hope you are unleashing your inner child and spending some time out playing in it! For those of you who didn’t happen to have snow this year, I hope you are enjoying your inner child in other grand ways! Merry Christmas!

For other peoples view of the sky visit:

Sledding Adventures December 22, 2008

 

This picture is from the other evening when we went sledding down the back hill. This has been my world lately, and we have only gotten more snow. Who knows, this afternoon might call for a sledding trip. Can’t deny the inner child you know…..

A Snow Angel December 21, 2008

 

A couple of evenings ago Bernie and I went out for another snowy frolic in the back field. We tackled a different hill this time, and took turns being pulled down the hill (it wasn’t quite as speedy as we thought it would be on its own, so we implemented the pulling system). Angel joined us on the journey, and enjoyed chasing us down the hill.

After a bit mom wandered out to the field and she tried out the sledding thing. She quite liked it, and did it a few times. And then eventually dad even showed up, he just couldn’t resist. He was sliding down the hill head first. We all had an enjoyable time out in the snow, experiencing the joys of sledding again after many years.

So this is my version of a snow Angel. Much easier than getting snow down the collar of your coat! hehe. As I write this the snow is coming down amazingly thick, and the wind is howling. I just got a weather update from dad who has been watching the news, and I guess they are saying we are getting hurricane force winds here, oh fun. I best finish this up before the power goes out……

Tomorrow is the last day of the craft show, and I was hoping this winter storm would hold off until Monday or Tuesday, but here we are, and it is what it is. Hope I can make it in tomorrow! I hope everyone is warm and cozy where ever they might be tonight!

For more fun critter photo’s visit:

Enjoying Another Sunset December 18, 2008

 

This picture was taken the other day on the way home from an outing. It was pretty chilly, but the sunset was quite enjoyable.

To enjoy more views of the sky visit:

Fluffy White Snow December 17, 2008

 

This morning we awoke to snow falling. It made a good effort to come down all day long, and finally slowed down this afternoon just as the high winds started up once again. Today’s snow is much more beautiful than the other day, but now I wonder if it will all be blown off. We ended up getting around 4 inches of snow, maybe a bit more. Unfortunatly I didn’t get any good pictures of our place today, they just all look dark and dismal. But I did get this one of the birds trying to get some food in their little tummies. I feel bad for them out there having to make their living in this weather. We have a small pond in the yard, I tried to get a picture, but you really cant tell that there is supposed to be a pond under all that snow. We keep a stock tank heater in one end, that keeps a hole open for the fish that live in there, and the birds have access to water. So it works out really well, its nice to see them be able to get a drink in between snacks.

I went out to let the chickens out late this morning, and usually when I open the door they all rush out no matter what the weather is, but today they took one look at that snow and gave me a look of ‘do we look crazy?’. So the chickens spent the day inside.

Just before dark Bernie came out and played in the snow with me! We went sledding down one of the hills in our back pasture. I haven’t gone sledding in such a long time, and I thought it sounded fun. Unfortunately its rather dry snow (strange for here!) and we weren’t sliding all that well, but we still had fun! We don’t get tons of snow here usually, so I figured I better go play in it while I have the chance.

I really thought I was going to get all kinds of crafts done today, but it just didn’t happen. I am having a bit of a relaps into my cold, so I just felt like sitting on the couch and complaining (until I went out and frolicked in the snow). Maybe I will get something accomplished this evening while we watch TV. I am really wondering if I am going to be able to make it into the craft show on Friday to sell the crafts…. we have a long driveway, and the drifts make it hard to get out sometimes. So we will see what the rest of the week brings! I did get some of our gifts shipped off, so that is a good feeling.

If nothing else, this kind of weather is really good for spending time just relaxing and reflecting. Maybe I will do a little more of that this evening, reflecting on what I would like to accomplish this week, month, next year, in this life, so on and so forth.

I am off to eat some dinner and warm up in front of the woodstove!

The Art of Package Wrapping December 14, 2008

 

Tonights project was wrapping presents. Moms friend Stephanie came over with her gifts for family members, and we wrapped them. Mom and I love wrapping, and she has taught me how to be extremely artistic with the process. She does a BEAUTIFUL job, and I am slowly learning. Its so much fun to make the outside of the package as much of a present as what is hidden within.

This weekend kept me busy with the craft show. Last night it decided to snow here. I really do enjoy snow when it is fluffy, no wind, and you don’t have anywhere to go. But last night we had high winds, so the snow didn’t really stay in one place too well, and then I had to drive into the show this morning. It really was not a pretty snowy day. It also really cut down on the traffic at the show, which makes it a little frustrating, its not really worth the vendors time to be there if no one is shopping. But I have started doing some trading with the other vendors for some of my presents, I hope to do some more next weekend, because I still have a decent amount of things I want to get.

I have also been playing around with my needle felting. I created this cute little guy the other day, and I really like how he turned out (its hard to see in this picture, but he has a dark green top hat). I am sending him off as a present, and hope to make another one or two to send to other people. I really cant believe how fast Christmas is coming this year, it seems like it should still be October or something…… But I do have to say that I am starting to really get into the Christmas spirit, even if I do feel behind on gift shopping. I am proud to say I am buying a lot of local gifts this year. I still will be visiting some of those dreaded mega stores and the mall for a couple of gifts that local people just aren’t making yet, but a good portion of the gifts I have gotten so far are from other local artisans.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season so far. The whole process should be one of joy, and never dread. If you are anxious about any part of the holidays you aren’t doing it right. Slow down, relax, spend some time loving yourself and your family, and make it all one joyous process!

Have You Met a Chinchilla? December 10, 2008

 

This adorable little girl is one of our baby chinchillas. I haven’t been feeling the best lately (trying to dissolve a cold) so I brought her in and let her run around my bed for a little bit. It made me feel much better watching her antics. They are such cute little creatures. I don’t spend enough time playing around with them, so when I do sit down and take the time, it always puts a smile on my face. I had to put her back after a little while though, because she had much more energy than I did, and I couldn’t keep up with her explorations.

If you have never had the chance to get to know a chinchilla, I highly recommend it. They make very fascinating pets! They are curious little creatures that can develop a nice bond with you. Our chinchillas live out in the barn, at one point we had a couple of them indoors, but my dad is quite allergic to them unfortunately (mostly allergic to the dust they take baths in to keep their fur clean). This little girl is so cute though, I am tempted to make her an inside pet, maybe she can take dust baths outside…..

Any Ideas? December 8, 2008

Its been much too long since I did a chicken entry. I love our little banty chickens, they provide me endless entertainment when I go out to talk with them. Over all we have a very friendly flock. I cant say any of them are overly enthused about being picked up, but I snatch them up every now and then, I just cant help it, they are so cute they need to be cuddled and pet. I went out the other day and took pictures of them, unfortunately they were not being good subjects, so most of the pictures were dumped. The only ones that were somewhat cooperative were the cochins. This picture is of my beloved little white rooster, he is my favorite out of the flock, and that is quite a feat, because I think they are all the cutest things on two legs (well we do have a couple that are a little homely, but we wont tell them that).

This little guy is just the sweetest rooster you ever will see. He has such a zen attitude. He follows you around when you are out in the chicken yard, he makes these soft little sounds as he goes about his business, talking to who ever will listen. He will crow once in a while, but not nearly as often as all our other roosters. I love to sit down and talk to him, and the gold laced cochin girls that we have. They are quite friendly themselves. They want to come up close to me and visit, and then they look all surprised when I scoop them up off the ground. I don’t think it’s the goal they were aiming for, I think they were going more for the feeding option.

I will have to go out on another sunny day and try to get more of these guys to cooperate. There is quite the rainbow of chickens out in the yard, I love all the different kinds. While my mom would like to keep all the off spring produced around the chicken yard purebreds (which never happens, because they never get separated out into breeding groups) I love to see the genetics project that goes on out there each year. You never know what those chicks are going to grow up to look like. We have gotten some really unique looking chickens out of the mix. Muffin, one of my other favorites out there is a cross that was raised here on the farm, I will have to get a picture of her, because I think she is too cute also.

So I would love to name this little guy instead of calling him my white rooster, unfortunately I just haven’t gotten around to being creative. I like looking for really unique names, if any of you can think of something different, but beautiful/creative let me know. I will let you all know if something strikes me as matching his personality!