You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch...

Christmas came early for my cabin this year and instead of a jolly fellow, this little beast showed up.
It all started with a long overdue snowfall that brought a few good inches of winter my way. I wanted to run the snow machine, as I hadn't been able to for a few weeks now. This truly does seem to be the most tame winter so far… given the fact it just began yesterday. Well, I was right behind my cabin on a hill, when this waddling creature made his way right in front of me. Mostly covered in snow at the moment and headed away from me, I really wasn't sure what to make of it at first and whether or not to run or chase had my mind pin balling the ideas while still trying to figure out what it was. Well it didn't take that long before I realized it wasn't a wolverine or a beaver but instead it was just a large, the largest I've ever seen, porcupine.
I wanted quills but not bad enough to crawl under the cabin and do what all the dogs and foxes and other curious animals do, get poked. I left him alone after a few pictures and he wandered off to do what porcupines do.

My fox friends are here, a big one and small one. I believe they know each other well enough to be courteous but not enough to share. One day, I was looking after the only one around at the time, the larger one when in suddenly took off. A few minutes later it returned with the small one and they both have taken turns guarding my front door ever since. I can't hardly go outside without one of them there, and if no one is on guard, I try to walk quietly to get water or to the freezer without having the hungry mouths come begging. I enjoy their company, watching them bicker and play around and how alert they are to the things I couldn't even begin to imagine hearing. I think that if a mouse sneezed across the river, they would stare for an hour trying to determine where their hunt would later take place.  Speaking of doomed mice, I am a trophy hunter for them now, with numbers climbing towards thirty. Another successful night of trapping had a nice, well fed mouse laying appropriately still on the little black plastic death pad that I call a great invention. Whether feeding the fox, a crow or magpie, a trout or whatever gets to the mice after I'm done doing the deed, I'm just very satisfied to have them out of the cabin and able to sleep quietly through the night.

I've made it past the shortest day of the year, the darkest but certainly not coldest. Yesterday it was in the low forty's and rather wet with rain and scattered sleet showers. The snow that was here, albeit not enough to bury my foot in, is now not enough to make a snowball. Christmas is in a few days and it was a nice treat to fatten myself up a little with some holiday cooking. I made cookies, just over four dozen for the month of december and within a week they were gone. The first few days I kept saying I'll freeze the rest as I nabbed one here and there, snacking away without a care. The last few days of my reckless, lack of self control gluttony were without a doubt the best. The cookies had a chance to absorb some moisture and become that prime, highly sought after, perfect cookie. There isn't any looking back and I'm not ashamed to have eaten all that butter and flour, because I just made another holiday snack and this time I went big.
Apple pie. Apple half pies. Although the pie wasn't anything to get excited about, it is safe to say I have a clean pie dish waiting for another baking inspiration to occur.

And finally another baking day happened with some delicious bread. I had wanted to make stuffing for thanksgiving but didn't have bread and decided not to hassle with it. After making this with the intention of stuffing, I ate a piece and then another and finally a third. I don't know which will happen, either stuffing or just eating sliced, buttered and salted, warm bread. Feeling guilty about all this indulgence won't really happen, but I do need to consider pacing myself. As you can see in the photos, these friends of mine are all to eager for sampling and they are not one to complain about anything that comes their way. Taking the pictures needed to be faster than their ability to dine and dash. Let the record state: They are quick.

Barely an example of not sharing well, the open mouths, one in the top left corner


Merry Christmas to everyone from the not so frozen and not so alone north -

Thanksgiving III

An even zero this morning at eleven a.m. and a high of eight by afternoon. The sunset last night was a pleasant sight for my dreary, white-washed sore eyes. Its been thick fog, low ceilings and cold all week, with the first good sign of a break this morning for Thanksgiving. The third year up here for turkey and pie is always a good milestone, third times a charm is often what people say. Duck was on the menu, not turkey or grouse, but a nice little canadian duck. No, I was not the hunter and yes it was from the store. As much as it pains me to say such a thing, I wasn't able to provide the sacrificial bird of my own accord. Nevertheless, it was a very nice change, a great, rich and robust flavor in the fat which made for a fantastic gravy. The meat itself was nothing to go on about but the gravy sure is. Pumpkin pie, quinoa and a few sprigs of fresh parsley from my window sill grown plants… A little color and good for one bite. I had made the pie last night, wanting it chilled after a discussion of which was better, warm or cold. So with that said, the smell was all to tempting and I had cut the first slice out before the duck had even seen the fires of an oven. I had to cut one more slice for dinner, and one more shortly before bed. After all, it is a celebration day, a holiday and a feasting day.
I won't be able to burn off the calories with all the rats in their race tomorrow while shopping, maybe a swim will do.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and hopefully it is a good start to the holiday season.

Running the Gamut

Temperatures have fluctuated more than 50 degrees recently, but a common theme these past few days would have to be just plain cold. Snow has fallen, melted, fallen and blown away time and again. Rain, wind, sun and then repeat is the theme. Ice has started to accumulate on the lake in coves and bays where there isn't enough movement and the lake ice begins. It will fluctuate a bit, forming and breaking, melting and growing but one of these days it will be here for good.
There are limited things to do around the property, and even more so for exercise, so swimming has been a nice change of pace. The water temperature is a steady 35, and it really isn't noticeable with the suit on, hood and gloves. The cold part is actually the time between taking the suit off and the shower. Either way, it is very peaceful to be floating out there, doing laps and drifting with the current. I can't say how much longer this will last, but I hope to continue while the temperatures are above zero, and will most likely find a few days a month to get out there all through the winter and into the spring.
There have been some absolutely beautiful moments up here with the sun rising at a lower angle, combined with low temperatures that make a nice fog and decent photos.
And the best part of all, the fox is back! I can't be sure its the same one as years past, being extra friendly and carefree, though how many tame foxes are there in the wild? I won't complain if its not the same one, at least its company. Here are some photos of the past week or more. I'm hoping to have a nice Thanksgiving up here in a week, and hoping that a fox will join me for the holiday feast. The menu should be close to the following- Duck (whole/roasted), Stuffing and Pumpkin Pie. I might add some yams or something else, but likely there will be too much food as it is, and more would be gluttony. We'll see.

Enjoy-

Someday never comes

A break in the rain was the warmest reception Alaska has had to offer in the past month, and only but three or four times. I wasn't afraid to take advantage of the calm, before another storm I might add and this time it would be snow. I spent a little time on the river, boating up and down while enjoying whole heartily a dry and bug free evening. A solid month of showers, flurries and or both has the river raging at its peak, generally spring time flow. The usual boulders and identifying landscape are submerged and all to elusive while the rapids have grown more intense and creating quite the echoing roar. I have had the enjoyment of riding the river in its full length a few times now, both for work and pleasure. During the last severe wind storm, I had lost all communications to what I had believed was due to natures uneasy temperament around this time of year. However it was a logistical error on someones part back in the big city to announce a switch over in modem frequency... needless to say I, along with a few dozen other remotely located people around the state were isolated further by this oversight. Nearly a week later, a rainy boat ride into Aleknagik, a nice drive into Dillingham, there at the airport sat a new modem for me and all would soon be well.
The time away from computers and phones was a short lived and exhausting little ordeal, going through the emotions of boredom, excitement and wonder, to boredom and deep boredom. I wonder what everyone did when we weren't so connected to the world, having someone a fingers touch away online and yet thousands of miles in between. I'm still at a loss for  words to explain those thoughts and feelings occurring last week.

A rare glimpse of my cabin in sunlight-

The saying is too true... "red sky in morning.... and its going to be one miserable sort of day"

I'm not ready for my surrounding to look like this for six months straight but I'll accept whatever happens. It was a nice change from rain, and it really brightened the cabin inside, something the sun refuses to do. I didn't have to shovel much, but on the side of caution, I made the necessary removals in areas that I keep cleared out in case this was the point of no return. Substantial rains followed and made a massive soupy mess of everything, and the lackluster of gray continues on.

At it again - The beginning

Waving goodbye and being peacefully alone was one of the most anticipated moments I had been waiting for all summer, as yet another autumn in Alaska begins. The rugged landscape changes little if any in form, only in color as the leaves become a lovely burnt red and deep, bright yellow. The leaves of color fall gently with a heavy frost in the stillness of morning and are scattered by the tens of thousands with a stiff wind. As quickly as the birch showed a fresh bud in spring, it has shed the foliage of a new season revealing a forest of tangled and naked sticks and twigs. Nearly eight months will pass before my scenery changes, though the color will make one final transition from the dull and bare greens and browns of the wooded surrounding, to a blinding and frigid white.

The thought that just  a short four months ago I was in this very chair, looking out over my little slice of paradise is a hard thing to grasp. Half of my mind believes that I never left while the other part knows full well I had a summer away, but excited to be here once more. It will take a few days to re-adjust to my home away from home, but I feel quite relaxed being only day two. The cabin is nearly complete with my usual equipment and provisions for the winter, with the exception of a few things I hope to build in the coming weeks.


The best first morning views -

Here's to an exciting new season in Bristol Bay with a promise of adventure and uncertainty. I feel quite ready to face the elements of weather and isolation, hoping that this winter will fly by as the last season did. I have a few bears around the cabin and plenty of spruce grouse in sight. Things are shaping up quite nicely.....