Wednesday, June 14, 2006

VERY YOUNG

The sun rose at its regular time but we didn’t.  It was later than usual but this was the third Saturday of the week and we needed the rest from our labors, coach tending, shopping, eating, fishing and all the other strenuous things we have been doing.

We fortified ourselves with coffee, tea, pecan pancakes and sausage.  It was noted that disaster looms just over the rim of the fig jar.  Only three figs remain and a whole summer is ahead of us before we can make the trip to Louisiana to replenish our supply from the ever normal granary that is Pattie’s pantry shelf.  In case you aren’t familiar with my ramblings, and ranting, Pattie is married to Onie’s brother, E.C.  She puts up the best figs this side of heaven and the thought of a summer without her figs is like contemplating a trip across Death Valley without water or air conditioning.  You may get it done but it won’t be very enjoyable.

With our daily dose of Foxworthy out of the way we tried a little fishing before heading off to Soldotna to get Onie a latte, go the post office and pick up some hooks for David Matthew, our oldest, and some new shop rags for me.

A short distance from the coach Onie’s eagle eye spotted a moose cow, in the woods.  We backed up for some pictures and then turned around for a better vantage point when we saw she had a calf with her.  The calf appeared to be very young and very hungry as it alternated between trying to eat everything around it and mama. 

Voila. Moose in the forest.

Hungry Calf

Tom went in for a closer look.

After a bit of watching we continued on our way to the busy highway into Soldotna.

With that out of the way we went by Swiftwater Park to buy our annual pass that permits us entry as many times as we want to fish on the grate there.  With our pass attached to the windshield we drove to the fishing area where we decided we should try our luck.  We did and half and hour later we left with clean hands.

Now we headed for the coach.

At camp I visited with Sonny and Birdie while Onie created a new salmon and linguini dish.

After supper we took turns with the laptop while the other fished.  Time at the laptop was more productive than that spent with the fishing pole.

At ten o’clock, with me writing about the day’s events, and preparing to do a little catch up, Onie decided to watch a horror movie, not my cup of tea,  I was happy to peck on.

Thursday, June 15, 2006 

COLD RAIN

After a warm night the temperature began to fall just about the same time the rain did.

We ate breakfast looking out our window at the river coasting by, its surface dimpled by the big drops adding their body to water headed toward Cook Inlet and the ocean.  A duck enjoyed a free ride as she steered herself downstream to some unknown destination.

Inside the coach we were planning our day.  Catch up was needed on the stories and the setting was perfect since it was too wet to fish.

Onie did her work out and then sat down to the laptop for a while.

At three o’clock the rain was continuing but Onie gave me her word it would stop by six o’clock, today, so we could get in an evening session of fishing.  Sipping my hot tea and pecking away I hoped she was right.

When I took a break from writing Onie sat down to make some minor amendments to the web posting for the first week.

An hour later I began again.  It was still raining and cold.  Pecking away I listened to a CD we had gotten on the ferry when we traveled to New Found Land in ’04.  Onie reiterated that the rain would be gone by six so we could fish.  I had my doubts and kept after my creation.

At seven minutes to six the rain turned to a drizzle.  A couple minutes to six the rain stopped.

The temperature never got above fifty five but we went to fish anyway.  In about an hour we lost five or six fish between us.  We are going to do better tomorrow, maybe, but in any event we will be out there trying again.

We tied some yarn on hooks to make “lures” and then watched a movie before calling it a day.

Friday, June 16, 2006

GOPHER WOOD

Before breakfast we got out and started scouring the neighborhood for some gopher wood.  We didn’t find any yet but I may have found something that will work, just in case we don’t find any.  We went off to the hardware store, right after oatmeal and bacon and the weekly wash, to stock up on some nails, an extra hammer and a couple of saws.  At the rate is raining, yep, more last night and today, it won’t be long before it becomes serious.  Onie will have to help with the sawing hammering, etc. if we are to escape the rising water.  Already it is putting out the forest fires that have been burning since we got here and the fire danger has been reduced from Very High to Low.  We did see a rainbow on the way up here so I know the impending flood won’t wipe out the world but it could get a piece of the Kenai.  Maybe we will just build some big pontoons for the Marlin, get a long anchor rope and wait it out.  The local weatherman assures us the sun is still burning above the rain and clouds.  We will see.  Perhaps if the sun ever shows its face again the temperature will rise above the daily fifty five.  I think yesterday it got close to sixty but then the thermometer could have malfunctioned.

We went to Soldotna to get the mail, do some grocery shopping and see if any serious mildew has set in or perhaps a raging case of mold that threw such panic into the lawyers in Texas a few years ago.  Have you ever noticed how plaintiff’s lawyers make money when people panic?   A little fender bender and a back ache, lawyers make money; a little mold in the closet, like Mama used to kill with Clorox and the lawyers make money; a fly in your soup at the restaurant and the lawyers make money.  They seem to enrich themselves over others misfortune and still sleep well at night.  Think there will be any in heaven?

Some generous soul threw us a copy of the Anchorage Daily News this morning and it contained that most valuable of items, a crossword.  Perhaps we will have to subscribe for the summer.  We won’t be able to follow national news as the front page is occupied with such things as fishing reports and bear attacks as well as the hidden dangers of variable mortgages.  Perhaps we will survive, if not be sure we get a copy of the latest crossword to take with us.  

Back at the coach, from shopping, it was raining, and cold, and cloudy and the fish weren’t cooperating so why were we here?  We were here for the clear skies, cool but not cold weather and fish that almost jump onto shore in their drive to get caught.  Things have to improve and time is on our side.

After supper we went back to the river where we managed to lose a few more fish that got on our lines and then the rain returned. 

We went to the coach, watched two episodes of the Foxworthy show and turned out the lights.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

THAT MAKES TWO

At three fifteen this morning it was forty eight and, you guessed it, raining.  I went back to bed and waited for the rain to stop and the clock to move forward to a more reasonable hour.

When the clock had moved sufficiently we watched the last two episodes of the Foxworthy show, it drown out the sound of the rain, and then got up for our first meal of the day.

Kitchen duty fell to me as Onie worked on an itinerary for some friends of ours, Nancy and Bill Hager, who are coming to visit later this month.  He wants to fly up and take us to dinner.  We are trying to help him with those plans.

After the kitchen was clean we went to the lodge, for a sustainable WiFi signal, and sent the email Onie had prepared for Nancy and Bill with a few suggestions for their trip to the Last Frontier.  They plan to be here ten days or so.  The will spend a few days here and the rest motoring around the Golden Circle, I think.

Folks had been at the fish grate on the river most of the time we were doing other things; the rain had gone for the most part only drizzling now and then.  It seems Shirley had caught a fish or two but the other guests had struck out.

We decided to try our luck.  Shortly after getting her hook in the water Onie hooked one but she said she was asleep at the wheel and the fish continued its trip upstream to another destiny.  The second hookup found her more awake but it was hooked in the stomach so it couldn’t be kept.  Her third hookup was a keeper and as we netted it the remark was made “that makes two”.  I didn’t get to hook any as I was busy helping Onie, right?   With the filets safely in the refrigerator I settled in to record the happy events of the day.  Onie basked outside in the glory of her second fish.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

FATHER’S DAY

Not to be outdone by more mundane days Fathers Day elected to have rain also but it wasn’t overdone like some more prosaic day, it was light and then tapered off to nothing.  The air retained its chill all day.

Breakfast was worthy of the day, eggs, sausage, grits, toast, coffee and tea.  The marmalade jar was emptied but the last three figs we saved for a more auspicious occasion.  Perhaps when the writer lands his first fish of the season he will celebrate by finishing them off.  Then no doubt the withdrawals will begin, the long vacant stares followed by uncontrollable drooling and licking of the lips with the final breakdown and eating of grape jelly.  We will face that when the time comes.  Today is a happy day.

Before the rain quick we watched a movie in the warmth of the bed covers then Onie worked on readying week three for posting on the website.  I read the paper and got dressed.

Since we have no water or sewer hookups we have to refill the water holding tank from time to time.  It was one of those times so I took care of that while using the Blue Boy to empty the gray water tank.  A Blue Boy is a little blue plastic rectangular container with wheels on one end and a handle on the other.  The handle has a convenient loop on the metal handle which permits it to be placed over a bumper hitch and towed to the dump station.  This was a great idea because it holds thirty gallons which is around two hundred forty pounds, quite a load to pull on level ground much less uphill.

Onie was still working on week three but when it was done we reviewed it once more before posting.

When the webpage posting was finished Onie stepped into the kitchen and begin preparing some salmon salad, seasoning some salmon for supper and getting some chicken ready to grill.

I tried to get my email, made some phone calls and played spider and solitaire until Onie was ready to go to the fish grate.

An hour later her total catch still stood at two and mine at zero.  The cold and mayflies sent us back to the coach where I started a fire in the grill while Onie fixed a salad.

We enjoyed avocado, tomato and a dab of salmon salad for starters at supper and followed that with sautéed okra and onions.  Topping off the meal was grilled salmon.  We agreed this was a meal fit for the occasion.

One more trip, with the same results, was made to the river before we pulled down the shade on the front door and retired.

After a movie we turned out the last light in camp and went to sleep.

Monday, June 19, 2006

SUNSHINE IN MY SOUL   

By five thirty the sun was shining.  By seven thirty the temperature had already climbed to fifty seven.   It didn’t look like there would be any rain or cold winds today.  I sat by the window for a minute and let the sunshine flood my soul then sat down to record the wonderful event.

The coffee and tea had been brewed and Onie joined me for our morning beverages.

Breakfast had to wait as we headed off to the river.  Rumor had it that there were fish to catch.  Soon Onie had one on and off but before too long we netted one and put it on the stringer.  That was just what we needed to keep us there until nearly eleven when we decided to fill our raging tummies.

With breakfast done, it was the first meal of the day, as in breaking one’s fast.  Onie set about house cleaning while I worked outside.  The car shield needed some more cleaning before it could be stored, an adjustment of the awning was needed and modifications to the gray water dumping system were made and tested before I started looking for a leak in the plumbing system.

When I was taking motor home maintenance and repair at Houston Community College several years ago the instructor had told us that a sure sign of a water leak was the cycling of the pump when all the water faucets were turned off.  Our pump had been cycling intermittently for sometime and it had me concerned.  I had already checked the pipes and connections that were accessible from inside the coach as well as looking for leaky faucets.  It was time to look elsewhere.  There is one access door on the side of the coach that admits one to the fresh water supply as well as valves that control the flow of fresh water from a shore hook up or the use of water from the holding tank.  In addition the controls that empty the holding tanks are located there.  This makes for a lot of plumbing in a small space with multiple connections, tees, elbows, etc.  I thought I had detected a drip there earlier so it was a place to start.  When I finally got the panel off, it had a screw in it that had rusted and I had to grind the head off and then use a cold chisel to break the threaded portion loose before I could back it out with the use of vise grips and needle nose pliers. The plumbing I mentioned above was exposed and it was all very dry.  About that time Onie came out to announce she was going to deliver some salmon salad to our neighbors and asked if I would like to take a break and go with her.  I did.

She had several bowls to deliver and to keep things simple we made a circle in the park going from rig to rig.  We stopped first at Stu and Shirley’s.  We visited.  Onie picked up Shirley’s loose leaf cook book, she had written it herself, to copy some recipes from.  Then we went on to Ted and Pricilla’s where we had something to drink before heading to Marv and Ardith’s.  They had just returned from Homer, they had been there three or four days, where they baby sat two grandchildren, ages five and five weeks.  They were tired.  We didn’t stay.  Sonny was out walking and stopped to visit, in the yard, where we gave him his and Birdie’s.  Onie had already given LaVonne hers’ when she had taken a break and gotten a latte during her house cleaning.  I went back to my plumbing while she delivered the last bowl to Frank.

During our visits I had discussed my plumbing problem with each of the guys.  The consensus was that there was no problem.  There was no leak.  I had found no wet or damp spot anywhere I had looked everywhere including inside the access panel.  Each of the guys reported having the same thing going on in their rig.  After discussing the way the pumps are put together and the fact that they are pressure activated it was roundly agreed upon that what was going on was a loss of internal pressure caused by a leak within the pump itself.  Depending on the pump manufacturer this could be a leaky diaphragm or a worn O ring.  Either way it was nothing to worry about until it became very regular.  At that point one either rebuilt the pump or bought a new one.  I knew where to look for the pump since it had been exposed when I took off the access panel.  With the problem (?) now solved I put the access panel back in place and got ready to fish.

Did I mention that while I was working outside the sun had been replaced by clouds and a little rain?  It just wouldn’t be a day in June if it didn’t rain, I suppose.  The wind had accompanied the rain and when the rain left it stayed.

Before heading for the fishing grate we put on windbreakers.  Onie says I’m not one who readily embraces change so today’s fishing was easy for me to accept.  Nothing had changed.  I still hadn’t caught a fish.  She caught another one.

When the fishing was over I headed off to town to the fish processing plant.  Their recent ad said they would open twenty four hours a day beginning June 15^th.   They weren’t.  Before heading back to the coach I stopped to call Citi Bank Credit Card Company.  I was having a hard time getting my online statement and thought I would just ask them to email it to me.  On the back of the card was a number to be called for twenty four hour service.  I called the number and got a recording.  They aren’t open twenty four hours, either.  I wondered who was in charge of these companies.

Supper was waiting at home, a good salad and grilled chicken.  The chicken had been put on the grill last evening when the salmon came off.  After we had eaten, it came off and went in the fridge.  Tonight, at ten, it was very tasty.

Onie watched a movie while I ate and read.

Lights out about midnight.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

HALIBUT AND EGGS        

Our neighbor Marv had gone halibut fishing while he was in Homer with his grandchildren.  I suppose Ardith stayed and took care of them while he fished.  Anyway he brought back a lot of halibut having caught an eighty six and sixty eight pound fish.  He had too much for his freezer and saw fit to bless us with several packages.

This morning we had halibut, eggs and tomatoes for breakfast along with the obligatory coffee and tea.  What a repast that was.

At the very large risk of sounding repetitive I mention that it was cloudy and cold when we rose and continued that way through the morning hours and into the afternoon when it added a brisk wind.  Although the wind was quite persistent it wasn’t enough to blow away the mayflies which have been hatching for several days now.  Trees overhanging the fish grate provide a resting place for them.  When a fisherman appears they swarm about the head, hands, neck or any exposed portion of skin and pester one until he wishes their lives were even shorter than the one day they do live.

In spite of the wind, clouds and mayflies Onie went to the river shortly after breakfast.  In a couple of hours she had netted no fish but had lost three.  When I joined her it didn’t change her luck, nor mine.

Three o’clock showed her headed off to town, Safeway, Custom Packing, Post Office, quite possibly a latte stop, Fred Meyer, a larger local version of Wal-Mart and any other little place that happened to catch her eye.

The laptop was the recipient of my pecking as I tried to relate what was transpiring here in the land of caribou, moose, salmon, halibut, eagles, bald and golden, bears, grizzly and black, mink, fox, musk ox, beaver and the list goes on.  To the list one can add mountains, glaciers, snow, forests, tundra, mud flats, coastal plains, bore tides, rivers and streams.  So much to tell about and so little time.  Perhaps some day you can come see the Last Frontier for yourself.  Tell them Tom and Sylvia sent you.

After a bit I decided to try my luck again so I gathered my rig up and went tot the fish walk.  Ted and Pricilla were there.  Pricilla was fishing for reds and Ted was fishing for rainbow trout.  He had a couple on the stringer, for supper. I fished until I had just about lost interest when I caught a fish.  Now this wasn’t a fish to brag about but seeing as I hadn’t landed one since we arrived this year I was glad for anything I could string.  Since it was a rainbow trout, about six inches in length, it went on Ted’s stringer.  Under other circumstances I would have thrown it back but it had been hooked in the gills and was bleeding profusely.  It would not live so it was best to put on the table rather than waste it.  I had been fishing a spot where the water is very shallow, about three feet ten feet out from shore and it shoals in from there.  Reds like to swim in the shallows where the current isn’t so swift and I thought the odds might increase in my favor if I stayed there.  A sort time later I was rewarded with a bite.  It really felt like a bite, strike, but when the fish rolled the glimpse I caught looked like a red.  Of course I yelled “fish on” and that brought Ted and Pricilla, on the run, with the net.  Here I was after all these days of not landing a fish and I was about to catch two in the same day on the same afternoon.  When the fish rolled again Ted said it wasn’t a red.  It was something else.  I brought it close to the grate and he netted it.  It was a rainbow trout.

What a Rainbow!

It was bigger than any rainbow trout I had ever seen, much less caught.  I ran for the camera and tape measure.  Because it was obviously over sixteen inches it would have to go back, Alaska rules.  Ted held it in the water in the net until I returned when he took my picture with it.  Then we measured it, twenty three and three quarter inches, it was.  We released it.  Ted said his sister caught one last year in Maine, where they live, that measured just under twenty one inches and it weighed six and a half pounds.  He said he felt sure this fish weighed at least eight pounds.  I’ll probably never catch another rainbow trout that big in my life but if I do I feel sure I will release it.  A fish that big can make lots of new ones.  No reds had been caught by me yet but my day was complete and more.  I did fish a bit more but left soon to write about my little trout. As some wag once said, “The worst day fishing is better than the best day working” and so it was.

Onie returned from Soldotna around eight o’clock with lots of goodies.  Some she bought just special for our anniversary, the twenty third. 

We were having cheese, crackers, almonds and a peach when Ted knocked on the door.  He was carrying a plate of rainbow trout he had cooked.  He brought it for our supper.  That with what we already had was sufficient for our needs.  We thanked him and showed him the picture of large rainbow, it was already on the laptop, and once again he rhapsodized about it.  What a nice guy.

With supper out of the way we wandered back to try our hand once more, at the reds.

It has been said that hope springs eternal in the breasts of fools and simpletons and so it is with me when it comes to catching fish.  Since I had rather not judge myself you can draw your own conclusion.  Onie, true to form, hooked into a fish rather quickly but the odds are I favor of the fish, as most escape as this one did.  Not too much later the evil spell on me was broken when I felt that strumming pressure on the line and then the run for faster water that is the tell tale sign on a “fish on”.   Careful not to grant the fish any advantage I worked him close in to the grate while Onie got the net and got behind him.  Quicker than you can say Jack Robinson she had the fish in the net and on the grate.  The hookup was a good one, we had a keeper.

First Sockeye

Nice fish.

With that success I was just about ready to call it a day.  A few minutes later we retired to the coach. Back in the Marlin we toddled off to the bedroom to watch a movie.  Later I checked my eyelids for leaks.  There were none.