OLIO

Monday, July 13, 2009

Kyle will be on a sea cruise today touring the Kenai Fjords so he and Onie got up at seven.

Outside smoke hung in the fifty degree air.  Fires have been burning for days now, down toward Homer.  We saw them last Monday coming home and they have been burning all week.  Fly ash dots everything that is horizontal and the smell doesn’t go away.  We are hoping for rain to extinguish the burning trees and brush.

Kyle dressed while Onie fixed him an egg sandwich then she saw him out the door to Becky’s where she, Christopher and Laura waited.  That is the foursome that will be on the boat.

With Kyle off on another adventure Onie rejoined the writer, in bed.

Keeping up with a teenager and working on a house takes its toll on those who have had many birthdays.  As a result we slept until one when we rose and had purple hull peas and okra with cornbread for breakfast.

Clean clothes from yesterday were still waiting to be put away and we did that before Onie began cleaning up from last night.

Inside chores done for a while we went to fish for twenty minutes.  During that time Onie didn’t manage land any and Pawpaw only got one.

LaVon brought the mail.  The mail bought bills.  The bills brought work.  Turning to the laptop Quickbooks was opened, checks written and entered, put in envelopes, readied to mail and given to LaVon for that purpose.

Outside Onie was working on her plants.  Finished with the plants she headed off to Soldotna, grocery list in hand.

Left to his own devices the writer wrote some then headed to the grate to see if any fish were available for catching.  Forty casts later he had his answer.  He had added two more fish to his stringer thus completing his first limit of the season.

Back in the coach he occupied himself for fifteen minutes, with Bookworm, before Onie’s return.

Groceries stored Onie took her rod and our tackle bucket and headed for the grate.

Pawpaw settled in again with the laptop, this time to write some more.

When Onie had fish she returned to the Marlin to relax and have a glass of wine.

We waited for the return of the sea cruisers and were rewarded about seven thirty.  It had been a long day for them and they were tired but happy.  The tour had been a big hit with all of them.  They had seen glaciers calving, sea otters, seals, Humpback whales, killer whales also known as Orcas as well as many different kinds of birds.

On the way to Seward, they spotted a mama moose with her new calf.

All set to go at the Seward marina.

Puffins were plentiful.

Sea otters playing and feeding in the calm waters.

Ailiak Glacier.

Notice spray of water to left of cave as the ice crashes into the water.

Sea lion.

Killer whale.

Becky had stopped on the way home and fed the group so Onie and I just snacked.

Kyle and Christopher rode the four-wheeler for a while before Kyle came home, ready for a little TV and bed.

Sometime later the inside of the Marlin became dark and quiet.

Outside folks were still stirring in the evening sunshine.

ADIOS KYLE

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

We got up at eight, today.

Pawpaw made buttermilk pancakes while Kyle tried to wake up. The smell of bacon cooking did the trick and he got up and made his bed.  Boiling water for tea gurgled in the pot.

After breakfast Pawpaw brought Kyle’s bag in from the shed and he and Onie began packing it.  Pawpaw headed off to the shower.

When the bag was packed and Pawpaw was back from the shower the bag was loaded in the toad and Kyle called his Dad, Gary to let him know we were leaving camp.

With Kyle behind the wheel we went up the hill for him to say goodbye to the Tatsami’s. Kyle had spent several hours on the hill working on their two-story cabin with a basement.

Kristopher Tatsumi and Kyle.

Krista Tatsumi and Kyle.

Kurt Tatsumi and Kyle.

Kyle had also worked with Sidney Johnson from Georgia.

When the goodbyes had been said we got back in the car and Kyle headed it toward Anchorage and Ted Stevens International Airport via Exit Glacier.  It was eleven.

On the road Pawpaw kept one eye on the speedometer and one eye on the paper.  Onie sat in the backseat exchanging parts of the paper with Pawpaw and working crosswords.

Without a hitch we arrived at Exit Glacier at one.

For the walk to the toe of the glacier we opted for the river walk, one we hadn’t followed before.  As one might suspect it takes one very near the Snow River, formed by Exit Glacier.  At a rest area we stopped for a picture.

From the rest area we took a cross trail to the main one that leads right up to the glacier.  Part of the walk is somewhat strenuous and Kyle walked on ahead from time to time.

In the sunshine, out of the trees and bushes it was warm, not hot, and pleasant.  Where we had to walk among the trees and bushes bugs of various kinds pestered us, causing us to quick step to the next sunny area.

Near the glacier Onie stopped to rest and wait for us to return.  Kyle and Pawpaw walked on until we were very close to the cold mass of compacted snow.  There we stopped for more pictures.

From there we took another trail that led us to an overview of the river.

Onie was waiting at the rest area so we hurried back there where we joined her, resting.  We sat back to back on a big rock.

A bit of a schedule had to be maintained as Kyle had an airplane to catch later today.  With that in mind we headed back down the trail toward the car.  On the way down a park ranger stopped us to warn of a black bear that had just been seen on the trail. Warned, we walked on down the trail keeping a wary eye for the bear but never seeing him.

Kyle was holding the keys as we approached the car, ready to continue the drive to Anchorage.  It was three o’clock.

Kyle is doing much better with the clutch, backing out of the parking space and leaving the parking lot, the shifting was almost seamless.

On the approach to the park as well as the exit a nice view of the Snow River with Exit Glacier in the background can be seen.  On the way out we stopped for one last look.

The road follows the river for quite a distance before it swings away gaining a little high ground and taking one into Moose Pass.  There we stopped for Onie to get a latte.  Kyle got Fritos and bean dip while Pawpaw got a diet Coke and a Milky Way.

Since we were burning daylight, sort of, Pawpaw drove while Kyle ate his goodies.  At Tern Lake Pawpaw pulled over.  The Fritos and bean dip were gone and Kyle was ready to drive again.

The construction areas were idle so there was no slow down for them.  However on the Anchorage side of Portage there was a major accident involving three cars.  From the looks of it, it probably involved fatalities.  Pawpaw had been telling Kyle he was driving on the most dangerous piece of highway in Alaska and here was stark visual proof.  Twenty minutes passed while we waited for our turn to pass the wreckage which lines both sides of the highway.

While we waited we could see the tide ripping its way out of Cook Inlet.

At Potter’s Marsh Kyle pulled over to let Pawpaw take the wheel.  Traffic in Anchorage can be very challenging as drivers here wish to exhibit their free spirits and drive as if they are the only ones on the road.

We arrived at Gallo’s, a good Mexican restaurant on Old Seward Hwy, at six fifteen, hungry and dry.  We ordered and sucked down water and ate chips and dip while we waited for our food.

An hour later we left to fuel up the toad for the trip back to the coach and then it was on to the airport.  We hated to see Kyle leave but his summer break is short and there are other things on his agenda before he heads back to school.  We truly appreciated his parents letting him come to visit for as long as he did.  Perhaps he will come back to Alaska sometime in the future.

We parked in the short term area and headed inside where Kyle checked in and we got security passes so we could accompany him to the gate, C8.  Checking in had taken some time and when we got to the gate it was ten minutes until nine.  His flight was scheduled to leave at nine forty two.  We visited for fifteen minutes and then they called his flight to start boarding.  Hugs were exchanged and he disappeared down the jetway.

We were back on the road at twenty after the hour.  Kyle’s plane would soon be lifting off the runway and heading southeast.  In the clear evening sky he should have a good view of the mountains, snow, rivers and ocean as he left us and Alaska behind.  Ahead of him was a long flight, two plane changes and then home.  At home cart racing waited.

Rounding the inlet we saw the tide coming in.  The traffic had cleared from the earlier accident and traffic was light.  Then we hit the construction areas again.  Where no construction had been a few hours earlier huge machines ripped up pavement while others laid plastic before side dump trucks covered the plastic with road base.  This we were able to observe while we waited for the pilot car.  Twenty minutes later were we moving again, following the pilot seven miles.  Then it was on to the next construction site.

None of this detracted from the beautiful evening we had for the drive.  The setting sun glowed behind some mountains while casting bright rays on others.  In between purple shadows tinted snow filled ravines and the green of the spruce trees turned dark in the low light.

One moose showed her face just after Cooper Landing and we were home at midnight.

Loathe to go right to bed the writer grabbed his rod and headed to the river where he casts one hundred times, coming up clean with each cast.

Back in the Marlin Onie was getting ready for bed and slid between the covers at half past the hour.

Pawpaw stayed at the laptop writing and checking email until two.

 REDS

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Red Russia may be gone, for now, but there is still red China, red Cuba and Venezuela seems to be heading that way.

Every year a lot of reds try to enter our country and we are able to intercept many of them.  This year over ten million have tried to enter Alaska via Bristol Bay alone, as reported by the Anchorage Daily News, but they were caught.  Now the run has begun on the Kenai River.  It began a few days ago when the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, ADFG, reported that some twenty five hundred had been counted near Soldotna.  Today that number, as counted yesterday, was twenty thousand for a cumulative number of over one hundred thousand for this year, considerably more than last year at the same time but less than in oh seven.  It is hoped that the run of sockeye salmon--reds--has begun in earnest.

Kyle had called us during our slumber hours a total of three times, just as we had asked him to do.  Each time he made a plane change and was ready to board he called us, from Minneapolis/ St Paul, from Memphis and when he deplaned at Huntsville, Alabama.  We knew our youngest grandson had made it home safely.

Perhaps it was due to the interruptions that we slept until eleven or maybe we were just tired.  In any event we woke to a bright sunshiny day where the temp had risen to fifty five.  During the night it had dipped below forty.  We were ready for some cool days, say a high of sixty.

As mentioned above Onie checked the fish count and the numbers for yesterday were above twenty thousand.  We should start catching our limits every day if the numbers hold.  Then she looked at her email.  The writer was busy making notes and  fleshing out stories.

Onie stopped her visitation of the laptop long enough to prepare our first meal of the day, eggs scrambled with Axis deer ground meat, courtesy of our Coldspring neighbor, Jim Sturmer, chopped onion and potato with a hint of bell pepper.  The Jasmine tea was a perfect compliment.

Two or three crosswords later we got up from the table to strategize the day.  At the end of the planning session the plan was to rest, answer email, pay bills and maybe watch a movie.  If the rest part kicked in and took effect we would fish.

We had planned our work and worked our plan, for the most part.

Just when the rest part kicked in is hard to say but around ten we started gearing up to go fishing.  Remember we are in Alaska and the fact that it is two hours before midnight is no cause to miss a chance to fish.  There is plenty of daylight and tonight there should be plenty of fish.  Gear in hand we descended on the grate and the river around eleven.  We took our time getting ready.  In a pinch we can grab our rods and be at the river in ten minutes.  Onie had her favorite spot all to herself and so did Pawpaw.  Almost as soon as the flip and jerk began they were touching fish and with touches came hookups and with hookups came netting, then bonking, gilling and stringing.  Oh what fun they had.  Laughing and yelling for help with netting a fish, running back and forth on the grate they acted their age, not what folks think mature people should be like but what they are actually like, lively and full of fun.  As the second hand on the watches they weren't wearing swept past twelve with the big and little hands poised in the same position a new day began and with the new day came a new limit.  They fished on.  Whether a slowing in the action caused a tiredness to set in or a tiredness caused a slowing in the action to set is is hard to say but around one they left their fish hanging on stringers, gathered their gear and walked hand in hand to the Marlin.  It had been a fun evening, better than the movies, better than TV and better than dwelling on body parts that ache and creak when used.

In the coach they sat and visited about the great time they had and the fish that had been caught.  After getting ready for bed Pawpaw set his alarm.  There were fish to be cleaned.

CEILING

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The writer got up at four thirty to clean fish.  When they were filleted he decided to fish some more, caught three, filleted them and then went back to bed at seven.

Both residents of the Marlin got up at eleven.

After a quick snack the writer went up the hill to work on the house, putting up ceiling on the second floor.  He worked until five.

The crew gathered at Kurt’s for snacks.  Onie contributed smoked brisket from home and Texas Caviar she made here. Becky brought out cheeses and crackers.  Larry and Ruth contributed pickled cuttlefish and sardines in oil.  The snacks became supper.

We wandered home at eight to get our rods and head to the river where we were greeted by nothing.  With no fish to clean we went to bed at eleven.

CANNERS

Friday, July 17, 2009

It was sunny at nine when we settled down to eat groats, blueberries and walnuts sweetened with huckleberry honey.  Hot tea kept us going while we worked on the crossword.

Ten o’clock saw Nancy and Onie start getting ready to can while the writer headed back up the hill to do more work on the ceiling. 

Canning and visiting, visiting and canning kept the ladies busy while the writer was up the hill.  When he returned at five the jars in the cookers were still cooling.  Onie and Nancy were in town where they had been for the better part of the afternoon.

He went to the shed and began working on the shelving where he stayed until it was time to go to supper at Jay & Kay’s at six.

Onie was home by then.

Salad and spaghetti were served followed by strawberry shortcake for desert.

Back home at seven thirty we went to fish where Pawpaw caught two before returning to the shelving at nine.

Half an hour past quiet time, which is ten, the hammer and saw were laid aside in favor of the rod and reel and once more the writer made his way to the grate.  Another hour produced one more fish and then he cleaned them.

Back at the coach at midnight he found Onie already in bed.  He joined her at twelve thirty.

ALL IS WELL

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The last few days have been very busy and labor intensive resulting in tired bodies and weary minds.  We tried to recover somewhat by sleeping until eleven thirty this morning.  The sore muscles are still with us but we feel somewhat refreshed.

Breakfast of toast and hot cereal helped get us started as the sun, which had been bright, slipped behind the gathering clouds.

The coach has become a honeycomb of stuff strewn here and there.  With two days of canning and fishing not much has taken place in the way of keeping things straight, inside or out.  This morning when the crossword was finished we both turned to so we could make a difference.  Trash was emptied, and then while Onie worked straightening up her kitchen the writer began making rounds returning bowls that had contained different goodies given to us by our neighbors/friends.  All summer long dishes and bowls travel from camper to camper carrying food and love.  Oft times the containers are returned to the owners with more goodies.

Today as I made my rounds the sound of steaming canners greeted my ears.  The smell of wood smoke escaping from fish smokers tickled my nose.  Each campsite brought a new vista of friends preparing and storing fish.  A light sprinkle fell from the sky making the sixty degrees feel even a little cooler.  It was a typical day in camp, during the second run of reds, aka sockeye, and all was well with our world.

Later the writer visited with daughter Dawn on the phone before returning to outside chores, emptying and cleaning buckets that had held fish, wrapping and sealing, against dust, cases of canned salmon and then storing them on the new shelves in our shed.

Chores are tiring and the writer needed a break.  He picked up his rod and tackle bucket and headed for the grate.  Half an hour later he was back to the coach and his writing.  A stringer of three fish floated in the river waiting for Onie’s limit.  When the stringer was filled out the fish would be filleted and taken to Custom Seafood for packaging and freezing.  When there is a good accumulation friends and relatives can call and get a box shipped to them.  We catch them and the recipients pay to have them packaged, frozen and shipped.

Onie had been checking email and surfing while the writer fished.  When he returned she exited and headed down to catch her three.

Shortly after she left she returned to tell Pawpaw that her fish were on the stringer.  He left the coach to filet them and take them with his three, to Custom Seafood Processing.

Upon returning he joined Onie at Don and Julie’s fire ring where a merry blaze shed its warmth on those gathered about.

Later in the evening they went home to bed.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Today is Becky’s birthday.  She is a private person and doesn’t like big crowds or big celebrations that call attention to her but prefers small gatherings that permit her to visit one on one with her friends.  Kurt had cancelled a planned party for those reasons so we invited the two of them to breakfast this morning, to celebrate another good year for her and them.

We rose at seven thirty to begin preparations.  We were serving eggs benedict, mimosas and strawberries covered with honey bathed in heavy cream.

A gentle rain fell.

They arrived at the appointed hour, eight thirty, and the four of us enjoyed the meal while we talked about past birthdays and family.

When breakfast was over Becky left for Homer with a few of the ladies from camp for a day of sight seeing and shopping.  Onie stayed home, needing some quiet time, and having lots of work to catch up on.

She made a brine mix and placed fish in it as the first step in making smoked fish.  Then she worked on week seven for the website, cleaned house, washed and fished.

Pawpaw went to Kenai for supplies while Kurt, Sidney and Don went up the hill to work on the house.  Electrical work, more blocking, interior wall sheeting and various small details were done before we came back to camp around five thirty.

At camp Pawpaw tried his hand at fishing managing to catch one in an hour and a half.  Then he turned his attention to the shed where he began hanging electrical boxes and a box for a light fixture and then running wire to those same places.  When the wire had been run Kurt came by to do the connections.  Shortly afterward we had power in our shed.

The writer headed off to try for two more fish.  Two hours later he reconciled himself to the fact that he would have to settle for a total of two.  He had hooked three and landed a good one but another had been a “flimsy” fish.  This is a new term he learned from Priscilla and each time he hears it a smile crosses his face.  Her “flimsy” fish is one that is undersized for the run, in this case a fish weighing about two, perhaps three pounds.  He quit fishing, got his filet knife and took care of his and Onie’s fish, a total of five.

It was too late to take them to Custom, eleven thirty, so he placed them in a cooler, covered them with ice and turned to his next task, preparing the shed so fish could be dried.   Items were rearranged to clear a shelf for the racks from the smoker and then they were taken out and placed on that same shelf.  Then the pieces of fish in the brine were rinsed in fresh water, placed on the racks, a fan turned on them, spices sprinkled over them and left to dry under the air from the fan.

The light was turned off, the door closed and the writer went in to have supper.  It was one thirty in the morning, rain was falling, and he was tired and ready for bed.

At two he joined Onie in their bed.