The Hunt

Vince is home. (This is a warning to any sensitive readers out there. Following are pictures from his trip. Most of them are beautiful. Some of them are about hunting and 'harvesting wild game'. Also is the abbreviated story from his hunt. It's a story about hunting. It's not gruesome, but if you are sensitive...you might want to skip it.)

Vince had a good time. Of course, that said, he felt it was too long away from home, to far away from home, ect. This is the perfect way for him to say to me that he had a good time...with plenty of "...but..." involved. I always miss him when he is gone and he knows just how to tell me that he has had a good time without making me feel like he wanted to be away from me. Yes, I realize I've been blessed!If you would like precise details about this excursion please call him. The story of a hunt is not something that I can articulate clearly. This is a part of the male psyche that I don't get. I know that humans need to eat and that this activity has been hard wired into our brain stem and should be as natural to us as picking peaches. I know that there is an element of anticipation and excitement. I know that these men willingly sit quietly surrounded by gnats in the cold for hours. I don't get it. I think this is a genre that is wonderful (and it is such a good story that it is worth hearing in guy speak), but it is out of my artistic league.

For those who are curious but can not call or come by for the story themselves , I will give the story in the girl friendly Spark Notes version.

This float trip occurred on the Reed River which is in the preserve around Gates of the Arctic National Park. It is beautiful place. The river is fast moving and deep. It is not one that requires any portaging of raft. The river is moving so quickly that their biggest concern was moving too fast and getting to the pick up zone before schedule. Because of this, the group had enough time to stop and hunt and fish on their way.
There was a slough off of the river that the guys were floating that Vince thought looked like a good location. He was walking and sitting and napping besides the slough enjoying the outdoors. After a while, he began to make a moose call. Before long he found that he had called a moose in. It was a large, obviously legal animal. He had a clean shot. The moose turned casually and sat down in a lovely location. Vince stood by waiting for the last breath.

In the next second he heard another bull moose run toward him at full gate. This is unusual because usually animals run AWAY from the sound of gun shot. Vince stood back and braced himself because he could not be sure what the second moose was going to do. Fortunately, this second moose and Vince were very startled by each other and both stopped to stare at each other.

Vince had unknowingly called in this second bull moose who had arrived to fight with the first, who at this point was nearly dead. (Here is where I can put in a Princess Bride Movie reference, but for the sake of this presentation will not.)

Perhaps it was the pheromones in the air, the call of nature, the urge to not go down without a fight, but this bull decided to use his last breath to stand up and fight the second bull.
Unfortunately for him, he took what could have been a beautiful and peaceful exit from this earth and made it a huge mess by standing up from his dry comfortable resting place. Once he rose he took his last deep breath and tumbled over, upside down right into the slough.

Vince hiked back to camp to get Russ and Ty. When they returned they found bull number two standing over bull number one.

We have all had fun making a thought bubble over that second moose's head. We went from "You think you can hide from me!" to "What? It was a trick?"Next came the unusually long and excruciating cleaning process. Getting a 1500 pound animal out of a slough to butcher it is difficult to say the least. It took the three of them 7 hours to finish and get back to camp.

That was the last moose they saw. On the last day of their hunt there was a 'bear event' that was scary and had a disappointing ending for the bear. This bear was an ego maniac and had no problems getting aggressive with the boys. He would not go away. He would not stop being aggressive. Call the house to hear Vince tell the story.

Because Russ and Vince have strong hunting ethics they had planned on eating the bear. When they started cutting into it the meat stunk so badly of rotting fish that they could not do it. Vince said it would actually have made the perfect Micronesian/South East Asian meal: Meat with the taste of putrid fish. The Paag brothers really laughed at the truth in that. Ty took the hide to the taxidermist.The evening before Vince was home I was delighted with a phone call from Vince, Russ, and my old friend Kimmy. She has been on many hunts and can relate to the thrill of this great catch. I told her about the 61 inch rack and she started laughing. When I asked her what was so funny, she said, "Alana, you are going to have a moose rack hanging up in your living room!" That hadn't occurred to me, that our house was going to be turning into a big game showcase. I guess I had just thought he'd hang it over the garage...but, we don't have a garage...When she heard my breathing stop she really started laughing. I married a hunter. I live in Alaska. What did I think was going to happen?

One thing is for sure, I'm so happy to have Vince home that he could hang just about anything he wants from the walls of this house. "Babe, you want your dirty underwear hanging from the ceiling fan? No problem!" Remind me that I feel this way the next time he comes home with something dead would you?

Killing Time

Excitement has been building in anticipation of Vince coming home. In order to pass the time, here are a couple of the things we did.

Today, environmentalists and artists worked at the beach to create a human mosaic which was photographed by air and sent to a Danish group putting together a plea for carbon dioxide waste to be limited to 350. I don't know...all I know is that it was a beautiful day and we all wanted to go down and check it out.

We missed the part where the people were placed in the sand in the shape of a salmon. We were last minute throw ins. We were grabbed from the sidelines and I think we were all underlining the word, Alaska. It was fun to see our friends sprawled out in their red shirts.
It was fun to watch the photographer flying over head as we smiled for the camera.

We then ran errands in town and ended up on a bunny photographic hunt. There is an area on East End Road where some domestic rabbits have become wild. Here is Marina trying to catch this little baby.
Too slow... (fortunately for me)

We also took a load of garbage to the dump after cleaning the basement. Actually, DeeJay took the load to the dump and when he got home he said, "I can't believe you were throwing away these treasures!" and from the pocket of his sweatshirt he produced several Balinese carved items. I don't know how the entire plastic box of my shells and Bali nicknack's got into the dumping load, but I let out a primal scream and DeeJay and I ran back to the dumpsters.

Luckily, no one else had dumped anything since he'd been there. I climbed into the dumpster...not one of those little blue ones mind you, but an industrial sized one... and retrieved my beloved shell collection and Bali memories. Yea, I was screaming the entire time, "I do not like climbing in garbage! How did my stuff get in the garbage!"

Where was the camera when we really needed it?

Vince will be home tonight!

Happy News

Despite bad weather, Vince was able to fly out of their hunting camp on schedule (according to him not my inner calendar). He took me be surprise with a phone call during dinner. I said, "When you get back will you stay by my side non-stop?" He said, "Until you are sick of me and tell me to leave." I love him!

He is bringing with him a 60 inch moose. Ty had to shoot a grizzly bear that was getting to comfortable at their camp. There should be an interesting blog post to accompany some pictures in the next week or so. Hopefully.

So, when will Vince actually darken our doorway? Hard to tell, at least he is on the road system and safe.

Homecoming

How I wish that this was a post gleefully announcing the homecoming of Vince from his hunting trip. Unfortunately, it is a commemorative issue reflecting on some of the challenges I have faced on my own this week.

I know women who are relieved when their husband leaves for a long trip. When the men are gone there is no more having to cooperate, explain, find their stuff, or be an ambassador about anything. Some of these women are even relieved not to have to partake in excessive canoodling. It's just them, and the kids, and they like it as they would like a vacation .

Be assured that I am not one of these women. As I formulate this post in my mind, I wonder if it will dispel the myth that things around this house are always orderly and peaceful... HA!

Although no one in our family cares about football, that does not mean that we did not participate in this years Homer High School Homecoming Festivities.

Falcom and Marina marched in the parade around the track at the half time show. The McNeil Dragon was a huge success. We participated in this after Aiden and Rio's birthday party at the movie theater. In order to be in the parade we had to miss Sam's birthday party, but that was going to be ok. I thought I was setting good boundaries for myself by not agreeing to drive to town, back out east for the party and then back to town to drop the kids with Mema. Sam understood.
DeeJay went to the dance. He had a very good time dancing every dance with many different girls. Grind dancing was forbidden, but I learned that indeed grind dancing was happening at the dance, and that someone we all know and love was partaking in this dance and was even pointed to by a chaperon as being too close! The joy!


Willie didn't get off work until 9. DeeJay was more than willing to bring him to the dance at nine and let him dance with girls in his McDonald's uniform, but, Willie lucked out and Brandon came and picked him up and took him to the Radeke's where he hung out until DeeJay got done.That next morning the boys and I were chatting on the couch. I was enjoying the conversation, hearing gossip from the dance, talking with them about their lives. Sometimes, when we are together like that and chatting I feel such a deep love for them. Even though we are chatting about nothing more than the hoochie mama's DeeJay has put on his video selection on his Ipod, I feel so proud to know that they are growing into fine men. (You should hear my version of "I'm In Love with a Stripper". Yes, it's a real song and you can imagine the parody that can go with that.) Then they brought the conversation around to drugs and alcohol and the three of us talked about Yap, Saipan, Guam, and why their parents sent them here. We all reminisced about memories that few Americans can imagine. This shared history was making me love the boys even more.

I even told them a story that some very good friends had told me in Safeway about their kids who bought a bong off the Internet and then lied and denied the entire thing. It is a very funny story and hearing it, made me feel so happy that those guys don't give me a very hard time. We all were very self congratulatory about having such a nice solid family.

That afternoon I went to a brunch for Jenny Martin's birthday. What a lovely party in a quaint post and beam right near our house. I went with Suzanne and got to paint plenty of toes. It was Fabulous! When I got home the kids were happy, DeeJay had taken Willie to work, all seemed well. The kids and I got busy doing something and DeeJay took a nap. He woke up a few minutes before he needed to leave to retrieve Willie from McDonald's. We talked about college applications. Everything seemed great.

At ten they were not home. At 10.30 they were not home. At 10.50 I heard a commotion down stairs. I don't like to shout and so I text ed DeeJay, "What is going on down there." He texts back. "mom so sorry so sorry mom van in ditch forgive me" This is when I shout. "GET UP HERE NOW!" as I am in bed. He knocks on the door and waits for me to answer. "DeeJay! I told you to come here...why are you knocking?" He opens the door and stands in the doorway swaying. He can't tell me where the car is. He can't tell me what happened. He doesn't know. He says he's just really tired.

I tell him to leave my room so that I can get dressed and he does not leave. I had to yell at him to leave. He couldn't understand what I was saying. I was annoyed to say the least. I got down to the kitchen and he is swaying, leaning against the counter. He can not walk a straight line. He is not making any sense and then I think...he is drunk!

Many regular blog readers may not realize that I can fire off like a rocket and that I sometimes joke that some days I narrowly avoid jail time after a bout of bad temper. He was telling me that he had not been drinking, that they had played basketball with Dillon and then they were coming home and that he started getting sick, really sick about half way home. That's when he got in the ditch.

In walks Willie while I'm mid-freak. They were going to use the plow truck to get it out? What? I take DeeJay's phone and call Valda. What if he had given himself a head injury? She rushed over to examine him. The van was deeply in the ditch on our side of our property on our road. Whew! Off the main road.

I came back and fully unloaded on both of the boys: "Where did you get the drinks" "I don't know mom, there was a friend who I don't know and whose name I don't know and he gave me a Coke and I was thirsty and I drank the whole thing. I don't know mom."

"What the heck BS is that?" "Did you not just see me in an accident this year?" "Did you not notice your brother having a problem before you let him behind the wheel?" "So, are you going to ride with every drunk you see?" "You are going to eat or drink anything anyone gives you no matter who they are or how you don't even know them?" "You don't have to text me anymore to let me know what you are doing?"

Willie had to walk DeeJay down to his bed because he could not get down the stairs by himself.

The worst part? I felt that they had really understood me that very morning. OH! The disappointments of parenting! Had I jinxed myself by sharing the story of the bong with them?
Valda and I discussed the situation. Something is not right. I'm sure DeeJay is lying. I mean come on, how many ridiculous things have I caught him doing. I mean, what about the bullet lighter at the airport security and his nearly getting escorted to jail by Homeland Security? Valda agreed that he was acting very unusual, but he is a good boy and a teen and he makes mistakes.

I went to bed knowing I had to wake up at 6 to drive to Soldotna for substitute teacher training the next morning, and sleep was not coming easily. I sent Vince a text even though I know that in the Brooks Range there is not cell reception. If Vince had been here he would have known what to do.

With the exception of a van being in the ditch, the morning brought nothing unusual to our regular routine. Well except that DeeJay was eager to be my slave and stand very close to me and tell me what his punishments should be. Yes, it is harsh. I was still hot like a pepper and not feeling at all compassionate. DeeJay's story and memory of the night made no sense and was vague at best. "Mom, I don't remember anything happening. The only thing is that we decided to stay and play basketball and we didn't tell you because we were afraid you would say no because of school the next day."

The long car ride was good for me. Talked to Suzanne. Talked to my mom. I got way less angry about an hour into the class and as the anger lifted the ADHD brain that was not listening to the lecture gave me a thought:

What if he wasn't lying. What if he didn't drink. What is the scenario if he was being honest? What would make him act like that? Blood sugar. He hadn't eaten all day and then slugged a coke or two and then played basketball. His blood sugar could have crashed...

It's not like the punishment changes if the motive changes. What if all of his oblique vernacular like, "Boy, I've learned a lot about the problems of drinking and especially drinking and driving!" leads me to say, "So DeeJay, are you admitting that you were drinking?" and then he says, "No mom, I mean, something was wrong with me, but I honestly don't think I had any alcohol. I would tell you mom!" I mean, what if I believe him and we go from there. You see, I know he would tell me now, because, I have done a very bad parent thing.

When I started to run the scenario of 'what if he's telling me the truth' it occurred to me that the good parent thing to do is to take him to the doctor. What if he is becoming diabetic. Every Pacific Islander is on the diabetes super highway. I even did a google search and learned that hypoglycemic events can mimic a drunk driving episode. I explained to DeeJay if he hadn't been drinking that I was going to have to take him in for some tests. What kind of tests? Well blood sugar tests and a scope. "What is a scope?"

"DeeJay, if you were not drinking they are going to have to stick a camera up your butt. If you just admit that you had been drinking we can avoid all of that and you won't have to have a camera put up your butt."

This is where I decided he may not be lying. He dropped his head into his hands and got tears in his eyes. "A camera up my butt! No! I don't want that! Oh Mom! Not a camera up my butt! but I wasn't drinking so I guess they'll have to do it. Will they knock me out first?" I told him to think on it and if in the morning he remembered some alcohol he might have drank we could avoid the doctor thing.

This is when I decided that perhaps he was not lying. Bad parent Alana has still not told him that I was lying about the scope and he still stands by his 'I wasn't drinking' scenario. I am so ready to go to work for the CIA or is it the FBI! What psycho interrogator am I? Having the tow truck come to pull him from the ditch cost $150. Having EVERY SINGLE PERSON in our neighborhood notice the accident and call us about it has been very embarrassing for him. Me too actually, as everyone thinks I was in another car wreck.

"Sometimes DeeJay, a mother becomes super angry with her kids, but you have to know, it's because she is scared to death that something terrible might happen to them."

"Yes mom, I think I've learned a lot about mothers and drunk driving." "So wait...were you drinking." "No, but if I had I know what would happen!"

DeeJay is grounded from driving, his cell phone, his social life. He can not take Willie to work. Willie is going to have to rearrange his work schedule and find a new creative way to get home if he is going to continue working because I am not going to leave the little kids at bed time to retrieve him. Willie has also lost his social privileges. Both boys are now my personal servants. I have no idea how long this punishment will last.

As you can see, I'm ready for Vince to come home now.

Potato Harvest

There is a super typhoon in the Pacific. It is massive. It has swirled over Saipan and Guam and was heading up toward Japan last I heard. It has spun so hard and fast it has pushed all that warm humid air to us in Alaska and we are having an "Indian Summer". Middle of September and not a frost? If I stand quietly outside and take a deep breath I can imagine that I am sharing molecules with my island family.

I was breathing deeply and imagining the heat and wind of a tropical storm Tuesday, when I had a storm of my own... a brain storm.

This IS the time to dig potatoes. I made the motherly announcement, "Tomorrow after school, we dig."

Yes there was a bit of groaning.

I don't know if I blogged about last years nightmare harvest, the one in which we did just as the old timers instruct and waited for that first frost to dig. Well, first frost turned to snow in the day or two it took to find the time to dig. The event was a frozen nightmare that I swore not to relive again. (You can ask Irene, I was still complaining about that afternoon spent out in the snow and muck well into January this year. )What made this especially important for me is that this spring we expanded our garden and one of the first ways to enrich the soil is to plant potatoes. In my diggers mind we had about an acre of potatoes planted. "If we get some of it done... that's all we have to do...today..." I was not going to dig in the muddy frozen ground.


Every kid did a wonderful job digging. Especially Falcom who was so into it. Digging was a delight! Having a 4-wheeler with a trailer attached to haul our booty up the hill to our house made the experience triple good. We did the entire patch in just a couple hours. Our potatoes this year a big and juicy and delicious. I am guessing we have close to 300 pounds. Now all I have to do is figure out how to wash and dry them, but I think I will save that job for Vince.

Self Amusement

In my on-going quest to amuse myself, I convinced one very stylish salon owner to allow me to work for him. Hee Hee Hee! Now, I get to work in a salon without having to do any actual cosmetology! I get all the gossip and chick-centric energy I can stand without the overhead! Yipee!

This is my princess chair. It sits right next to the phone so that I can organize appointments.

All joking aside though, this little gig is going to do wonders for me, if I can actually be in the shop to work with all these kids and all this family. Already on my first day I got a call from the high school that there had been an altercation with Willie and that I needed to go into the office. Let's see, I'd been working an hour... (For those who are curious, some one was picking on Willie...Willie retaliated by taking the boys hat, then another boy got involved and there were punches thrown. Not Willie but the other two. Those two got suspended. Willie got a lunch detention. I got to spend 45 precious minutes dealing.) Getting out each day, seeing other people, having the opportunity for a laugh, It could be great!

Thank you Jerami. I haven't figured out how I am going to continue my Regular Tuesday with Irene, but I will find a way!

"I've Got My Freak'on for Recon"

The title of the post is in reference to my families new favorite TV show. The Penguins of Madagascar. It is wonderful that we now can watch the Penguins of Madagascar while we are hanging out in Anchorage. I can not remember the last time the four of us sat down to a TV show that we all enjoy and can laugh hard at. In fact, I can't even remember the last time we all sat down to watch TV together.

This trip to Anchorage was especially kid-centric with shopping trips and excursions revolving around things that they like. Are we on the road to spoilage? Let's consider;

There is the pool at the hotel that I let them go to whenever they asked. It is fun for them. It is something they don't get to do often so it is especially great. It is also hot and humid in the pool room and so when I am sitting in there watching them I can mildly teleport myself to equatorial climates. Today Falcom told me he thinks I must be part lizard. I asked him if my new name was Stevie. (Yet another Madagascar reference, for those of you unaware.)

There is Toys-R-Us which we only went to because Grandpa and Grammy sent a juicy gift card. It is nice to see Falcom starting to get the idea of money and it's value. He actually was doing a little basic math trying to decide what to buy. In short, I think we can notch that hour and a half up on the Alaska State Educational Guidelines and consider it a field trip.

Then there was Chuck-E-Cheese. There is plenty of active games there and since we didn't get sucked into buying pizza this could actually be considered another trip to a work-out facility. I don't know where the lollipops or cotton candy they won fit into this half brained theory about why they were not getting spoiled on this trip, but...stay with me. This picture to the right is the great electrification game. How long can you with stand the electric shock determines how many prize tickets you receive. (The children don't know this but I am counting this as a fat burning device.)

After Chuck-E-Cheese we slipped into my favorite Korean Grocery Store for some Kim-Chi and decided to eat at the Indian restaurant next door. I will definitely be returning to this restaurant. Everything we ordered had such a terrific flavor. Marina and I loved our Lamb Masala. How have we never ventured into this establishment before? The chef works behind a glass window and standing on a bench watching the operation is every kid in the restaurant. There were more children at this restaurant than I have seen at any other restaurant in Anchorage. Did I already mention the super awesome food? So, delicious ethnic food. Laid back kid friendly atmosphere. I was in heaven.

After my evaluation I find that no, my kids are not on the road to spoilage. Well, not anymore than they already were.

(Oh, and we got Vince's truck fixed. It was the alternator. Whatever, it's done. We did not want to spend our weekend together obsessing and worrying about it. Now he is off enjoying a nice long hunt with Russ.)

Anchorage

We are back in Anchorage for a weekend of fun with Vince before he leaves for his hunting trip with Russ. Thus far it has been lacking in the fun department as Vince's truck broke down just north of Girdwood in the pouring rain at 11 pm.

Fortunately, we were at the hotel ahead of him so we didn't have to deal with that (rain, no hazards, middle of the night, tow truck) and the kids.

We are determined to turn this around and have fun! More later...

Labor Day Weekend

Have any of my loyal readers become aware that here in the Greear House the "Days are Just Packed!" Sure, I spent an hour hiding in my room watching my new obsession on Netflix (Heros Season 1...A busy life with no network television leaves a person a little behind the tide.) The rest of the weekend has been rocking!

Chapter One: Date Night


Saturday night I had a date with Falcom while Vince had a date with Marina. Falcom and I went to watch Last Songs with Jerami Youngblood, Emily Rydel, and Dave Welty. It was an evening of arias and other operatic pieces. The house was packed and the music was riveting. Falcom was easily the youngest person there, with Suzanne being the second youngest (I'm Kidding!). Although he put his head on my shoulder he did not fidget a bit as we watched from the front row seats. It was a terrific night. All three performers were outstanding. It is hard to believe that there is so much talent in this one small town.

But the night did not start there. We first picked up Mema and met Suzanne and went to Cosmic Kitchen for a Pre-Opera dinner. Falcom was much more fidgety at the Cosmic Kitchen than he was at the Opera. As kids get older and more mature it is easy to forget than inside that neatly dressed, maturing body lies the same little trick playing boy that poems are written about. You can see that Mema was unimpressed in this shot. But she knows how to get him back.

Meanwhile, across town...

Vince and Marina had gone to a fellow beekeepers home to use their honey spinner. Together they spent three hours spinning honey. Then they drove out to the end of the spit to Land's End Restaurant. They changed into their beautiful clothes in the van and went in for a lovely evening together. Vince said that Marina was glowing all night.

At one point someone said to Marina, "You look lovely tonight. Are you on a date?" She replied melodically, "Yes, with my Dad."

Back at the Opera...

Falcom had a few interesting observations. First; At operas, unlike at school, people are encouraged to wear black and black makeup, black tights and black shoes. Second; When people really sing, they sweat. A lot. And, they can do weird things with their tongues. (This is something I see Falcom doing with his tongue, but didn't think it right to tell him if he hadn't noticed already.)

After the show there was a reception. Falcom is beginning to realize that he can use his notoriety as a vocalist and his innate charm to get things, like an extra piece of cake or an extra ham roll. I kept finding him with more treats than I had left him with.

We picked up Willie from work at 10pm and this may have been Falcom's best moment of the night. Older, benevolent brother Willie, graced Falcom with two cups and instructed him to get two sodas for the car ride home. Ah! Ecstasy!

We returned home to find Vince and Marina snuggled up together watching a movie. When I asked her about her night she beamed as she told me, "Did you know that they are no longer giving mermaids in the drinks at Land's End? They are too expensive and the restaurant can no longer afford them. Good night, Mom!" and she blissfully went to bed.

Chapter Two: Brunch with Konrad and Gabi

The next morning we had a 9.15 brunch date with the wonderful Konrad and Gabi. As we prepared to walk down to their beautiful house, we began to consider the best method for dealing with the honey. Our honey is so thick this year that filling one half pint to take to them as a gift took 20 minutes. We decided that this was going to be an unusually slow process.

Gabi and Konrad blew our minds with delicious food that she makes from scratch. She says that there is really nothing to it, that she pre-makes it and keeps it in the freezer for such events, but I can't help but think, 'You must have had the magical baking gift at some point in the process of preparing for this brunch or there would have been nothing in your freezer!'

Valda was there as was Gabi's young cousin. The conversations were fun and food, well, it was delicious! The entire time I felt like I was visiting friends in Switzerland. The bread she baked is a Swiss recipes. The pie was Swiss style. The Quiche had the lightest flakiest crust. The cappichino... They have a wood stove that above the main cavity has a wood fired oven. This is where she bakes her bread. Oh yea. I felt like I was sitting in a European cafe.

After eating the kids all went to the lake for a boat ride and a swim in the sun. We had a difficult time extracting them so that they could come home in time to load up the wheelers in order to join Suzanne on a ride up the head of the bay for raspberry picking!

Thank you Gabi and Konrad for a fantastic brunch!

Chapter 3: Taking the Wheelers Up the Head of the BayThe "Head of the Bay" is accessible by a crazy and dangerous switchback road that is not maintained by the state. It is kept up by an Old Believer Village called Kachemak Selo. These folks living in the village drive this hairy switch back trail like it is nothing. Suzanne works in the village and she drives it each day like it is nothing. I drove it and felt like we were on a Peruvian highway; a single lane path with blind corners around every turn. It was fun to think that I was somewhere other than Alaska while I drove down this road with my mother holding onto my waist. I took this picture while driving. What a bad idea! Why didn't I just try texting?

From the bottom of the switchback we drove past the Russian Village and down the rocky and muddy bay several miles. Vince found this unusual squid washed up on the shore. Very cool find. Coal lays everywhere down that beach. My mother found a chunk the size of a 4-wheeler. This area is used by the Kachemak Cattleman's Association. Each spring they drive their cattle to this part of the bay in order to let the cows free range all summer. The cows are then butchered in the fall and sold to people who want locally grown organic beef. It is a trip to see the cows grazing in the tidal flats. The grass along the bluffs is mowed down better than my own lawn. Sure there are cow patties everywhere, but it is beautiful to be able to walk easily on an area that is as open and manicured as a golf course. You are probably wondering about cows and bears. Knowing some of these men, if there was a bear problem they would not be loosing money by putting their cows out there. This said, Falcom did find this awesome skull in the woods.
The sun was hot and there were barely any flies and mosquitoes. I couldn't believe it! We stopped to pick berries by a creek and an abandoned cabin. It was hard to bring myself to pick when all I wanted to do was lay in the sun and sleep! I know I'm not the only one who felt this way. Falcom caught Suzanne, on more than one occasion taking a load off. We laughed and chatted and picked. We found our way across creeks and mud bogs. We came up to the Fox river and we were just spell bound by the beauty of the early fall. After a while a fog rolled in. With the sun gone it became a bit cold. It was also getting late so we turned to ride back. As my mom and I rode along the mud flats passing the silhouettes of cattle standing out in the fog I said to her, "We have done some really cool stuff together haven't we?" She said without hesitation, "Yea."
Then the wheeler Vince was riding ran out of gas. I got to have the thrill of towing him back up that sketchy switchback trail. We were both toasted from the stress of it when we got back to the parking lot. Yea, I almost rolled him once (or twice). He freaked at me once (or twice). But whew! We made it and have great memories to think back on. Thank you Suzanne for a great day!

Chapter 4: Honey
The better part of Monday morning was spent with Vince straining our honey through cheese cloth and putting it in canning jars. This is a substantial undertaking when a person is dealing with 7 Gallons of Honey! By the way, that is the quiz answer.

What you are seeing in this picture is the straining process and the jar filling. Because of the heat this summer, we have such thick honey that it is even taking a long time for the air bubbles, left over from the spinning of the comb, to rise to the surface. As you can see in the jars it looks cloudy from the bubbles.

Trust me, it is delicious.

Chapter 5: Labor Day Bar-B-Que Dinner

To cap the weekends events Valda had a great idea...hamburger dinner. She was given hamburgers a while back and decided that since today was Labor Day we should all gather and have a Bar-B-Que. I was delighted Marge, Steve R., Suzanne, and my mom could come.

Willie and I got our first look at the coming potato harvest when we went to the garden to get enough potatoes for a potato salad. Looks like it is going to be an interesting dig! Mema and the kids made these Rice Crispy Treats and when they got home we decorated them with melted chocolate.

And now, on with the week!