Fun and Sun....

Greetings Everyone!

We have been experiencing some awesome and beautiful weather for the past couple of days.  There have been some light winds -- but other than that -- the days have been glorious. 

 

Yesterday - we took a break from chores - and went into town to get our mail and some supplies.  We took the Lower Skilak Loop Road.  With all the recent warm weather - the road had dried out quite a bit -- leaving some very dry and deep ruts to maneuver over -- but all doable without 4-wheel drive.  In fact four trucks pulling skiffs and one truck pulling a trailer passed us by.

On our return from town - we met up with one of the "Islanders" -- Kirt Smith -- at the Upper Landing.  He and some of his helpers had just finished loading building supplies into their Searunner and were headed back to the Island -- to continue working on their cabin.  Kirt mentioned they had seen the cow moose again with a calf.  So it seems the cow moose that charged Clancy the other day -- had twins -- one obviously didn't make it much past a few hours after birth.

When we returned to our cabin -- we felt like jumping into the lake it was so warm!  It must have been near 80 degrees in the sun because it was 75 degrees in the shade!  Both Ernie and I are now supporting tans.  We will enjoy the warm days while we can -- because it's suppose to rain this weekend.

One of the chores Ernie completed -- was fixing the side stairs leading up to the cabin.  Rather than replace all the pebbles that were washed out by last years fall storm -- he used all weather wood to make steps.

Another task Ernie completed -- with the help of our friend Tater -- was aligning the satellite dish -- a success after many attempts at finding the 'sweet spot.'

We also had to rebuild our fire pit -- since it had been dismantled by storm waves last fall.  In addition, we continue to clean up all the driftwood out of the yard. At least we are having fun and enjoying the weather at the same time. 

This spring we have a number of Swallows nesting at the cabin and they seem not to be bothered by us -- which is good since the little birds spend quite a bit of time flying about catching mosquitoes -- so we've not had to use our mosquito magnet -- yet.

We've also noticed that the rabbits are back -- there are about half a dozen hopping about in the yard during early morning and late evening.  Last year there was a family of owls nesting on the island -- so they may have contributed to the decline in the rabbit population.  Anyway -- I'm sure we'll have more rabbits hopping about before long.

The above photo is my little wagon loaded with driftwood -- the wood will come in handy for the sauna once its dried.  Where to store it all is the question.

When we were crossing the lake -- and almost home -- we noticed that our friend, Vince had arrived at his cabin for the summer.  Later, he stopped by to say hello and leave his boat until he replaces his mooring lines that were washed out during last years fall storm.  He wants to get the new moorings in as soon as possible because the lake water is rising - so he expects to have the task completed tomorrow. 

Take Care Everyone and thank you for checking - in !!!

Returned ....

Greetings Everyone!

We are back and ready for more island adventures and yes, chores.

I snapped a photo looking back towards the Upper Landing showing our boat load with supplies. Generally in the spring - we get to the Upper Landing by traveling over the Lower Skilak Loop Road -- but this year -- friends informed us that the lower road was 'pretty bad' - meaning there were a number of mud ruts along stretches of the road -- some deep.  So - with all that information - we drove the Upper Skilak Loop Road to the Upper Landing -- there were some mud ruts but they were passable and no problem.

However, before we could even drive the road -- we had to get our boat out of storage at our friends' -- Mike and Billi. Once again -- 'generally' no problem -- but this time we discovered the tire on the boat trailer was flatter than a fritter!  We were very fortunate that Mike was home from the Slope because all of our tire changing tools were loaded in our truck under all of our supplies -- and I wasn't looking forward to unloading and reloading the truck.

Mike is a real friend -- he took the time to drag his tools out and help with the flat tire.  A BIG THANK YOU to Mike!!

Once we arrived at the cabin  about 4:PM-- we unloaded all of our supplies and hauled them up to the cabin with the 4-wheeler and trailer.  That part of the operation went smoothly. Opening up the cabin and hauling all of our supplies took us awhile -- and we were ready to relax.  Our friends, Gunter and Bridgett had invited us to dinner -- so it was wonderful to share a yummy dinner with good friends and catch-up on news.

Being home again is absolutely wonderful -- especially now that we are gaining more and more daylight -- however, Ernie was able to capture a springtime moon about 2:00 AM.

The other day - May 22nd - while we were doing spring chores outside -- we spotted a cow moose swimming from the mainland to the island. Mid-to-late May is traditionally the time cow moose 'drop their calf/calves' -- so we suspected the cow moose came to the island to safely give birth -- because she appeared very pregnant.

Then, on May 26th the islands' traditional Memorial Day Gathering was held at Gunter and Bridgett's cabin.  While at the gathering, someone mentioned they had seen a new born calf walking about the other day -- but now there was a dead calf moose over by Big Wave Dave's hot tub.  So -- I went down to Dave's place with Jeanie and snapped a photo.  At the time I told Jeanie we needed to be careful because sometimes a cow moose will stand guard over a dead calf for a few days. So we took off back to the gathering.

Later that night when the gathering broke-up - some folks left to return to their own cabins  -- either walking or on 4-wheelers.  When we got up the next morning we had a voice message from Clancy -- warning us to be on the alert for a VERY ANGRY and AGGRESSIVE cow moose -- because she attacked him as he was walking home from the gathering. From Clancy's description of the incident - it sounded frightening.  The cow moose had come running out of the bushes near Big Wave Dave's and her dead calf - stomping her hooves and charging -- forcing Clancy to run around bushes and trees -- in the meantime Clancy's German Shepard, Kara sprang into action to protect Clancy as the cow moose persisted with her attack.  Between Clancy's throwing rocks, taking evasive action and Kara's protective assaults -- the cow moose  knocked Clancy into the bushes onto his back!   As she was coming around to stomp him - Clancy's dog chopped the cow on the butt and shoulder drawing her away -- and finally chasing the moose off.  Clancy made it home - somewhat shaken but finally safe -- and he has no doubt the Kara saved his life!!

And -- to think how many folks had walked past the dead calf throughout the day - with no incident occurring! That's a chilling thought because I was one of those folks!

Clancy has alerted everyone to be on alert - so we now remain cautious and on the look out.  Hopefully, the cow moose will calm down and swim off the island -- we'll see.

Take Care -- and thank you all for checking in after our absence.