Water & Boats...

Greetings Everyone!

Yesterday, our day began with fog slowly moving in.  Below - Kirby was heading to the Upper Landing with his barge -- but the fog got thicker -- so he turned back.  Stopping at our cabin for a cup of coffee and to wait out the fog.  Normally, you can see the mainland from where Kirby has his barge moored.

The boat next to his barge is our barge -- well, its owned by both Tater and Ernie.  I'll have more in the blog about that later.

About thirty minutes later the fog lifted and Kirby set off to continue his adventure to the Upper Landing.

Once the fog lifted - it warmed up -- bringing out the mosquitoes, sunshine, warm temperatures and other Islanders.  Below, we met up with Bridgett -- wearing her latest outfit -- mosquito netting covering her from head to waist.

The lake was quite 'flat' and beautiful yesterday.  The following two photos were taken from the North side - the little spit of land is Little Caribou.

After checking out the North side of the island -- Ernie and I returned to our cabin -- and pushed out the barge.  Below Ernie just finished pushing the barge out with the four-wheeler.  It didn't take us long -- mainly because the water level is high and we used 'rollers'.

 

After pushing the barge out -- Ernie took us for a boat ride around the island and Swan Cove.  As you may recall, we went into town to get fuses for the motor.  So Ernie wanted to make sure all systems were running -- which they were.

 

After zooming around with the barge for a while - Ernie begins preparing to moor the boat.  Above Ernie paddles us around in circles -- rather romantic -- but he didn't serenade me -- rather, he directed me to 'keep looking for the yellow rope' -- which marks the spot where the barge will be moored.

With the barge moored -- I go to work raking the shore grass into somewhat of a lop sided, up-righted position.  It will not take long for it to stand up properly and fill-in.



After raking, we pumped water, did three loads of laundry, took showers and cooked dinner.  Whew!

I've had a few questions from Followers - so I'm going to answer those inquiries below:

1.  How is the rug coming along? 
Well, I discovered what I thought was an interlocking braided rug is actually a hand woven rug that looks like a braided rug.  I also discovered for every row -- I need to add 'tails' to continue making the rug larger.  Below - on the right of the photo you can see the 'tails' -- fourteen so far.  Also, I don't have a pattern in mind -- so as I weave - the rug seems to be taking on its own pattern -- which I find interesting.  Since I'm using two old sheets -- my colors are blue and white.  This is the first such rug I've made -- so it's turning out to be an interesting experience.

2.  Whatever became of the celery that you were growing in water? 
The celery grew to about four inches high - very green and looked pretty.  However, the stalks felt rubbery and fibrous.  Then the base of celery that was in the water - slowly began to rot causing the stalks to droop.  So I tossed the celery out without tasting it.  So much for that idea.

3.  I like seeing the flowers that you put on the blog.  Have you thought of making a book just showing the flowers growing around your cabin?
Thank you and yes.  I've been collecting photos for that purpose.  I'm also thinking of making a calendar. 


Take Care -- and enjoy the last days of June!

Just Good Fun ...

Greetings Everyone!

Can you believe this beautiful weather!  On Solstice, the plan was to board Kirby's barge about 8:PM and circumvent the island.  However, the winds picked-up and we received much needed rain instead -- so the barge cruise was postponed.

Below - our neighbors - Nancy and Vince were prepared for the evening barge cruise.  Complete with matching Pee-coats and caps.

For these past few days - flowers around our cabin have burst into bloom -- adding color everywhere.  Below - Bluebells and Western Columbine share a growing spot. Both grow wild around our cabin.

Below -- the Honeysuckle bush by our deck is in bloom and smells wonderful!  It's one of bushes that Jessy Anderson brought to the island and cultivated.  It is also one of the plants the moose like to munch on.

Below - is another one of Jessy Anderson's bushes that she planted back in the 1930's -- a Lilac - which also grows by our deck.  When the winds blow gently - the fragrance's from the Honeysuckle and Lilac come wafting into the cabin.  Awesome!

The plant below is Bee Balm - some call it Horsemint or Monarda.  This plant grows like crazy all around our cabin and is a moose favorite for munching.  It can be used as an antiseptic and to clot blood flow -- but I've never tried it. It too was brought to our cabin sit - but it grows in other areas of Southcental Alaska and is considered a wildflower.

Ernie was preparing to push the barge out but before he did - he wanted to make sure the boat's motor was in working order -- good thing -- because the motor wouldn't start.  He did some trouble shooting and was convinced the problem was a fuse -- but he wanted to make sure.  Below - Vince had come over to offer another pair of eyes and together, they located the blown fuse.  After looking in our supply box of fuses -- Ernie didn't have the right size -- so today, we are going into town to get a replacement fuse -- and launch the barge tomorrow.

After fixing the fuse problem -- Ernie's next fix-it-project was to figure out why our propane hot water heater was not lighting. We'd changed the propane tank - but couldn't get the pilot light to relight. Then -- out of the blue -- Kirby showed up and offered his expertise.  Below - Kirby is hamming it up before evaluating the problem and using it as a teaching moment.  I learned quite a bit about the hot water heater and how to identify the problem. Ernie wasn't too surprised with the problem because he'd already figured it was the 'coupler' -- anyway, Kirby's lesson of instruction was valuable -- he even dusted off the apparatus before he and Ernie replaced the cover.  So now we add 'couple' to our shopping list.

Below -- is the main reason Kirby dropped by.  He's been running a Vole trap line at his cabin -- setting out mouse traps to catch Voles outside of his cabin.  Kirby mentioned that when he came by a few days ago - he'd noticed a Vole scurrying for cover under our deck.  So - being the good neighbor that he is --  Kirby set-up a Vole trap line for us -- complete with peanut butter bait.  I told Kirby I wouldn't have a problem checking the trap line -- but whatever was caught -- he'd have to skin it.  With all that said - this morning there was one fat Vole caught.

 
Since we had a lot of driftwood brought to our shores from last falls' storm -- I decided to be creative with some of the little pieces -- so -- I made a wind chime -- stringing piece together with fish line -- which I happily display below.  I actually got the idea from a fancy gift store somewhere.  Anyway, my creation will go into the greenhouse.

Also, two days ago we saw the moose.  She's not big and not little.  She took off right away when she heard us changing our propane tanks.  I believe she's not all that interested in being near people or people's things.  When I checked the trees, bushes and plants around the cabin - there was no sign that she was sneaking around.

Well, since we are heading into town today -- I need to hustle. 
Take care everyone -- and thank you for dropping by.

Summer Solstice ...

Greetings Everyone!

Our days are moving right along -- with the weather.  It's cooled into the 70's now -- much better! 

The other day a Bald Eagle came to watch what we were doing -- or at least I  like to think so. Each year -- about this time, the eagles come to roost in the tall Cottonwood tree down by our moored boat. It's always an eye stopper to watch those large birds come soaring past the cabin and maneuver themselves ever so gently onto a branch.

On Wednesday - we had our first strong winds -- blowing 30 mph for a couple of hours.  Below - when the winds first began to pick-up -- we moved our boat up closer to shore and re-secured the ropes.  Ernie took this photo of me undoing one of the side boat ropes from a rock.   

During the windstorm -- I took the opportunity to take our cabin's indoor rug out onto the deck and scrub it down.  Why scrub down a rug in a windstorm?  Because the winds kept the mosquitoes away. The mosquitoes are rather abundant this year!

After the windstorm abated - I noticed the swan decoy that I had attached as a buoy was gone.  So it didn't pass the wind test!  Bummer - now I 'll need to canoe the shoreline to see if I can find it and bring it back. 

On Thursday - Kirby and Greg brought some lumber to the island on Kirby's barge.  Below the guys unloaded a heavy beam.  The guys (Ernie, Greg, Randy & Gunter - not in the photo) carried the beam using a scrap piece of 2x4 with two men walking side by side at each end of the beam -- pretty nifty.

Afterwards - all the helpers relaxed on Kirby's barge - an almost mosquito free zone.

 

 

Below - I noticed a young Cow Parsnip plant growing in the yard.  These plants are wild and common for this area -- they  grow  5 to 8 feet tall with large, very pretty white flowers.  However, if you touch them - they can irritate your skin.   Alaskan Natives -- in the old days-- used to cook and eat the roots. 

 

The lake water continues to rise -- and now the barge is almost ready to push off the shore and into the lake.  We'll give it another day or two.  Afterwards, we plan to make a fuel run.  Not my most fun thing to do.

With Summer Solstice upon us -- Kirby is planning to host the traditional Summer Solstice Cruise - motoring his barge around the island.  So later this evening - we will go cruising.

Take Care Everyone and enjoy the longest day of the year!

Hot & Lovely Mosquitoes!!

Greetings Everyone!

Has it ever been so hot?!  The National Weather Service issued a "red flag'' alert the other day -- letting Alaskans know that our temperatures have been abnormal, record breaking, fire danger high and snow melting fast from the mountains-- so everything is official -- it's DARN hot for most of us. 

Of course with all the above normal temperatures our lake water has been rising more quickly than usual.  Below the waters are coming closer and closer to the barge. Once the waters get a bit closer and a bit deeper -- we can push the barge out and go for a fuel run.

With all this hot weather -- the mosquito population has explored!  Lots and Lots of mosquitoes to bug everyone constantly.  Only the Swallows seem to enjoy all the mosquitoes.  Ernie had put out our mosquito magnet a few weeks back and its been going full-time.  Below -- I took a photo of all the dead mosquitoes crammed into the mosquito magnets mesh bag before we emptied it.   

Yesterday we went into town to get a few supplies and I dressed in typical Alaskan fashion.  Chest wades for 'water boat work' -- and to ward off mosquitoes -- a long sleeve shirt and a mosquito net head cover. I was also sprayed with lots and lots of  "Essence of Mosquito Dope".

 

The mosquitoes have been so bad -- that all the stores in town were sold out of mosquito zappers and repellents.  I'm glad we stocked up on mosquito dope the last time we went into town because everything was sold out!  We couldn't believe it - even all the mosquito magnets and related supplies. 

Another interesting happening in town -- was seeing all the Alaskans going about with sunburns and 'real' tans!  Below - is our temperature reading at 7:30 pm!!  Today's temperature is suppose to be the same as yesterdays.

Since I'm not used to hot weather - I try and get out of the hot sun in the late afternoons when it seems to be the hottest.  So to do something fun, I decided to try my skills at making a no-sew, four-strand, braided rug from all the old sheets we no longer use.  So far - I seem to be following directions well.

Oh - Ernie has been doing a lot of bar-b-cuing lately -- and I wanted to share a trick he found on the Internet for charcoal grilling smoked chicken.  The technique produces cooked and very moist, tasty chicken. I suppose it could also be used on other meats.

Place a pan half-full of water directly onto the bed of charcoals when they are gray. Leave some room along the sides to place 4-6 handfuls of soaked wood chips (apple or hickory). Put the soaked chips directly onto the hot coals.

Then, put the chicken on the grill over the pan of water.  Use medium heat! Cover and smoke the chicken.  If you are doing a whole chicken (not cut up) - it'll take about two hours.  About half-way through the cooking process, check and add more water, coals and wet chips if needed. Yummy!!

Take Care Everyone!!

Plants and Whatnot ...

Greetings Everyone!

This summer continues to be absolutely beautiful here at the cabin!  So many warm days with lots of sunshine. With all the perfect weather, we've been delving into projects that we've been meaning to get to -- or else just catching up on. 

Also, I don't know what it is -- but we just haven't gotten around to re-staining the decks.  For some reason we find something else to do.  The other day I went into the greenhouse and reorganized, cleaned it up and played around with the plants -- while Ernie organized his work shed.

Later, I went around the yard looking for rhubarb plants in the old garden site and found three that looked promising for replanting.  The soil at our cabin is not the best -- so plants that are not native to this area have a very difficult time growing -- plus moose love to eat whatever they can get into. 

For a bit of background -- our cabin is on the original homestead site that was established by Andy Anderson in the late 1920's.  He and his wife, Jessie had a large vegetable garden -- which included rhubarb.  They were able to grow various vegetables because they kept the soil fertile by using the manure from their horses and goats -- plus, Andy had built a fence around the garden to keep out the moose, horses and goats.

After Jessie died at the age of 40, in 1940, Andy moved off the island and only returned to the homestead every now and then until he sold Caribou Island to a developer in the late 50's.  So most of Jessie's plants either died off or struggled to survive.

Thus -- my search for rhubarb.  Below -- I transplanted the little plants into a bin with commercial top soil and steer manure.  So - I shall see if I can bring back Jessie Anderson's rhubarb.  Of course, it will take a couple of growing seasons before I can harvest rhubarb for pies and other baked yummy goods. In addition, I'll need to transplant them -- somewhere.

As I was saying -- we've been allowing ourselves to become distracted from re-staining the decks.  Below - is our outhouse undergoing the addition of cedar panels.  When we built our sauna a couple of years back -- Ernie had some scraps of cedar left over which he had stacked away for some other future project.  So -- we decided to put the cedar to use and get it out of the way.

No, that's not a tree growing in our outhouse -- it's a vent pipe that I covered with birch bark a few years ago. Yes, there is a roof on the outhouse -- it's clear corrugated roof paneling for lighting.

Another project Ernie found -- as he was looking up at one of our solar panels -- were some wires that had come loose - in fact -- wires that appeared to be snapped in two.  So up onto the shed roof he went -- where he discovered that he needed to make some repairs and re-secured the wiring.  Mission accomplished!

Back to plants -- after I finished with the rhubarb -- I took a stroll around to see what other plants are now growing or coming into bloom.  We have a number of 'Beautiful Jacob's Ladder' in bloom under and beside our deck.

 

Plus, the 'Prickly Rose'  bushes are beginning to bloom -- Jessie Anderson used to gather up the petals and make jelly and tea.  Some Alaskans still continue to gather up the petals.  I've not tried yet -- I just enjoy seeing the plants in bloom. 

 

Another side story -- Jessie Anderson was an experimenter with plant seeds. She planted numerous plants to see what would or could grown on their homestead and, in this climate.  She actually became a seed seller.  Selling her seeds to seed companies. Jessie became well known around this area for her seed success.  

 

There are still many of Jessie's flowering plants growing around our cabin site and most are edible or medicinal. When those come into bloom -- I'll show you.

Jessie was also a self-taught artist and she designed her own seed packets which she and Andy 'ran off' on their mini-printing press.  Andy would then take the finished seed packets up lake and mail them from Copper Landing to the seed companies or to customers. 

 

Another one of Jessie Anderson's plants growing around our cabin -- are raspberry bushes.  This year they seem to be everywhere!  I love the raspberry bushes and I've actually gathered some of the berries and made jam.  A couple of years back however, when a bear came to the island -- it found the bushes and that bothered me BIG TIME! 

Well, so much for side stories and plants.  Today, I believe we'll do the re-staining of the decks.  I think.

Take care everyone -- and a big HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the dad's out there!

Warm & Warmer Daze!!

Greetings Everyone!

The great weather just keeps coming and coming -- PLUS lots of mosquitoes -- but hey, it's all good. 

Below - Ernie is preparing to pump water from the lake  -- it goes into the 100 gallon holding tank inside of our cabin. Once Ernie gets the pump going -- its my job to ensure the water comes flowing up to the cabin. 

We have three water filter systems associated with the pumped water -- one is at the intake from the lake, one is attached to the cabin filtering water going into the holding tank -- and the last filter is attached to the kitchen sink -- specifically to filter our drinking water.

So -- with all that in mind -- as I was monitoring the water filter going into the cabin -- I spotted a small fish (fry) come gushing into the filter bowl.  After we finished pumping water - we had to dismantle the filter bowl.  Below - Ernie and I are looking at the little fish (fry) floating at the bottom of the filter bowl.

Then, we unceremoniously dumped the fry out onto a piece of scrap wood, replaced the filter and called it 'good.'

With all the warm weather -- we decided this was the perfect time to check-out our portable fire hose.  Below - Ernie is  looking over the equipment to see if we have everything we need to conduct a fire drill.

With all equipment ready -- we went down to the lake and began testing our fire drill skills.  Ernie was the first to start the generator to ensure it was operating properly.  Then, he shut it down and had me restart the generator.  He's always making sure that I know how to use all the equipment at the cabin.  (Well - most -- I've not been instructed on the use of our chain saw.)

So -- with all systems go -- we attached a 50 foot section of fire hose and began our drill. Below Ernie is instructing me on how to handle the hose and nozzle because the water pressure is quite strong.  We only attached a 50 foot section of hose.  With all the water pressure  however, the spray was able to reach way up past the front side of our cabin.  If we had attached the other 700 feet of hose we could have easily reach the back and sides of the cabin.

 

 

Last year - Ernie purchased connectors for two garden hoses to be attached to each side of the water pump.  So we practiced attaching a garden hose to one side of the pump -- and it worked quite well -- with both the hoses spraying. We traded off back and forth to get a feel for the different hoses and to 'pretend' we were aiming at a fire. 

 

Well, I just had to take things a step further -- being tempted by the heat of the day -- I began spraying Ernie via the garden hose attachment  -- and also sprayed myself in the process -- "Girls just want to have fun ..."

 

Later, Clancy showed up to 'shoot the breeze' and bask in the hot days of summer.

 

 

With all this warm weather - Ernie and I have taken to cooking outside on the bar-b-que.  From the weather reports -- it looks like we're in for another week of some very nice, warm days.

 

Take Care Everyone!

Summer Day's...

Greetings Everyone!

Gee - it's been rather warm here at the cabin -- getting into the mid 70's to upper 80's! No rain and very little wind - if any.

The other day - Clancy and Big Keith stopped over to watch the NBA playoff  finals -- they came in style --- arriving by boat, wearing shorts and sandals. I must say they were brave -- since the mosquitoes are unbelievable this year.  We now have our mosquito magnet going full-time -- it's 'catching' lots of the little, annoying critters - the mosquito magnet bag must have gathered close to a thousand!

Below - Ernie is securing a piece of drift wood to serve as a hand rail for our side deck stairs.  Looks easy - but he had to spray himself down with lots of mosquito dope just to work.  He's just about finished with that project and then, we'll move on to re-staining the decks around the cabin.

The other day Kirby came by on his barge with a load of supplies -- heading towards his cabin. Since it takes him about 45 minutes to cross the lake on a calm day -- and it was calm -- we could see that Kirby spent his leisurely cruise reading a newspaper and guiding his barge every now and then.

One of my tasks I like doing at the cabin -- is mowing the small patches of lawn that we have.   There are various places where wild flowers grow and I enjoying seeing them -- so I'm careful not to mow them down.  With all that in mind, while mowing yesterday, I came across a patch of little blue flowers --  Forget-me-nots -- the Alaskan State flower.

The goose buoy I put out the other day -- still floats.  I believe its going to remain floating - but it has yet to be tested by the winds. 

 

Below - is a view from our cabin - looking up lake.  The water levels continue to rise each day - slowly coming closer to shore and the snows are melting from the mountains. 

Soon it will be Summer Solstices -- we are having about 18 hours of daylight now - and our nights are mostly dusk before the sun comes up again.


Take care - and thank you for checking on us.