The first order of business this summer is to go fishing. I first invite a friend who knows where the fish are and we catch about 15 halibut–all small ones–but we toss some back. Halibut are getting smaller–if you want the big ones (40#), you need to drive about 50 miles each way–and then it becomes cost effective to simply buy it from our local fish processor. These are two Pacific Cod and below them, two halibut caught in one pull:
The Bambis show up in force this year–two sets of twins and a single. The bounce around like ping-pong balls–a great source of entertainment.
A kitchen window view while washing dishes.
The outdoor kitchen gets a work-out. I pressure washed the whole area–and it’s like new except the debris on the roof which all came with the Easter storm. I caught a total of 6 crab (Dungies) this year, then the commercial guys moved in. Their pots go dry at low tide and I count their catch–numbering 20 per pot. These are over-harvested and the Petersburg Creek estuary should be for the locals only. I’ve counted about 200 pots in front of my house.
The commercial pots. I use a 24 oz. plastic container full of fish spines and sometimes throw in a halibut carcass for good measure. What are they using?
You have to cook crab outdoors. The master chef of the Yacht Club in action.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the pies I made–nothing finer for breakfast with a cup of coffee. I only made four this short summer–one rhubarb from my front yard and a peach pie–surprisingly good peaches this year at our local grocery.
A typical one-room log cabin in Alaska–been here now 18 years in this cabin and hope to make another 18. My “Chilkat” blanket is made in Nepal and has a 40% pagoda look to it. The Norwegian flag hangs with the Ross Island Yacht Club of Antarctica burgee–and has been through the NW Passage thanks to Polar Bound (posted here).
This caught my curiosity–a string of poop. Now what animal does this? I think a squirrel. Possibly a porcupine. The Peterson Field Guide of Animal Tracks by Adolph Murie is ambiguous here. Strictly coincidental, this cabin was built by Harry Merriam, who worked under Adolph at McKinley in 1955…..and I worked with Adolph 1970-72. Speaking of poop….
–my septic system failed after 50 years (built out of plywood in 1973). I decide to rebuild the same design but out of concrete–this is a tank worthy of it’s contents! A South Kupreanof Yacht Club upgrade “where a straight flush now beats a full house.” The trick was to bypass the, er,…..you-know-what….to provide a good working environment.
I calculated 20 bags of concrete mix and it took 25–I think I got short-sacked (like short-sheeting, but instead with concrete). I built a mixing box of very high calibre and hand mixed everything.
This is the lid–reinforced like the West Seattle Bridge–which has developed cracks throughout. Not this lid! OK–on to more cheerful topics. BTW–I lost about 10 lbs. working cement for a week. Good Alaska exercise.
I switched to Starlink. It works but doesn’t and there is no service. But, I cancel it outright each fall when I leave. Download times are about 250bps and 40 or so upload. I get periodic pauses when I stream radio (NPR) about once a minute. Starlink says I don’t see sattelites all the time. My rain-barrel shows some wear and tear but produces about 45 gallons of water after an hour’s rain. I’ve four of them and carry water to my greenhouse saving the pump energy. The hydro now cranks out about 500W/h during these same rains. Combined with my additional solar, my generator came on about four or five times this (short) summer). I leave August 1.
I got a deal on these–they were paltry and nearly dead at our local hardware store–paid $40 for them still–but pruned them back and fertilized the with Miracle-Grow and they flourished. The hummers love them although there were just a few this year.
Painted all my windows on ground level–two-tone blue and light blue-green. These windows were given to me years ago so I replaced the little peep-hole ones that came with the house. The look out over the kitchen sink seen in the above photo…..and look out into the yard where the bambi’s play.
When living off grid, one needs a dock. Here is a 14′ tide, but tides range from 22.5′ to minus 4.5′ for a total displacement of 27′. They are higher only in the Bay of Fundy and Cook Inlet. My Thern crane still works although it’s slow. I re-rigged all my propane tanks to haul in pairs and bought an expensive gas detector to find a leak. There is still a small one perhaps under the house–and propane sinks so that’s first on my list next Spring when I return. The hose fittings are to blame which are made off-shore. Ross Perot was right, that we’d hear a “great sucking sound” if we shipped our manufacturing overseas. This is actually a loud hissing sound but Ross had the right idea. (I voted for him).
Forest fires from BC and the Yukon cause eerie sunsets–like Mars although I’ve not yet been to Mars.
Petersburg through the haze one mile distant. Devil’s Thumb and the Stikine Icefields are hidden. This photo was taken early in the morning–the sun rises directly over Devil’s Thumb just after 3am, even when you can’t see it. Sunset is around 9:30pm so that makes for a long day at the summer solstice–nights are never dark.
August 1 and it’s now getting darker. Time to head south and sell my book–next post. And my tug has a stuck rudder and some planks that need replacing…. Stay tuned!