In case you’re all thinking every day is like the Solstice photos (previous post), they aren’t. Here the Kennicott Ferry pulls in at the Petersburg dock at about 6 degrees F. This is our ferry to Wrangell for a week clinic. We return home to find 18″ of snow on our doorstep and everywhere else. And last week was single digit temperatures so this stuff sticks around. Check out our ferry ride back:

and:

And this is tame compared to the Queen Charlotte Straits.

OK–18″ of snow and we’re back home looking out the dining room window at our slough. After a week’s absence, the birds are hungry so we put out lots of bird seed and suet. The birds are grateful–mostly juncos, a few sparrows and winter wrens. Animal tracks abound: martin, mink, otter, weasels and squirrels mostly. One of our neighbors shot the wolf…..did I mention this already?–needless waste!

Well, it’s time for another indoor project–a kitchen cabinet. I bought this Bosch table saw a few months ago–what a nice tool. It’s recommended by every builder I’ve talked to and I love it. I’m now able to make accurate cuts so I order some cherry from Crosscut Hardwoods in Seattle; “the candy store for carpenters.” It’s here within a week and I begin laying out a cabinet.

First step is to drop vertical walls down directly over the marble counter top–note the kitchen khaos. My design is for wine storage on the ends and appliances in the middle, wine glasses hung inverted beneath and dispensers for all rolled seal: wax paper, tinfoil and plastic wrap. Add in a spice rack with 360 degree rotating table…… wow!

The waffle iron is accessible between the two shelves under the log. We have fresh waffles every Sunday morning. I miss the waffle irons of yesteryear so after a brief search on the internet I find a small company in NYC that restores old toasters/appliances called Toaster Central where we purchase a 1930 Lancaster. This hurk sports a lid reminiscent of a 1954 Buick hood–here come the waffles….

Another perspective…..and yes, that is a (red) Tugboat Cookie Jar.

Here’s the wine glass rack and measuring cups hanging on copper nails…. And the spice rack spins around 360!

And now we have a curing space for our Tulikivi stove between the chimney and the cabinet. This is the last stage of a two year drying regimen–after bucking up wood in the forest, it is first covered with tarps then sledded out to the woodshed, then haul to porch, then carried inside to our woodbox, and finally transferred to this chimney spot for final drying– before burning it. This stove is 12,000 lbs of soapstone and needs very dry wood to keep our 1000 sq. ft. cabin warm. It remains warm to the touch 24 hours after firing.

Here’s a photo of our place with Bear Claw Mountain above during a brief clearing:

After shoveling 300 feet of boardwalks including our dock, I drive across the narrows and shovel the Katahdin–it is dangerous to leave snow on a boat as you might guess. This summer, we will drive her back to Seattle for some maintenance, using her for an in-city apartment.

Just before the weather cleared, we encounter this tug/fuel barge combo waiting for weather or tides. This is not place for sissies. This fuel barge supplies our diesel and gasoline which is $3.80/gallon now.

I’ll finish this post with a little Bach–the camera stopped just before the last note–a C major cord: