Really great times

Our trip to Eurpoe was better than I could've ever hoped for. Traveling with Sven and Balika and their kids was a blast--both Sven and Balika are such saavy world travelers...nothing rattled them. I've known Balika my entire life and Sven since Balika started dating him. Balika is able to plan and coordinate events, figure out mode of transportation so seemingly easily. And she always has such a positive attitude. Its pretty incredible. She is one cool gal! I also was impressed by her ability to whip great meals together on the boat with whatever food was in the small fridge. (She attributes this skill to being raised on a boat and having to pull meals together on a whim with whatever was in the fridge).

Patrick has known Sven more than me over the years, as Patrick works with him at the museum. Sven is also so positive, easy going and has a good sense of humor about things. They made the trip seamless.

Zoya

Joe Miller and Me

I've found that people who see this photo have one of three reactions. They either find it hilarious, scary or think, 'right on'. It all depends on how well they know me, and their view of Joe Miller and his chances of becoming Alaska's next senator. Joe Miller is a very polarizing figure - people either love or hate him.

To be candid I did vote for Lisa M.U.R.K.O.W.S.K.I. (did I spell it right?), but unlike many others who voted for Lisa or McAdams (the Democratic choice) I actually do agree with a few of Joe's views. I am against big government wasteful spending. I hate pork. However, I also fully realize that Alaska is completely dependent on Federal pork, and to reject it completely is not the smartest idea in the world. I also like my politicians to work across the aisle and try to get things done for the good of their country and not for the good of just their particular party. In the run up to the primaries Joe made a point of criticizing Lisa because she had on occasion voted with the Democrats.

By election time I had decided Joe Miller is small-minded, spiteful, and a bit of hypocrite. I find him pretty darn scary , and I decided to vote for Lisa because she had the best chance of beating Joe. What's funny is that I am not all that wild about Lisa either. In fact, if the race had been between just Lisa and McAdams - I would have voted for McAdams (who I know very little about). I am also worried that if elected Lisa might well swing wildly to the right and attempt to appeal to the Joe Miller crowd.

We do need something better than the 2 party system. I'm tired of having to just vote Democratic or Republican. Perhaps if Lisa does win as a write-in candidate it might shake things up a bit. Perhaps in the future we'll change the primary rules a bit and third party candidates might start to stand a chance of getting elected.

So why did I post this photo? Because I find it hilarious. Patrick

Barcelona Beach

One of the big pluses in Barcelona was a lovely beach--it was man made in 1992 for the Summer Olympics. (Its hard to wrap my mind around the high number of dump trucks of dirt it would take to build the beach!) There are a few small restaurants along the beach, which worked out great, as us adults could sit and each lunch and have drinks while the kids played in the sand in our view. Patrick and I both took impromptu dips into the Mediterranean--the water was warm and clear. Patrick took the scenic of Barcelona from the water. Nora had her little hat on and my sunglasses...I called her little "Suri".

The veggie photo was taken at a huge market in Barcelona--which was only open 1 day when we were there. The selection of veggies, meat,cany, ice cream, etc. was unbelievable. Out of this world incredible.

Zoya

Some Canal de Midi Scenics

It was hard to take a 'bad' photo on our canal cruise. At one point I set up my point and shoot camera on a tripod on the bow of the boat and had it set to automatically take a picture a minute. The results were humbling - most of the pictures were stunning. That's right, even with no composition and taken at random moments those pictures were as good as the ones I took when I 'was trying'.

The ordered plane trees (called sycamores in America) set along the banks of the canal made for some great reflections and silhouettes. The plane trees not only provide shade and beauty but they also help to hold the canal walls together and prevent erosion. They are quite functional, and I couldn't quite help but wonder if in America rather than trees providing such a function we'd use metal siding or some other ugly but functional material to do the same job.

We noted that many of the trees appear to be dying and that a number of them have been spray painted yellow around the base as if slated for removal. It appears that some sort of beetle blight is killing a number of the trees (at least that is what I got out of a taxi cab driver, but he did not speak English and my French is of the 'school boy' variety at best). I hope it is not a total tree plague on the order of what the Chesnut blight or Dutch Elm disease did to trees in America. It's very scary to think of what the canal would look like without any of the plane trees. The ordered plane trees ARE the Canal de Midi. Patrick

The top photo is of the town of Castelnaudary where we started our trip. The bottom photo is of Nora on top of the boat as we were going through a very long tunnel.

Training Begins Now

Now that we are back from France and there is snow on the mountains, it is time to start training for the Tour of Anchorage cross country ski race. The race is in early March. Zoya wants to do the 25K race while I am contemplating the 50K distance.

After all that good food in France we were feeling a little bloated when we got back last week. It has felt good to strap on the old skiis. For the last few days I have been going around and around on a little 2K loop I established up past the ski chalet. I have been pleasantly surprised by my early season conditioning - especially after a slothful 2 weeks in France. I guess the elk hunt 3 weeks ago managed to outlast the canal trip to France.

Photos: Top - the 'beaver pond' portion of my 2K skate ski loop. This is the easiest portion of my loop. The other parts are far more hilly with a little brush thrown in here and there. Bottom - the view towards Sheratin Mountain from Pyramid on Saturday morning. The first few days back from France I went alpine skiing rather than cross country because I had to wait to for the beaver ponds to freeze up. Patrick

Cultural and Parental Differences

Travel can really bring out the best, and worst in people.

From the moment I stepped off the plane in Paris, I sensed that our kids were viewed as an annoyance. At first I thought that maybe it was only when the kids screamed, but I soon realized that our family was getting harsh stares from strangers even when our kids were good. As we walked through the Paris airport I became aware of how few kids I saw. Virtually none. This was in such sharp contrast to the Minneapolis airport we had just come from. Kids in strollers, a toy store for kids. Kids, kids, kids.

In the Paris airport I wanted to tell the people who were standing, staring at us intensely, "can you cut our family some slack? we just flew from Alaska." I wished there were paper signs around the kids which said, "Just flew from Alaska. May be Grumpy". Heck, I could've used one of those signs! During our 24 hours in Paris, I continued to get the feeling from Paris folks that kids were not really welcome. Or they should be seen (maybe) and definitely not heard. This was a bummer, as we had two young, tired kids.

As we boarded the train to Spain, the feeling towards kids changed almost immediately. People on the train were smiling at the kids and as we boarded several people helped with our bags and getting onto the train. In Barcelona there were kids everywhere-even late at night. We got lots of smile from strangers as we pushed the kids in their strollers. The whole cultural attitude is very different towards children.

Now I"m not one to embrace the "Kids should be everywhere, doing everything" philosophy that many Americans have--there are some things where kids should be left at home. There are events which are only for adults and kids wouldn't fully appreciate-and kids could deter someone elses enjoyment of the event. At these events, kids really do need to be left home. But I'm also not one to balk at having kids out and about, travelling some, being in public etc. And making some noise. Kids are kids, afterall.

Patrick and I discovered that we differ on our parenting philosophies in this regard. (and we agree to disagree on this topic) I'm more in line with the Spanish Philosophy, Patrick more with the french. I think there is probably a happy medium somewhere in between which we attempt to achieve. As two people working to parent together, its good to recognize these differences and try to meet middle ground. This generally works the best!

With Stuey, there were times when he was overly tired/hungry and would start melting down--almost literally. (Balika and Sven can attest to this!!!). My thinking would be "lets get Stuey some food and/or rest and we can't expect him to be angel 3 year old boy right now." Patrick was of the mindset that a hungry/tired 3 year old boy SHOULD be able to keep it together and not cry. And be an adult. This was one of the biggest differences in thinking we had with the kids during the trip. For some reason, I think in our culture, men expect their sons to be "mini" men. Even at the age of 3, expect them to keep it together and not cry when they're tired.

It was really interesting to see how 2 cultures so close geographically could have different acceptance levels of kids. When I got home to the US, I was thrilled with the words of "oh, I remember those days" that people muttered as we strolled by them with sick Nora holding onto her throw up bag (she had a stomach virus the entire flight home. We think it was the tap water in Barcelona). All in all, I learned that I probably wouldn't travel back to France with the kids with them young. Only when they're much older. And this trip was a chance for Patrick and I to learn more about our parenting styles and differences.

Zoya

-Stuey and Eilidh sharing a moment in Castelnaudary, France. I believe Eilidh may be Stuey's first crush. He wanted to sit next to her, walk next to her, talk with her....
-Taken at one of the stops on the canal trip, the girls went and tried out some grapes in the fields. oh so yummy!
-Balika and I preferred the liquified version of the grapes--wine! We discovered that bagged french wine (and boxed, too) was really good!
-Me enjoying my first European chocolate crepe. So delicious. This one had some almond something or another on it, too.
-A caricature that was done of Patrick and I in Barcelona. It was so fun to do with eachother!

Maneuvering the locks on the Canal De Midi

Part of our trip to Europe consisted of a 1 week trip down Canal Midi in a small boat in Southern France. We took the train to Castelnaudary, France and met up with Haakansons, where we boarded a 40 to 50 foot boat and motored (VERY slowly) 157 KM to the Mediterranean ocean. Part of the adventure with the canal trip was navigating through the nearly 60 locks. The canal Midi was built in the 1670s and used to be one of the main supply routes for food and goods in the Midi region of France. It connected the Mediterranean Ocean with the Garonne river and boat could travel through France all the way to the Atlantic Ocean without going through the Straits of Gibralter (an important point during the frequent wars between France and Britain when the British controlled the Straits). By the 20th century it was pretty much obsolete for commercial purposes due to the small size of the locks and the advent of railways in the 1850's. However, in the last 30 years there has been a renaissance of sorts with tourism and the canal has been completely fixed up and repaired.

Patrick did the trip in 1981 when the canal had just recently been fixed up and tourism was just beginning. He saw a few of the last commercial barges to use the canal. He also had to hand crank the locks open. Today the locks are all operated electronically.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Canal trip--what would the locks be like? Would our kids fall overboard? Would Stuey go running off the side? I'm typically not a worry-wort mom, but in the days preceeding the boat trip, my heart would skip a few beats when I thought about Stuey on the boat--and the possibility of him falling in the water. From the pictures of the boat that I saw prior to the trip, I saw that it wasn't a boat that was necessarily made for 3 year olds. I knew, however, there would be rules for lifejackets for the kids and lots of sets of adult eyes on the kids. (For this reason, we had our old babysitter, Hannah, come along for the trip to help with the kids. She babysat for the kids for two years in Kodiak and is now living in Germany. She was thrilled at the prospect of coming along to help with the kids and we were so thrilled to have her along!)

There were a few scary moments with Stuey in the beginning on the boat--where I thought my heart was going to leap through my throat...Stuey testing his 3 year old limits on the boat. Sven did a lot of re-assuring and helping with Stuey.

The locks work like this: You approach the lock in the boat. The guy who runs the lock comes out, and opens the gate up so you can drive the boat in. They close the gate. Then, you boat sinks like the plug was pulled in a bathtub. The water is being released to the part of the canal below. Once you are at the water level of the lower section, they open the door and you motor through. Several of the locks, had 4 or 5 different gates to them, and it would take over 1/2 hour to travel through them.

Sven drove the boat almost the entire journey and was truly a lock Master. You could tell he had lots of boat expereince, as there is an art to maneuvering the boat in/out of the locks without hurting the boat--knocking it against the walls, for instance. On our trip, we saw several skippers who had a hard time manuevering their boats, and it gave us a real appreciation for Skipper Sven's boat saavy-ness. At times there was 1 or 2 other boats in the lock with us, which made navigating in the canal more challenging--making sure the boats didn't bump into one another.

Going in and out of locks took 3 adults--Sven driving the boat, one adult to tie the back line and one adult to tie the front line. The lines were released when the boat moves forward. Balika and Patrick were the primary line people. I did it a few times, but to be honest-it freaked me out. Something about the boat sinking, and the fear that I would do something wrong and the boat would be hurt. I kept joking with Sven after doing a lock, I'd ask-" well, that was pretty bad. Am I fired yet?" He never fired me.

The boat really served as a floating hotel-with 4 small bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small (but efficient) kitchen and living area. The kids would spend their day playing below or on top, or on bike ride along the canal. We could bike and run faster than the boat could go. The max speed for the boat was 6 KM per hour. This pained Sven.

Zoya

Below is a time lapse Youtube video of the whole process.

"You're Doing What?"

Today we returned from a 2 week family vacation to France and Spain. In the weeks preceeding our trip, people asked me about the journey and after I told them the travel details, many would reply with, "I can't believe you're taking a 3 and 5 year old to Europe. Glad its not me!". After hearing this so many times, I started to doubt that the trip would be worth the journey. Europe is half way across the world. Were we crazy?

As it turns out, the answer was no-we were not crazy. In fact, we had a blast. Sure, the airplane ride over to Eurpose and train ride to Southern France were a little rough. I won't powder puff the reality of travel with a toddler who has just flown across the world. However, hanging out with the Haakansons and all the adventures we had and yummy food we shared together made it all so worth it. Plus, our family grew closer. I learned some new tactics in dealing with Stuey's strong-headedness from Sven and Balika. Our kids had a fun time with Balika and Sven's kids. It was a true pleasure. And our lack of internet access for the 2 weeks provided good solid time to share with eachother. WIFI hot spots are a rare find in Europe, so even updating the blog quickly wasn't possible. Or checking Facebook. Or e-mail.

We arrived home to happy dogs and snow this morning. When I got into the house, I said, "Its good to be home." and Stuey replied with "Our house smells good." This made me smile. Theres nothing better than the warm smell of your own house after a long trip.

Zoya

Photos:
-Boating down the Canal Midi in Southern France. Sven was the brave skipper of our boat! He navigated us through over 55 locks.
-Group photo at Gaudi Museum in Barcelona.
-Hannah K., myself and Balika at a girls dinner in Barcelona. Self photo by Hannah! :)
-Sven and Stuey upon arriving at the Mediterranean Sea at the end of the week long canal trip.
-A silly posed shot of us pointing the same direction as Christopher Columbus--as seen in Statue behind us. We believe Columbus is pointing West. Taken in Barcelona.

We're back and I'm on Snow!

We're back after 2 weeks of visiting with the Haakansons in France and Spain (more on this trip to come). We did not have access to the internet. I found this quite refreshing while others did not. Anyway, on Tuesday I was swimming in my birthday suit in the Mediterranean Ocean and today I am skiing on Pyramid Mountain back here on Kodiak. I love the contrast and it is GREAT to be back. Patrick

Freezer Full

Before the elk hunt our freezer was looking a little bare. Now it is full. After the hunt was over it took all day Sunday and Monday to cut, process and wrap all the meat from the two elk. I have two freezers, and before we divided up the meat between all the parties, they were both completely full of meat. No room to spare. Everyone who went on the elk hunt ended up with a full cooler of wrapped meat. And we still have to grind up all the burger meat!

It is a very welcome change from last year when we did not harvest an elk. By the following May we were out of meat. And compared to deer and goat, elk comes in BIG slabs. We will be having some BIG roasts this year! Patrick

HealthCare shopping--Venting

Today I worked with a client who wanted help finding out about surgery options, MRI costs, etc for her knee. Cost is always a factor in making health care decisions, especially with costly exams such as MRI's. Even with insurance, there are co-pays and deductibles to consider. To help her through the muddy waters of medical decision making, I called Anchorage Fracture and Orthopedic Clinic to find out what an MRI cost-$1534 for an MRI of the knee. Plain and Simple. Nothing sneaky.

Then I called Providence Kodiak to see what the cost is for a knee MRI. I was transferred from the front desk, to radiology, then to the answering machine of someone in quality control department. I didn't leave a message. I got the feeling they really don't want to answer questions like that.

This was the exact reason I opened up my clinic. To provide honest, care at a pre-disclosed price. People don't need to play games to find out the pre-determined cost of a procedure. Finding good healthcare is already challenging without having to play 'procedure-cost-sleuth'.

Why couldn't someone in the radiolgoy department let me know how much a knee MRI is? The Anchorage Fracture Orthopedic Clinic knew instantly what that would cost. They were staring at the price list with me on the phone. I have heard this complaint from many clients about finding out cost of procedures at the hospital before the fact--it is very hard to find actual cost. Todays experience verified this for me.

I've been fairly "tame" about my big business complaints on my blog, but this one I couldn't resist. It is poor care. When we go to a restaurant, there are prices on the menu. If we got to buy a car, and ask the price, we are told the prices. Why aren't there prices for certain procedures on the hospital billing sheet available for people to see when they are deciding what procedures they can or can't afford?

At least I can go to bed at night feeling good about providing good care at a reasonable price and being completely upfront about what my services cost.

Zoya

Elk Hunt Photos

The great thing about having a boat as base camp is that you get to move around a lot. You are not stuck in one bay or limited to a single peninsula. So we got to explore thick spruce forests and hike around in the alpine tundra on the outer capes of the Peninsulas. Afognak Island really does have a HUGE variety of habitats. Looking at some of the photos it is hard to believe they were all taken on the same island. Patrick

Back from Afognak with Elk

Yesterday we got back to Kodiak from Afognak on the Alpha Centuri with 2 elk on board. A successful trip! While there we found 2 different herds of elk and saw elk on 6 of the 7 days we were hunting. But something seemed to go wrong every time we stalked an elk and it was not until the last day that we harvested our 2 cows and carried them back to the boat. Compared to hunts past it was a relatively easy elk haul - about a mile and a half with a 1/4 mile 400 vertical climb at the start and then a 1800 foot drop down to the beach. We got the elk back to the boat just as the light failed and did not have to use headlamps - a welcome change from years past!

Since we did not get our elk until the last day we did a LOT of hiking. I don't think we have ever covered more country in search of elk. We split into 2 parties to cover more country and camped in the high country between bays so we could glass for elk at dawn. We learned that elk herds round up every morning at 10:30 AM sharp and with a lot of whistling move off in a line to bed down. So you got to be looking for them before 10:30 AM. We also saw more bears than ever before - at least 3 or 4 EVERY day. And Justin and I had a very hairy experience when we surprised a sow with 3 cubs in the trees and she charged us - I am ashamed to admit I hid behind Justin as we backpedaled with the snarling, jaw-snapping bear approaching. All and All an exciting and successful trip! Patrick

Doula Moments

There have been some cool doula moments the past couple of weeks...

-At a first post-delivery visit with a mom, her baby girl had a onesie on it that said, "I Love my Doula". It was precious. My heart melted! Moments like that make my heart smile.

-Tonight I had a pre-natal doula meeting. The dad remembered me from a couple years ago--he is a utility repair person and remembered coming over to my house--he remembered that I had two black dogs and purple subaru. Its funny how you never know who's birth you'll be involved with! I laughed and told him, "I never would've guessed two years ago that I would be at the birth of your child!". Fun moment.

-Recently after a birth, the brother of the newborn said to me, "Thank you so much for helping mommy have the baby". The words meant so much to me, as I could tell he really meant what he said.

Zoya

Waiting for Kindergarten

Nora is doing well this fall and I'm so glad I didn't put her in kindergarten. I would be lying if I said I haven't had any small moments of regret...like during dance class when Nora is the only 5 year old not in kindergarten taking the 5 year old dance. But in the bigger picture, she wasn't ready. He speech therapist didn't think she was ready. And I didn't think she was ready. I really understand how being ready for kindergarten has little to do with age and more to do with speech, behavior, attention span, developmental milestones etc. That said, kindergarten teachers are incredible and work with kids at all different levels.

Nora turned 5 at the very end of the summer, and after talking to a LOT of people about it, the consensus was there was no reason to push kindergarten. What I heard from many parents was that the ones who put their kids on the early end regretted it in 4th and 5th grade. In fact, many folks I spoke to said they had to have their child repeat a grade later, which was hard. Especially with boys. And the ones who waited extra time and started their young ones late were really glad they did. THey talked about how their child felt more like a leader of the class, instead of at the bottom.

I think Patrick and I have put extra thought into it, as he had to repeat kindergarten as a youngster. Yes-a little known fact about my husband. (He talks about this publicly, so I hope I won't be in trouble about putting this on our blog. I guess we'll find out when he comes home from hunting...)

And I'll see where Nora is at in the spring, summer and fall to decide what would be right for her learning and social development...kindergarten or homeschooling. There is SO MUCH to do in Kodiak with other kids that she would have lots of great social opportunities homschooling. And from what home schooling parents say, at the K-1 level, it takes several hours a week to get the academic work done and the rest of the time can be spent playing, exploring, going to the beach, etc.

I think a big part of the decision will be class sizes, as I'd like for her kindergarten experience to be a small class. RIght now I believe the school whos' zone we're in has 20+ kids in each kindergarten room, which would be a lot for Nora. But maybe by the fall she'd be up for that.

Zoya

Stuey-isms.

The other morning, Stuey came walking into the kitchen, sat up on our counter stool and looked around at Patrick and I and said, "Hey, we all have noses!". That got a laugh out of me!

The past few days, Stuey looks at me very intently and says, "I look into your eyes". If I"m not looking at him, he'll hold the sides of my head gently and rotate it towards him. And give me this big smile.

The other day there was 1 brownie left that someone gave us. Stuey said, "Mark can have this brownie. Daddy not like brownies. I'll give it to Mark." Stuey charged out the door to the shed (as Mark had been in there the week prior cataloging artifacts. hes has been out on the Elk hunt with Patrick). He walked back to the house slowly, with a disappointed look in his face, brownie in hand. He said, "Marks not here. Hes not at work, too. Hes out skiing." LIttle does Stuey know, ski season isn't quite in season yet. But I think he believes that Mark would do the same things as his dad. :)

Zoya

SAT phone-A mixed blessing

For years Patrick has owned a satellite phone to call with when he is out in the field. There have been many times when this has brought me significant peace of mind--knowing that he could be in the middle of nowhere and get help if needed.
There have been downsides to the sat phone which I never would have anticipated. For one, if he says he will be back at 4 pm and hes not home, then I worry. Significantly. This is because Patrick is almost NEVER late, so when he is and the sun has set, AND I know he has the sat phone on him, I worry.

Granted, this doesn't happen often, perhaps once every few years. Twice, I've put a call out the search and rescue team. Pete C. from Kodiak Search and rescue has had to "talk me off the ledge" so to speak, with being overly worried about Patrick lost in the wilderness. Pete consoles me by saying, "Zoya, I know what happened. They're probably getting to the car right about now and working on warming up and the sun just went down-maybe a few minutes sooner than they anticipated." And sure enough-after I get off the phone, Patrick pulls up in the driveway or calls.

The other caveat of the sat phone is if I"m terribly sick, then he needs to come home. This occurred when I had my severe bout of vertigo for a week. I was down and out, recovering from the virus which caused the vertigo, taking care of sick Nora on top of it. Patrick called and asked how things were-he was on a goat hunt. I told him I wasn't pregnant (we had been a bit concerned about that before he left-because I didn't know what was causing the lightheadedness). He was so relieved to hear this, that he didn't hear that I was quite sick and exhausted, taking care of the kids. And I needed him.

When he got home from the hunt, I asked him, "If you didn't come home then, when would you come home? Would you come home if I was dying?". This wasn't really a fair question of me to ask him, as I know he would. But I needed to know deep down inside that if I was quite sick and needed him home for a hunt or trip, that he would come. He understood and we came to an agreement--He would come home if I needed him, and I agreed to not "cry wolf" and ask him to come home soon. (Admittedly, I"ve done this a few times in the past---especially on elk hunts. When I'm more at wits end with him being gone on hunting trips all fall.)

In the end I"m glad the sat phone is in his back pack, but I think perhaps it will be used a little less to check in, then it used to. Which is ok with me. I know that its there in case of an emergency.

Zoya

Young Professionals and feeling older

This fall in my spinning classes, I have felt Old. Maybe I should clarify-- older than normal. I've noticed there is a big group of young professionals who have moved to Kodiak this fall. They are in their mid to late 20's and have jobs with the hospital, KANA, etc... During spinning classes, several of them talked about their "SIgnificant Others" and I remembered how Patrick used to be that to me! Their conversations revolve a bit more around evening schedules and workout schedules--some of them going straight from spinning to swimming. Those were the days--unlimited workout hours!

It makes me remember how I used to be in that "new to Kodiak" and "20 something" group and now I"m in a different group. I"m in the "Married-with-kids with steady job and been here for a while-group". Or maybe its the "I"m happy if Friday nights are at home on my couch" group also. Or the "fuddy-duddy" group. Whatever you want to call it, its a place where fun times are found with our family, friends and the outdoors. I couldn't enjoy this time in our life more.

I love that the gals who came to my spinning class enjoyed the hour and they said they loved my music-phew. At least I can still pick out good workout tunes. Its funny, cause Patrick and I have friends of all different ages and I love how our friendships aren't limited by age at all. In fact, Patrick is 10 years older than me, and age difference has never been a concern. He has friends who are 10 years older than him, which makes them 20 years older than me and its not an issue.

Zoya

Ecstasy and Agony

Tomorrow we leave on our Afognak Elk hunt. It's an annual event. Every year we leave on Jim's seiner and cruise to Afognak Island to hunt elk. And every year we leave Kodiak with visions of big elk in our heads, and seem to forget what it took in years past to get them back to the boat. Elk are big. Once we get one there is always that euphoric moment before you realize, 'this thing is as big as a horse - how on earth are we going to get him back to the boat?' And then the work begins.

This year BEFORE we left on the hunt I thought I'd remind myself just how big elk are, and try to remember what it takes to carry one through the brush with no trail to follow. Hopefully this will help temper our enthusiasm and, as a result, we will not shoot an elk on the back side of a mountain 5 miles from the beach. That said, elk are where you find them - and they are ALWAYS a lot of work. Even if you find them on the beach. Patrick

Neighborly relations

A lot has happened this past year on Cliffside drive. Several lots down the road were developed with houses in the works on them. A friend's house at the end of the road is having a new addition built on it. Two houses down, there has been exterior construction on it. And the latest change is a house just down the hill got a new family in it.

The family which used to live in the house was somewhat reclusive--there were 2 kids, perhaps who lived there, but we never really saw them outside much. The curtains were often closed and I never saw many signs of life outside.

The other day as I was walking by, a dad and two of his girls were outside unpacking and moving in. I said Hi and welcomed them to the neighborhood. They were so friendly and bursting with enthusiasm about living on Cliffside road. The kids and I made brownies tonight and brought them over tonight. The 4 girls and mom who greeted us at the door were just thrilled about being welcomed to the neighborhood. Sometimes it feels that people stay in their houses so much and there isn't nearly enough interaction between neighbors living so close. This fall that has changed for us, as Stuey and Nora have been biking with the neighbor boys. Nora even wrote the neighbor boys a note and left it on their door. And they wrote her one back. It is exactly the type of neighborly relations I would've hoped to have.

Zoya

Fall Colors

It's finally fall! Last weekend when I went deer hunting with Gregg it was still pretty green up in the high country and there were flowers blooming. This past weekend when I went hunting with Mark and Jason all the greens had turned to brown and the flowers had been frosted. The fireweed is at the fuzzy stage, and it will not be long before all the cottonwoods lose their leaves!

Our hunt was successful. We climbed up into the alpine before dawn and shot a spike. I also tried something new with the neckmeat when I butchered it back home. Rather than teasing all the pieces apart and cutting off all the tendons and fat which always seems to take forever (and you just end up with a tiny bit of meat after all the trimming). I just lopped it off the backstrap and cooked it covered with the ribs at low heat (200 degrees) with a little water in the bottom of the pan for 8 hours. I then used Gregg's rib marinade recipe and cooked both up on the grill in the evening. Outstanding! The neck meat melted and tasted just like really meaty ribs. I will not waste my time trimming neck meat in the future! Patrick