Winter Survey

For the last week I have been on an archaeological survey near town.  Usually I am done with field work by this time of year. I must admit that 2 weeks ago I was worried that the ground would be frozen, and that we would not be able to dig test pits.  But all went well and we actually even had good weather for the survey.  Field work certainly beats going in the office and spending the morning in front of a computer.  Perhaps in the future I should plan more field work for the fall?  Patrick

Lots of bushwhacking along the river!

Easy walking around the lake.

We dug lots and lots of test pits to see if we could find buried archaeological sites.

Answering the Tough Questions

When driving Nora to dance class this evening, she asked me in one breath- "Mom, what are drugs? And where do babies come from?" Wow. To try to answer those questions in a matter of a few minutes....I did my best. 

My response to drugs was something along lines of "things that people do or take that make them feel good but its really not good for them." I said, "Does that clear it up?" She thought and replied, "No". Time for me to google "how to talk to your kid about drugs..."

Zoya


Patrick has been doing archaeology field work this week and took this picture of Barometer. 

Today he also gave a talk today at the American Fisheries Society Meeting. It was to 250 people on Alutiiq fishing through the ages.....he is glad to not have to practice for it anymore. 

Projects

The past few weeks have been filled with projects. Good, hearty projects. The quilt, seen below, is one project which I finished late last night. It will be auctioned off for the Isle Bells Handbell concert in early December. The name of it is "Forest Green". The pattern was a new one, and I really enjoyed it. I'm thinking I'll use it again in the future! It is a fun way to really display batik style fabrics. 

And the other project is at work; the new space! Brent W. has been burning the midnight oil working on my new business space, building walls, putting in lights, electrical, etc. The progress is outstanding! Every time I go in there is something new to ooooh and aaah over! Its time to really start thinking about paint colors so today I went to Sutliffs and got some samples to start mulling over different color options.

I"m truly in heaven. As I walk through the space, I am so excited about having it filled with enthusiastic clients and people coming in from out of the winter rain and darkness to work out! And get physical Therapy!

Zoya

On the Beach

Yesterday I took the kids and dogs to the beach.  Nora and Stuey looked for sea glass, the dogs chased sticks and looked for dead fish to eat, and I took pictures.  I took along a fixed 100 mm lens that is best for taking portraits.  I love the shallow depth of field and how everything behind the kids and dogs blurred out.  In fact the depth of field was so shallow that many of my photos did not have the subject in focus.

Anyway, in the end both Stuey and Nora joined the dogs in the surf and got water down their boots.  We went home when their feet started to get cold.  Patrick

More Hiking Pictures

Just a few last scenics from our hike on Afognak.  The fog down low really was beautiful.  Just after someone took the photo above we called Jim on the boat and he reported thick fog and dismal grey down below.

After I got back I turned in my elk permit report and got the low down and where the elk had been when we were looking for them.  It turns out that for the first few days, even if it had been clear, we would not have seen the elk.  Hunting pressure had pushed the whole herd off of the peninsula we were hunting - and into an entirely different area.

Above you can see the mountains on the Alaska Peninsula rising out of the fog on the other side of Shelikof Strait.  The pointy mountain on the right is Devil's Desk - John S who likes to climb tall scary things like Mount Denali or the Moose's Tooth often looked longingly at Devil's Desk on the horizon.

We camped at the head of this valley.  It turns out that if we had turned left instead of right on reaching this valley that we would have found the elk herd.  Such is fate.

That's me glassing with Mount Douglas in the distance.

Some final group photos - I can't wait until next year!  Patrick

Coming Soon!

Today starts the renovations at the new A Balanced Approach location! Walls will be put in, signs made, its going to be fun to see it all come together.

One benefit of the new spot is the outside sign where I can put various sayings, phrases...
I'm already thinking of fun ones that will capture peoples attention and bring smiles to faces.

Zoya

Teepee Time

During the elk hunt every night onshore we spent in a teepee with a woodstove.  This year we schlepped along a teepee big enough to fit us all.  In years past we have used 2 smaller teepees and have broken up into groups, but I figured we'd have better camaraderie if we all stayed together.  Amazingly enough at about 3 1/2 pounds (with pole) our TiGoat teepee weighs about the same as one of our smaller teepees did in the past.  And the TiGoat cylinder stove weighs less than 2 pounds.  So our shelter and stove needs came out to about 1 pound per person - that's pretty light!

And the teepee is HUGE - all five of us fit inside of it easily and we could have all slept inside as well.  Only Justin liked his space and did sleep under a tarp outside (he also likes to sleep a bit little later than the rest of us).  But we did have a space for him and it was not crowded inside at all.  There is nothing quite like cooking on and sitting around a woodstove until bedtime, and then waking up to a warm tent.  We often experience hardship during our elk hunts but our camps are pretty darn cush - no hardship there.

Brand new TiGoat cylinder stove gets used for the first time (only the body is new - the rest has been heavily used in the past).

Our second camp in the spruce forest - note that the stove is starting to look used.

Another from inside at our first camp - my but we look clean cut.  Later on during the hunt we look much more beaten down.

All of us but Justin inside the teepee - he's taking the picture.

Our teepee is nestled into the short spruce on the right - the last time we camped at this spot we got 2 elk the next day.  This year it did not work out that way.

Its Official! Keys in hand...

Its official...I signed my business rental lease today and am formally an occupant of my new space for A Balanced Approach, at 3833 Rezanof, next to Mill Bay Coffee.

As I stood there waiting for my landlord to return with some photocopies, I looked out the window and watched people come and go from the coffee shop (which is my neighbor). I am surprised by the amount of traffic which comes in and out of the building and am excited about the social aspect of my new location.  The building has a good energy. It has this great social vibe to it, which is in sharp contrast to my current space which  isn't occupied for most of the daylight hours.

Today I found myself turning into "bridezilla". I wish there was some other way to explain it, but it is that feeling of knowing what you want, having a deadline and not feeling terribly flexible as far as how to get it. As a bride during the weeks preceeeding my wedding 9 years ago,  I had moments of feeling that way...and the term has been coined "bridezilla" by some.

For example, today after signing the lease, it suddenly became very important to me to have a sign outside. I went to the local print shop, walked in and said, "I will need a sign made of this material. I want it done in 3-4 weeks. Can you do it in 3-4 weeks? If not, I will need to look at Anchorage or off island." They were extremely helpful and said they could order the supplies from anchorage and it shouldn't be a problem to have it done...and they even offered to measure it.

In normal circumstances, I wouldn't mind if it took longer, months and months but with moving my business, it is important to me to have a solid sign announcing my new location. I'm so excited to be someplace more visible and eager to take advantage of it.

In my excitement about moving into the Mill Bay Plaza Building, Nora laughed and said,
"Mom, I think you're going to be there and just drinking coffee and eating muffins all day!" We got a good chuckle out of it and we laughed together.


I'm reminding myself to take one step at a time with the moving process. There is significant work to the interior which needs to be done (walls built, flooring installed), but in the meantime I will need to look at office furniture, and many odds and ends which I have borrowed from my landlord at my current location.  Trying to keep my eye on the big picture and not feel overwhelmed by the details.

Its all exciting and a moment I've been waiting for- a bright, large inviting space for my business.

Zoya

That and This

The kids halloween costumes arrived and they were eager to try them on. Patrick and I have decided to host our annual halloween party again this year, which we haven't done in 5 years. 

The Elk hunters returned home last weekend exhausted, and without any elk. They were disappointed, I could tell.
They only thing they were "processing" was the fact that they didn't have meat to process. Patrick said they covered nearly 60 miles of territory, leaving no rock unturned.

I think that Elk hunting is a lot like hunting for a needle in a haystack. I've never been on a hunt, but judging from their stories and pictures, sure seems like a lot of luck or being in the right spot or the right time.

And boy were the guys tired. WOW. They all seemed just physically spent. Took a few days for patrick get his spunk back.

And a sidenote, boy is it FUN to cook breakfast for guys after a hunt! They are so hungry and appreciative of a good meal. It is quite gratifying to prepare a meal and have them take seconds and third helpings of pancakes, waffles, eggs. I think my next job needs to be a chef at hunting lodge!

Below are some pictures that Nora and Stuey took upon the return of the elk hunters. They had fun with our point and shoot cameras.

Zoya

Seeking Out Elk

Hunting elk on Afognak involves a LOT of looking.  You would think that given the size and color of an elk that they would be easy to find.  But Afognak is a big place and there are a lot of bushes and trees.  Add in the fog and rain we had on this trip, and looking for elk is a lot like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

And we tried hard.  We generally got up 2 hours before sunrise and were off hiking as soon as there was enough light to see.  Elk are more active in the morning and evening, and bed down in the bushes to chew their cuds during the mid day hours. Bedded down they are even harder to find.  We tried to get up to the tops of mountains and hike the ridges looking down into the valleys and bowls for elk.  Also, on occasion, we hiked down in the bottom of the valleys trying to bust elk from their beds.  

At one point down in a large valley 3 big bull elk actually snuck past us in the trees.  We found their tracks and looked back to see them sneaking away - by the time we looked they were over a mile away and trotting quickly in the opposite direction.  In retrospect we should have followed because it turned out that the bulls joined a large herd.  If we had followed we would have found the herd.  The only other herd that we saw had disappeared by the time we got to where it had been.

So we hiked and hiked.  Climbed mountains, waded streams, bored down bear tunnels through the brush, whacked on through the brush where there was no trail, and even did some climbing on slippery rocks.  We did a lot of hiking and glassing. My legs and hands are covered with salmonberry and devilsclub spines.  No elk this year but I'd do it again just for the adventure and hiking.  Patrick

Starting a descent into the salmonberry, devilsclub and alder. On this particular descent we ran into cliffs and had to do some back tracking.

Another bowl with no elk in it.

After checking out this bowl we hiked through the forest to the ocean in the far distance.

For the first part of the trip there was always fog in the valleys but up on top the mountains were in the clear.  Here we are leaving the fog behind.

Glassing for elk in another bowl.

Relaxing up on top while we wait (fruitlessly it turned out) for the fog to clear out down below.

John and I try to see elk down in the valley through a fortuitous hole in the fog.

Elk Boat

The Columbia waiting for us at the base of a 550 foot cliff.

One of the best aspects of our annual elk hunt is that it is boat based.  We get up there on a 50 foot seiner the Columbia.  The skipper Jim E is probably the most important person on the hunt.  He puts us on shore and, more importantly, picks us up off the shore when it is often ugly.  None of us are 'boat people' and I am amazed with his patience with us when it comes time to anchor up or moor the boat.

The boat allows us to go on shore and look for elk in many different bays and areas.  While if we went up there by plane we would be stuck in one spot.  Jim often drops us off in one bay and then picks us up in another after we have hiked across.  At one point on this last trip we got put on shore and spent 3 days hiking, covering over 20 miles, to get picked up in an entirely different bay.

But probably the best part of the boat is that it is a shelter when it gets really ugly - and what's not to like about a bunk and beer on tap?  We also get to go fishing and this year we actually even caught a few halibut.  In actual fact the only protein we brought back turned out to be fish.

Jim at the controls on the way home.  It got pretty rough at times and we even got a call from the Trusty Tusty just past Whale Pass wanting to coordinate a safe passage by night (starboard to starboard rather than port to port).

 John with a Yellow Irish Lord.

Ray films whales.  Jim had to stop the boat rather quickly to avoid a collision with one of these things.

Everyone up in the wheelhouse - this was from the start of the trip when everyone still looked clean cut and well-shaved.

Some Great 'Hiking' on Afognak

We got back from our Afognak Island elk hunt late last night.  Unfortunately, we did not bring back anything in the way of protein except for some fish (a couple of halibut, some cod, and rockfish).  We got shut out on Elk - but we did get in some GREAT hiking with guns (more later).  We put in some serious miles and covered a lot of country, but did not find the herd.  On our return we learned from another hunter that the herd was in the valley we had planned to hunt the last day.  Weather kept us off that beach.  This was sort of the theme of the trip - weather and events seemed to conspire against us.

One small herd that we did locate on a distant mountain side already had been chased off by other hunters by the time we got to it.  Fog in the valleys at the beginning of the trip kept us from finding herds in the valleys.  And there was always the wind.  A strong northeast wind kept us off of some of the beaches that accessed the best elk valleys.

Below are some pictures of the fog that plagued the first few days of our trip.  A beautiful meteorological phenomena but not all that conducive to great elk hunting.

Patrick

Elk Hunting Begins

The Elk Crew is off to Afognak. 3 of the 5 hunters are from out of town and after a frenzy of packing on Saturday morning, they departed on the seine boat Saturday afternoon. Patrick called as they crossed the head of Mill Bay, so the kids and I could wave to them from the porch. The waters were nice and calm as they motored away from Kodiak and to Afognak. 

The weather is warm and forecast is good. Today was their first day hunting and no word from them as of yet. Looking forward to hearing news of a successful hunt and of their stories after! There are always some good ones!

In other news, this week I sign the lease on the rental space where I will be moving my business to! The view below is where the indoor cycling classes will be taught. The tape is on the floor is where half walls will be constructed to provide more of a barrier for the space. The entry door to the business space will be moved to allow for better flow of traffic. Construction will begin in the next two weeks and move in perhaps in 6 weeks or so.
The feedback from people in the community has been positive and the move is exciting for me, something that I"ve wanted to have happen for a while now. More space for my business.

Zoya