Good Friday Tidepooling

Nora and Zoya are in Seattle, and St Mary's is closed for a 4 day weekend in honor of Easter.  So I stayed home from work to watch Stuey.  Mike Pfeffer stayed home to watch Sophie who had no school either.  Mike noticed that there was a minus tide at 10AM, and so off we went to the beaches at Fort Abercrombie to go tide-pooling.

It was a perfect day for it - flat calm and the tide was really out there.  I have not gone tide-pooling for ages and it really is amazing what you can find when you flip the rocks.  Zoya has my point-and-shoot which takes the good close ups - so no close up animal photos.  But we did see lots of very weird crabs, sculpins, eels and even baby sea cucumbers and, best of all, an octopus!  I picked up the octopus and suffice it to say it was a very tactile experience.  The suction cups and weird muscly motion with slime was slightly distasteful.

I noticed that the sea weeds and kelp are shooting out new shoots.  Perhaps in the near future it is time for some seaweed salads!  This afternoon we are off to the pass to go sledding.  A sort of surf and turf experience - tidepooling by the sea in the AM and sledding in the mountains in the PM.

Patrick

Fresh Snow and Tank

March is leaving its mark on Kodiak with some sudden cold temperatures and snow! Yesterday it was a full day blizzard and today the temperatures have remained in the 20's all day. 

On Wednesday, Nora and I leave for Seattle for a 2 day visit to a therapist who specializes in auditory processing difficulties. I'm excited for the time with Nora as well as learning new strategies/techniques that can help her with her speech and perception of sounds/environment. 

Tank continues to be a hit in our family. No longer are we able to put dirty dishes down on the floor for the "pre-wash"....as the dogs are too aggressive with going after the plates. Tank frequently sleeps with Stuey at night and our friends continue to wonder why we got another dog. Somehow Tank found us, and we love having the black lab pack here on Cliffside! Tank has been the perfect addition.

Zoya

Tank in Ft. Abercrombie. 

Stuey sledding today.

snow covered forest in March

snow=Happy Stuey!

Trying some standing up moves. 

Stuey's "The Scream" 

What a difference a day makes!

I love it!  Two days ago it was all warm and sunny and winter was in full retreat, and then yesterday it snowed 6 inches and temperatures are supposed to stay below freezing for the next few days.  I think I'll even be able to go back to using my wood skis and extra blue wax.  My wood skis are only good for powder snow and I had sort of given up on using them again.

It's funny but I noticed we 'officially' only have 2 inches of snow on the ground out at the airport.  There was a lot more than that out there yesterday when I drove by the airport.   I have noticed that the 'official' measurement have often seemed a little low this year, and I am wondering if the weather service is recording things differently.  In years past if it stayed snow during a storm and we got a 1/2 inch of precipitation then we invariably also got a 1/2 foot of snow.  But this year the equivalent measurements seem a bit lower.  

But who cares as long as we got snow to ski on! 

Patrick

Spring skiing at the golf course

It's officially spring out there, and so yesterday at the golf course the kids and I got in some spring skiing.  It was supposed to be a rain/snow kind of day, but somehow it stayed sunny until evening.  It really felt like spring out there too.  The glare off the snow was so bad that I even lent Stuey my sunglasses, and even though the temperatures were in the 30's it sure felt a lot warmer.

This morning I woke up to the snow/rain predicted for yesterday.  But the good thing is that it seems to be mostly snow.  The golf course is getting re-charged for more skiing.  Winter is not dead - whooo hoooo!  I love the long drawn out winters on Kodiak - my favorite time of year.  Patrick

Dog Walks with the Pack and Ribs

I can only imagine the Google searches that will find our blog with the title of this post.  I have a feeling there will be some puzzled people out there after they found and checked out our family blog when they expected to learn about 'dog packs' or maybe even 'dog packs and ribs'.  

By 'dog walks with the pack' I am referring to walks in Abercrombie with our 3 black labs.  It is the black pack.  I think Tank is in Heaven as a member of the pack.

The 'ribs' in the title of this post refer to the deer and goat ribs Gregg made up for my birthday party.  Unbelievably enough we ate the ribs of 4 deer and a goat.  That is a LOT of ribs.  By the end of the party we had half filled the large salad bowl with rib bones.  Patrick

The Conference Experience

Last week I went up to Anchorage to give a paper at the Alaska Anthropological Association's Annual Meeting.  I do this every year - and every year I see the same people.  They are mostly all archaeologists like me, and, somehow, it is a bit like a yearly high school reunion.  Except for a few of them like Justin, Bob or Aubrey, I do not see these people away from the annual meeting setting.  And everybody knows me too.  Only it is better than a high school reunion because we all have the same interests.

This year my presentation on the Karluk River was on the morning of the first day so after that I got to relax and just enjoy everybody else's talks.  Lots of time spent in rooms like that pictured below.  Some talks are interesting and some talks put you to sleep.  But you always learn something and you do meet a few new people every year.

My annual trip to the city and groomed ski trails.  And when the meetings are done it is GREAT to get back home to Kodiak!

Patrick

Ho Ho Ho - time for another talk - let's hope it is interesting!

Time for a beer - often the place where you learn the most

IHOH = International House Of Hot dogs - and I thought it was pancakes for lunch.  Silly me

Great Dogs - I had the Texas Dog (nearest to camera)

Birthday Ski

At the start - hiking on in to the mountain with skiis on our backs

Zoya wrote about the party and Tank - so I'll write a bit and post pictures from the 'birthday ski'.  As Zoya related, it is a birthday tradition.  But the tradition is that instead of going to the same old same old and going for a ski (the golf course, some lake, or Pyramid Mountain); we always go exploring on my birthday.

On Sunday we decided to go to the North side of Reservoir Ridge out by Mount Monashka and try powder (hopefully) skiing in the trees.  This end of the island often gets ocean effect snow when it is cold and windy like it has been lately.  This sort of weather pattern often deposits snow at our end of town, but nothing falls at the airport further to the South. And where we were headed also has trees to keep the snow from blowing away.

Getting close to the top - about now I am realizing that I REALLY miss my sunglasses

And it worked!  We actually found some powder on top of a hard crust.  Of course I forgot my sunglasses which was a HUGE mistake.  It was bright up there!  We did a bunch of runs and had some of Gregg's home made pizza for lunch.

The exciting part was getting home.  It turned out we had to earn our powder and we learned the downside of exploring.  Sometimes things do not work out!  We ended up on a super steep slope covered in alder and salmonberry.  I did some grass and brush busting on skis.  Looking back up hill I could see the others thrashing through the brush and trying to avoid cliffs, and I thought, 'uh oh, nobody is going to want to go skiing with me next year.'

But no - we all made it down, and it seems the horrific descent classifies as a 'memorable and slightly funny' experience.  We'll see anyway - hopefully the memory will age well and everyone will want to go skiing again next year.  Patrick

Whoooo Hoooooo - actual powder on crust!

First Run - Lisa in front!

Pizza for lunch!  I was glad that there was some sharing going on

Lisa rips it with Gregg's tracks to follow

The skin track back up to the top

Lots of tracks - tracks, tracks, tracks!

A tad bit of grass skiing

Finally!  At the lake and the skate/double pole on home to the car

Patrick's birthday, pie crust adventure and Tank!

HAPPY 48!
Last week was Patrick's 48th and we yesterday we celebrated with friends.

The day started with an annual skiing tradition; Patrick, Philip, Adelia, Lisa and Gregg went back country skiing all day. Some years its cross country skiing, this year it was downhill. While the gang was skiing,  the kids and myself cleaned (or rather, I cleaned), cooked and went to the store for birthday dinner fixins.

Its been a few years since I've made a pie crust and on Sunday morning, I knew I had to make one for Patrick's birthday pie. He prefers Pumpkin Pie to cake, and I had a desire to get good baking fumes in the air at our house. I pulled out "Best Recipes" which is a cookbook my mother-in-law gave me many years ago and is my go-to cookbook for many standard recipes.

When it came time for rolling out the crust, it involved some finger and toe crossing. The kids (and a friend over for a playdate) were sitting at the counter eating a snack.

I started to roll out the crust and it wasn't pretty. It was quite dry and sticking to the counter. Inside my head, a few choice words rolled through, but I couldn't let me dismay show with the kids. I said, "Ok, guys. I need some help. I need you to all cross your fingers and toes and hope that I can roll out this crust".  Just saying this made me feel somehow better-as the kids laughed and brought me inspiration that I could do it.

For anyone who knows Philip and Gregg, they are both incredible bakers. Gregg was a professional baker and Philip makes incredible baked goodies. So, needless to say, THE PRESSURE WAS ON. I thought, two fabulous bakers are coming over for dinner and I don't want to have a loser pie crust.

So the toe, arm, leg crossing thing paid off. The kids laughed as they were contorted into pretzels sitting at the counter, hoping for my crust to turn out. And it finally rolled out! Phew! I was sweating bullets.

The final test came at dinner time. We sang Happy 48th to Patrick, then cut into the pie. And the crust worked out!

What a fun birthday it was for Patrick!

Blowing out candles! Happy 48! 

Grilled deer and goat ribs...harvested last fall by Patrick and Gregg!

Birthday skiing!

TANK

Tank has been at our home 2 full days now and he fits right in. Yesterday Patrick and I couldn't believe how well he has already adjusted after just 24 hours in our home. He comes when he's called, plays fetch, loves to cuddle, only barks with strangers or unknown circumstances. Everything in the original Craigslist post was accurate. He is the perfect family dog. I took him on a walk through the park yesterday without a leash with the other dogs and he did great. He stayed with the pack and didn't run off at all!

Tank has become Stuey's pet project. Stuey loves playing games with him, calling him and cares about his whereabouts. We believe Tank slept on Stuey's bed last night.

We're forever grateful that Tank ended up in our home; we couldn't have asked for a better fit.

Our friends are still puzzled and ask, "Now why did you get ANOTHER dog? Another black lab?" Patrick and I felt it would be great for the kids to have a younger dog around the house and its working out great. 3 doesn't seem like that much more than 2 thus far. Something about it just seemed right; an intuitive sense. The time was right.  Zoya

Tank and Stuey

Books and shirts for Patrick from his Mom - NC Wyeth is the BEST!

Our Newest Addition~ Tank!

We found a dog!

Last Thursday our friend Aubrey in Anchorage sent me the link to the Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue. CLICK HERE for link to this great organization.  She had read our blog post about the search for a new addition to our family.  I looked at several dogs on the site which were quite promising. One of them I even contacted the owner and asked a few more questions about her. Patrick was over in Anchorage for a conference so I figured this would be a great time to bring one home if we found just the right dog. 

Nora kept insisting to look at other sites for dogs, so I figured I would check Craigslist. There was a 4 year old lab listed from Sterling. A dog which knows commands, is great with kids, mellow and needed a new home. His family is moving south and can't take him. There were pictures posted of Tank curled up on the couch with their kids, which warmed my heart over. And over. And over again. 

The animal shelter in the Sterling/Kenai/Soldotna area has a 35-40% euthanasia rate, so we are so glad to have saved Tank from having to go to the shelter!

I e-mailed the link to Patrick and he agreed-this dog was meant for our family. After a few messages back and forth with the owner, drop off arrangements were made in Anchorage. And our friend Aubrey so graciously picked up Tank and let him stay the night at her place. 

After meeting Tank last night, Patrick e-mailed me and said, 

Dear Zoya,

I just got back from seeing Tank - he is an awesome dog!  We did well.  He seems to get along with other dogs and is very friendly.  He also is not too hyper.  I am VERY happy.   You did good!  Patrick

 And after Aubrey awoke this morning she texted,
"Good Morning! Sorry I'm reinforcing his bad habits. I let him sleep on my bed last night. I woke up this morning with his giant head on my shoulder. He is such a sweet dog. You found a good one Zoya. And of course he instantly loved Patrick when they met last night."

Tank comes home this evening with Patrick. We are excited. We have dog treats and toys for his arrival. The kids are excited at the prospect of having a dog that can follow commands and fetch. It will be interesting to see how Jake and Roxy handle the transition. All 3 dogs seem to have a similar disposition, which is good!

Zoya

Final Tour Pics & a Video

Zoya and I found the 'official' Tour of Anchorage video on line at the Tour of Anchorage website.  It's a very cool video and very much gets the feeling of race day across to the viewer.  And if you look closely you can catch glimpses of us in the video.  Hint: look for my eye-catching blue skin suit.



 Michael Dinneen Photography takes photos of everybody in the Tour every year and we purchased these photos of Zoya and I when we signed up for the race.  You can pre-pay for race photos!  Of course you have to have faith that they will take good photos.  I think they did a pretty good job this year. If you know somebody else who was in the race you can find them by going to the Tour of Anchorage results and getting their bib number and then going to the 'photos' link at the Tour of Anchorage web page.  Patrick

Zoya and the girls on the coastal trail Good form Zoya!

Patrick all alone skiing for the finish

Villages on the Karluk

In a short while I am off to Anchorage to attend an archaeology conference and present a paper.  As you can see from my title slide (above) my talk is all about how the Alutiiq lived on the Karluk River (and lake) through time.  I focus on the last 800 years or so when my co-author and I argue that the Alutiiq started to build permanent, year-round settlements on the river and lake.  We are actually able to come up with numbers for the size of each village and compute what the average population would have been over the last 500 years or so before the Russians arrived on Kodiak.  When I started to write this post I originally put a few more slides in it and gave away some of our findings.  But then I decided that if you want to find out what we learned you got to come see the talk!  It's at 11AM thursday at the Alaska Anthropological Association meetings in Anchorage.  But don't worry if you miss it - I think I'll post our results eventually.  Patrick

A week of Lost and Founds

The past two weeks have been  full of lost and founds; on many levels. 

First I lost a box of 50 electrodes from work. I searched the small PT clinic high and low to no avail. I asked my office manager to order more and she chuckled and said, "probably now that we order more, you'll be sure to find the old ones".  She was right. Amidst cleaning out our spare bedroom, I found them. So now I have 100 electrodes-enough for a decade of use (considering I use them only for biofeedback). 

Secondly, I temporarily lost my Coast Guard ID. As I warmed up the car on Friday morning, I couldn't find it-which is quite a hassle. I can't log onto  the computer systems or get onto the Coast Guard base easily for work. So later that day I had to go get a new one. The Coast Guard asked that I continue to look hard for it and turn it in when I find it. So I cleaned out my car like crazy; got large quantities of old food wrappers and drink cups out of the back seats. And in the front seat, I found my ID. So thrilled to find it and to be able to return it. 

Thirdly, On the "found" department, we thought we may have found a new puppy. Yes, we are on the search for a puppy. (I believe our friends think we're slightly crazy to even consider another dog, but the time has come. Roxy and Jake are getting older and it'd be nice to have them help train the new pup and put him/her in their place. Plus, the kids are at a great age to help with a little puppy and when we watched out neighbor puppy, Stuey, was quite a good helper. )

We've been scouting out the animal shelter and there is a dog named Charley there. She has been through 4 foster homes, jumps fences, is on anxiety medications, needs a LOT of exercise, and isn't house trained. The lady at the pound tries to talk us out of getting her. And I think we finally get it. But we couldn't resist taking her for a walk to just test her out. She has the sweetest temperament; doesn't bite and is good with the kids.  So we didn't find our new puppy yet, but still searching. 

(I vote for a young labradoodle!)

I also have found myself a bit. I realized in the search for all of my various lost objects, that my life has been quite busy and in slight disarray since my business moved in November. Our guest room still had holiday decorations on the bed and needed some light cleaning. 

Today I thought "wow-it is March and I'm just now getting this all cleaned up." Its been a really busy 5 months, but I hadn't realized exactly how busy until now. A lot has happened; I started a new job and moved my business. 

I think I found the fun, more chill Zoya that can take a few short naps on a lazy sunday afternoon and not have to-do lists zooming through her head. 

We love our Roxy. 

Self photo by Nora and her friends. 

Zoya

Final Tour Weekend Pics

Just a few more pictures from Tour of Anchorage weekend. Hard to believe it was 1 week ago....feels so much longer. The end of the Tour of Anchorage signifies a new season for me--spring in the air. 

Night before spaghetti feed

My eldest nephew, Ben, helped Stuey with a mini-lego Eiffel Tower. It was quite the challenging project!

Skiing in the backyard at Julie and Rays

Fun times outside!

Zoya