Shooting the bow

When I got my new bow back in March (click here for post) I also got a new bow for Stuey and Nora. Without sights for aiming and a fixed draw length it is more of a traditional bow than the high tech, compound bow I got for hunting sheep.   It is a much better bow for learning purposes.  You have to sort of instinctively learn how to aim and hit the target, and you have to figure out how far to draw the bowstring.  The trick to good shooting is to draw the string back to the same place each time.  I like to touch my nose to the string and touch my ear with the back of my hand.

Anyway, Stuey has gotten pretty good at it.  He started at about 7 yards from the target ands gets to move back if he puts all 5 arrows in the target. He has been hitting the target from 20 yards and almost moved back to 30 (he missed with his last 2 at 20 yards).

I can't wait to take the bow out with us to camp on Afognak.  Patrick

Stuey's Pics

Landscape taken on 'diorama ' setting

I recently downloaded the pictures from Stuey's point-and-shoot camera.  I was impressed.  He does seem to like all the various gimmicky settings (and this is why you should ALWAYS check the settings when you use Stuey's camera), but his sense of composition is good.  It is clear that he tries to compose the shot. Here are a few for your enjoyment.  Patrick

The 'reflection' setting is Stuey's favorite - literally hours and hours of entertainment with HUGE hoots of laughter

Rest in Peace Jake

Yesterday we said goodbye to a noble member of our family~Jake. 10 years ago when I set eyes on Jake at the animal shelter, I saw he had such a sweet soul. His brown eyes looked up at me and we took him home shortly after. 

He has been  with us through kids, good times, hard times. He had such a solid amazing spirit and would especially follow Patrick around. 

 We knew his days and weeks were numbered and were hoping to get a strong sense of when to put him down. 2 days ago, that day came. 

He suffered 3 sudden grand mal seizures in a matter of 3 hours. Patrick and I looked at one another and knew this was Jakes body's way of saying he was done.  I know how with seizures the brain suffers so and I didn't want to lose Jakes spirit to more and more seizures. 

I didn't know how our day of saying good bye will look like. With Jake, I decided at the last minute to be with him while the vet put him down. It was so seamless…one moment he was there with us and the next 30 seconds he was gone. It was a beautiful way for him to go…with Patrick and I right there.

The vet gave us Jake wrapped in two blankets. Two vet assistants brought him out the back door on a doggie stretcher and we put him in the back of our car. Patrick was insistent on digging his grave as soon as we got home and boy did he do it fast. I sat on the tail gait and petted jakes little face as Patrick dug and dug and dug.

Our neighbors, Bethany and Winston,  helped at the end of the digging and together Winston and I lowered Jake down into the grave. We buried him with the ashes of Roxy dog and his ceramic food dish full of water.


I stood atop the grave and looked down in. There were words knit into the blanket which I hadn't noticed until right then.
 A psalm of David:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Rest in Peace, Jake dog. You will always be with me. Always. And you are here with us on Cliffside drive forever. And we hope Roxy dog is showing you all around heaven. 

Zoya

First Firepit and then SNOW

Requisite April photo of crocuses in the snow - except that this year it was difficult to find crocuses still blooming

On Sunday it was sunny and springlike and then on Monday it snowed.  And today it snowed some more.  I'm loving it!

We're finally getting some snow on the mountains.  Despite the warm non-winter, I'm actually hopeful that our cool spring weather will stick around.  The last 2 winters have both been warm and then both have had long, lingering springs.  I'm hoping that that is what will happen again this year.  It may be the new normal.  Patrick

View of town on my way to work yesterday

South Bowl tracks on Saturday

My tracks in the North Bowl yesterday - and after the snowfall today there should be almost a foot more new stuff

Philip and Adelia climbing out of the North Bowl Sunday afternoon

First Firepit

Sunday morning was gorgeous on our deck - so nice that we lit the firepit and cooked hotdogs for brunch.  The first true firepit meal of the year (it only counts as a 'true' firepit if you cook AND eat outside).  I generally don't like warmer weather and summer, but I'll admit that firepits are a warm weather perk.

The kids cooked hotdogs and then marshmallows.  Jake dog enjoyed the sunshine outside and our company.  Patrick

Center Mountain

Mike M.  atop Center Mt. in July 2009 

I"m planning a solo trek to Center Mountain this spring…a 3,300 ft peak here on Kodiak that I've never been to. Once the midnight sun of June arrives, Tank dog and I will head up on our own with an uber warm sleeping bag, a solid tent, some food (and dogfood) and a big sense of excitement.

Since  coming back to Kodiak after college 16 years ago, I've yet to go to Center Mountain.
You can see it from Kodiak city, and it is covered in snow most of the year. Many of my friends have been to it and from the top you can see all around the high peaks of Kodiak.

In preparation, several weekends ago I slept on the lawn in our 10 degree sleeping bag and was warm enough-YAY! Tank slept at my feet and he got an A+ for tent etiquette. He quietly slept at my feet without moving around much.  In the morning, when it was time for him to go to the bathroom, he ducked right out under the outside fly like a good game of dog limbo.

I have almost no fears about the trip. The biggest fear I did have was getting cold at night, but now that I've tested out my sleeping bag, that is no longer a fear. Some people ask "Aren't I afraid of bears? Or other people? Or ghosts?" No.  No fears there.

As the time nears, I'm sure I'll be nervous but that is to be expected. Its the nervousness before a big physical adventure-like before a race.

In the meantime, I dream of when the time will come for me to set off, up the tailhead at Kasheverof. With Tank at my side, off we will go….

Zoya

July 2009…right after sunset with the lights of town on the left. 

Patrick in 2001 atop Center with town in the distance center! 

Lisa M enjoys the sunset and the view to the west - July 2009

Importance of a ski lift

The other day while climbing up Pyramid for my daily ski I pondered the importance of a ski lift.  When I am away from Kodiak, and tell people I try to ski everyday during winter they invariably ask about Kodiak's ski lift.  And when I tell them that Kodiak does not have a ski lift they ask how I get up the mountain.  The assumption is that without a lift it is impossible to downhill ski.

What's funny is that I doubt I would ski everyday if there was a lift. I don't climb the mountain to ski down.  I climb the mountain because I enjoy climbing and need the exercise.  I do some of my best thinking while climbing up the mountain and look forward to that and NOT the ski down.

And when I do go to a ski area with a lift I generally get bored after just a few runs.  At the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood I struggle to ski more than a couple hours!

On Pyramid most of the days I go skiing the downhill portion is awful.  Ice underfoot, or blowing snow and rain in the eyes - not good ski conditions.  But I go up anyway because I need the exercise and 'thinking' time.  A ski lift would just ruin the experience!  Patrick

Mike and Gregg climbing Pyramid in snowier days - Easter 2006

On the Beach with Jake

Sunday morning I looked out the window and saw that the tide was way out.  I thought, 'What a great day for tidepooling'.  And so I took the kids and dogs down to the beach.  I had intended to leave Jake at home because he's not up for long walks anymore.  But Jake really wanted to go, and he looked so sad when I tried to get him back in the house that we just had to take him.  And so we packed him into the car with the other 2 dogs and headed off to the beach.

We ended looking for beach glass instead of tidepooling.  It might be one of Jake's last visits to the beach, and I figured we'd stick close to the car to make it easier for Jake.  Jake seemed to enjoy himself and, at one point, I looked back and saw him cruising the high tide line like the Jake dog of days long ago.  He found a stick he liked, trotted down the beach in a perky fashion and then lay down and commenced chewing on it.  Jake has always liked the beach.  Patrick

Way Too Early

First salmonberry of the year

I took all these pictures yesterday on the third of April.  I believe the earliest I have ever seen a salmonberry blossom is in late April, and last year it was on the 4rth of May (click here for post).  So based on this it appears that this year's spring is a month earlier than I've ever seen it.  And yes it seems I'll be mowing the lawn within a week or so.  This is VERY scary.

It has been a year without winter here on Kodiak.  The lakes never froze and the garden never died.  The kale pictured below is from last year's garden, and I am a little curious about what will happen to it come June - will it immediately bolt or will it grow large leaves as if it was a newly planted kale?

I do know that slugs are already munching on my garlic.  The slugs will be a HUGE issue for gardeners this summer.  I wonder what other garden pests we'll have to start dealing with here on Kodiak if the winters continue to be so mild?

Patrick

Garlic in the garden

Raspberries leafing out

Kale doing GREAT

Another salmonberry bud

Done with Easter-mania

I'm over Easter. Its become a holiday which I've begun to associate with tummy aches, plastic eggs everywhere and grumpy kiddos.

This past week I told the kids there won't be easter baskets or Easter egg hunts. I gave it my best shot for 9 years and I'm over it.  Every year the day is accompanied by tears and complaints.

"I'm done hiding baskets. I don't like being yelled at. Every year you get upset or someone is mad. You tell me I  make the baskets too hard to find." I explained to Nora and Stuey.

Stuey, with tears coming down his cheeks chokes out, "No, but, but mom…it was because you made it too easy to find last year." See- I knew it. The kids are never happy with how I hide baskets or eggs and I'm done with it.

Do I feel even a twinge remorseful about not partaking in this holiday this year? Not really. I think what makes me more remorseful is to do something special and then have the kids be grumpy or rude about it and then do it again next year. Why do that to myself?

I"m slowly learning to have better boundaries. I can't change how they respond to such events in life, but I can change whether or not I want to have a part in that.

Patrick shares similar sentiments with me…. on the car ride home tonight he explained to the kids how these holidays are all run by the same candy company. "He is SO right" I chuckled to myself. I"m done being suckered into the madness.

If the kids would like to go to Easter service, Patrick said he would be very willing to go with them. I'm glad that he offered. And I'm looking forward to some basketball games on TV tomorrow, outside time with the kids and friends and time to work on a quilting project. With no candy wrappers to pick up around the house.

Zoya

Test driving new treatment skills

Typically on the last few hours of physical therapy classses, I think to myself, "Awww, man. Wow. Wow. Overwhelmed. How in the world am I going to start using this info all on my own back in Kodiak. I don't even know for sure if these techniques will work. So I'm going to have to promote it without knowing if it works?"

Last weekend in Houston, it happened again like clockwork.  Day two of learning how to treat the hip using Therapeutic Yoga~an approach I've had little exposure to or any experience with. Here I am is yoga postures-supported by a block here, or a strap there. But I  feel surprisingly amazing. I've never enjoyed yoga as much as those two hours in class. My breathing felt relaxed, muscles that have a hard time relaxing were really relaxing. And the best part is that no one is 'doing' anything to me...I'm able to achieve this feeling on my own.

Perhaps, I wonder, I WILL be able to show others what this is like...


Fast forward to first day back in clinic in Kodiak. A female client I"ve been working with for a while with back pain and have felt plateaued. I figured I would give some of the yoga poses a try. She loved them and had all the yoga gear at home (block, strap, mat) to do the poses at home. My confidence grew a tiny bit. Maybe this would work, afterall!

Later in the week, several male clients in similar situations-needing something other than the manual therapy and stabilization exercises that had been the meat and potatoes of their treatment program for weeks or months on end. I  Introduced the new releases I learned and they were excited and seemed to grasp them right away.

Time will tell how it all works for my clients....in the meantime I'm keeping on with 10 or 15 minutes a days of yoga and lovin' it.

Zoya

Outing in the rain

It's Sunday evening and the sun just broke out of the clouds.  Buildings and trees are glowing in the evening sunshine. Stuey just came inside for dinner after playing some basketball.  It's nice outside.  But that's not the way it has been, and I sort of suspect it's not the way it will be either.  I kind of suspect it is a 'sucker hole'.

We've been cooped up in the house all weekend while it rained and blew outside - lots of Monopoly, minor squabbling, and March Madness basketball.  Finally about mid day Nora had had enough and asked if we could go outside for a walk.  This almost never happens - usually we as parents have to force the issue.

And so we went hiking to Jewel Beach and it POURED.  But everybody was happy and had a good time.  Back home Stuey later asked if we could go back tomorrow.  Patrick

A Hip Class in Houston

Life changing yummy Texas Brisket atop an bed of grilled Avocado. So glad I had some Texas bbq before leaving Houston.   

The sign on the lawn at my B&B. Very fitting for the weekend of learning with great peers. 

Course instructor, Ginger Garner, and myself. She is a gem. 

I"m leaving Houston in an hour. 

On my way to the airport I had some Texas BBQ brisket, something I promised my co-worker that I would get while in Texas. Boy was it worth it! Brisket-piled atop half a grilled avocado...wonderful medley of flavors.

Some Texas cooking' was a perfect way to celebrate completion of a 2 day class learning about the hip joint. The instructor, Ginger Garner, is well versed in the hip and does research, writes articles, blog posts etc on the hip. Occasionally when I work  with clients with low back pain,  they will mention hip pain, popping, feelings of instability and I have not had much to offer them in terms of treatment or approaches to take.  Now i have a better understanding of what causes the symptoms and how to address it. 

I find so much new information daunting. I remind myself it doesn't have to feel that way, and I remind myself that I  always feel this way after taking classes. I always wonder "Will the techniques work?" yes, of course they will! I have to trust they will and gradually introduce them to my practice and see what happens!

Just like you have to go right outside your comfort zone to build muscle when weight training, you have to go outside your comfort zone when learning new things and adding new skills. Its not always fun, or easy, or comfortable, but the long term payoff is worth it. 

Thank you, Ginger Garner, for taking me outside my comfort zone this weekend!

Zoya

Houston

Its early evening and I"m out on the patio along with some spring birds making calls I do not recognize, the sounds of kids playing on a street nearby and occasional barking dog in the distance. Houston has been good to me. The drivers are friendly, people are kind. Food is good. Weather is warm, but not too warm. The trees hanging over the streets are gorgeous.

And   I"m using airbnb  for lodging for the very  first time and loving it.

I have one bedroom in a precious little house in the Rice University District of Houston. This morning at 8 o'clock when I arrived to the house, Sarah and her standad grey poodle, Tilley, welcomed me. Sarah so warmly introduced me to where things are in the kitchen, the various amenities which awaited me in my bedroom. After she left, I crashed for 4 hours, as I had flown all night.

Sarah is a painter. And her dog is a Therapy dog at the local hospital. I don't know much more about them aside from that. Sarahs gorgeous paintings decorate the house. Her work has so much color and depth to them.

Her home has such wonderful energy. I am grateful to be here for 3 days when taking my class.

Zoya

March Madness Fun!

March Madness basketball  fever is unusually high at our house this spring!  Between Stuey's growing love of basketball and having Wisonsin make the playoffs, tensions are very high during Wisonsin games. Stuey sits on the edge of the couch in our kitchen and announces fouls, travels, free throws, three pointers, etc. He says things like "oh it won't really matter if Wisconsin doesn't win" although we all know it totally does. 

Stuey awoke the other morning, crawling into my bed, declaring he had a dream about Wisonsin playing North Carolina, and how Wisconsin beat North Carolina by 100 points. I love watching Patrick  watch a Wisonsin game. His pride is so strong that tears of joy well up in his eyes if Wisconsin wins or if the cameras spend an extra amount of time on shots of the Wisonsin coach. (and admittedly, the same is starting to happen to me, too!)

As I wrote this, I was on an airplane headed to Seattle. As I boarded the plane, the Wisconsin game was on the terminal TV and my  favorite player, Frank Kaminsky, had fallen to the ground and Wisconsin was down by 3 or 4 points.  With considerable angst for Franks' wellbeing, I  boarded the plane wondering how the game was going. 

The guy sitting in the window seat of my row  had 3 electronic devices-2 phones and an ipad-all up and running.

 I joked with him, "Wow! I think you need one more electronic device." He explained the reasoning for all the devices, which I don't remember much of, aside from one being a work phone. 

Then I jokingly said, "Hey as long as one of them is playing the Wisconsin game, then its all good!"   People were getting settled and I heard the gal behind me say something about NEEDING Wisonsin to win. It was nice to have a fan nearby who understood my curiosity. Several minutes later, the guy next to me hands me a phone with the game live on it.  I hovered the phone over the crack between the seats and the gal behind me and I watched for about 5 minutes, then the flight attendants announced preparation for departure. So I gave his phone back. Minutes clicked by. The suspense killed us. Even as the flight attendants were preparing the cabin for departure, then the gal behind me pulled the updates up on her phone every 10 seconds for the last 2 minutes of the game. 

And Wisconsin beat North Carolina. We gave each other high fives. 

It was nice to depart Anchorage thinking about Stuey and Patrick and Nora at home, all so excited about the victory!!! I bet there were some tears of joy. 

Zoya

Perspective

I took these pictures a few days ago while on my daily ski, and I can't decide which one I like best. It is the view northwest from the saddle of Pyramid Mountain towards Afognak Island.  I first took it as a wide angle panoramic and then zoomed in closer and closer for the subsequent pictures.

On the one hand, I like sweeping grand view of the wide angle panoramic, but on the other hand, you can't see the details of the landscape like you can in the closer views.  On the computer screen it's possible to zoom into the wide angle panoramic and see the individual trees and small islands shrouded in fog, but when looking at the picture as a whole on the computer screen you can not.  However, you can see the details in the zoomed in pictures.

Thinking about it I realized that panoramics lose their impact unless they are blown up huge.  They need to be on big canvases set on a wall where you can see them as a whole and then walk up close to see the details.  They are not good to look at on computer screens where their canvas size is limited.  In order to see detail on a computer screen you have to zoom in, and then it might as well have been a smaller canvas picture to begin with.

Anyway, just some food for thought the next time I am taking landscape pictures.  Patrick

My new bow

Old bow on right and new bow to the left

Recently I bought a new bow.  My old bow was over 15 years old and had seemed adequate for late season, road system goats (click here and here for some recent bow-hunting for goats posts).  But I decided to upgrade after I drew a bow-only sheep hunting tag for the Eklutna Lake area just outside Anchorage.  At around a 1 in 20 draw rate the sheep tag is a very difficult one to draw, and with a new bow I hope to take full advantage modern bow technology - basically, I wanted to increase my odds of bringing home a sheep.

After trying out the new bows I was amazed at how far they've come in the last 15 years.  New bows are practically like rifles.  My old bow weighs 8 1/2 pounds and is only good out to about 30 yards.  My new bow weighs 4 pounds, is far more compact, and is good out to about 60 yards.  WOW!  It makes me wonder how I ever killed anything with my old bow.  I'm also far less in awe of bowhunters using the new gear. Today's bowhunters don't have to get within 30 yards of animal to make a kill. Believe it or not, but I can actually shoot better free hand at 60 yards with my new bow than I can with my rifle.

Now to bring home the bacon. ... ..

Patrick

Day One - Paper Route

Early last week Nora came home from school asking about having a paper route. One of her school mates had a paper route and it piqued her interest. As serendipity would have it, that night in the newspaper I saw that our Cliffside Drive route was needing a carrier.
One phone call later and I had the details:
 -yes, a 9 year old could be a carrier
-21 houses on the route
-the route is streets all around our house
-pay is $50-$60 a month plus tips

After orientation hour at the newspaper, Nora had her plastic news paper bags, big carrier bag and list of houses on our route.

So today, the first day of spring, we had our first day of the route. The clouds parted, sun was out and after stuffing the papers into the bags, Stuey Nora and I set off.

Nora was having a glum, mopey moment as we headed down the road. I wast sure why she was grumpy-was it the heavy newspaper bag she didn't want to sling over her shoulder? Or was it because she doesn't like walking on roadways in public eye. I wasn't sure.  A $20 bill changed her mood-at one of our stops, a customer gave her a $20 tip! She was elated and quickly showed it to Stuey and I. From then on, she was all smiles.

The route took a little over 30 minutes and I think its a perfect spring/summer endeavor for Nora and our family. Nice chance to get outside for a quick walk, see neighbors, and give Nora a chance to earn money.

Zoya