Through the skies to Grandmother's House

Grandmother's house the morning after we arrived

Traveling in the digital age

Nora gathers apples to make a pie

We've been at Emmy's house for 3 nights now and  have really  enjoyed lovely walks, delicious meals and laughter together. Emmy picked us up at the Boston airport at 6:00 Am and drove us straight up to Maine. I proceeded to pass out in exhaustion, as I didn't get much sleep the night before. The kids slept 12 hours their first night here and thankfully haven't had any struggles with the time change.

There is a mile loop which goes along the ocean and then along a golf course which I've enjoyed walking several times a day. The quiet, sleepy town of Rockport is so gorgeous this time of year. Traditionally we are here in the summer and I'm preferring this Thanksgiving time of year. The roads are quieter, establishments quieter, parking easier.

Tomorrow we head down to Boston for Thanksgiving Day and the rest of our vacation. Nora really enjoys looking at houses and architecture along the way. I enjoy seeing the East Coast through her eyes.

Zoya

Stuey Little Dribbler

Several weeks ago Stuey started playing organized basketball for the first time-in the Kodiak Little Dribblers. It is a program which has been around for 30+ years and gets kids playing basketball in elementary school. 

Stuey is on A Balanced Approach's team and the coach is Pete Danelski, another born and bred Kodiakian and fellow high school classmate in the 90's. His son Liam is in Stuey's class and i was grateful to have Petes kind and familiar presence for Stuey's first time playing basketball.

My sister and I sat in the bleacher together to watch the game with Nora. As the buzzer went off announcing the start of the first game, I admittedly got a little teary eyed. that buzzer struck a visceral chord in the basketball part of my soul. 

The game was more  legit and official than I expected. The wall timer and score board was used, and two refs in uniforms ready to go. 

The majority of the first 2 games involved a lot of teaching; how to pass the ball in, which basket to shoot in, and the very basics of defending your man. The refs took time to patiently explain and didn't blow the whistle for most travels and double dribbles. 

A Balanced Approach has played 3 games and they haven't won one yet. Each game A Balanced Approach gets better, as the boys begin to understand the principles of the game. The most important thing is that Stuey is having fun and learning  the art of basketball.

Zoya

RATS!

Smaller rats from later in the week

'And that's a Norway Rat', Mike S proclaimed.  Mike was pointing out the window with his knife, and we all looked out to see a brown animal with tail chewing on one of the elk leg bones we had thrown out on the lawn earlier in the afternoon.  Everyone but me laughed as it hopped around from bone to bone and then disappeared around the corner of the house.  The elk hunt crew was butchering and packaging the elk from the hunt, and I had come to the realization that the Saltonstall household had a rat problem.

Rats are only funny when they are someone else's problem.

They are also a problem that on Kodiak eventually happens to pretty much everybody.  And for which everybody has an opinion. 'Use poison', 'traps are best', 'you must have chickens or a bird feeder', and 'I bet they are raiding your compost heap' are some of the more common opinions that I heard.

I don't like poison because I worry that our dogs will find it.  Also we used poison when we last had a serious problem about 10 years ago, and had a rat die under the kitchen.  It smelled for months.

So no poison - I bought rat traps.  Rat traps make mouse traps seem like miniature toys in comparison, and are scary to set. I was worried about breaking a finger, and would jump in shock every time I inadvertently set off the hare-trigger.  SNAP!  Setting the traps was like playing with dynamite.

The traps worked and for a week I tended my trapline. I checked the traps 3 times a day, and caught an unbelievable number of rats.  For the first couple of days I caught one in every trap twice a day.  Then the numbers started to drop off and the rats got smaller and smaller.  After about a week I stopped catching rats.  Worried that the rats had just gotten smart I also set out bait with no trap and had no takers.  It seems the rats are gone - I really, really hope so.  Patrick

One of the first rats I trapped - he's a big guy!

Some that got away

Trick or treat on Cliffside costumes

Our family takes a lot of photos and it is a lot of work editing and backing them up.  Maintaining a blog helps us a lot with this process.

At our house once we put the pictures into iphoto on the computer we erase the pictures off of the card that goes back into the camera.  That way there is less confusion when we down load at a later date about whether a picture has been saved or not.  Once the images are on the computer I do an initial edit - getting rid of all the really bad photos.  Then all these photos are put onto an external hard drive (that is backed up itself by another hard drive).

The pictures that remain on iphoto are fixed up - colors adjusted, cropped, tones fixed etc. - and the best ones usually go here onto the blog.  All pictures that go onto the blog are put into their own file (by date) and backed up on hard drives separately.  Sadly enough, it turns out that these are generally the only photos I ever go back to look at - I mean who wants to look at thousands of unedited photos?

We do not use iphoto as a backup, and every few weeks I go back and delete most of the recent images.  The iphoto on our computer contains only the best of the best from the last few years.

Anyway, yesterday morning I was deleting photos from the past few weeks on iphoto, and found a few that never made it onto the blog.  And now they have!  Patrick

Packaged deer meat - I try to match the terrain on the package with where the meat was harvested

Teaching Stuey cribbage

Zoya's St Mary's Halloween costume

The pack watches Monday night football

Left to right - Bruno, Tank and Sheba

Sledding!

In the past week we finally got some snow and on Sunday I took the kids and dogs sledding at the golf course.  We first tried to drive up to the top of Pillar Mountain where the snow coverage is more complete.  However the road turned out to be a sheet of ice, and, after a scary moment sliding backwards half turned sideways, we decided to turn the rest of the way around and go sledding elsewhere.

The golf course had barely enough snow.  And while it may look a little green and desperate the sledding turned out to be excellent.  It was fast and the run was very long.

Yesterday we got another dusting of snow and I even went back to this corner of the golf course and did some skate skiing.  Round and round on a tiny loop until I had gone 5K or so.

It's good to have some snow and cold.  And some of the recent low temperatures have matched the lowest we got all last winter!  Patrick

At the start - the blue sled goes further but the green one spins

Stuey points to our run - it was surprisingly long and fast

Checking on history

Hiking the old WWII roads

These pictures are from over a week ago, and with our recent snow do not really reflect what it is like right now on Kodiak.  But if last winter's weather is any indication of what is to come the pictures may well reflect our activities later on this winter.

In any case they do reflect what we've been up to a lot this fall - checking out archaeological sites.  In particular, I have gotten into what remains from the WWII build up on Kodiak.  I managed to obtain a report written by another archaeologist documenting WWII sites, and it has been fun to relocate all the places he visited.  The report tells me what I am looking at and often has photos in it from when the structures were new in the 1940s.  There are also photos from the 1990s when the report was written.

What's amazing is how quickly the WWII material is falling into the ground and getting covered with moss.  The kids and I are helping to document this process. 

But not everything we find is WWII related.  On this past trip we also found an old house depression that pre dates the 1912 Katmai eruption.  I know it is older than the eruption because it has ash from the eruption on top of the walls and floor.  So the ash fell after the house had already collapsed. 

I think the foundation might represent an outbuilding from the nearby Russian era 'dairy' farm at the mouth of the Buskin River.  The rest of this farm was mostly covered up by airport construction during WWII so it is kind of cool to find a part of it still exists.

Patrick

'Temporary' gun emplacement from early in the war effort

A new site! And not something from WWII

19th century house depression (pre 1912 Katmai Ash anyway)

155mm Panama Gun Mount

The scary Artillery Hill Command Center Headquarters

Back on the snow again

It's been almost 5 months since I last went skiing.  That's a long time for me, but we now have snow on the mountain and it is supposed to be cold for the next week.  So today I went for my first ski of the new season.

Yesterday when I climbed the mountain with the dogs there was not quite enough snow, then overnight we got another 3-4 inches of new stuff.  That is enough snow to make carrying the skiis up the mountain worthwhile.  My run was about 500 vertical feet but not steep and pretty long distance-wise.  Not the greatest conditions either with lots of drifts, big bumps, and bare spots.  But hey it is skiing and I did not hit any rocks.  Patrick

More Bruno and the Pack

Some more Bruno pictures!  Bruno continues to fit in with the pack.  We are undecided whether to call him Bruno or Bruester.  Nora seems to prefer Bruno - I call him Bruester the Rooster. Stuey and Zoya call him Brewster.

Yesterday afternoon I took him up Pyramid with the rest of the pack to check on the new snow.  I love how he has influenced the behavior of Tank and Sheba.  They are acting more like pack dogs.  All of them stick closer together and seem more in tune with the humans.

Bruno has a very good temperament.  He is still a puppy and does puppy like stuff (like chasing his tail), but also mellows out around the house.  He sleeps next to the various humans with the rest of the pack.  And then outside he perks up and has good 'walk' energy.  That's a perfect dog.

Patrick


PS I heart Brewster -Zoya

Meet the newest member of the pack

Newest member Bruno or 'Bruester' (with an umlaut over the 'u') chills on kitchen floor

Tank a tad bit peeved at the newest lad perhaps?

On Monday night we welcomed the newest member to our pack, Brewster!

He came to us from Bethel, where a family who intended to train him as a hunting dog changed their mind and turned him into the Alaskan Animal Rescue Friends (AARF) in Anchorage. Our friend Aubrey, in Anchorage, volunteers for the rescue organization and she knew that Nora was on the look out for a puppy.

 Every few months Aubrey would text me a photo of a possible puppy for our home. They all looked very sweet, but none looked like quite the perfect fit for us. One of our current dogs,  Sheba, is a hyper dog and we knew we needed a puppy with a mellow disposition to help balance out the pack energy. 

Then the text of Brewster came over my phone from Aubrey.

I showed the picture to Patrick. "that looks like a good dog!" Patrick replied. 

Brewster was looking up into the camera with sweetest expression and his head at a slight angle. Aubrey offered to take Brewster into her home for the day and night in Anchorage and give him a test drive of sorts. 

Sure enough, he was cuddly and calm. He was indeed an 8 month old, golden lab puppy version of Tank. 

I put the word out on FB to see who might be in Anchorage who could bring him over. Our friend John S was over there and offered to take Brewster as a piece of checked luggage. 

At 10 PM on Monday night, I went to the airport and in the baggage check area Brewster was delivered to us. I let him out of the kennel and he took off with me on his leash. Lots of sweet puppy energy.

That night, Brewster went out the dog door and discovered the lawn. He excitedly ran around the house and we fed him and showed him the water dish. 

At 11:00 pm, Patrick and I retired to bed. We heard Brewster in the living room. I heard clunking noises. I had visions of him chewing up my shoes. Patrick investigated.

Brewster had brought in 4 or 5 elk bones from the lawn and was chewing on them in the living room. He was in bone heaven. We gave him another 30 minutes to help calm himself down but he didn't. I suggested we let him in our room. Patrick said that would set a bad precedent and  he is right. 

Patrick ended up sleeping half the night on the couch in the kitchen with Tank and Sheba on top of him and Brewster in the kennel right next to him.  It was a long night for us. 

Last night went much better. Brewster slept on a dog bed in Stueys room with Tank and Jake. 

Welcome to our home, Brewster! I have already forgotten what life was like without him.

Zoya

Hike in Abercrombie at dawn (the sun had not come up yet)

Another hike to help 'meld' the pack

Learning some pack dynamics - Bruno went into a crouch

Sheba stays close now on walks to keep with the pack

Scouting for Birds

Yesterday my girl scout troop ventured out with 3 members of   Kodiak Audubon. Rich, Mary and Ellie brought binoculars for us to use and together we birded at Potato Patch lake and also Ft. Abercrombie. 

My favorite bird was the Bufflehead~a gorgeous black and white duck. The girls kept lists of what they saw on their scout notebooks. Most girls had about 10 birds on their list by the end of the afternoon. 

Rich, Mary and Ellie were so helpful and patient with us. 

It was a treat to spend the afternoon together!

Zoya

September Float Hunt Video

This past week I have archiving archaeology video notes and it inspired me to create a hunting video from my September float trip.  The newer versions of imovie are too complicated for me, and the version of imovie that I do use is so old and outdated that I rarely make movies anymore.  But here is a new movie made on the old software.  Enjoy!

 https://youtu.be/nmFivr5FwyM

Halloween 2015

It sure was fun joining in on Nora and Stuey's class halloween party. I dressed up like Kelly Mcguillis from Top Gun, thoroughly embarrassed Nora with my big blond wig, but hopefully made up for it with a  bowl of freshly popped popcorn. 

Nora didn't want her picture taken with me. I didn't take it personally. On the car ride home I asked why. Was it my outfit? The aviator sunglasses?

"Its the wig mom. I would have been fine if you hadn't worn the wig." She explained. 

Now I know. Next year I'll get pre-approval on a costume before wearing it to the party. 

On the back of STuey's jail suit it read "Busted Bad Boy". On the front it said, "Crime don't pay". Lots of chuckles from his costume!

On Hallween night, several girlfriends and myself went to the Chart room to catch up and listen to live music. It was a very quiet halloween scene there, which we appreciated.

It was fun to get out a little and see a few other adult costumes. Marias was a butterfly. :)

Zoya

Dribblers a family, community tradition

MOUNTAIN VIEWS
by Zoya Saltonstall
Published in Kodiak Daily Mirror on October 29th, 2015


The sharp whistle stopped every one in action. You could almost hear a pin drop in the gym. The small mob of basketball-playing elementary boys convened in the center by the adults. The unknowns were hanging in the air. For the players, the parents and the coaches. This was the start of  Little dribbler basketball tryouts.

With paper numbers pinned on their chests, the boys were split into three groups and sent off to various parts of the gym for  drills. They took turns doing layups. Passing drills. Dribbling skills. 

I have to play my cards well so Stuey doesn’t know just how excited I am for him to finally be playing organized basketball. I hear the stories of sports pressure gone bad. Parents who so desperately want their child to play a certain sport and in the end it pushes them away from it.

I’m taking the opposite approach. I’ve tried to be completely chill with how much I love basketball. 

My love for basketball began 30 years ago, as a little dribbler myself. Sweaty, hot games in the middle school. Enthusiastic parents sitting on the bleachers up high, screaming out during games. Cheering. Sometimes yelling at us or the coaches or the refs. T-shirts with awful contrasting colors and team photos where the coaches stand behind us with ’80s hairdos. Painfully learning how to play the game.

I remember it feeling so good to win. And so good to make a basket. 

Then middle school basketball where I have zero memories. Perhaps there is a picture in a photo album somewhere that could jog my memory. Those years are in many ways a memory void. If my middle school basketball coach is reading this, I’m truly sorry. I just don’t remember. Perhaps  we really do spend the rest of our lives trying to recover from or forget what happens in middle school. 

“Do you want to coach?” I  was asked by city Parks and Rec when I signed Stuey up for dribblers. “Oh, no! You don’t want me coaching!” I chuckled. I would have to get Cliff Notes for basketball coaching and it wouldn’t be pretty. 

I prayed to my lucky stars that they found enough coaches so I wouldn’t have to. 

At tryouts, I was glad to see five coaches milling around the gym. My stars came through for me. With clipboards and pens in their hands, the coaches had semipensive looks on their faces as they watched the boys play. They intermingled some, took notes on their papers, and watched some more.    

Three of the five coaches are familiar to me. One was a Kodiak High School classmate back in the 1990s. One was a prior coworker who has a great sense of humor. One was an old boyfriend.

I am curious who will end up being Stuey’s first basketball coach. In real estate they say “location, location, location.” In sports, it’s really all about the coach. The coach is the one who instills confidence, gives the framework, and yet pushes just the right amount. It truly is an art. 

The next 45 minutes were awash with ball handling drills. Chest passes. Bounce passes. Stop-pivots. Dribbling around cones. Layups on the left. Then on the right. Moves that will become so practiced, and so routine for these boys as they learn the art of basketball. These skills that will build their foundation. And becomes threads of their existence and beings. 

Before I know it, tryouts end. The hour flew by. We learn that we’ll find out team assignments at next practice

As we leave the gym, Stuey runs ahead of me to the car.

“I’m glad I knew two people from my class!” Stuey yells. 

“Yes! That was really fun, Stuey! I reply. 

My heart thumps with basketball joy. 



Kodiak resident Zoya Saltonstall is a mother of two and a physical therapist. She loves black labs and chocolate.

Politics take back seat to night drive

MOUNTAIN VIEWS
By Zoya Saltonstall
Published in Kodiak Daily Mirror on October 22nd, 2015

Mom, wait. I’m confused.  I thought our mayor is a girl, not a guy” my daughter, Nora questioned me. 

It was a rainy windy Thursday evening. Nora and I were getting settled into our chairs at the toasty borough assembly chambers. 

We arrived 25 minutes before the borough assembly meeting started and sat in the front left row by the window. The assembly members trickled in, conversed with each other and sat in their executive assembly chairs. Nora asked who everyone was and what their jobs were. 

I explained how we have two mayors in Kodiak: a borough mayor and city mayor. Jerrol Friend is our borough mayor. Pat Branson is the city mayor and that was who she was thinking of. I explained the difference between city and borough and how our family lives in the borough. 

This was Nora’s first time being at such a public meeting. She was curious about what a public meeting is like and since she cares about the future of Termination Point, I figured this would be a good one for us  to go to together.   

I remember my fascination with elected public officials as a child. My very young self saw it all as a little king-queen-ish. My late father, Dave Herrnsteen, was on the Kodiak school board for several terms and borough mayor for a term back in the 1980s. I don’t remember his time as borough mayor, I was too young. On the school board I remember him coming home with super-thick meeting packets he would read through. And he would frequently get pulled aside at the post office to talk with neighbors and friends about school board subjects. 

Half an hour into Thursday’s meeting, Nora started showing signs of fading — slumping over tired and sending me looks of disgust for still being there. Her eyebrows were furrowing at me. The clock was approaching 8. It was a school night and she (thankfully) relishes her 8 p.m. bedtime. 

On the drive home, Nora was very much convinced that borough assembly meetings were the most boring things on earth. What was exciting to her was that it was her first “night drive” this fall. Seeing the street lights and oncoming headlights of traffic was a novelty. Simple joys for 10-year-olds. 

I tuned into the meeting on public radio KMXT as we drove home. By the time we left the meeting, the Termination Point testimony hadn’t yet started; there were several awards and reports presented. Not terribly exciting. But important, yes.   

After Nora was tucked into bed and as the rain hammered against my kitchen window, I  followed the assembly votes on the Termination Point negotiations as they rolled in. The next morning when Nora woke up, she was curious what the outcome was. 

I explained how the four votes in favor of negotiations were reflections of the people who filled the borough assembly chambers two weeks in a row. The two votes opposing the negotiations left many puzzled. 

That rainy Thursday night was an eye-opening borough assembly meeting for Nora and me, but for different reasons. 

For Nora, she learned about the difference between the borough and city mayor. She saw first-hand how meetings can be boring.  

For me, I became even more grateful for engaged, responsive borough assembly members. These elected officials who can look constituents in the eye, email back and have dialogue and interaction. 

And most importantly, assembly members who vote on behalf of the  wishes of the community. 




Kodiak resident Zoya Saltonstall is a mother of two and a physical therapist. She loves black labs and chocolate.