The Mickey V

It's a beautiful day here in sunny Hoonah Alaska. The only problem is that it's in the single digits and not supposed to go much higher. I don't know how the sun can be out and have so little heat to offer. I've known a few folks like that- beautiful people with no warmth to their character. Perhaps it's just as well- if they were good looking and kind too they might be intolerable. Anyway, it's too cold to wander around outside today so I thought I would tap into the archives of my  picture files. The top two pictures show the Mickey V on anchor in Neka Bay this past year. Neka Bay is named after a local Tlingit man who used to shoot a small cannon every time the fleet came back in. I saw a picture of him in a book. He's a very distinguished looking fellow and the cannon looked like it could do some damage if he loaded it with a pound or two of shot. The Mickey V (5) is owned by a friend of mine, Marc Miller. I don't know what happened to Mickey's one through four. Maybe the original owner just liked this name. There used to be a boat out of Juneau I believe called the Item 113. Who knows how the owner came up with that name, but I always kind of liked it. It seems like if you owned a boat called the Item 113 you would probably be pretty cool. In any event neither Marc or I own that boat, but I think he's a pretty cool guy anyway.  I love the lines of the Mickey. It looks like it could take some weather. Like all wooden boats, she takes a lot of upkeep to keep her looking this way. I think on this particular day I went in to pick up Mark so he could help me pull the long line we had set for halibut. We caught all that we were allowed by the first half of the first set and ended up shaking hundreds of pounds of large halibut in the sixty to hundred twenty pound plus range. That was both a blessing and a dissapointment. Not far from where the Mickey is anchored this sow and cub were walking on the beach. At times the cub was walking between his mom's back legs. It was entertaining to watch. I once saw two cubs walking by themselves on the beach at Humpback Creek. They were quite small and I was surprised to see that mom wasn't around. When I looked up the beach I saw the sow. A boar was barrelling down on the cubs. I understand that the boars will kill the cubs so that the sow will go into heat again. The sow stopped and stood up and when the boar stood, she smacked him ten or twelve times so fast he didn't know what hit him. His head was bouncing back and forth between her paws like a paddle ball. It was hilarious. Better go take a cold shower buddy, it aint happening tonight! Ah well, such is life.

Comments

  1. Aw shoot, that had me laughing out loud! Too bad you didn't get a vidoe of that, that would have been hilarious! Love you!

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  2. Hi Autumn- Yeah, that was pretty neat to see. I would have loved to have had a video of it. You should have seen how fast she slapped him. He just stood there stunned for a few seconds. She called to the cubs and they took off running into the woods and she came right after them.

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  3. Oh my gosh that's funny! I can just picture that!

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  4. Video would've indeed been hilarious

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  5. good blog dad, would have been funny to see a bear do something like that, so true when you have kids you will do anything to protect them. love you

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  6. Hi Erika- at the time I didn't even have a decent camera. Knowing me, if I'd had a video camera with me I would have spent most of my time trying to adjust something and missed all the action. It would be nice to be able to plug something into my brain and project it on a wall for all to see, but I guess that's what people write for, to provide a visual image. It was so funny though. I was kind of afraid for the cubs, but guess I shouldn't have been with that momma around.

    Hi Camille- I think that's the number one job of parents. Sometimes I think they forget that or some take it to extremes, but overall I think it comes natural. Love you gal.

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  7. It looks so beautiful there...water so clear and pretty....you'd never know it was that cold!! How do you not have snow?? How does the water not freeze over??
    As for the boar and sow...to funny!! Bears case of "Honey, I have a headache tonight"!

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  8. Hi Donna-
    It is a beautiful place, even in the winter when the clouds lift and it's warm enough to go out into it. The bay and surrounding area is all saltwater so it normally isn't cold enough for a long enough period of time to freeze like up north around Nome or Prudhoe Bay. The fresh water that is floating on the surface of the salt water freezes if the wind isn't blowing or if it's in an area where there isn't a lot of tidal action. Once spring arrives we get warmer weather. Usually by May most of the snow down in the lower elevations is gone-thank God! Sometimes it gets pretty hot here- up to the 80's, which feels sweltering.
    The bears look so cute when they are cubs, but they can be unpredictable. They're all muscle.There have been several people here who have been attacked and have the scars to prove it. I usually steer clear of the woods until later in the fall. One of my boys had a deer taken from him by a bear one year while he was hunting. He killed the deer and was gutting it when he heard a noise and the bear approached. He backed away and the Brownie helped himself. There isn't much you can do in a situation like that.

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  9. The Item 113 was owned by Bert and Bev Finley. Bert died 1998-9 at the Excursion Inlet packing company. I believe it was about Christmas. Their boat was bought at an auction, was item 113 and kept the name. They were wonderful, caring, kind, opinionated people and I miss them very much.

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    Replies
    1. Hi, I just happened to be scrolling through the comments and noticed yours. Thank you for the insight. I often wondered about the name. I always thought it was unique. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. Thanks for commenting.

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