Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

This past week has been crazy busy. I had to send my new book down to the publishers electronically, which was quite the fiasco. I'm already computer challenged and when you compound that with an old computer and internet service that can be iffy at times, I was a basket case by the time I finally accomplished what needed done. Then there's all the work that needs done on the boat. I started replacing the interior skin of the boat with some 1/4 inch plywood, and since nothing is square on a boat, it's been a real fun time. I spent almost all day Friday trying to figure out a pattern. I never did get one and finally gave up and left in frustration around 5:00. It was quite unpleasant. Anyway, I've been really busy and just now felt like I could take some time to do a new blog post. It can sometimes be a challenge to find something to write about, but because it's getting to be spring here in Southeast Alaska, I thought I would write about one of the harbin...

It's been a while since I last posted pictures of the boat, so I thought I would take a minute today and update you on the progress. As you can see, its coming along. John is doing beautiful work. We've replaced even more than we were going to- as he worked his way down the side he would see another plank that just wasn't up to par and the shipwright in him couldn't let him leave it. The only problem is that he's working full time getting the cannery up and running and the busy season is upon us both. Unfortunately I can't do any of the plank work myself so I have to wait for him to find time to do it. To compound the issue, I had to go to Juneau the other day to pick up supplies. The return ferry trip which should only take three and half hours if it's direct to Hoonah, took twelve hours because the geniuses who set up the schedule, bypass Hoonah and go down to Tenekee and Angoon first and then come back to Hoonah. So the normal amount of time is quadr...

I've noticed that two things will always get most folks attention- discussions about money and discussions about sex. When I did the post on the chicken bras, there were a number of ads on the blog listing lingerie. That didn't surprise me, nor was I shocked when I saw that I had a record number of clicks on the ads for bras and other lacy underthings. No doubt most of the interest in those things was from the male readers- but that's ok; being a man I understand very well the interest in such matters.  However, this post isn't about ladies underwear or sex, but that other thing that seems to occupy the mind of so many- money. Cash, moola, green, coin, bucks, scratch- call it what you will, we all need it to survive, and most of us seem to want more than we  have. It's why we work overtime and do jobs we hate and tolerate obnoxious bosses and petty co-workers.  I used to stand on top of forty foot high fuel tanks in the middle of the night in a freezing wind  tra...

I  was planning on doing a post on something entirely different, but as sometimes happens in life, my plans were changed for me when the battery on my camera decided it was worn out and needed a recharge. That's ok though- I looked through the archives and pulled up some pictures that I took last year. I intended to do a post on this topic anyway, and as they say, there is no time like the present. I went down to the float last year when the F/V Kelsey Michelle was tied up. F/V stands for fishing vessel, just like M/V is motor vessel and USS is United States Ship- like a navy vessel. I just thought I would throw that out there; something from my vast storehouse of knowledge. I'll probably find out later that I was wrong about something. Just a word of caution, never use this blog as the final authority on any subject unless you want to appear foolish in front of your friends. You never know when you might be speaking to someone who knows a whole lot more than you do about...