Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

  The leaves have finally made an appearance here in Southcentral Alaska, and they are certainly welcome. It wasn't a very harsh winter, as winters go, but it was nonetheless painfully long, as most winters in the north are. Along with the leaves, the annual ritual known as spring cleaning has started. Actually Jan was working diligently a few weeks ago, wiping down the walls and going through the closets, sorting out things she didn't feel she needed anymore. Inevitably, she'll run out of her things, and start looking at mine. I never like it when that happens. I'm not a hoarder, but I can't see getting rid of something that I might need in the future just because it might be a little bit old, or even very old. We have a bookshelf full of books that we've already read, and while I seldom re-read most books, some of them I do. The others I can hardly stand the thought of parting with. When I look at some of Jan's books, I can see where getting rid of them wo...

I usually don't post extra large pictures on this blog, but I wanted you, the readers, to get some idea of how large this chair actually is. Some years back I came home from a fishing trip and here was this chair on the front porch, with my son-in-law sitting in it. It was so large I assumed that he couldn't get it in the front door, which wasn't the case. It fit, but just barely. The kids had gotten together and bought it for my birthday, which was a very nice surprise, but I was almost embarrassed when I sat down in it. I was unaccustomed to such luxury. It was so big my legs dangled out over the front and I sank into the cushion almost up to my neck. I alternately felt either like a little kid or a king. It's as close as I'll ever come to sitting on a throne that's for sure.  As you can see, this chair is huge. If the fabric were to be stripped off of it, it there would probably be enough to fashion a small circus tent. At  the very least it could hous...

 From time to time I like to do a little review of a book that I 've read that has made an impression on me for one reason or another. I've mentioned everything from River Jordon's  Praying for Strangers to Gary Larson's The Far Side: Gallery Five . The most recent book I read was recommended to me by my good friend Buffalo Bob Holden. He's a voracious reader and when we talk on the phone we usually discuss books that each one has read. I believe he's on the library board in his hometown of Townshend, Vermont, so he gets to see the good stuff when it comes in. The last book he recommended was Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith .  With the coming of fall and a slower pace, I'm left with either watching the TV or reading at the end of the day. Sometimes I do both, although there are times when I'm reading a really good book that it transfixes me so totally that I can block out all other distractions, except of course the need to pee. That takes...

 I was coming back from the store or some such place a couple of days ago when the sun started to burn off the fog. I like to get pictures when that  happens, it gives the landscape a whole different perspective. Obviously it doesn't do any good to take pictures of the fog before the sun comes out- they would all look the same- kind of like a grey wool navy blanket. In the short time it took for me to get my camera from the house and return, the sun had already dissipated a good deal of what I was trying to capture. Nonetheless, I decided to get a few shots off before it was all gone. Being out on a boat when the fog sets in can be a bit unnerving. I recall one time, before I had a GPS to help guide me, I was in Cross Sound in thick fog. I think I already had the gear in the water before it set in. There were a number of boats in the area and all I had was an old radar that had a hood that you had to look through to see anything. About half the time it didn't work at all, and...