Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

Years ago, when the L.Kane Store still sold groceries and fuel, there was a sign prominently displayed on the back wall of the office. You couldn't miss it if you entered. It said simply,  "Those requesting credit in this establishment will be pummeled repeatedly with punishing blows about the head and shoulders!"  I loved that sign. Unfortunately it was more humorous than factual because everyone and his brother would come in, give the manager a sob story and walk out with hundreds of dollars worth of goods or fuel which only occasionally was paid back. As you can imagine, the store eventually closed down; however, I'm not here to write about credit or Kane's or humorous signs,I'm here to write about this blasted snow. I've been shoveling massive quantities for days- so much so that I have almost nowhere else to pile it. The bottom picture shows the scene on my front porch. The snow that has slid off the roof is piled so high we almost don't have an...

This past weekend I took my sons out to pursue my halibut quota. I usually don't fish for them this early in the year- finding them can be a little spotty and the weather is still a bit gnarly at times, but I guess the same thing can be said about the fishing and the weather whenever you go out. Anyway, both boys like to long line and since I needed the money I decided to go. In order to get a mor e accurate idea of the process, for anyone who might be reading this and may be unfamiliar with commercial halibut fishing, you need to look at the bottom picture first. It shows the boat under the ice chute at the cold storage dock. The guys are directing the ice into the bins which will be covered with thin foam ice blankets to try to keep it from melting too fast. In order to keep the fish fresh we have to have an ample supply of ice. My fish hold can carry six tons of ice/fish. Of course I've never caught that much fish in one trip, but it would sure be fun to try. The next pict...