Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

My apologies to any readers of this fine blog. I know that I've been remiss in posting in a timely fashion. As I mentioned before in a previous post, the fishing season is upon us and I only have so much time and energy to accomplish all that needs done. It's pretty much the same with anyone in Southeast Alaska. Boat owners are busy prepping for the season, gardeners are weeding and planting, home owners are working on all the projects that require a little warmer temperatures outside. There is always a flurry of activity in the spring here- more so than any other place I've ever lived. The season is short, so as the saying goes, you make hay when the sun shines.  As you can see from the pictures, I hauled out the Bonnie J and got her all spiffed up. Like anyone, I wanted to present her in her best light. No one that I know would keep a picture in his wallet  of his wife or girlfriend when she first woke up in the morning with her hair all askance and holes in ...

This past Sunday the first cruise ships of the season showed up. I  have mixed feelings about it. Those of you who know me understand how I feel. I know that the ships provide employment for a certain segment of the local population, but like everything, there is a cost involved. The folks who live here who have very little or nothing to do with the tourist industry have to deal with all the ramifications of hundreds of people being unloaded, many of whom are from a foreign country with different cultures and values. They don't seem to understand that Hoonah isn't Disneyland and we aren't all employees here. The number one complaint that most folks here have is that the people walk in the middle of the streets without regard for the cars that are trying to get somewhere. That being said, I will say again as I've said before- if you are going somewhere as a tourist, please be respectful of the local population. You are a guest, regardless of whether or not you are spendi...

Here it is May 11 already, and I'm still waiting for some sign of spring. As you can see from the pictures of the trees, the leaves haven't arrived yet. Maybe they're on vacation someplace warmer. The snow is still pretty far down the mountain yet too. I try to placate myself by saying that it will provide more water if this is a dry summer. The only thing that even remotely gives the appearance of spring are the dandelions that are sprouting up. Oh joy! They're about as welcome as a fart at a debutante ball. They're tenatious little plants. They probably wait under the snow all winter for the sun to come out so they can pop out of the ground like a Jack-in the Box and yell "Surprize!" I was up early this morning like I am most mornings in the spring and summer. The combination of light streaming through the window at four AM  and those obnoxious ravens calling  make it hard to sleep. I usually  don't get out of bed just because I'm up though, but ...

It seems that every day there is a new tragedy on the news- either the tsunami in Japan or the floods in the Midwest or tornadoes down south.  There is no place on earth exempt from some calamity or another. Though it won't make the national or even the state news we had our own disaster yesterday in the form of a fire. I was sitting down having a cup of coffee after lunch when Jan called to tell me that the Sportsman's Bed and Breakfast had flames coming out of the roof. The building is located just around the corner from my place and I'm surprised that I didn't notice the smoke right away.  I believe that the owners had just returned from Nebraska where they spend the winters and had lit the wood stove. I'm not sure what the cause of the blaze is exactly, you hear rumors, but I haven't heard anything definitive. I hate to see anyone lose their home and business. I'm not sure if the building can be salvaged or not, there was a lot of water poured on the f...

 It's May first- Mayday. I think it used to be a day of celebration. I really should look it up before I start making comments about it, but I assume it was kind of like a celebration of spring or some such thing years ago. How something happy could have a totally different meaning is beyond me. If you  hear the words MAYDAY! on the radio, it's a sign that someone is in serious trouble and needs some help. It's something you hope to never hear while out on the boat and you certainly don't want to be the one who is declaring  a mayday. As per usual, I've taken a subject and run with it in a manner that I hadn't planned on, though frankly, I'm not sure what I'm writing about right now.  It's cold and windy and spitting rain today, not at all what I would imagine May first to feel like, or at least not what I was hoping it would be like. While I'm grateful that we aren't experiencing tornadoes, snow, wildfires, floods or other severe weather ph...

I've been trying unsuccessfully for several days to do a blog post. I don't know what  the problem is, but for whatever reason the computer isn't cooperating at all. We'll see how this goes today. If I'm lucky I'll actually have some pictures to go with this post.  Yesterday  Brian and I went out to pick a halibut set that we had made the day before. On the way out we saw huge numbers of Bald Eagles on top of the breakwater. The cold storage must have been grinding some black cod and the pieces were floating on the water and washing up on the shore. I think I've mentioned before that black cod is a very oily fish, so it has a tendency to float on top, which of course the birds love.  About a week ago Jan came into the bedroom to wake me up and told me to hurry to look out back. My neighbor in back has recently taken to starting fires in a burn barrel and I assumed maybe the fence separating the property was on fire or some such thing. Fortunately it wasn...

This isn't an optical illusion or trick photography- this is a picture of a real shrimp or prawn I guess it would be called when it's this big. Something this large should have a regal name, so I'm calling it King Tom, after the person who caught it- me. This is from  a picture I took several years ago when I was out long lining in October for some halibut. I couldn't believe how large it was. If I'd had time and had known that I was going to do a blog about it, I might have made a little crown to put on it's head. As it was, I just cooked and ate it and I have to admit, it was tasty.  My son Brian is here this week helping me get the boat ready for the upcoming season. Last week when I started the engine and turned on the hydraulics, both hydraulic motors, which run the gurdies, started leaking oil. Lovely. Then when I tried to turn the steering wheel, I could barely budge it. Hallelujah! The season is starting off with a bang. I can hardly wait to see what e...