Slammin' Salmon!

Many of you know that we are not the biggest fans of salmon.  We enjoy it on occasion, but not as much as to dip net or fish incessantly for it.  Plus we are a bit of what you might call "fishing snobs."  We like to fly fish with dry flies and use finesse.  Fishing for salmon is not exactly like this.  

We keep hearing about the incredible numbers of sockeye salmon coming up the Kenai, and we finally had to go!  Maybe it's not as genteel to fish for salmon, but when they are thick, it is FUN!  We have some wonderful friends who have a place on the river who open it up to others as often as they can.  We called and they said to come up!  Then, not only did they let us use their gear, but Chuck basically kept our fish netted, handed a fresh ready rod to whomever needed it, and cheered us on!  

 The prep was rather quick.  Salmon fishing requires some flashy yarn on a big hook with a proper weight.  Chuck "hooked" us up and refreshed our "Kenai Flip" technique.  It was a beautiful evening!

 It took a little while, but once they hit, they HIT!  On one such occasion, a fish that was caught but not "bonked" flopped under the fish walk in an attempt to return to the river.  Pat was on it and scrambled down to pull it back into our grasp.  There really is not that much room under that thing!!

 In less than 2 hours we had all three caught our limit!  It was great!  My arms had quite a workout.  Those fish have a some strength, though some more than others!  We took a few pictures!!

 It was a big pile of fish!  Though, these are the moments I wish I'd done my hair and make-up.

It's been a fun week with fish.  On Monday evening, some new friends showed us their set-net site.  We've never been invited to this kind of thing, so I was especially goofy, taking pictures like a tourist.  I loved it!

 We took 4-wheelers down to the beach site and despite the winds, I was all excited!  I didn't even mind riding with Pat on one 4-wheeler.

 Before there was a road to the beach near their site, they used this to pull their catches up the steep bank. Pretty cool to this land-locked-born girl!  I did feel pretty glad that they knew the strength of J.D. Green!

 It wasn't long before it was time to pick nets!  We watched the tractors pull the nets in through a system of pulleys and the fish were flopping in the nets!

 We were told it's pretty simple, but we appreciate the simple things!  When the net comes in, they pick the nets clean of salmon, disregarding the random flounders.

 Just like harvest when I was little, this is a family affair!  All the cousins and family come together to help out!  We were thankful to get a glimpse into this family's summer excitement.

Squirrel Psychosis

I do not like rodents. 

I do not like any animal smaller than my 70lb dog.  Well, maybe other smaller dogs.  That's about it.

I have always hated rodents, even while growing up on a farm surrounded in part by rodents of all except the unusual sizes.   I have, as attested by most of my family members I'm sure, always jumped up and probably screamed or yelled "Oh, oh, oh"!  I've never warmed up to any small rodent, especially those that resemble a mouse or rat.  

Squirrels resemble mice.  Just with a fluffier tail.  

That said, today I came home and was enjoying watering my flowers when I heard a chattering coming loudly from my grill.  My first thought was a bird, but when I opened the grill I saw the fur.  

 I promptly left that post and stepped into the drive where I tried to pelt the grill with small pebbles in an effort to "encourage" the animal to depart.  Did I mention I planned to grill tonight?  No, not squirrel. (everyone seems to think this was a good plan except me)
When it seems evident that the squirrel was not relinquishing his new cozy home, I called in my guard dog.  After only a little bit of explanation, Rowdy was on it.  It didn't take too long before he pushed the little critter out of hiding.

 Yeah, this is where it would have been really funny to watch.  The squirrel finally popped out and began it's exit straight to me.  Remember my rodent phobia?  Yes, this is when my freak-out began in earnest.  I was jumping all around, trying to get away while screaming my "OH, OH, OH'S"!  Being a retriever, Rowdy quickly subdued his prey and, like a good boy, brought it to me!  It was still alive and squirming so I ran inside and, bless his heart, Rowdy held on to his catch outside the door.

I grabbed a plastic bag and a treat and headed outside through the other door.  I coaxed Rowdy to let go of his prize for the treat, while I got a stick and flopped the now deceased squirrel into the bag.

I hate rodents.

Getting Outside

July has been substantially warmer and sunnier than June.  This has led me, specifically, to want to be outside more and more!  This has served Pat well, as I am up for going fishing more!  

Now, I must share with you how our fishing trips tend to go:

We head out all excited and geared up.  We cast and cast, and it seems as though Pat's casts return more often with larger fish.  I, on the other hand, tend to pick up the "self-releasing" bait sized fish.  I hate to complain as we usually release our catches anyway and mine just tend to speed up this process, but it would be nice to actually bring in a fish of measurable size.  

 This trip started out similarly, though Pat wasn't catching anything either.  We did ruffle the feathers of a couple clutches of resident ducks.  They must have had serious success in egg-laying/hatching because there were a LOT of babies!!
And just when we decided to finish our drift and then head in, I felt a tug on the line.  I checked to make sure it wasn't just water weeds, and excitedly exclaimed to Pat that I had a fish on!  To my surprise, he said he had one on too!  It was a very nice double!

 This is when I began to really have fun!!  Since Pat only brought one paddle, he kept trying to keep us in the "hole" and I just kept catching fish!  I think the night ended with me catching about 5, with one of those a very large self-releaser!  Pat's was the largest of the evening, being about 18" and mine were around 16" and smaller.  It was one of the best fishing trips I've been on in a long time!

 This tree is a hallmark of the Fuller Lakes Trail!  We took a beautiful day to go out and get a hike in this year - just for fun, not hunting!!  Rowdy loves the change of pace of hikes, and really, so do we!  It gives a change of perspective, a reminder of the beauty that surrounds us.  We are so thankful to be here, even  with possible changes ahead!

So beautiful!  Pat let me lead the way up and he led the way back down.  I was able to keep the pace up enough to feel it a little the next day, which made it even better!

Excessive June Photos!

O.K., here goes:  June in one post! I have a lofty goal!  

 June included a visit from Mom.  One of our "must-do's" is to go to Homer.  On the way down, we just had to stop and check out this Bald Eagle in it's nest.  Pretty cool.  On our way home, we stopped in Ninilchik (nin-IL'-chick) to visit the old Russian Orthodox Church.  I was sad it was closed, but the surrounding cemetery was fascinating.

We took Mom out one evening to go camping.  We drove to a campground, but then began to walk down a trail to another spot.  We walked about a half mile, much to Mom's confusion, and came upon this cabin.  Then we surprised her and told her THIS was our spot!!  Pat went back, loaded up the boat that was at the camp, and loaded all our gear to bring back.  Mom and Pat went out fishing that evening!  I don't think they had any bites, but it was a lovely evening for cast-practice!

 Then we had s'mores!  Yummy!

It was a little breezy outside so used the "inside fire" to roast the marshmallows!

 We did take a nice hike along the lakeside trail.  Rowdy loved it, and it was a lovely hike!

 Mom and I also went out to the beach.  It was a pretty blustery day, and high tide, so we didn't spend all day there but just enough to get some fresh salt air, pick up a few pretty rocks, and get our feet wet!!

(only one of us was wearing water-proof foot-wear!)

 While Mom and I were having fun, Pat was working hard.  The fence section above is the "security fence" that he had to install.  That panel is the entirety of the fence in that area.  Pretty secure, huh?!

 The 2nd weekend of June was the Kenai River Festival in Soldotna.  Teakell Design had a booth and we had an enjoyable time at the festival.  We also did pretty well in sales and orders.  It was well worth our time and investment.

 The River Festival was literally right beside the Kenai River (naturally), so Mom took a quick pic of the world famous waters!

 Just the other day, this robin adolescent perched itself on my deck and seemed to be demanding something from me.  Unfortunately, I do not speak chirp and was unable to assist it at this time.

On June 21st, the Summer Solstice, Pat helped a buddy out by playing drums in his band.  The Free Beer Band played last, and though that's not an ideal time slot (around midnight here), we were able to sit through the bands before us! (insert mass amounts of sarcasm here)  The Funny River Backwoods Group was the band just before Pat's and the name is very applicable.  Sadly, they sounded like a 5th grade band that just learned to play their fiddle, mandolin, guitar and washboard.  Oh, and they were all flying pretty high!  Anywho...Pat's group did pretty well and the few people who were still left enjoyed some nice parting music!

 Joy is fresh cherry tomatoes!

Did we mention, our house is still for sale?  All the fabulous activities could be yours!