On Life and Death

Today while I was at work Gabe took Fern down to the beach and witnessed this massive fish being washed up onto the shore as the tide went out. Looking at his photos and listening to his description of how he was with it as it's eyes closed and it became still was very intense. Something about the ocean brings you closer to life and death. When I went down to the beach to look at this massive creature it was still breathing although it's time was short. It's hard to look at such a beautiful creature as it dies. When we arrived crows and eagles had already begun to pick at it and make a meal out of it. You can recognize the circle of life in a very real way. Without this fish several eagles and other sea birds wouldn't make it through the rest of the winter. When you come that close to death - even when it's in the form of a fish your reminded again of how fickle life can be. We live on an area of the inlet that becomes so shallow during low tied that you can walk right to the island. Many seals and other wild sea life seek refuge during high tide in the shallow waters away from larger predators. However sometimes they get stuck in the sand when the tide goes out. Heather Lende in her book writes about a baby whale that once got caught on the beach and she and some neighbors pushed it back into the water before it was too late. I can imagine that we will become closer to death throughout our time here in Alaska because of the nature of the landscape and the rawness of the wilderness around us. How wild will it be to get to canoe in these waters knowing so much life lives just beneath the surface. My boss told me a story of her and her family kayaking and encountering a whole pod of humpback whales which swam right next to them. It's all very exciting and scary, and it's all very real.

Good news though- yesterday the temperature got to 30 degrees. Hallelujah! I never thought I could be so happy about such a low temperature. Today there was little wind, and we could walk on the beach for miles without achieving frost bite or wind burn. Dare I say- spring?

Lutak Inlet

Above are some pictures we took today on the south side of the Lutak inlet. Lutak is pretty much the hot spot around for beautiful homes, and it's the road that goes to the chilkoot lake. Today we went in search of some sunshine and wind free walking space. So we grabbed the pooch, and a couple of beers, and headed to the sunny side. The spot that we stopped is about 9 miles out of town, and is usually completely wind free, you can even smell the ocean out there. We spotted some beautiful homes that we were thinking would be fun to live in, and one that looked like it might tip over soon. I can't wait to get my hands on a kayak or canoe and hit the water out there on a glassy watered afternoon like this one. Fern had a great time practicing some fetch, which has posed a large challenge for her in the bringing back task. There's a home out there where we went to pick up the free couch in our living room. The man living there was renting the house, he's a park ranger for the chilkoot lake state park. Wonder if he's moving anytime soon, I heard his house has a hot tub.

Gabe and I decided that Haines may have the best beer in the world. We just visited our local brewer, which may be why this post is a little loopy... Paul owns and operates the Haines Brewery. He's a hippy with a very artistic beard. Paul's brewery is in Dalton City, the fair grounds of Haines. Dalton city is a strange little array of shops where the movie 'white fang' was filmed. Yep 'White Fang' was filmed right here in yours truly. Anyways Paul is a very cool guy and runs the most beautiful brewery you've ever seen. You walk in and are surrounded by giant vats and talkative people. You can grab a pint and chat with Paul, or grab a growler for home. We haven't yet stayed for a pint, that will be a whole other post I think, but it's our goal next time we go in.

Paul lives in one of the interesting communities here in Haines. A small group of people actually live across what is called 'mud bay' we live on 'mud bay road' but no no we're far from the actual mud. If you live in this alternative community you rely completely on sustainable energy. As it is 'off the grid' you have to park about half a mile from your home, across the mud bay, and walk the 1/2 mile across the mud. Yep when the tide comes in you'd have to bust out your skiff. Many of the residents plan their day with the tide. Man I hope they don't get the wind we do out here on the road, otherwise I don't know how it wouldn't be frost bite city. Our goal is to be invited to this cool spot off the grid, and mingle with the brew master himself. Paul and another resident of the mud bay community run the brewery and always play NPR over their sound system in the brewery. I must say I can't not like an alcoholic dispensary that plays NPR. Hope to talk more soon Paul.

A cold caught me

I woke up today with that terrible feeling in my throat. That's when you know your getting sick. So I called in sick, the day was full of tea, and relaxation.

The sun is getting brighter here everyday. All morning and afternoon I got to enjoy it as it streamed through our many living room windows. I sunned myself like a lizard sitting at the dinning room table. My colleague Kelly from Florida expresses she has never known her inner lizard until now. I can't agree more. It was a beautiful sight out the windows as the tide came in. There's no better way to recover from a cold than looking over a beautiful waterscape and sipping tea in the sunshine. Needless to say by this evening I was feeling much better.

Tonight we supported the Haines Elementary School 2nd grade fundraiser. A mother organized it, and cooked a great bunch of Thai Curry. She is conveniently Thai, so she new what she was doing. We heard about it in an email and decided to put our names on the list. We had to go between 5 and 6 to the school kitchen and pick up our food. All the parents were there, and had all helped to create the delicacy. The little 2nd graders were ushering people in to the kitchen, making sure that no one would miss out. When we got home and ate it, it was amazing. Nothing short of restaurant style. Delicious chicken curry over rice, I wished I had two helpings. I see now that with fundraisers these rural alaskans might not mess around like I thought they might.

I must say I am tired of being inside. I feel that I have been inside for several weeks now. About 2 weeks ago it got pretty cold, it's been hovering between 5-15 degrees F. Not the worst, but not the best either. I just long for a good walk with Fern, but the wind keeps us in the driveway, and the chill rushes us back inside before we'd like to be. Boo. Hopefully with daylight savings will come some warmer weather, and less wind. I know that logically doesn't work but I'm holding on to that for now.