72+ Degrees!!!

It turned out to be the warmest day so far this summer here in Kodiak, which automatically translates into a day when being outside is a necessity. Therefore, I slept all day. Actually, I didn't have a clue how nice it was until after I woke up mid-afternoon. After grabbing some grub, Scott and I drove out the road, berry bucket, camera, and fishing pole in hand, to see what we could see. If I wasn't an Alaskan girl before, I've certainly adapted and am now. Over 70 degrees, and I was melting! Standing in the sun picking gallons of berries was a bit hot. After a few minutes, we had a panful of salmonberries, and headed out to our fishing hole. I relaxed on the riverbank while Scott pulled in a Jack King and a good sized Dolly. We decided we would be smoking and then canning this batch, since the ones we did the other day turned out so well.

Summertime...and Kodiak bears

Oh, the joys of the Emerald Isle! Friends, it's that time of year. The time for salmonberry picking...boat rides...fishing...picnics...hiking...camping...the list is endless! This summer has been gorgeous. We've had beautiful weather, with several days hitting the upper 60's and low 70's! Several gallons of salmonberries are already in the freezer, with many more to come. A king salmon was caught and is ready to be smoked tomorrow. The boat has been put to good use for picnics on Long Island and fishing for halibut, though only dogfish, cod, and uglies took the bait that day. I've seen 4 bears (all on different rivers), several deer, whales, sea lions, otters, ducks, buffalo, rabbits, and even a fox with a rabbit in it's mouth. The sunsets and sunrises are incredible, and the landscape breathtaking! So much color, so much variety, and so much fun.

GF, OT, and AK Girl Photography

It's been a long, stressful, exhausting, difficult, and exciting few weeks! Yep, all of the above. Due to a variety of challenging situations I've been faced with, I'm ready for a break, at least emotionally.
About a month ago I started noticing a variety of health related stuff going on that needed checked out. After several doctor appointments and a bunch of testing, I was given a very definite diagnosis of Celiac. Due to the fact that several family members have had it for years, it wasn't a big surprise. However, it was an unwanted surprise, and one I had thought I'd escaped. In addition to the necessity of an entire lifestyle change, it's now hitting home how expensive this is going to be. Alaska is not a cheap place to buy food in the first place, and particularly GF foods. But I'm determined to make it work, and am slowly but surely gathering what I need to survive on this particular diet.
My job is also keeping me busy. Because so many people are on vacation, calling in sick, and taking time away for training, our schedules have been a little mixed up, and we've all put in some extra overtime. My time off will come though, and I'll be grateful!
One thing about living here is that for any specialty appt, you have to fly to Anchorage. This has its pros and cons. You get off the island and get a chance to go shopping, but the expenses for the trip are rather high. So I'm going to make the best of my shoulder appt, and hopefully enjoy the time surrounding it up there. :-)
The other major change in my life has been the decision to take my passion for photography to a higher level. We've had gorgeous weather, so I've spent many, many hours of my 'spare' time out and about the island taking pictures. This place is just so incredible and beautiful! The rest has been used up experimenting with lighting, editing, and researching everything from printers to copyrights to cameras. I decided to see how well some of my favorites looked blown up, and whether or not they would hold their quality, so I ordered a variety of 11x14" prints. They arrived a couple days ago, and I couldn't be happier! A few weren't quite the quality I'd hoped (they'll still work great as 8x11" prints or as cards), but most of them came out looking spectacular (in my opinion)! I'm so excited to be able to share what I see here with others who want a taste of Alaska! So, my business is going to be Alaska Girl Photography. Check out my blog at http://akgirlphotography.blogspot.com/ and let me know what you think. Honest opinions, please! Any tips or suggestions, feel free to email me at akgirlphotography@gmail.com.
That would be my life in a nutshell. Hope you are enjoying the summer, and finding those little things in life that make the day so much brighter!

Sleep, Guns and Stampedes

I'm finally getting the hang of the whole sleep schedule thing. The last couple days I've been alert my whole shift, and been able to sleep for more than an hour or two at a time during the day. And yes, it helps a lot. A couple days ago, I headed out the road to take some pictures after I woke up. I was standing halfway up the hill when two cars pulled in that I recognized. My friends had some relatives in town and happened to be bringing them out to do a little target practice. I joined them, and we had a great time. I did pretty good, and the fact that we were using a gun that didn't have much of any kick made it even better. All us gals had our cameras out, so between us we had a bunch of good pics.
The other night I took my cousins out to Pasagshak. As we were standing at the mouth of the river, we heard a dull thundering sound behind us. When I turned around, there was a herd of cattle being driven around the bend in the road. As we watched, they turned and started running down the beach right at us. We took off, and as we got out of the way, the cattle ran right over where we had been standing 30 seconds before. Let me tell you, it's quite the adrenaline rush to have a herd of around 300 cattle stampeding at you full speed! One of the ranchers pulled into the parking lot, saw how close we were, grabbed his horse out of the back and jumped on real quick, and then realized we'd made it out of the way. A bit too close for comfort. It was an impressive sight, and one I've never seen before. There were a lot of young calves running with their moms, too, which was pretty cool. Definitely not a normal occurance on the beach. :-)

Graveyard Shift

Yes, I'm sure I've complained about this before, and yes, I'm going to say it anyways - graves is not an easy shift to get used to. Particularly since I switched from days to graves, which is by far the hardest adjustment. My body is screaming in rebellion, as it tries to convince me that this is not how it should be. The last half of the shift is the hardest, made worse by the complete lack of any activity by local citizens. I can't seem to get more than a couple hours of sleep at a time, and there is no motivation to do anything else. My excitement for getting out and exploring the island has fallen dramatically as well. I know it's just the shift, and in 3 months I'll be my usual self again. For now, I am hoping to make the best of a difficult situation, and work on adjusting my sleep schedule so at least the energy will return when I'm not sleeping. It's almost the end of the day, and my bed is beckoning. Good night, friends.

Ducks and Dinner

We were sitting inside talking about things happening that seem crazy, but are all in God's timing, when there was a loud thud outside. Yep, a duck had made a crash landing on the deck, and was laying on the steps right outside the door, stunned. A duck? Since when do ducks fly into decks? Kinda crazy! It was gone when we checked on it awhile later.

 I decided to go all out for dinner tonight. Cooked up some extremely spicy halibut enchiladas (I accidentally bought the super hot green chili sauce instead of the mild), made some good ol' sweet tea, and put together a big salad with various kinds of lettuce freshly picked from my aunt's garden. Mmm...good! 

 

Windmills and Sunsets

Windmills in the fog

11:45pm - The moon overlooking Woman's Bay

 

 

 

 

 

Long Island Lagoon

We took the skiff out from Dog Bay to have a picnic on Long Island.

 

 

There was a sailboat in the lagoon when we first arrived.

It was like stepping out of the boat into the middle of a national park. Beautiful! 

 

 

 

Hanging out in the sun. Eating pickles. :-)

 

 

The bees were busy here, there, and everywhere.

  

Messing around with the macro.

 

  

 

 

Yep, it was a perfect day for a picnic.

Out to see what we could see...

Buffalo, ducks, beachcombing, and maybe a bit of fishing for rainbows.

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

A Little Randomness

 

 

 

 

Jewel Beach

We went for a drive on one of our gorgeous sunny days.

 

 

 

 

Then we hiked through the woods down to Jewel Beach. The thick layer of moss brings so much color to the woods. I was also able to get some good pictures of a bright red bird that was flitting around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the beach we watched the seagulls, gathered beach glass, and fooled around with making bull kelp into whips and clubs.