Grayson's Birthday, Then and Now

 
2nd birthday on July 16th, 2009 vs. 10th birthday on July 16th, 2017 - 8 years apart.

 
This time we gave him prank candles that won't blow out, it took him a while to figure it out.

 
Eating the cake has always been his favorite part of the celebration.

Kenai Fishing Trip

Nothing beats a trip to Alaska's playground...the Kenai.  We only had a few days between when Jolene and the boys arrived on the move from Maryland, and the boys' Bible Camp, so we didn't get to time it perfectly with the salmon run, but we did limit on halibut.




We also got the see the bore tide rush up Turnagain Arm. Not many places in the world have conditions that allow a bore tide, but here we do. The surfers in these pictures waited on their boards for the bore tide to rush in, while we watched. Then they surfed the incoming tidal wave for miles up Turnagain Arm. It was pretty cool to see firsthand.




We stayed in Ninilchik and fished a day on the Russian River (between salmon runs, so there wasn't much fish in the river), and a day out on Cook Inlet going after halibut. We also stopped at the Ninilchik Russian Orthodox Church, which made for some good pictures.








Eagles, Moose, Bear, Salmon.  Lots of wildlife.  When you add in the halibut, dall's porpoise, sea otters, dall sheep, caribou (pet reindeer, but we're counting it), and bore tide - we got to see a lot of what makes Alaska great during our short 2 day trip to the Kenai.






Of course, our main purpose was fishing. Above pics are us on the Russian River.


At the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers, trying to decide if it's worth it to join the combat fishing line along the Kenai River.






No one was pulling any in, but I sent both boys out to cast in the Kenai, for the experience. Just not a lot of sockeye running that week, since it was right between the two big runs.


But the black bears were having a good time carting off the leftover carcasses from previous days. This one grabbed some salmon leftovers in front of Landon and I, while we were casting mid-river. He then tried to jump to shore with the salmon in his mouth and proceeded to slip and careen head first into the bank with a loud thud. As we laughed, a different mother bear and two cubs came out of the bushes behind us. Luckily they didn't cross, since we were pre-occupied watching the clumsy bear across the river.




But farther up river, at the Russian River Falls (no fishing allowed there), we got to watch some of the salmon that were bunched up at the falls make their jumps upstream. That was pretty cool to watch.




Then it was off to the halibut part of the trip....being driven into the surf by the tractor is always cool in Ninilchik.








Grayson pulled in the first halibut, from his "lucky corner" spot.




Landon wasn't far behind, pulling in two shortly thereafter. His second one ended up being our biggest of the day (none of ours were monsters, but they will be good eating).






We limited on halibut, and brought home enough fillets to allow for a delicious fish fry (or two or three or four) throughout this next year. Salmon and halibut are in the freezer, but we still have plenty of room for more.

July Garden Update

The garden is slowly coming along, even though I had to replant some of the vegetables.


The upper potato plot is doing well, with large plants, and (hopefully) some tasty yukon gold spuds developing below ground. They haven't bloomed yet, but it shouldn't be too long before we see some blooms form.


While not as tall, the plants in the lower potato plot are also doing well.  We hilled twice with soil, and once with grass clippings.  Probably won't hill them again.  This plot gets a little less sun than the upper plot.


The middle vegetable plot had to be replanted.  Only the lettuce and a few beets came up strong the first time - - I planted too deep.  Lesson learned, these plants are now behind timeline but starting to put on some growth.  Onion, beets, carrots, peas, cucumbers and some corn (to form a barrier between the plot and the moose trail). We already harvested the lettuce, though it will grow back. It did very well, and has made for some tasty salads and sandwiches.


This is a new plot that I just planted a couple of weeks ago.  I tilled up an area offset from the back foundation, near our big rhubarb plant, and put in my leftover corn, peas, cucumbers and beets, and added some tomato plants. Late planting, so they won't likely make much if any at all, but I was curious to see if the warm sun on the back of the house might spur some growth in the tomatoes (the small plants in the middle row in the pic). Lesson here is that even our warmest spot isn't warm enough for tomatoes to be grown from seed outside, and we will have to start them indoors next Spring.


Jolene added some nice color to the front flower bed.


And a half-barrel of flowers.






The wildflowers I seeded earlier in the year are doing well. The above 3 photos are portions that are blooming now, as they fade other types will bloom to keep the wildflower plots colorful through the Fall.


Of course, our favorite remains the naturally occurring fireweed all over the property, which serves as a good calendar throughout Summer by the progression of its blooms up the top of the stem.


Jolene and Grayson returned from Bible Camp today, and the warm sunny weather provided a good break, with a view.  Landon goes to Bible Camp next week.


Float planes are out in force...fly-in fishing trips must be doing well.

Climbing Bodenburg Butte

Took some time to climb the Butte today.  Beautiful views of Knik Glacier and the entire Mat-Su Valley.


Perspective, getting some.


They had some fun leaving us in their dust on the way up.




More perspective.


Another reminder of how glad we are to be home.




The thinking man.


What?  Haven't you ever seen a sweet gum tree before?