My Kate.....

Grayson is learning to spoon feed himself, and while he was eating, I decided to catch up on the dishes. A few minutes of uneventful eating went by, then I looked up. Grayson was sitting in his chair with a big grin on his face and what was left of his Mac N Cheese was all over his face and body because he had turned the tupperware bowl upside down and sat it on his head. I ran over to him and he laughed. Landon ran into the room at which time Grayson promptly picked the bowl back up and dumped it upside down on his head again. The only voice that I could hear in my head was my sister in law saying..."Oh Kate" as her youngest daughter gets into trouble. I guess I have found my Kate.

In weather news, we woke up this morning at 8 (yeah Saturday!) only to see the temperature read 27 degrees. It is usually about 38 when we leave for school...so last night must have been our coldest night yet. It promptly warmed uptoday into the upper 50s with beautiful AK skies. The warm up caused the fog to move across the hayflats quickly. It almost looked like a horror movie because you could see the fog coming.

Layne still hasn't received pictures of his moose from the DNR. We will post them if we get them!

Enjoying the Fall

We got home from school today to find beautiful sunny 50 degree weather so we spend a few minutes outside relishing in the sun. As the shadows fall, the temperature definitely drops! Boy you sure learn to appreciate sunny skies after days, and days, of rainy weather! Landon is showing off the pollen on his finger..our wildflower patch was a little late blooming but it adds a little more color to our very yellow fall.

Bubba Bear

Luckily I didn't take these shots, but one of the other hunters did. It's of a big brown bear he called Bubba that was on the base this year. He also took pics of a curious black bear that watched him hunt for a while, and named him Kbear. I made it through my hunt without seeing a bear. The albino moose are actually from the lower 48 somewhere. I think that color would catch on up here due to the several months of snow on the ground. Since some folks have asked us - the Alaskan Brown Bear and Grizzly are the same bear, but the Grizzly lives in the interior and tends to be smaller and have longer, lighter hair. The Brown Bear lives along the coast and gets bigger in size than the Grizzly due to the rich diet of salmon. All the bear we have here are Brown or Black Bear. Prudhoe Bay, where we hunted last month has Grizzlies and Polar Bears.

Hunt Successful

I spent all Saturday out in the rain calling for moose on base (and half the prior night listening to moose calls on the net trying to learn to make the right sound . Right at sunset, I came across a cow moose grazing in a grass field not too far off the road. I was able to position and get a shot - 28 yards with a good arrow through the lungs - she only traveled about 50 yards before she dropped back in the woods. She was a mature cow, probably ~800 lbs on the hoof and with three friends who I called in to help, we had the meat cut, bagged and in the truck in about 2 and a half hours. It's an uneasy feeling in the woods around midnight in the dark cutting up a moose knowing the scent of the kill will probably draw a bear or two if they're close by. I didn't have a camera with me, so the base wildlife officer took a picture and will email it on Monday - so I'll add the picture of me holding my bow knelt next to the moose later. Here is a picture of the meat (~400 lbs of meat we took off, with only the head, hide, boned-out rib cage and gut pile left in the woods). We don't have a fridge large enough to hold it all, so they say to drape the meat bags down and let it dry overnight in the garage at ~45 degrees, and then we'll take it to the processor tomorrow. Now I just need to head back up the Haul Rd and get a Caribou!! (and we'll need to buy yet another freezer - Alaska is starting to get expensive, but I got good use out of the truck!)

Twins on their own

Woke up this Saturday morning to these two moose calves roaming around the yard trying to figure out what they're supposed to be doing. We're pretty sure these are the same two born back in May (see May 31 post) just over the bluff from the house. They've grown to probably 300-400 lbs in less than 4 months!! They're momma has been calling for a bull every night and morning - she surprised us Thursday morning by standing in the driveway blocking our exit while she called for a bull - she still had the two calves with her then. Now she must have found a bull and has kicked these two calves off on their own while she gets bred. They obviously haven't quite figured out what to do with themselves.

Still Hunting

Didn't see a single moose on my hunt this weekend. Stalked three on Thursday and Friday - stayed within a hundred or so yards of a bull/cow pair through the woods, but only the bull gave me a good shot, and my permit is for anterless only. Beautiful country out here to hunt in. I've seen a red fox, plenty of eagles and a very surprised porcupine (he wasn't at all pleased to see me). For the second week in a row I've been warned by other hunters/fishermen that "there's a black bear in those woods over there" - and each time I had just come out of those woods without seeing anything. The pictures are of six-mile lake which is one of the areas I'm hunting, and the warning on the book I sign in to hunt each day at the base's main gate (haven't seen the brown bear in the picture yet, but she charged one of the hunters on Friday - he said he was done hunting on base after the ordeal, but I'm sure he'll be back when his heart stops racing!). Hopefully I won't see her, my hunt is a bowhunt, and the base doesn't allow us to carry firearms while on a bowhunt, so the only useful thing I'll have if I run into her is my negotiating skills. The last picture is of one of the many "Go, Sarah, Go" signs around town here. I'm hoping the news frenzy dies down - I don't want the secret of how nice Wasilla is to get out!!

Fall is Here!

Fall is clearly here. We have had two weeks of yellow leaves, cooler temps (55ish), and the onset of sinusitus. Layne is trying to get a moose again today. He has been stalking the same cow for several evenings. Tomorrow will be the first chance he gets to go in the morning, so I am guessing that is when we will see success. Grayson is walking (everywhere) and you can tell he feels like the big man on campus...at least prior to the onset of the sinus infection. The high peaks have snow on them again, light is dimenishing rather rapidly. Official sunrise is 7:30ish with sunset around 8pm. It is different waking up and stumbling around the house in the dark! I thought we had moved to a dry climate but apparently, it rains like we are in Seattle...must still be rainy season.

First Day of School

The boys headed off to school last Monday. Grayson is doing well with all day daycare except he pummels the other children when he tries to hug them. They are all walking, but he is still learning. He will walk a little at home but not at school. His teacher has quickly learned that he is happiest when his tummy is full. Landon is enjoying his new school and happy that they are doing zoophonics again. Handwriting is traditional and not Denelian so we are having to train him to lose his monkey tails. I think the first day was hardest on Mom and Dad who were worried about him making it between school and before and after school care as it is all out of our hands! Mommy worried all day and waited for the phone to ring at school to tell her to come get one of her boys. Mommy is loving her job with only 80 students this year and a little extra planning time. It is still taking me most of the weekend to stay on top of things but I am adjusting. Layne and his new truck are still making the commute to Anchorage and trying to finish "the plan.".....not sure what it is exactly but we will sure be glad when it is done.!

You guessed it!

Those of you that were making bets as to when Layne would purchase a new truck can now officially end the game. He drove home tonight in a new 2008 Chevy 2500...so I guess he made it almost two years without owning a pickup. The employee purchase price and the last one of its make/model on the lot did him in. Needless to say....it was "can you blog my pictures of my truck?" He is very proud of his new baby...but said he won't take it on his next haul rd trip...and yes all three vehicles are in the garage. Why is it that the one with the best gas mileage will become the least driven vehicle?.....

North Pole, AK

While my folks were here last month we took a trip to Fairbanks...on the way back we made a quick stop to North Pole, AK. Unforunately, Santa takes Sunday's off so we were unable to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus. It was a neat little town with candy cane's for street light poles and of course a large Christmas store.

Labor Day

We woke up this morning to the sound of shot gun fire. Apparently, duck season openned at 7 am today and goes through mid-Dec. We could see numerous people out on the hay flats with dogs, tents, boats, etc. They are pretty far away and look like tiny specs. It has actually been fairly quiet after the first barrage of gun fire that lasted about an hour. Landon enjoys spying on the duck hunters through the spotting scope. I think our eagle was upset that they were taking his food and making noise.

We are staying busy with school and work and were all thankful for the three day weekend!