Catching Up

Catching up on updating the blog. That's a 5.4 pound beet Grayson is holding, from our garden harvest this weekend. More harvest pics at the bottom of the post, but first some other pics I've been needing to post:


Had a great visit from Sterling Mize, the Chappells, Givens and Kirkpatricks, traveling up from Texas. They timed their visit just right for some nice weather (for Alaska this time of year). We enjoyed visiting with them.


Our recent change of command gave us an opportunity to dress up and show a little bit of classic Navy around the Air Force base.


Landon finished his first X-country season this past weekend. He's come a long way after rehabbing the badly torn hamstring from last year.


After Landon finished the Su Valley meet.


We were close by after watching Landon run, so we headed into Talkeetna for lunch.


Lunch at the famous West Rib.


Talkeetna moose everywhere 'downtown'.


These decorative moose are an icon of this small Alaskan town which was the inspiration for the TV show Northern Exposure.


Looking out over the Susitna River.


Alaska Railroad passing by Talkeetna.


Talkeetna Roadhouse.


The Harry Robb cabin, built by freighter David Lawrence in 1924. Robb, a retired Yukon river boat captain, bought the cabin from Lawrence in 1930 and lived alone in the cabin until he passed away in 1976, never eating a meal in the cabin because he walked one block to the Roadhouse to eat all his meals, every day.


The hobbit house outside of Talkeetna.






Back home, Dino was scared into his doghouse by a ruffed grouse...better safe than sorry (I guess).


Today was our garden harvest. We dug potatoes, and pulled carrots, beets and onions. We left the lettuce and rhubarb, and will continue to eat on them as we need to until they freeze out. We also left the large pumpkin plant, with budding pumpkins, but I think the weather will kill it off before the pumpkins grow big enough to harvest.


Bucket by bucket. This years' harvest was less than a third as plentiful as last years. We went on a long vacation right after planting, so the untended garden didn't produce as well as past years - but we did alright, considering we did nothing but plant and harvest.


Those are some pretty large beets.


If I had a day off to enter it into the state fair, I think we would have placed. But you have to enter your outdoor vegetables for the competition on a weekday, so they didn't get entered.


Grayson calls this guy 'carrot man'.


Another view of the big beets, beside our carrots, potatoes, and onions.


Last year's potatoes lasted us all year, plus we gave some away....this year we'll have to stretch them out to last even part of the winter. But the carrots are sugary sweet just like we like them, and the beets will be pickled and saved for later.