Warren's first beaver check... ("Wabam!", part 2)

As the followup to yesterday's post, we went out this evening to check the beaver set we put in with Warren over in first creek yesterday.  As we rounded the last corner of the slough, excitement was high.  Warren was shouting "Wabam!" before we even got close to the lodge.  Dad was grinning ear to ear. :)  Here's a shot of the lodge:

And first, here's a repeat post of the set BEFORE pic from yesterday:

And today's AFTER shot:

It is always nice to see a dark shape just under the surface.  When beaver trapping that is.... :)

So then it was time to reveal to Warren exactly what we were doing here.  Here's a short vid with his reaction.  Wish I could show you how big his eyes got when he saw the beaver up close.  You might get some idea how struck he was by the low voice he was talking in - not in the normal Warren volume, by a long shot.  But, oh man...did he get excited!



Dad had to jump out to get the drowner cable untied...

 Warren was hollering at the beaver the whole time by now, and when we brought it into the boat, he started by petting it, and pretty soon was inspecting every inch, poking the orange teeth (as he hollered "Bite You!!"), the eyes, the tail...everything.  Pretty much had to pull him off for some pics.  Here's my favorite - with his balled up fists and tiptoe stance as he boiled over with giddiness!  I don't think I've ever seen such a big smile on his face:

 Checking him out some more:

And one last pose as he held tight on the trapchain:

And then, after we got back to Russian, it was time to carry the beast up the hill to home.  Sure beats carrying the rodents a couple of miles like we did in Pilot Station before the boat.  Besides, I have to get my herniated discs warmed up for moose season somehow.... :)

"Wa-bam!!!"... (says Warren).... :)

Yesterday we finally got the chance to get out and try to find a couple of bait beaver - and the best part was that we got to take Warren with us.  Cruised across the river after work and found our target slough as dry as I have ever seen it.  Didn't even know if we were going to get in, the water was so low.   But we made it, and not long after we were in the first beaver slid off the bank out about 100 yards in front of the boat and disappeared.   We kept on cruising, looking for an active lodge, and found two that were high and dry, presumably abandoned, as there was no place for a food pile even if the lodges were being used.  Finally we found what we were looking for - a good size lodge with a fresh mudpack on top and a nice green food pile started up.  Bingo!  And it wasn't long after we pulled up and tied off to make a set that one of the beavs came out of the lodge and started circling us.  Warren wasn't sure at first what the swimming little head was, but pretty soon the familiar grin spread across his face that tells us he sees something good.  While dad made the set, mom and Warren kept a sharp eye on the beaver, which Warren said was "Peekin"and "Hidin" as it made pacing half-circles around us.  He especially loved when it would slap its tail.  Got the set in and then pulled Warren up to the front of the boat with me to tell him all about it, and he offered his input :D  :

And then a posing shot for mom. 

When the picture snapping was over we turned around and headed for home - and the beaver we had seen coming into the slough was back!  As we closed to about the same distance as before he slid into the water, and then as we caught up he became nervous and gave a particularly heavy SLAP! of the tail just in front of the boat...and Warren lit up like a lightbulb.  He would slam both hands/arms downward and scream at the top of his lungs "Wabam!!", "Wabam!!".....  I was laughing so hard I could hardly keep a straight line with the tiller.  And then later on at night as he was in the crib by himself drifting off to sleep, we could hear through the closed door, "Wabam!!!"....."Wabam!!"....

Lord how I love that little boy.  :D

Warren's first pikefishing adventures

Well, Warren has done a lot in his first 23 months, fishing included.  But he hadn't been out pike fishing yet.  At least until last week.  What a pile of fun that turned out to be for him...and for us.

Mom caught the big one on our first trip out:

A near-perfect shot of a head-shaker...jumped the shutter by a hair as he was still rising here:

 A boy and his boat...playing in the moose tracks...

 Dad pullin' one in...

He loves poking at the eyes for some reason... :)

And my favorite of the last couple week's outings:  his reaction to a pair of fish when bringing them to the boat.  On the first one you can hear him say "Boat!, boat!" - telling it to get in, and on the second he gets a facefull!!!    :D

Can't wait for the next trip as one never knows what's in store...

Fall 2013 Begins!!! Berries!!!

First of all, a tangential message to Photobucket:  Change SUCKS.  You should have left a good thing alone. Back when things worked just fine was a good time to stop tinkering and modifying.  Having to paste photos into Blogger with URLs messes with fonts, alignment, word sizes, and margins.  Sorry for using this post for this rant but, hey, the truth is what it is, and you've had it coming for a while. Anyway...

 Not long after returning home to Russian Mission, we were told that it had been a great berry year.  Well, say no more, said us. :)  Our supply of jam we made last summer in Idaho was running low anyway, as if we needed an excuse.  Last fall Warren really was a little too young to do many of our normal activities outside, but this year he is more than capable of joining us, and Sarah and I more than welcome the opportunity to get back out and experience all the things we love about living where we do.  Berry picking turned up first on the 2013 list.  Bring on the pics:

First up was a trip up the hill behind the house to nab some wild currants (my personal favorite jam, closely edging blackberry).  Note to self: When hiking on damp days, don't carry your phone in your pocket and then try to take anything other then semi-blurry pictures.

Jackpot!

Mmmmm....nom nom nom..

Wasn't long and we had a good batch of currants, and turned our attention elsewhere.  Headed 'out of town' a few days in a row for some blueberries out on the tundra around lake Nonvatchuk.

Headin' down the slough with mama at the helm...

The words say it all:

 Pickin' and grinnin'....

W's first experience with a head net...didn't want any parts of it...

Quality time with mom...

Ada photobombing...hah! :D

A good mix in one picture...blueberries, low-bush cranberries, and crowberries (black ones). Crowberries are kind of tasteless and are mostly used for filler, but not when the good stuff is plentiful....

Wild Rose Hips (great source of Vitamin C - but have fibers that need to be removed before eating or they can irritate your GI tract/stomach):

 Cloudberries!!!!  YUM!  Think cooked apples...these were a little overripe, but still GREAT!

That spriggy stuff at left and draped around the cloudberry plant above is tundra tea, and we gathered some of that too.  Below is a shot of one round's spoils, tundra tea in the middle.  How long is one round?  Until W decides for us that the bugs are too bad to stay anymore.  Then it's back out later, or tomorrow, depending on the day....

Gotta try a batch of tea before drying it...

Add some boiling water and press after steeping...YUM.

The longer the brew, the deeper the orange color.  But the catch is there is a toxin in the plant (Labrador tea) which can be trouble at high levels, so even though darker orange means more flavor the 'lighter' yellow color, the better for safety's sake.

Now that we have a bunch of berries in the freezer for cereal and oatmeal, a new batch of jam jarred and ready, and enough tea stashed for a while, the gathering is almost over.  September is coming, and the time for hunting is just about here...

The Alaska ferry trip home, summer '13

After a too-short, but wonderful summer down in Oregon, it finally was time to head for Russian Mission once more.  This time I was taking the Alaska Marine Highway, riding the M/V Kennicott (one of Alaska's state-operated ferries).  From Bellingham WA, where I loaded the truck onto the boat, to Whittier, Alaska, would take roughly five days.  On these trips (Sarah and I are both wily veterans at this point) there is always the opportunity for some great pictures.  Often photo-op vigilance is the only break from the monotonous days of traveling this way.  Encountering rough water and lots of seasick passengers is always a bummer, because it usually means you aren't getting outside much to take advantage of the cool stuff a trip like this can offer you.  Thought I would share just a few of the pics from this year's run.  The last two days or so were pretty ugly and didn't offer much but 15-20 foot swells, gray skies, and rain as we passed through Prince William Sound.  But I did get some shots in before that.  Not artist quality stuff, but had some fun playing with the camera for a while.

Some whale tail shots:

A rare double shot of tails!!! (Orcas) A mite crooked but the boat was a-rockin'...

A little closer:

And (yes, really), some seagull shots.  Thought this one just turned out cool:

and messing with the fisheye (kinda blurry):

My first trip to Yakutat.  Another Alaska town/village/destination marked off...

Some mountain/glacier scenery shots taken between 'Yak' and Whittier (taken just before things got a little lumpy:

Who knows if we'll be on the ferry or a plane next year with the new family addition, but we'll see.  However we get home, it's usually fun...but then we've come to expect that from a place like Alaska.