A Year In The Life - Day 10 , May 31, 2014

Well, as we say goodbye to May today, we said hello to what hopefully is the last snow of the spring.  We are really awaiting the take-off of our garden, and having to cover the plants every night to avoid frost-kills is not what we are hoping for, though it is working... :)  The snow didn't stick around enough for a pic, but Sarah did get a pic of Dad and Warren releasing our earthworms into the garden.  This is the colony that I kept going for our in-class stuff this year.  Thought about feeding them to the frogs our tadpoles in the classroom will become, but the garden gets the nod.  This pic goes along with a video you just have to see if you didn't catch it on Facebook... it is down below...

A Year In The Life - Day 9, May 30, 2014

More fish.  Sorry, but for those of you who know me, you knew there was going to be a LOT of pictures of fish in this pony show.  Besides, this is a great shot Sarah took of some Cisco hanging to dry.  Once the season gets underway, we'll have more pics of the people OF fish camp, instead of just the fish...I promise. :)

A springtime walk with the macro lens...

Got out today and took a nice long walk with the macro lens.  Here's a random assortment of some of the spoils - some good, some not so good...

 These fungus always feel hard to the touch, but here you can see the light, wispy, 'feathers' on the tops:

A little washed out, but the bug captured on the mushroom at right makes this one worth posting ;)

Some early growth on a wild rose hip stalk...

Wild Currant blossoms...

Birch bark...on the inside...

And outside...

 Shrooms!

 

Some new growth

A few shots of some random lichens and moss..makes for some odd "landscapes"....

Fiddlehead fern, w/spores

Some randoms...

A Year In The Life - Day 8, May 29 2014

I love this picture.  Much of the goodness found swimming in the Yukon river has made it into this glimpse of fish camp and all it is about.  Recognizable or not, you will find here Northern Pike, Sheefish (Inconnu), two other species of whitefish besides (broad and humpback), Cisco, and salmon - in this case, Chum.  Mmmmmmmm...

A Year In The Life - Day 7, May 28, 2014

Today's image is representative of the kind of randomness and unpredictability you will find in the village.  We strolled along the river today - kind of another wet, dreary day - and wandered into a fish camp of some friends.  We came upon this interesting combination on one of the tables.  Much time is spent "at fish camp" in the summers for the people here, as it is a time to put up a large share of food for the coming year, both for the households and their sled dogs (for those who keep them).  Toys and other entertainment items are kept at these camps to help while away the hours - and sometimes are found right next to the food. :)  Warren caught me off guard when he ran up the path and shouted with excitement, "A fire truck!!!!...and a beaver!!!!"...after I recovered, I found out he wasn't kidding...

A Year In The Life - Day 6, May 27, 2014

Today we have a shot of another family walk moment.  Where else but in the bush will you see a dad walking hand in hand with his son, pushing a stroller, and packing - on the outside?  :D  Gotta love the village life.  No one bats an eyelash...besides, we see moose on this trail all the time...don't be stupid enough to mess with a momma moose with calves.

A Year In The Life - Day 5, May 26, 2014

This pic is the kind of scene that unfolds up and down the Yukon nearly every day I am sure, in villages everywhere.  A little boy down by the water's edge, seeing what he can find.  In this case, the boy happens to be Warren. :) 

And here we have a shot of Warren running up the road with Ada, terrorizing butterflies with his new bug net!  Wish I could go back to where he is!....

A Year In The Life - Day 4, May 25, 2014

We were out walking through the village as always today, and this time wishing the weather was nicer so we could be out on the boat instead, when I looked over to the school's supply shed and caught this great scene of some of the kids hanging around whiling away the afternoon. One of those settings that speaks more the longer you look at it... Bingo!  Pic of the day! 

A Year In The Life - Day 3, May 24, 2014

Today's pic is a springtime shot of the valley behind Russian Mission, as seen when walking down the trail towards the lake.  There will likely be lots of pics revolving around this trail.  Maybe I'll have to come back when Summer and Fall and Winter are in full swing and take more to compare...This pic is kind of like our sumer here in Russian - things are growing and everything is underway, but not everything has developed quite yet at this point...

A Year in The Life - Day 2, May 23 2014

I can already see that there is sometimes going to be a need to have more than one pic of the day, so although there will always be one, there will sometimes be more...

Today's image(s) reflects the goal of the day's journey up the trail behind the house.  Overcast and somewhat rainy skies have kept wanderings to a minimum, and as you can see, it is still cool enough for W to be wearing his warmer coat.   Anyways, we were out after fiddleheads, most likely the last roundup of the season.  W found a pile of them here, and then after he showed them to us and we surveyed what there was to pick, Dad set him up in a tree for a photo op.  Walking the same old trail every day can still be fun. :)

And Warren's jeep, complete with fiddlehead ferns stuck in the bumper after he drove it through the 'wilderness'...

And lastly, a shot I took of Warren and Mom looking up at a biiiiiiiig tree together.  Cool!

Kicking off "A year in the life"...Day 1 - May 22, 2014

As we have decided to make this upcoming school year our last here in Russian Mission,  and seeing as we have decided to stay here for the summer this year accordingly, I can finally get around to doing something I have wanted to for a while:  Make a photo essay of life here in the Alaskan bush for an entire year.  The whole thing, one day at a time.  So, in addition to any updates on hunting, trapping, fishing, etc, or other outings, I will be posting at least one pic for every day this entire year as "The pic of the day".  There may not always be a ton of explanation if the pic is not part of some other grand scheme, but there should be a great story to be told by the end.  For those family and friends following along, make sure you don't miss any just because story posts and whatnot else break things up once in a while.  Don't forget you can search by tags at the lower right of this page if you scroll down, so you can see all the "Pic of the Day" posts at the same time in order.  Anyway, seeing as today is the last day of School this year, and next year will likely end around the same time (when we will be leaving), I choose today as the first day.  Any posts with the tag "A Year In The Life" photo essay, will contain the pic of the day somewhere in them.  At the end of the year, we may go ahead and make a coffee table book of them all like we have done calendars and books in the past.   Enjoy!  I know we will!

Today's pic to kick things off:  Warren hiding out in an old boat cabin (removed from the boat, as you can see) down by the Yukon on our walk today.