New Day, New Animal

So last post mentioned ice fishing, but we changed up animals for this one.

The view out to the bay

The day after ice fishing, Mick and I headed out snow machining to check out the conditions and hopefully find a couple ptarmigan.  It turned out great--the snow was good and I hit a ptarmigan on my first shot!  Mickey got one himself, which was good, but not quite enough for a feast.  So, the only logical thing to do, would be to go again the next day.  The snow was still adequate and the hunting improved remarkably!  We spent nearly the entire day in the same area and ended up with 10 ptarmigan, which was enough to make a delicious stew.  Since the hunting was so good, the only logical thing to do was to try again the next day--so we did!  We also wanted to try to ride from near the house, rather than driving an hour to the trailhead, but needed to check snow conditions.  Unfortunately, I checked the conditions a bit too closely this day as I spent more time stuck or flipped than I did riding it seemed.  At least there was snow to land in!  The week ended with a Homer High basketball marathon, although I only made it through 3 of the 4 games.

Day 1

On Saturday, I had to ref in the morning, then went to watch Rylyn's basketball game, then back to ref another game before coming home and just enjoying an evening home with everyone.  As most of you heard, on Saturday, there was a rather large earthquake centered nearly 50 miles away from here around 1am.  Luckily, no damage was done to the house or toy-hauler.  However, one second I was fast asleep, then the next it felt like I was on a mechanical bull--strange feeling!  Sunday, the fun continued as Wendy, Mick, and I went for a great ride. Unfortunately, we didn't see any ptarmigan, but fortunately (we did see a moose though), I stayed on my machine the entire time!  Afterwards, Ry and I played some cards and hot tubbed--a great end to the weekend.

Now, here we are again, starting another week.  Yesterday, I ran several errands around town, including the world's most boring sub training then went to a workout class with Wendy.  Just when I thought I was in shape again, that was a rude awakening!  Today, I helped Mickey replace the brakes on Wendy's car in the morning (thrilling, I know), then skated with Wendy's class, met with someone from Fish and Wildlife and bought my fishing gear for the job.  I ran on the spit since the sun came out today and in a 35 minute run counted 9 bald eagles!

Carcasses after day 2

 I lost track of the moose count, but it must be around 7.  Anyway, I'm loving getting the chance to get out, explore the area, make connections, and eat fresh meat.  The hunting and fishing around Baranof Island where I'll be working looks incredible too, so I'm excited for that!