We have neighbors.

Earlier this spring we noticed a robin building her nest in the eaves of the garage. Whenever I would go out and water the lawn she would fly away from her nest. When we got back from our fishing trip I went out to take a look and check on the status of the nest and I saw 3 beaks with their heads poking up out of the nest. Mama bird has been keeping busy flying around the yard and catching bugs to feed to her hatches. It has been fun to watch them, before long they will be learning to fly out of the nest.

Gallon of gas $4.04; Cheeseburger and fries $10.25; Fishing charter $90; Cooler full of fish - PRICELESS!

Brent and I made it down to Chitina, Alaska for our second annual Copper River Red fishing - and we were able to net 26 red salmon and 1 king salmon. We actually caught 5 kings; but we are only allowed to keep one. Brent got the first one and the debate was do we keep it and know that we cannot get another one or try for a bigger one? We decided to keep the first one and the picture is of Brent and the king salmon. I ended up catching another one shortly after that and of course I have to say it was bigger, take a look at the picture and see for yourself. Of course we will have the ongoing battle of whose fish is bigger. But it will keep us going back each year. Overall we were very lucky to catch the fish that we did, in coming back on the boat we were told that some people were out all day and only caught 2! We chalked it up to the determination of keeping the nets in the water and the fact that Brent dropped his favorite pocket knife in the river just after he caught his king. We decided that it was an offering and it paid off.

There are some people who get permits and do their fishing with the fishwheels, it was neat being able to see them in action. Attached is a picture of the fishwheels in action.

Watch for them on the circuit in 10 years.

I had Kendra and Kara with me last weekend and we went to the driving range for the first time this summer. I finally was able to hit my new clubs that I got at the end of last summer - I can't wait to go for 18 holes this weekend. Kendra is doing great and was hitting some close to 75 yards. And Kara was just happy to be able to put the ball up on the tee. And when the bucket of balls ran out, and no one else was at the range, I let the kids run out and go pick up the balls.

I hope that I'll be able to hit the course weekly this summer ... I need to break in my new clubs.

We're grass parents!

Finally, after 10 days of watering we finally have signs of sprouts of grass. It must be like what the kids with the Chia (sp) Pets feel like. I am just glad that I didn't kill it - that would be hard to try and explain to Brent after he came home from his shift at work. I don't know if it was the combination fo it finally getting to 70 degrees and a rainstorm that came through last night? But whatever it is, I am glad to finally see some green. Hopefully by the end of the summer we'll be able to walk barefoot through the grass.

Ready, set, grow!

The summer season has finally arrived and we took advantage of that the two weeks Brent was off shift. In about one week we (yes we, although the pictures all show Brent working - someone had to take the pictures) put in a lawn. After hauling a couple of loads of dirt, we had a dump truck deliver a load. Then Brent went to work leveling the dirt through out the yard. Then it was time to drag and rake the lawn - I hate rocks! Then it was finally time to seed, roll and fertilize. I have a whole of of respect for landscapers. I know it is not what I can make a living doing, but when we finally see the green coming up it will all be worth it. I hate to say it, but this is about the only time I am secretly hoping for rain. I have a feeling that we'll be picking rocks up out of the lawn for years to come. But we finished in time this morning to get ready for a Memorial Day barbecue at our house. Hopefully I'll be posting pictures soon of the green grass.

Spring is here ... finally!

The sure sign that the season's are changing - the arriving of the swans and Canadian geese. As I am typing this the temperature is 55 and everything is melting quickly. I can only hope that the rivers start breaking up and the Nenana tri-pod falls within the next month - and preferably on one of my dates. I will patiently wait for the yard to dry out so I can start getting the landscaping going. Better finish up dinner. Happy Monday!

A belated update ...

thank you Dana, you have spurred me on to get my blog going again. An update. The wedding was WONDERFUL. I don't think I could have asked for a better day. I was calm, I had some time before having to get to the church and went and got my car washed. The day was warm and sunny - and that evening we were treated to an awesome display of nothern lights. Our trip to Kauai was amazing and I cannot wait to go back again .. soon! Brent is back at work and will be back home on Monday. Now we are ready to start planning our summer trips, dipnetting in Chitna with a side trip down to Valdez. King salmon fishing in Sheep Creek (we need to settle the score on who will catch the biggest fish). Halibut fishing out of Seward. Camping around the interior and finishing up the summer with a train trip to Denali Park. I will be sure to add posts more often and keep you updated on our fishing trips.