03 May 2009

Spring update - summer's here!

It feels completely like summer. The past 2 days have been warmer than any I've felt in over a year (I don't actually thing this is an exaggeration), the sun doesn't set till after 10pm, and I've been killing some massive mosquitoes. It's entirely possible that we haven't seen the last of frost and cold and a rainy spring, but for now I'm going to bask in the blue skies and hot sun.

My computer is nearly in its death-throes, and so can't really handle much in the way of blog-updating. For now I'll post up some pictures from Chris' first visit, in late-March, when he dropped off Shaemus, a low-tide walk I took on Easter with the dogs, a day trip across the Bay with Ben, Mike, Jeff, Stacey, and the dog pack, and the gardening adventures we've set forth on!

IMG_0816 IMG_0822IMG_0860 IMG_0847 IMG_0857 Diamond Creek - Bishop's Beach, Easter Sunday

aw what love

clean yo palate IMG_0752

Chris, Megan & I went to the Bear Creek Winery on Megan's birthday to do some wine tasting of local berry wines. MMmmmm - we had smoked halibut on crackers with cream cheese to snack on as we sipped our way through the wine selection.

holy car ash Mt Redoubt erupted while Chris was here - ash fall #1 of the year ... what a freaking mess!

IMG_0706 We were both pretty impressed with the coating that Homer received.

IMG_0904IMG_0885 A few weeks ago we went across the Bay to hike up a braided river, we'll just call it the Woz here since I can't remember/don't know how to spell the full name, for the day. Ben anchored the boat offshore and pack-rafted in with Pemba in hot pursuit...IMG_0894 IMG_0893 Mike, coming after Ben with a giant stick.

IMG_0888 Jeff & Stacey

Back on the home front, work on the garden has begun in full force. Heavy machinery (well, not so much unless you count a chainsaw & rototiller...) and some elbow grease. A lot of the latter, actually. ~700 sq ft that needs to be surrounded by a moose-proof fence, ~150 hummocks to be removed, and thousands of pushkie (i.e. cow parsnip)(which, incidentally, I'm apparently very allergic to) to uproot and battle back. Payback for all of this labor? Aside from warm feelings of a job-well-done (and burly muscles)(and welts from the pushkies), potatoes and onions and spinach and dill and carrots and turnips maybe and leaks and radishes and .... etc etc etc! Yeah!

IMG_0931

IMG_0935 The Heavy Machinery

IMG_0939 And the elbow grease

IMG_0941 Baby pushkies. My nemesis, whom I will be battling all summer long. Bring it.

IMG_0942 IMG_0937

Dogs are so helpful.....they have been working hard checking out all the best places to nap in the shade or sun around the garden.

IMG_0932 Ben, assessing the garden situation. A man with a plan. And some wicked-old-tools.

IMG_0946 IMG_0949

Pemba {hearts} the buoy...

IMG_0960

Happy SpringSummer!