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Alaska, Farewell!

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Goodbye, Beautiful Alaska!

We traveled most of the day from our last anchorage through more magnificent Alaska, past the entrance to the ocean and on to a tiny anchorage where we just fit. At low tide, there has to be at least 6 feet below the boat, so anything less than 12 feet is not even considered. Calculations were made and the anchor played out.

Earlier today we had what I thought would be an exciting journey through Sergius Narrows, where the water current changes midway through, flowing inward from each side of the passage. For safety Pete and Sue planned our trip at slack tide. But it was quiet, and just a little more rolling than usual.

We’re eating hors d’oeuvres (homemade smoked salmon, grapes, apples, cheese and crackers) on deck after anchoring in our own private little cove 10 miles from Sitka, tomorow’s destination. After a short cruise the next morning we’ll spend the day exploring this small Alaska town where I’ll fly home from the following day.

The salmon are especially frisky in this cove, jumping every few seconds. Sue and I saw two at once, jumping in tandem.

Sue asked me what my favorite memory was from this trip, and I see myself in the front of the dinghy again, reaching for the ancient bergie bit ice, breaking off a soft chunk of (at least) thousand-year-old ice. That pristine taste, untouched and perfect like this wilderness state I have fallen in love with.

The next morning we are underway early, and before long we see signs of civilization. Small and large residences stretched out along the shore. Sitka.

Docking in Sitka

I watched from the wheelhouse while Pete directed the Kama Hele into a spot in a busy harbor where it just fit. But he made it look as easy as parking in a busy Walmart lot.

Exploring Sitka

One of the first things that caught my attention in Sitka was a man running through the outskirts of town, his husky tied to his waist. I have an amusing thought of our part-husky Minnie tied around my son’s waist, stirring up dust while cantering down our dirt road at home.

The three of us spent the day exploring shops and sharing a greasy order of fish and chips in town for a late lunch.

The shops lining the main street carried a fair amount of Chinese made pseudo-Alaskan art, but also some really lovely native art and some beautifully painted Russian boxes. And lots of artwork in galleries from those who live here and nearby. I think this town must be cozy in the winter, with no tourists and only each other to be with.

The flowers in Sitka are abundant, fragrant, dramatic and large.

We walk through a park and ask a stranger to take a photo of us in front of a totem pole, the only one I have that we’re all three in together. It’s a pretty touristy shot, but I had to have at least one.

Dinner at a restaurant recommended by one of Pete and Sue’s floating neighbors, but I made the mistake of ordering what turned out to be a bland tofu dish, knowing their seafood could never trump Peter’s daily fresh catches. Oh well…

Back aboard, I packed for the trip home, leaving at 4:45 am the next morning to catch my cab.

Pete got up with me, heaved my massive suitcase up the stairs to the wheelhouse and over the ship’s side, then helped me down. We waited for the cab together and said our goodbyes. It’s really a bittersweet moment! I will miss Peter and Sue. I will miss Alaska. But I have in my “back pocket” all these unforgettable memories.

And maybe (I’m pretty sure) I will return someday.

Thank you for sharing some of my adventures!

Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

More Hot Springs and Alaskan Critters

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Rainy Day Antics…

I awake to a misty Alaska morning. My bathing suit is still damp, More than damp. I could squeeze more water out of it if I rolled it in a towel, but I only have one towel, and it’s damp too.

I’ve been steeling myself to wear this cold wet suit for the trip to the hot springs this morning, but Peter appears and suggests going to the natural hot springs, the one we have to hike to (and wear bathing suits in), a little later in the day and heading to the tubs (private and clothing optional) now. That way my suit will have more time to dry.

His reasoning was that later on we’ll have less chance of running into a wandering grizzly. Are we really weighing that possibility so casually?

It’s low tide on our dinghy trip to the bath house, and the air has that pungent, life-infused odor from places normally underwater and below our sight. The exposed banks with disarrayed starfish seem vulnerable, but Peter assures me they’ll survive till high tide.

We settle ourselves in separate bathing rooms, and I dip in. It’s always a little too hot but since I know I’ll positively not scald, I ease into it more fearlessly. After a shorter dip and a little light-headedness, I dry off and dress.

A Rose is a Rose?

Pete and Sue are still soaking, so I ramble up and down the boardwalk outside the bathhouse, enjoying the cool morning by myself. I look down a hill to the right and spot what appears to be a gigantic hot pink (wild?) rose growing below. I can smell it at least 12 feet away!

I walk (carefully) down some old stone steps for a closer look. I’ve never heard of a single-petaled, wild rose this large, about 3″ across. But it is indeed recognizable by scent and looks, and has a stem completely covered in thorns. The rose hips are nearly 1″ ripening red balls. Alaska is full of living surprises.

Ethereal Jellyfish and a Many Legged Sun Star

On the dinghy trip back I peer through translucent brown green water. Four jellyfish, like tiny water spirits, move with gentle undulations in their lacy cup-shaped gowns. When we are nearly back to the ship, we see a different species; this one is lunch plate sized and shaped like an animated child’s drawing of a flower, opening and closing, opening and closing. Long tendrils trail over the rocks below it. So much delicate beauty and deadly, too, at least for fish. But I’d give it wide berth too, if I needed to.

Pete is off in the dinghy again, picking up the shrimp trap, hoping for another good catch. Sue and I are making breakfast, blueberry pancakes from frozen blueberries; the disappointingly wormy wild ones picked yesterday tossed overboard.

Pete is back, with nothing to show for his trip but a 19-legged sun star, A big, beefy guy that Pete laid out on the deck for us to appreciate before gifting back to the waters. This guy has had his own private party feasting on the shrimp bait, and despite the otherwise empty trap, I’m happy for the encounter.

Only 10:30 am when we finished cleaning up breakfast but by then all of us are ready for a nap. I don’t usually indulge in that luxury, but it suits the mood and dampness of the day.

It’s now 12:30 and I’m the only one up so far, listening to a steady quiet rain. Will we make it to the outdoor hot springs by the waterfall? Right now it feels half obligatory. I want the memory but not the experience, which I suspect will be cold, a little slippery and possibly “enhanced” on the way by a grizzly appearance. We thought going later would minimize that natural hazard, since we’d be following a trail already set by somewhat noisy tourists and dogs. But have any other maritime or summer cottage tourists felt themselves ready for that risk? I’m curious what Peter thinks.

It’s been raining all day, steadily, softly. we never got back to the springs today, neither the tubs nor the dramatic one by the waterfall. The same bear who staked out his claim on the shore yesterday came back, and Pete captured him eating salmon just before he jumped in the water in our direction, an offensive attack against nothing he could see. Bears don’t have the best eyesight, but I think he knows we’re watching him and he perceives us, a blind annoyance he can’t quite shake off.

Playing Games on a Rainy Day…

Sue and I spent the afternoon talking and playing games, Jenga was fun, building and then taking apart one by one tiny rectangular blocks, hoping not to collapse everything. I hoped I wouldn’t be the one to end it, but Sue had the touch and deftly slid out her blocks every time. It was trickier and harder the more unbalanced the structure became, especially in a gently rocking boat. Of course I was the one to end it, sending the entire precarious structure tumbling off the table.

Pete spent the afternoon uploading photos and showed us the video of the berry eating grizzly. We all feel affection for him, admired his dog-like scratching and then jumped a little at his sudden lunge, right at the moment he realizes he’s being watched.

Kona has the Last Word

We played scrabble after dinner while the zucchini, salmon cakes and casserole digested. We weren’t bad at it, not keeping score but just dreaming up words to fit on that puzzle game I remember my parents playing when I was a child; my mom with her immense vocabulary that no one, not even my smart dad could equal.

Kona ends the game by jumping on the board and scattering the pieces. We all laugh, even though she wasn’t trying to be funny.

Another kind of Alaska day, dreamy and quiet.

Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

Whales, Hot Springs and Scampi

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I’ll miss the privacy of this cove, alive with eagles, bear and all the silent, underwater tenants.

I was up at five with the jingle and meowing of Kona patrolling my sleeping area, waiting for her food dish to alert her to breakfast, still an hour away. But I’ve had plenty of sleep. Today we head for the hot springs and I dig out my swimsuit to prepare.

At 6:45 a yacht showed up in our formerly private cove and it anchors right by the magnificent falls. While we ate breakfast in the wheel house, they lowered something at first unidentifiable off the second deck. An emergency exit they were testing? Peter laughs, It’s a water slide! Our idyllic cove turned into a mini-Disneyland for the rich. Feeling grateful they weren’t here last night when we had the cove to ourselves.

We see a couple of hummingbirds darting over the prow. Sue thought maybe they were attracted to the bright orange things hanging there, a raincoat and a life ring.

Pete motored the dinghy out to the crab pot he lowered last night, but came back empty-handed. Well almost empty handed. He’d temporarily imprisoned a tiny long-bodied fish with a red striped stomach in a Tupperware dish. Just 4 or 5” long, Pete called it an eelfish bit we don’t really know what it was.

We’re leaving soon, and hoping for better luck with the prawn trap that Peter set at the entrance to the cove when we arrived yesterday.

Treasure from the Deep!

We’re on our way out, and Pete pulled up the prawn trap, 250 feet of rope, hand over hand for what seemed like half an hour but was probably 10 minutes. Would there be a catch? Sue told me about the time they pulled up their trap as a grateful octopus eased out, stomach full. I’ve mentally crossed my fingers.

Yes!  The bottom of the trap was full of wriggling prawns. We took turns estimating how many. Pete guessed 53, Sue 69 and me 72. We were all wrong. 96! Enough for shrimp cocktail, scampi and another night’s dinner as well. 2 different species, all fat. Pete is on the lower fish cleaning deck, washing them for tonight’s feast.

Now we’re underway down Chatham Straight to Baranoff Island and a soak in the hot springs.

Along the way Sue steers and points out a whale blowing on the horizon just right of the bow, starboard. I don’t see it and now I’m spoiled from whales having been so close, I don’t bother with binoculars. But still I watch, and see the occasional blow and tail flukes as they head for deep water.

We’ve arrived in Warm Springs Bay on Baronoff Island, and have anchored in the harbor maybe ½ mile from the springs where a number of small vessels are tied at the dock. There are a few summer homes here in a row near the hot spring tubs, rugged looking wooden structures in need of paint.

We took the dinghy to the “civilized” hot springs near the houses, but tomorrow it’ll be the one by the water falls, where 2 years ago Pete saw a pile of grizzly scat in the woods. So it’s true…

It’s still a cool and misty day, perfect for a hot spring soak.

A Gigantic Tub and Delightful Soak

The gigantic private tub (Sue and Pete had their own) is constantly being filled and noisily, slurpily drained with sulphur-scented water. But it stays completely full with this constant back and forth. It’s clothing optional here since the 3 tubs are in private rooms with locks on the doors and curtains on the windows, but I wore my suit so I could keep them open and see the waterfall nearby while soaking.

I’d forgotten how that first exquisitely pleasurable dip into a mineral water-filled tub, up to the neck, felt. Sue said she heard my “Ahhh…” through the 2 walls that separated us.

After 25 minutes, I’d had enough. It was a luxurious, but curiously draining soak.

We dressed and decided to hike down towards the primitive hot springs, the ones by the waterfall to check it out for tomorrow’s adventure. A nice little hike over laid out planks, rocks and roots. We picked blueberries, a little tart, for tomorrow morning’s pancakes along the way.

Amongst the rounder leaves of the blueberry plants, I spotted a few bright orange-yellow salmon berries. These were plumper (and sweeter) than the ones we picked a few days ago.

Surprisingly I noticed some deep footprints next to the planks we were stepping on, wondering out loud why somebody chose to walk in the muck instead of on the wood. Pete pointed out what should have been obvious to me; these were bear tracks.

I didn’t make it all the way to the springs, but Peter did, clapping his hands along the way so he wouldn’t surprise any grizzlies.

He told us later there was not a single person soaking there today.

We’re home now, back on the Kama Hele and Pete called me from the wheelhouse to watch as a big brown grizzly stripped berries on his way climbing a lush hillside. He showed us a video later and we watched while close-up, this bear scratched himself like a big dog.

Scampi tonight! I think I’ll read a while and rest. What a life.

Time to prepare for dinner. Pete showed me how to clean the shrimp by twisting and pulling off the tail then splitting the front and removing shell and legs. Sue took a photo of us, blue gloved, intent on the task. I’m looking a little disgusted, but that was just to be funny. I loved working on this homey task with my stepson.

Wild Blueberry Disaster and Delicious Scampi

The blueberries are full of little worms! How many did we eat on the walk and is that why they were a little sour? Probably good for the bears fattening for winter, though.

Peter noticed the worms while picking through them at the sink and I offered to take over that job. We didn’t see any when we picked them, but now I see a little wiggly head emerging from a berry. It’s some kind of life cycle thing going on here. And they have little threads. Silkworms and mulberries? I’ll have to research that. But there’s no “picking through” them anymore. Overboard with the entire lot.

The scampi was amazing! Sweet delicious fat chunks of curly shrimp meat nested in spaghetti noodles, garlic, butter, chopped veggies. Did Sue say she could eat this every day, or did I just think I could? Maybe both.

I wish we had a key lime pie to finish off the meal. We may be in Alaska, but it would be perfect now.

As I ready this day’s thoughts for my blog, I think what a lucky woman I am, getting to relive crisp memories and then share them with you, too!

More soon…

Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

P.S. I wish I’d brought a few other sweaters, so you don’t think this green outer layer was the only thing I had to wear! I swear, underneath I had on all sorts of colorful tops. But it was pretty chilly in Alaska.

Alaska Day 4: A Misty Moisty Morning

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We awoke to Mama bear and the little ones strolling across the “beach” but they are not fishing and I imagine them stuffed from the abundance. I don’t think this gang will have any trouble lasting through the Alaska winter.

Pete has done some research on the ecology here, and tells me that the bears have a habit of grabbing a fish, moving off to the forest line, taking a bite or two of the richest parts and then tossing the remains aside. Now the eagles grab what they want and the rest composts at the forest line, creating a strong tree line that prevents erosion by the stream. And that strengthens that whole area. Perfect cycle of life.

Adventuring Again!

Now we’re off again to our next destination, Red Bluff, about 4 hours from here. Sue is preparing omelets and she’s up and down the stairs to help Pete get underway as well. Breakfast also includes a small pile of blueberries, sprouts and a half English muffin with strawberry jam. Delicious. I get hungry a lot here, (Is it the Alaska air?) but Sue feeds us well.

I’ve taken on the task as dishwasher, heating up water in the kettle for the job, which saves propane by not constantly heating water when it’s not needed. So much here is about conserving, being smart with trash and keeping things, literally, “ship-shape.”

Sue is at the wheel while Pete downloads the videos and photos he’s been taking. She and I discuss all sorts of private things from our respective youths, and I realize Sue, whom I’ve not spent much time with in prior years, is finally entering my heart as a second daughter-in-law.

More Whales!

We’re 3 hours out and Sue spots more whales. She shouts “There’s a blow at 11:00!” and I see nothing. Frustrating! I’m thinking I need to get my distance vision checked soon. But as we cruise closer to the pod I spot them. Binoculars up. I see the blow, the back curve and fin and then the dive with the tail straight up. Another and another. A bounty of whale sightings! As they disappear behind us and I think I spot another one (I don’t) Sue and I joke about “wave whales related distantly to rock bears” the hallucinatory animals you “spot”, always at a distance. The difference between “rock bears” and “wave whales” is that the wave whales actually move.

Today is a world of grey; green grey water, misted green grey mountains, white grey sky.

An hour later Sue is diving (with gloves on) into the kitchen freezer, 2 ½ ft deep, to pull out food for the next couple days. She tells me to ignore any cussing I hear and I laugh. Pete has filled it with fish and Sue tells me his bag of bait takes up a goodly portion of the freezer. But they’ll be glad of all this bounty when they return, some of which they’ll share with friends and family.

Sue and I are making lunch in the galley and Pete suddenly cuts the motor; we somehow know this time there’s something special to see topside. We rush up to the deck and there’s a hump back whale about 100 feet away port side, blowing and diving. I’m waiting for another appearance but he’s gone behind us and I hear “Whoa!” from starboard and he shows again, flukes to the sky. This guy is close!

Sue is videotaping the whale, suddenly swings the camera around and catches my heartfelt “Wow!” 

This last exciting encounter is followed by two hours of quiet cruising.

These Beautiful Waterfalls…

We reach Red Bluffs, glorious cliffs in brown and green, long water falls cascading down at intervals.

Pete sets a prawn trap at the entrance of the cove, directing Sue at the wheel. He lowers it 250 feet down to the bottom because that’s where the trap lies flat so we can pick it up tomorrow morning on our way to our next stop.

Pete has caught another salmon. It’s a coho this time, deep rich red flesh. Kona got her share after Pete filleted it.

Our Private Cove, Complete with a Grizzly

So far we are the only humans here. While Pete cooks salmon we spot a big grizzly on the shore who occasionally sniffs towards the Kama Hele, maybe smelling the barbecued fish. We make a few tense jokes about exactly why no one else is anchored here, and eye the curious bear a little suspiciously. Pete plans to raise the dinghy tonight when we return from a planned evening jaunt around the cove, just in case. I point out that a bear could still climb the stairs from the little dock at water level (where Peter cleans the fish) but Peter says he’s never heard of a grizzly mounting a boat in Alaska. So, probably we’ll be fine…(scary music)

After dinner, we all hop in the dinghy for an evening “stroll,” buzzing around the harbor, grazing the calm waters in this little boat.

We pass sheer rock sides soaring 300 feet on our way to a large and noisy waterfall, our destination.

The water looks thick, opaque where it deepens, but in the shallows we see thousands of fish swimming in tight formation through the clear/blue green. I try to take a photo with my iphone but it’s just a blur.

We motor towards the waterfall and almost there, spot starfish clinging to the underwater walls, four healthy ones with 5 thick legs each. It seems incongruous only because I associate starfish with Florida and the Caribbean. This bunch are neutral tones, browns and tans but Sue told me she saw purple and red ones when they were in British Columbia.

Peter has killed the motor, and Sue tells him no tricks because she doesn’t want to get wet. Pete grins and I’m braced for what seems like unlikely horseplay. But we stay far enough back to just feel the fine mist of spray from 200 feet of cascading water. And that’s just as far as we can see looking straight up the falls. Really, it begins its descent way above us, a dramatic run off from Alaska’s high and unseen places.

Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

Day 3…A Slow Start, but Then…

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We started the day with a bit of “housekeeping.” The grey water from the sink and shower isn’t draining properly, so Pete has a hatch open in the kitchen and is working to fix it. Kona the kitty has her head down in there getting involved. Sue told me she once got into the ship’s inner walls and they had a hard time getting her out again! She is a true ship kitty and knows her way around the inside and the outside of this boat.

Have you ever heard a bald eagle’s cry? For the first time I hear one this morning, and it is surprisingly high pitched, more like a song bird than a large and magnificent bird of prey.

Pete figured out and debugged the greywater problem and we’re underway again

After an hour of cruising, I ask Sue “If I don’t see whale today, will there be another chance?” and she reassures me there is always a chance, that all the way to Sitka, where I depart for home in 5 days, I may still catch a glimpse of one. I decide to go below deck and type for a while.

Whales Ahead!

Pete shouts out that he’s seen a humpback whale blow up ahead!

The two of them are looking beyond the bow… “Did you see that, Merry?!” I’m wishing I could say yes, and looking so hard to the left of the island up ahead where they spotted it, but there is nothing I can say with certainty that I’ve seen. “Another one!” Still nothing, I’m feeling disappointed and a little foolish. I go out on the front deck with Sue, hoping for a little more clarity without the window barrier.

Then I see one, black curved back, the blow, and the tail pointing vertically, ready for a dive. Looking through binoculars, my eyes inexplicably burning with emotion. The holy magnificence of the hump back whale, then an entire pod, probably 5 or 6 of them.  I see more over the next couple of hours, but that first glimpse is the one I could barely contain without shouting or jumping or doing something else a little foolish and unexpected.

Sue tells me of the time she and Peter saw a humpback mother and her calf close to the boat, and while admiring this miracle, the whale blew, instantly engulfing them with the smell of fish. Sue wrinkled her nose to demonstrated her reaction to this unexpected and monstrous exhalation of bad breath. I wish I could experience that, but the whales I see are a little further off.

When the water is calm again, I go downstairs to record this experience. I’m jazzed up with this new joy of whale watching.

Sea Otter Spotting

“Merry!” I rush up the stairs again, as quickly as I can. Pete tells me he saw some otters, and there I see that iconically adorable little face with the elongated body, floating off the bow, and I think that yes, I captured him pretty well in my earrings and necklaces if I say so myself!

Peter laughs at the charmed moment, and that laugh instantly makes me think of both Ed and David, their sweetness and love of animals. The Rosenfield men, so many similar and endearing qualities.

We’ll go right past Admiralty island soon, and that’s where we’ll dock and hope for bears. Pete and Sue make lots of jokes about “rock bears” the ones you spot with your eyes but they never move. We’ve seen a lot of those, but so far, no actual grizzlies.

Sue and Pete dock the boat together, and I am on the deck, spotting bald eagles soaring above the spruce and hemlock trees.

Pete is fishing, hoping for a halibut. Those strangely flat fish with the eyes that migrated to one side of their body when they were just an inch long. Peter catches one, but it is too small to keep and it is released.

Grizzlies at Last!

We spot an entire Grizzly bear family! A Mama and her 2 cubs, languidly moseying across the grass between 2 streams. I never would’ve seen them without Pete’s spotting and holler to us. I still couldn’t see them without the binoculars. Sue handed me the big ones, so heavy I’m glad I do a little working out to keep my arms fairly strong.

The babies are play-fighting, and the mama is standing up on her hind legs, looking back at them, willing them not to dawdle. A universal and non-species-specific action that moms everywhere understand. Sue asks me what this bear would be afraid of, since she is the apex predator here. I tell her, “A male grizzly” and Peter concurs.

She is rusty brown and her little ones are blond. They disappeared into the wooded area to the left.

The bears have company on this little beach; bald eagles, both adults and juveniles feeding on the leftover salmon from bear meals.

After dinner we took the dinghy out to travel just a little closer to watch a couple of other bears who just showed up to fish for salmon, an older silvertip male and a youngster. We were a comfortable distance away.

Where the stream commenced from the bay we spot a commotion as a school of salmon find their entrance to go upstream and spawn. We can hear this as well as see it. It occurs in waves as the persistent spawners reach the beginning of the end of their goal.

So Grateful for this Amazing Day!

This was quite a day; I go to bed with a smile of gratitude.

Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

More Alaska Adventures!

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An Early Start, Alaska Day Two

Today we’re up early as usual, around 5:30. Sue is making a delicious breakfast in the galley; eggs with veggies, raisin toast and hot coffee. A passing thought… “I could do this for the rest of my life.”  A comfortable fantasy!

Notice the earrings Sue has on…my Magic Zoo bronze grizzly bears! You may have to zoom in a bit to see them. They are a perfect match for her curly golden hair. Sue and I hope they bring us luck in spotting the real thing soon.

A Boat Tour and a Successful Catch!

Pete and Sue still have jobs in Sausalito and will pick up where they left off when they return to California in another month or so, but when they retire in an unknown (though not too far off) number of years, they really can do this full time if they want.

It’s turning into mid-morning, but the neighbors who docked near us last night have come by for a little boat tour. Pete and Sue have gone with them below deck while I stay in the wheel house upstairs and eavesdrop. Three guys, audibly jealous of this lovely craft in that boisterous, laughing male way. I’m sure Pete and Sue are enjoying that.

Goodbyes are said and off we go again. Peter has picked up the crab pot on the way out of the cove and he’s caught 2 dungeness and a tanner crab. They are beautiful and remind me of ancient spiders with which they share some lineage. I admire them and apologize “I am sorry you are delicious.” It sounds silly, but it’s how I feel.

I have no idea what time it is, how many hours have passed since we left or when we’ll get to our next destination. We’re continuing down Stephen’s Passage, south past Admiralty Island. I sit on the deck with a pair of heavy binoculars and lazily raise them when I think I see something of interest. Still no whales, but lots of cute little ocean birds, murrelets, that dive out of sight every few minutes. Another bald eagle cruises past, rides an updraft and perches in a tree.

It seems to be getting a little cooler, but not cold. Pete points out a glacier and tells me we’re nearing our next stopping spot, where we’ll anchor out and dinghy to some little icebergs. They are endearingly called “bergie bits”, calved from larger icebergs.

Now both starboard and port sides are lined with mountains, the highest peaks snow-covered in July.

We’ve arrived in the harbor, and Pete is lowering the anchor; he and Sue work together with hand signals for this operation. I’m impressed by their knowledge and ability to keep their home afloat, repair anything that comes up on their journey, maintain friendly relations with each other no matter what happens to be going on outside or in. They are an excellent team.

Visiting Little Icebergs

After lunch Peter lowers the dinghy so we can make our way to the little icebergs. I’m feeling pretty clumsy, but Peter bends down so I can balance by holding onto his back as I step in. No disaster occurs and I land heavily in the boat and sit in the front. Sue is an old hand and sits on the inflated side. We’ll head for the first bergie bit, and from a distance of maybe ¼ mile it looks like an irregular white blob floating in the water.

Pete pulls the rope on the motor like he’s starting a lawnmower and away we go.

As we get close, I realize this chunk of ice is really a beautiful natural sculpture, with little caves, pointy parts and ice that in some places is thick and translucent, in other places completely transparent. It is dripping steadily, slowly melting into the harbor. I break off a soft chunk and we share it, delicious ice at least a thousand years old, or close to it.

Here I am…sucking on ice from a bergie bit, wearing a light sweater and I’m in Alaska. Crazy.

Pete tells me we have to be careful and not get too close because these giant ice chunks can tip over if they aren’t “anchored” well below the surface. And really, despite their nickname, they dwarf us and the dinghy.

We’re heading for the second one now, and the water we speed through reflects the sun, blinking like stars on a black shifting sky. Peter asked me if I wanted to go fast and we did, flying over the smooth waves to the second bergie bit, an enormous island with a bald eagle perched on top. Wouldn’t his feet get cold? Apparently that’s a favorite place for eagles to perch.

We’re at the second bergie bit in no time. This one looks completely different, a unique and individual sculpture with more angles and much longer.

Now Pete heads off to a crunchy beach, we’re walking over barnacle encrusted, oystered land. Pete pulled a giant slab of wood close so we could anchor the dinghy, allowing me to depart the craft with maybe one ounce of dignity. We walked a little way through 5-foot-high sedge grass. I broke off a tip but couldn’t make it whistle between my thumbs. Have my thumbs changed or was it the grass?

Pete pointed out the curious head of a harbor seal out so far I could barely decipher it was not a random something floating. When it dove under I knew I’d been looking in the right spot.

Visiting the final bergie on the way back to the boat, chipping ancient ice for cocktails and water.

Fresh Crabs for Dinner!

We had crabs, salad and garlic bread for dinner. An awkward dinner for me, trying to pull out the meat from skinny arms and legs. But there were delicious chunks of sweet meat in little chambers in the body, easier for this inexperienced crab eater to get to. White wine, a perfect pair to this delectable dinner. Sticky fingers and tiny bits of crab scattered on the table and myself. Sue said don’t worry Kona will clean up.

This was my second day in Alaska. I still haven’t seen any big animals, bear or whales. But my hopes are still alive. After all, I’ll be here for 6 more days.

Stay tuned for more! Trust me, the action has only begun…

Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

The Magic Zoo Goes to Alaska!

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Leaving Juneau, July 27th

Hard to believe, The Magic Zoo (well, at least the artist herself) is in Alaska. My flight arrived in the wee hours of the morning. I took a taxi from this very small airport to where my stepson Pete and his wife Sue had docked their boat. I insisted the taxi leave me to wait, and just a minute later spotted Pete in his plaid shirt and fisherman’s cap making his way down the long, long boardwalk from his boat. “Merry!” twinkling eyes and a hug.

Peter loaded my gear on an industrial strength plastic wheel barrow to push the ¼ mile to their boat. It had been 2 1/2 years since I’d seen him and his wife. That was when they visited us in New Mexico to bid farewell with our family ceremony for my late husband Ed (Pete’s father) who passed away in 2020. It was good to meet under completely different and more joyful circumstances.

The air smelled like fish and Pete pointed out a couple of salmon jumping, and told me how these are older fish, not so good for eating but local kids love to fish for them.

I got aboard with moderate grace, and Sue greeted me in the galley giving me a hug and the mini tour, just enough to find the bathroom from the bed.

I tried to get a little sleep, but since my bed was under a hatch (kind of like a skylight), and Alaskan July sunrise is around 4:00 am, light was already flooding through by 5 when I got up. No matter because I’d already been awakened by a hollow “caw-cawing” in a dream that ended up being a real-life Alaskan raven. That bird and the ship’s kitty (already a bit wound up by my arrival) ended any possibility of snoozing.

We’re leaving Juneau now for Taku harbor where we’ll spend the night. I’m watching a bald eagle soar towards us for my easy identification, then a large brown juvenile on a buoy. We passed them both moving from the harbor and into Stephen’s Passage.

This Beautiful Boat…

Pete and Sue’s 54 ft. trawler is one they have configured and built from scratch, from a modified blueprint by a boat builder named George Buehler. They keep his book in their wheelhouse.

Incredibly, they did all of the work themselves, during 10 years of weekends back in their home town of Sausalito. She is paneled in perfectly laid wood with touches of art and handcrafted details making the environment, like a beautiful yet modest woman, a comfort and joy to live with. She even has a lovely name, “Kama Hele” which means “traveler” in Hawaiian.

I spent two hours of that first magical day sleeping on the deck, feeling cool Alaskan breezes and the sun warming my back. The motor purred, and we were cruising at about 6.5 knots, which translates to around 8 mph. The speed of a fast bicycle. This, I discovered, is the perfect speed to actually see what you are passing in a location as stunningly beautiful as Alaska.

Wherever I focused there were snow capped mountains, pine covered hills, sea birds and occasional bald eagles soaring past.

Taku Harbor

We arrived at Taku Harbor in the late afternoon, which is the site of an abandoned salmon canning plant. This is where I realized, first-hand, how lush Alaska is. Sue and I took a walk and picked salmon berries, little fruits reminiscent of blackberries only redder. And maybe not quite as sweet.

The remains of the cannery were surprisingly aesthetic, with plants growing from the top of the old piers, and giant rusted metal cannery parts laying hither and thither across the graveyard of the old grounds.

That night for dinner we had fresh Pete-caught salmon (Sue made delicious miso topping for it, and baked it in the oven) and a little wine, both extremely rare treats for me. Pete put out a crab pot with the salmon’s head to entice dinner for tomorrow night. We’ll pick that up on the way from this harbor tomorrow morning.

There are a few other guests here, a young but keep-to-themselves couple with their dog staying in a primitive cabin along the trail. Their boat was charming and I mentally compared it to the African Queen sailed by Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn in the iconic movie of the same name There are 2 other boats with people Pete and Sue met in Petersburg where they docked a week or so ago.

Tomorrow morning we will cruise to Tracy Arm Cove where Pete and Sue have promised we’ll take the dinghy out to some little icebergs, where we can chip some off to enjoy with drinks. I have never felt so relaxed and lazy. I can’t even get cell service here! Perfection…

Much More Coming…

This was my first day in Alaska…so much happened that I have to write several blog articles to cover it all. So much to see, and guess what…I saw many, many animals along this journey. So…stay tuned!

Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

Mountain Winter in New Mexico

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This country living is kind of exciting at times, especially during this particular Mountain winter in New Mexico. Mostly, things are cozy and fun. But there are exceptions…

For example, we are not off the grid electrically speaking, but we have our own plumbing system and well water from an underground source. So in that way, I guess you could say we’re “off the grid.” Chlorine and chemical free water, on tap! The best ever.

But all the waste water goes into a septic system, which unfortunately was not properly installed by the former owners. And…you guessed it! We are reaping the “rewards” of that. So for the past couple of weeks we’ve been gathering all dish water and washing machine water in buckets and dumping it ourselves on our 20 acres while a new septic field and pipe system is being installed by my son and our neighbor (who does this for a living).

I don’t mind roughing it a bit, and it is a short-lived inconvenience. But I did pull a muscle yesterday while being a little too confident in my strength while lugging 5 gallon buckets of water outside while doing a load of wash. No, I didn’t have to do it myself, what with a big, strong son and a daughter-in-law more than willing to help. But I like to do stuff. And I’m pretty strong myself, all things considered.

Weekend Chores

I’m still making loads of new designs, more than any other recent year in Magic Zoo history. Have you heard the latest? “They” say that a person’s most productive years are the decades between 70 and 90. I’m planning to prove that in my own life!

But on the weekends I get outside and do chores…filling up our log holder by the fireplace, gathering kindling, sweeping out the mudroom. Our winter New Mexico sky, when it isn’t snowing or overcast, is an azure blue that I haven’t seen anywhere else. So any excuse to be outside…And the night sky? Milky Way from horizon to horizon. My eldest granddaughter (Ada) is an amateur astronomer, and at 17 knows more about the skies than I’ve managed to learn in my 72 years! Needless to say, she is in her element here.

Home Schooling Champions

Ada and her brother Cassidy are also fascinated with things closer to home, especially what can be seen using a microscope. In fact, they entered a contest recently with their on-line science instructor for a digital microscope…and they won!

Here they’re examining snowflakes, but for a couple weeks they’ve been searching for the elusive “water bear” in local moss and lichen. (You know, those little 8-legged creatures that practically have their own fan club) Apparently, they live EVERYWHERE, and there are supposed to be 19 different species of water bears (tardigrades) in New Mexico. So where are the little buggers?

I imagine they’ll show up on a slide one of these days. These home-schooled kids are not giving up.

Country Pets

Our animals are, of course, a continuous form of amusement for us all. Both Willow and Firework like to be very high. This photo of Firework (my son calls her a fuzzy gargoyle) shows her relaxing on a viga which is about 10 feet above the floor. In her little pea-brain, I’m sure she’s asserting her natural superiority over us mere humans.

And the horses? Sweet as ever. David has built them a training pen, and as soon as the gate is installed, the kids can start working with them. Lena, the appaloosa mustang mix (about 30 years old) may have earned her retirement. But Sweets the quarter horse, shown here, is strong and well-muscled and should be very ride-able. The kids are getting professional instruction, and are raring to go.

Am I glad we moved to the country? Absolutely. I have my husband to thank for that. It continues to be his gift to us all. Have a wonderful week, and tell me what you’ve been up to in your neck of the woods this winter!

Love and best wishes from Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

A Spectacular Mother’s Day!

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Yes, I am a mom. But my little boy is now in his mid-40s.

David is kind, handsome and one of the all-around sweetest men I know. He’s been there every day for me during these very challenging past 4 months. He’s not only held me when I’ve wept over Ed, but he also unfailingly laughs at my corny jokes. Plus he married a woman (Diana, wearing the blue dress) who is now one of my very best friends! It doesn’t get much better than that.

And of course, he is now one of the engines keeping The Magic Zoo running smoothly.

David is also a Dad, infinitely patient with his 3 children, all of whom are unique and exciting people in their own right.

For Mother’s Day, we had a delicious brunch, with pastries both sweet and savory, melons and home-brewed coffee and tea. Diana, my daughter-in-law picked a beautiful bouquet of purple wild flowers and iris to grace our family table.

Followed by Hikes and Other Fun Stuff…

After brunch, we hiked some nearby trails, spotting a herd of deer on the way there and noticing a late spring rattlesnake (warming itself) on the road coming home. We did NOT hit the snake, but carefully swerved around it. I hoped the other drivers traveling this road were as cautious.

Back home, relaxing and awaiting dinner… ravioli and pesto from Trader Joes, spring salad with mandarin oranges. For dessert, cheesecake with both butterscotch and chocolate sauce, whipped cream on top, finished with a handful of fresh raspberries. Yes, we certainly treated ourselves!

I’d never seen the movie Twins with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. So we rented it and watched it on our newly installed home movie set up. Surprisingly sweet!  And of course it was all about finding a mother, so it was very appropriate for the day.

I hope your Mother’s Day was a marvelous one, too. What did your family do to celebrate?

Your animal loving artist,

Merry

What a Year! And Can it Really be November???

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Merry and CassidyIt’s already pre-holiday time! WOW!!! I’m still getting used to the change in the weather, let alone the fact that Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Day are just around the corner.

This year had some interesting moments. For one thing, I’ve seen more animals in my neighborhood than ever before. Maybe just because I really DO take a walk nearly every day now, ever since I had that crazy hip replacement over a year ago.

So I gotta walk, and that leads to all sorts of adventures. Like surprising a herd of elk about ½ mile down my dirt road just before dawn back in September. Have you ever come face to face with a bull elk protecting his harem ? I was probably 100 feet from him, but he looked a little too interested in me for my comfort. I decided to turn around.

Do elk ever attack humans? According to the internet, it does happen. So I made a good call when I decided not to finish my walk that particular morning.

On another day, on that same road, I came upon a healthy looking coyote skulking across the road into the woods. This was just a day or so after hearing an entire chorus of these wild canines. They have such an eerie yodel, but I have come to love their serenades.

And here’s what else I’ve been up to:

  1. I created a whole lot of new designs for The Magic Zoo! You’ll be hearing about them soon, I promise. We are still photographing them and writing about them. It won’t be long now!
  2. We put in a brand new wood stove, which actually keeps our house pretty warm. If you heat with wood, you’ll understand how thrilling this can be
  3. I traveled to Florida twice, Oklahoma once (for a veterinary conference, in which I was an exhibitor) and San Antonio once, for another vet conference
  4. I had a family reunion here in New Mexico with my sister and 2 brothers. Even better, we all loved it and plan to repeat it every year, if possible!
  5. My eldest grandchild turned 15. How is that possible?
  6. I attended the Albuquerque balloon festival this year. I did not go up in a balloon, although I was invited. It was enough of a thrill just to watch it all happen.
  7. Last Sunday, our little town of Mountainair had its OWN balloon festival! That’s me and my grandson being thrilled. Please note that the balloon behind us (unbeknownst to me) has a little tag on it that says “Magic Z”
  8. I learned how to make Keto key lime cheesecake.

Funny how when you run through the year’s activities how much crazy stuff comes up.

What was your biggest adventure this year so far? I’d love to hear about it!

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