WILL IT EVER GET DARK?

I woke up at 4:00am this morning and it

was bright light outside. Like, total daylight.

It can really mess with your mind! It seems

like time to get up, but unless you want to

be tired the rest of the day you have to

make your mind rest again and get back

to sleep. Some people put up dark

curtains, but that would make total

sense now, wouldn't it.

My husband just went ahead and got up.

He got a new iPhone, so 4:00 am is as

good a time as any to figure it out, right?

Some friends of my husband were heading

out to bear hunt for a week and called to

ask if he would take their gear out to the

remote cabin for them.

We have a drop bow boat that goes right up

to shore, so they took their boat and he

followed them with all the gear. They

anchored their boat in the bay and he was

able to go right to the shore with their

heavier stuff, which helps a lot.

Before he did that he went out early in the

morning and set a skate, then went back

and pulled it up after he dropped them off.

A skate is a long line that you lay along the

bottom of the ocean with 15-30 baited hooks

on it. The bottom fish smell the bait and grab

the hooks. This is a way to catch some

really big fish if you manage to pick the

right spots.

He must have picked the right spot because

there was treasure on the line when they

pulled it up:

These may be uber-ugly, but boy do they

taste good! They are Ling Cod and their

mouths are massive with very sharp teeth.

It is common to pull a full sized King Salmon

into the boat with one of these buggers

attached onto it.

We had fish and chips last night and I have to

say they are right up there with halibut as

far as taste--yum!

Ta da! The other skate he set had this nice

halibut on it. My husband realized that

the best way to deal with these guys onboard

is to hogtie them head to tail with rope into

a U shape. Just stunning them and sticking

them into a cooler is asking for disaster.

The reason being that they will act like they

are dead and then will come back to life when

you least expect it. Just picture a fish this

size onboard with you, flipping and swinging

that body around like a sheet of plywood!

People have had their legs broken, been

knocked overboard, and lost their gear

because of these buggers suddenly coming

back to life. No, tie them up like a sausage

and stick them in the back of the boat!

Sunday was my daughter's school picnic.

There are 6 students in the school, so their

families were invited and some members

of the church came along too. It was a

nice day, a little cool, so the fire felt really

good. If you click the picture you can see

the Alaska ferry arriving in the background.

Little boys and sticks...

Did any of you watch the Royal Wedding?

Remember the priest that married them?

After we ate the teacher sent the kids out on a

scavenger hunt. They picked a partner...

...and off they go! First prize was $10.00 to split. Now

that's worth running for.

Look at them out there searching for stuff...

The loot...

Kinda cool...seaweed stretched across the rocks and dried:

After the scavenger hunt the kids were given soakers

to, well, soak each other!

It was a fun day, nice and relaxing.

The latest in my older daughter's footwear.

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