First Ice

 

Well it is finally winter.  On Saturday I went for my first ski, and then on Sunday Nora and I went skating with Uncle Dicky and the dogs.

We went to the usual early ice spot - Jack and Lee lakes - and the smaller pond had beautiful black ice.  The ice was clear and you could see all the lily pads on the bottom.  I'd skate backwards and the dogs would chase me around and around the pond.  I'd turn quick and the dogs would have a hard time cornering and would skitter sideways.

Skating outside seems to have had a recent surge in popularity. I've been reading all about 'wild ice' and social media has been flooded with pictures of people skating on black ice in alpine settings. In the comments on an Instagram post someone even asked if one needed 'special skates' for 'wild ice'. It's sort of funny because I've never liked to skate on rinks and have skated outside my entire life.  'Wild Ice' is sort of an oxymoron - as I see it ice is ice, and it is more fun to be on ice when you are outside in the sunshine.

Patrick

First Tracks 2023/24

 

Well we got some snow - nothing like Anchorage - but enough to go skiing.  I took the dogs up Pyramid and we skied down to the top of the jibber bowl.  That's a pretty long run and we did not hit any rocks.  That's about the best thing you could say about it - hit no rocks and went a long way.  Other than that it was super bumpy, and my skis so old fashioned that it was hard to make them turn.  How did we ski on those things in old days anyway?

The snow has settled and already created a base.  There was even a dusting of powder on top in places.  Today I am thinking I'll go ice skating because it is supposed to get warm tomorrow.  But hopefully on high we continue to get more snow.  I'll probably go up again tomorrow.

It is finally ski season!

Patrick

Deer and mashed potatoes

 

Sitkinak deer roast

I'm posting this one for Stuey.  He's in Latvia on an exchange program and has been doing a lot of cooking.  He has been using a lot of the recipes from my blog and messaging for advice.  I love it!

One thing he has had a hard time with is ingredients.  He does have a lot of potatoes - apparently Latvians eat a lot of potatoes.  I made mash potato pancakes the other day and he told me that that is a very 'Latvian dish'. But he does not have access to any wild game and his meat supply is limited.

Anyway - here is my mostly local dinner from a couple of weeks ago.  A roast from a deer I harvested with garlic cloves (from my garden) inserted into it for flavor (click here for basic recipe). Mashed potatoes from my garden with garlic and store bought leeks (also butter and 1/2 and 1/2 from store) (click here for basic recipe). And my gravy that contains store bought onions and celery but also hedgehog mushrooms that I collected on Afognak (I think this recipe is included in my roast recipe above).

I see that the mashed potato recipe included within the hunter's pie recipe is not complete.  After I boil the potatoes until they are fork soft I drain them.  I then leave them draining in colander and added finely chopped leeks, garlic, and butter to the big cast iron pot (along with salt and pepper).  Then after cooking the garlic and leeks enough that they are soft I re add the potatoes and mash with half and half cream (or even whole milk).  Sometimes I add more butter.  I add enough milk to get the right consistency.

Anyway, Stuey this meal is for you!

Patrick

Hedgehog mushroom gravy

mashed potatoes with leeks and garlic

November Landscapes

 

I have been at an archaeology workshop all week in Seattle, but I am back to Kodiak now.  All these photos are from just before I left.  While I was away it seems we did get some snow on the mountains and today I am going to climb up and try to ski.  I know it'll be a little 'skinny' but hey first tracks of the season.

Flying home I went through Anchorage and they were experiencing a blizzard.  Our plane barely made it in and almost diverted to Fairbanks.  I gather in Anchorage they now have 3 feet of snow in places. My friends tell me the snow has been accumulating so fast that none of the trails are groomed and or the streets plowed. I am so envious.  But hey we have sunshine, probably good ice skating, and far less people!

Patrick

Checking for ice with the dogs

 

A week and a half ago we were at the end of a cold snap and almost had ice good enough for ice skating.  I even carried my ice skates to Jack and Lee lakes on a walk with Nora hoping to ice skate.  But then it got warm and started to rain for a week.

Now we are close again - probably could even ice skate today but I have commitments - the top photo shows Red on top of the ice!  Two days ago I went up Pyramid and the pond was completely open.  The dogs went swimming.  Then on our walk yesterday we got up to the pond and it was completely covered in ice.  But only an inch or so thick.

Last night it was down into the 20's again - so I bet it is thick enough for ice skating today!  

Patrick

Grammy Thurby house

Here on Kodiak it is November and it has been raining a lot.  It's time to dig into the archives and go back to Maine!

This past summer I was wandering around the family house and found the picture shown above.  That's my grandmother, or as we called her 'Granny Thurby'.  According to the note on the side it was taken at North Haven on June 27 1931.  The guy on the left is Robert Amory and the guy in the middle is my great grandfather - Stanley Cunningham.  But best of all that's her house (and the house where we stay every summer) in the background behind her - just below her left elbow on the right.  

But in 1931 it was not yet her house.  She did not start renting it and then eventually buying it until sometime in the mid 1950's a quarter century later.  It has now been in the family for around 70 years, and the top photo shows what it looked like 92 years ago!  It looks pretty much exactly like it does today, and you can see the same house on the top of the hill to the left that is still in the same place today.

This is the house my mom stayed at when she was a kid.  It is where I stayed as a kid, and now it is where Nora and Stuey have stayed.

Patrick

Pretty similar view to the one taken in 1931 - looks about the same 92 years later

kitchen - with Polly Cunningham's choice of art on the walls

Rain

 

The last few days have been all fog, rain and wind and this is supposed to continue.  Actually the next 24 hours is forecast as, 'Rain. The rain could be heavy at times.'  So it is supposed to rain harder. Still, weather wise, we have had a pretty good Fall so I have nothing to complain about.  But I do hope that this weather does not portend a warm winter.  And with the talk about 'La Nina' and how it is associated with warm winters - I am a little worried.  

Patrick