My apology for the long absence

Hello folks!

I know it has been quite some time since I posted and for that I'd like to apologize. The winter is still bitterly cold. The lazy sun generally comes up around 10:30am and heads back to bed around 3:30 pm. The nice thing is that you can tell she is starting to stay a little bit latter every day. That is always something to be happy about! I already have cabin fever and can't wait for the thaw in May. I must admit I have been granted a reprieve by the governor. I'll be heading to tropical islands for the next month or so. First to Okinawa for several weeks and then on to Guam for a few more. So, for those that talk to me regularly just be aware I'll be out of town/country/continent for a while, haha.

After that, I head immediately to Arctic Survival School. So, all told it will be a busy next few months for me and Sweetpea! Once I get back we'll begin regular updates and hopefully capture the transition from bitter Alaskan winter to incredible, if not far too short, summers!

So, until next time...

The Northern Lights

One thing we have both looked forward to since our assignment to Alaska has been the opportunity to see the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. Now that we are losing about 7 minutes of light per day and it gets darker and darker I have been very anxious and check the sky every night. So far...nothing. Last weekend I happened to wake up at around 3am and look out. I saw what looked like a very faint whisp of cloud acrossed the sky. It wasn't bright at all and I thought that it must be some clouds reflecting the moonlight. Then I could see that it was slowly changing shape. I was super tired and didn't give it much longer. When I told SweetPea about the light she went to investigate, only to return seconds later and say that I was imagining things.

Last night at about 1am we were crawling into bed when I checked the sky again. This time I could clearly make out faint blue lights across the sky. I yelled for SweetPea and we spent the next part of an hour watching the light slowly form as a long line across the horizon (think of jet contrails on a bright blue day) then twist and turn and fade away. A couple times the lights would simply appear out of nothingness, just barely bright, and then fade out. It was pretty incredible looking and we both are anxious for the real displays that are supposed to come in deep winter when it is in the 0 to -50 temp range.

One Step Closer to Madness...

After putting it off for a long time I finally jumped in with both feet to the world of fly-tying. To the uninitiated this is where you not only fly fish (a practice unlike any other to begin with!)but you take feathers, hooks, thread and completely tie your own creations to use in place of bait. It's the kind of thing creepy old men do in their basement or garage and I must say, it is a complete blast!

For some reason the blogger program is not cooperating tonight! After a lot of attempts I can't get it to load the photos in the correct order... Oh, well. These photos show me going from the bare hook (the nickel shows just how small that hook is!) and the different stages of making my first two flies. The two laying next to each other on the paper towel are the two completed flies. The thinner one was the first and turned out to be a little to spindly. The second, fluffier one turned out pretty decent. I can't wait to get out and fish them!

Just a little fishing...

I've been getting out here and there to fly fish without a whole lot to show for it. This weekend was my first big day of solid fishing since getting here. This weekend was a really good trip, however. I caught something like 14 fish (I honestly wasn't counting because there were so many tiny fish) but, every now and then all the stars would align and I'd catch a nice sized one. They were almost exclusively Arctic Grayling with the exception of two gorgeous rainbow trout. I took a guy from work with me (shown in two of the pics) and am quite proud of having taught him to fly fish in just a few hours. It took me months to learn to fly cast and he seemed to pick it up pretty quickly. I'm jealous. Anyway, it was a good day.

We Finally Have a Home!

Hello everybody! Sorry it has been so long since we posted. We moved into our new house almost two weeks ago. I can't say how nice it is finally having a place to call home. We woke up Monday morning to find that a Moose had pooped in the front yard. haha It's funny knowing something so big was in the yard last night. No bears yet, but I have faith we'll see some around sooner or later. Our neighbors told us that they both killed a couple of black bears a few miles away this past summer. So they are certainly out there. The big hunter at work told me that you'd never believe how many times you pass as close as 6 feet or so from a bear, hiding in the brush until she stands up to get a better smell. I'd imagine that will be precisely the point that I need a fresh pair of underwear...

Today's the day...

Well, it's 6:59am here and revillie just played. The guys in my shop are all out at formation around the flagpole. Meanwhile, SweetPea and I are packing up the truck (really difficult after living here for nearly a month!). Then we'll check out of lodging and go move into the new house. We'll post more sometime later on. We aren't supposed to have internet until NEXT Friday so it might be quiet around here for a while. Until then...

Almost time for the new house...

We are both getting anxious! We move into the new house in two days and are both ready for it! We sign for the keys Friday morning and the movers will deliver our stuff later on that day. I think I've talked SweetPea into letting me have the basement as the man cave. Right now I'm planning on putting all my board games, guns, hunting and fishing stuff down there. Plus we have a nice garage, which will be a big change. I know she has plans for setting up the rest of the house and making it hers. Anyway, we'll post a lot of pics when we get the house and start setting up.