The Ebb and Flow....

Well, it's been a busy last couple of weeks! School is out for the summer and I'm heading to California for a quick visit soon. Dakota is staying with the Millers. I don't have a crate his size yet and I think he'll be happier staying here. He still has a majority of his winter coat and 50 degrees with the sun is a bit warm for him....

After a few nerve wracking days, only some parts of Akiak flooded. There was a massive ice jam downriver that was bringing the water levels up and water was going to be headed my way, but the jam broke free before my complex was flooded. My friend was on the phone with me down by the river when the water rose and went over her feet very quickly. I was sure we'd flood. We would go walking to check the water levels...the area by the airstrip flooded, as did our normal walking path. Here's a pic from the big walk we took. Several kids joined us....

Checking out the water....

But the water levels went down and now everything's back to normal. There was an excitement in the air, not fear but it reminded me of being in a roller coaster just as it gets to the top of the drop. There's all this anticipation. What's going to happen? I wasn't scared, it was more nervous energy with no where to go.

A few days before the flood excitement, I went over to my friend's house to pluck some birds. I had never plucked birds before, and I wanted to know what that was like. Truthfully, the only kind of dead bird I have ever handled is the kind from the grocery store. So I sat down on the floor and had my choice of dead geese from a box. My "mentor" was skinning a giant swan while I chose a goose that had already been started. It was trickier than I thought. I found that my left hand was better at plucking than my right. And you know that down you hear about? I was expecting feathers....not feathers that are really little hairs. I couldn't get off all the hairs. My mentor told me that if she was an elder, she'd hand it back to me saying "Do it right." Whoops.

The first pluck was the hardest. I was half-expecting the bird to screech and fly around the house in my own personal horror story. But it was pointed out that those birds had been dead since the day before and if there was any life left, it wouldn't have stayed in the box so long. Good point.

Sometimes, when you are plucking a bird, you accidentally pull the skin off. That was gross. I was also warned that birds carry mites that don't bite humans, but they just crawl on your skin and get into your hair. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww! I don't think I got any mites on me, but I was pretty itchy just thinking about them! Here's some pics for your enjoyment:

Me and the dead goose

Plucking in Action

Dakota and I have been doing a lot of hiking lately. Actually, we walk every day but we were hiking with my friend Brooke and her dog Spencer. I had to get new hiking boots and I was amazed how much easier it is to hike in mud with good mud boots. One day, we walked up through our path after the water receded and found the area covered with giant chunks of ice. While Dakota and Spencer were running around having fun, Brooke and I, being the mature adults we are, were kicking the ice bergs. The ice shattered into these long crystals that looked just like Superman's fortress of solitude crystals. Here are some pics from that walk (thank you Brooke for taking them):

Dakota & Spencer playing in the ice chunks

Holding a crystal ala Superman!

Dakota - King of the 10 foot Ice Mountain

It was interesting to see the damage the ice caused. There was a boat almost ripped in half from the force of the ice coming up. The landscape that I knew and had been walking on looked very different. I'll have to go when the ice chunks are melted and see if there has been any lasting changes to the trail.

One day, Dakota and I were walking down the road when we were passed by a dog sled team. This team was being driven by a real local musher who runs the Iditarod. I didn't have my camera that day, but they passed by my friend Brooke who did have her camera. So this is actually her picture, but the same team passed us by a bit later:

There have been two major adjustments in my life the last couple of days. One is that I bought myself a 4 wheeler, which has already made a huge difference in my life. I used to have to ask people to help me with my boxes from the post office or my groceries, but now I can pick up my own boxes and take them home. I am more independent and I am loving that! It is a hassle to need other people to help me out so much. I don't have a pic of me driving my 4 wheeler (which I'm calling the Grizzly) but here's a pic of one similar to my Grizzly 350, so you can get the idea of what mine looks like:

The last big adjustment is my friends have left Akiak. The Millers are still here (for another month) but my other friends have all left. We became a pretty tight group, two other couples and I. We took our dogs walking and would have game nights. We had one big last dinner then the next day the first couple left. We had a massive group goodbye at the airstrip. Hope and Kris were leaving for Oregon and they aren't coming back. I understand, I really do but saying goodbye was a lot harder for me than I thought it would be. I was doing fine until one of the girls started crying. Then I started too.

Brooke and Luke left the next day. Brooke is coming back, sorta. She'll be in Akiachak, which is the next village over. But it was an end of an era. I hope next year brings some cool people but I think this group will always have a special place in my heart. I know I'll see them again (I can plan a visit to Oregon) but it was really hard for me.

So now, I am just cleaning and re-organizing my little house. And it seems I'm not making much progress. Ever notice when you re-organize, things seem messier? My classroom is finished. I will be teaching summer school but not for another 3 weeks. My own class starts in 2 weeks. I'll be studying how to teach reading to native students. It should be a good class.

And in between that is a visit to California. It will be good to see my family & friends. I'll miss my babies in Akiak. I know they will be well taken care of. When I come back, it will be lots of hikes and riding the Grizzly around. I've been invited to cut fish with some families here.

I am always sad when the school year ends. It's closing one door and then opening another. Life is always changing, which is not a bad thing, it makes the good things that much more special. Moving out here has made me appreciate things more. Good times and laughter, sunny days where I don't need a jacket, beautiful sights, hugs from students, cuddles from a giant malamute, purrs from kitties, power, running water, good movies, good books, good music, a cool breeze, and online shopping. Cause even in the bush, a girl's gotta shop! ;)

Dakota's new dog bed