June 24

I did a mix of activities today. But as a treat I woke up at 5 AM to kayak and see the sunrise. It was stunning to see the pinks, yellows, and oranges in the clouds and watch as the light filtered down Kupreanof Mountain from the other side of the strait. I saw a sea otter sleeping away as he floated in the water. A few small fish jumped out of the water too. It is moments like these that I am truly appreciative of the beauty of Alaska. 
 

View from the kayak at 6:30 AM.

For my first activity I chopped down some fiddlehead ferns. Ginger and I are hoping that the two patches we’ve cut down will grow more ferns so we can harvest the fiddleheads in their early stages for eating. 

Transplanting some plant babies was the next order of business. The tomato plants that have been growing in the boathouse were almost too big for their containers, so I transplanted them into bigger pots that they will grow in until they are ready for the soil. I also started cilantro, basil, and parsley from seed for future seasonings. 

Around noon Ginger and I repositioned the subsistence net that had begun to drift towards the mooring anchor. This was a tedious and frustrating job that took an hour. By this point we were both hungry so we ate lunch with the boys and then decided with the wind change the net needed to be brought in (kinda made our previous work useless). This task was fast-paced and stressful, but we got the net in and by the time all was said and done we had three fish. Three is measly, but at least we had something to show for our efforts. 
 

Two of the salmon caught in the subsistence net.

The last task we started today was making a guano catcher. Guano is bat poop which is extremely good for putting in soil to help plants get nitrogen to grow. There are bats living in the eaves of the boathouse and their poop is going to waste. This task took until 5:00 PM when we decided to put that on hold and fillet the salmon we had caught. Check out the projects page to see how it was done!
 

Completed guano catcher.

As Ginger and I were walking down to the fillet station, we found we were not the only ones interested in salmon. Some ravens had removed the cover over the fish and had started eating one of the salmon. Luckily it was the smallest one. After filleting the fish we went up to start dinner which consisted of a millet pilaf, salad, brussel sprouts and other veggies roasted in the oven, and fresh salmon of course. The meal was delicious as always. After a long day, its time for bed.