Happy Birthday Brian!!!

A tribute to my brother Brian...the person who creates tons of awesome wood-worked creations (shown below if you scroll down a bit) and countless other interesting and awesome projects. Alas, Brian has had some difficulties with his feet and has undergone some serious operations and radiation treatments...and hopefully will be able to get back on his feet someday soon (but not too soon! not until you SHOULD!).
Anyway...Hope this week is a good one for you and things are looking up. LOVE YOU!
Me...and Bailey...(and Emery upstairs asleep)!

Bear Invasion of Privacy

When I was in Homer this summer I had remarked that I had never seen a dog roaming about the town unless it was with its human 'walker'. Sitting at the picture window reading one evening, I thought I saw a humanless dog leap out of the ditch across the street. It turned out to be..."A BEAR! There's a BEAR! A Bear!" I scream (remembering my camera is downstairs at this crucial moment).
We all poured out the east door and saw the black bear slipping into the trees.Bailey and Nate's backyard neighbor said she had lived in their cabin for 20 years and had only seen one twice!
My daughter saw the bear again last week--out the kitchen window while giving Emery a bath in the sink! It lounged around on one of their wooden walkways and meandered around the neigborhood.
Last night it was back and when Bailey thought she heard a strange noise--Nate saw a trash bag disappear around the corner.
Given the fact that they live across the street from a middle school--somebody had better scare off this intruder--PLEASE!

New Cabin Door!

Nate has created a new door for their cabin--where a sheet/blanket hung before. I am really glad, although there didn't seem any way for the previous cloth to drape over the wood stove...anyway, less drafts! Now for a bear-skin rug?

Cod Pots.

Nate worked for a while on a cod boat, bringing up pots (cage-looking contraptions like those on The Deadliest Catch) full of such delectable items as cod, crab, large octopi, and wolf eels. Blasting gray gulls from the sky with shotguns (not Nate), this was a boat full of 4 Captains, and no one else...the only boat that could boast this--according to the fishermen in the Salty Dog tavern. Bailey and I walked aboard--whew--fishy hold, slick floor, low sides, finger-crushing equipment. Glad the job's over, although Nate was indoctrinated with all sorts of eye-opening stories: "Back in the old days on Kodiak, we caught so many fish we bought a camp whore...."
Etc!

Building Another Boat!

Nate has been ambitious lately--planning out and constructing a boat that he started in the greenhouse--but moved his plans over the the guest house, so it would actually fit!
Here is the boat in a variety of stages...
Sorry, I will have to ask what this type of boat is called.