National Dress Up Your Pet Day

Asher as princess, Flower with binoculars, Carmel with pirate flag, Pushki with orange wings, Whiskers with lei, and Basil with bandana. Carmel (with leopard spots) was my cat. She has had some adventures. I used to carry her with me, I must have been younger than Abby, and one time when we were hiking at daycare she fell down a hill. The daycare provider (probably some girl in her 20s) looked at me and rolled her eyes. The other provider did not want to go down and get her, but someone did. Just think, she could have been lost and decaying in the woods this whole time.

Asher as a reindeer.

Prophetic pathetic fallacy

I did not realize the extent of the remains. I could not travel, off trail of course, 50 feet without finding another site.  Collapsed Quonset.

It' s not all glorious as a gun mount, but absolutely thrilling for me just the same. 

Could it get any better?!

 Traversing on a foot of moss is way different than feet hitting pavement or gravel.

 Oh look, it's A1518.

 And footings! 

 

In comprehendingly comforting rows.

 

 The moss so cold footprints evident a day later. Also bear prints. Lots of bears. I also did not realize how many bears till I got off trail. At one point on one of my return trips I found a trail to take. I didn't have a lot of choice, it was steep up and a stream down, so I kept on it. It kinda looked human, but it had that bear trail look. I was being very verbal, and then finally came to accept that indeed I was on a bear trail. My next move was over a blind hill. I got to the top, and lo and behold had a bear bed in my face! Minus the bear. I was ultimately really close to the human trail. I can imagine the Coasties wondering who is that loud cussing woman. Amazing how just 100 feet can make so much a difference, between the human kingdom and primal wilderness.

 I try to take the old roads to find the remnants of structures.

 But often the flat roads have become waterways.

Wonder what this sign said?

 

 I know what this one is.

 like I could stay away? To walk the same hallway. Amazing.  

 

 That note is original.

Linoleum! 

 Still don't know about the doors - blast, fire, or gas or all three?

mount and one of the corresponding magazines

So what am I doing? Well, I have an idea. Will I do it? I know I can, I have the know-how, but am lacking some resources. Do I have the confidence? Situation makes me sick. Stuck. Did you think I would just be like, "oh it's ok"?

Buskin Boy Artillery

 

Debris left in the woods is a common sight on Kodiak's road system. People have been hanging around making short-term structures for awhile. As transient structures, they tend to be abandoned and reclaimed by the woods. The other part of this bed frame was moved downhill by rushing water.

Also littered in areas are remains from WWII.

These are 155mm Panama gun mounts.

The forest just takes over. Here an ermine has made a home.

 

 

Seemingly random hole

 

and another

 

The remains aren't always apparent as a gun mount, which to some might not be very evident at all. A man-made hill.

Sometimes you find things you are not looking for, from a much more recent era.

Tromping around in the woods is fun, and scary. I almost fell into the below ammo magazine. I was standing right on top of it. (Pictured here is a mother tree. You can tell by not just its size, but the long branches that extend to the ground. It had room to grow, and the baby trees extend around it.)

At first I thought this was a culvert, but it was too big, and what was it furrowing? Then I saw the second.

 

Also scary being in bear territory. Animal and fish remains everywhere.  I am good for awhile, and then after a couple of hours of "hey, boo-boo", I am ready to scat. (haha, play on words. "Marnie made a funny", Timmy would say. I don't do that very often.)

The sites are still pretty draped in fog, strangely wonted faint rectangular footprints.

 

Abby recounted to Bruce about her good luck of finding a some raspberries they missed. Abby remembers me taking this photo.

New year

The little cabin that could.

Not only is there remarkable natural beauty, but the land is sustainable. The electric outlet which if you looked close was near the wood stove, is solar generated. They grow food..

mill lumber from fallen trees

have chickens

 

which make great French toast with rhubarb, high bush cranberry jelly and yogurt

root cellar right out of the Shire

filled with goodies, like black currant port

and it's just an awesome place to be with awesome people, who made it awesome over the last twenty-ish years

Tubby and I have bonded

fox tracks. mom, I think the fox was after the ducks. I don't think that fox went for a swim! 

 

relentless snowball fighter

raspberries

banya!

love this wood stove in the main house

games

stars and moon

sun

 Little cabin on the beach. In extreme high tide you can't go from the main house to the cabin. Tide so high we hopped in Tubby and floated right over the spit.

 

Got back to town and life got real again, real quick, real fast, really way too  much.