A hunting we will go … a hunting we will go …

Yep, we're going hunting. Hobbs and me. You might say, “Patti, I thought you didn't hunt, didn't like to kill things.” I don't. This is a special kind of hunt … a shed hunt. Once again, people jump to conclusions. This is not a shed such as that you might find at Home Depot or Spenard Builder's Supply. Nope, this is much more, and way better. This is a hunt to look for antlers that the deer have shed in preparation for their bigger ones to grow in.

I got these antlers on the cattle drive last year.  The brown ones were taken from a dead deer.  The white ones were sheds found lying on the ground.

I had found some deer shed on the cattle drive last October/November. It was fun, hunting, finding. So when Hobbs suggested this I jumped at it. We would go to Kansas, be picked up and taken to a farm, and turned loose. Well, maybe not exactly like that, but close.

We left home on Wednesday morning, early, and arrived in Minneapolis. We elected to overnight here and head to Kansas City the following morning, Thursday. We got holed up in a Super 8 near the airport, walked to get a bite to eat and then settled in for the night.

Our 46-hour or less (possibly 28-hours or 36-hours or so) vacation in Minneapolis.  I didn't even go the Mall of America this time.  I made up for that a year ago when I was stuck here for a couple of days.

Hobbs turned on the weather channel. Wouldn't you know it, a winter storm was coming through, and it wasn't anything small. It was a huge, triple-threat storm, with snow, freezing rain and whatever else Mother Nature was going to toss their way. Flights out of Minneapolis were cancelled, as were flights into Kansas City. It appears this trip will not culminate in us hunting for sheds. Maybe we should go to Lowe's and look for the type of shed to put tools and lawn mowers in.

On Thursday morning Hobbs went to the airport to head to Detroit to see his sister and drive to Florida with her. I elected to try to get home. So I rolled over and went back to sleep. I slept until 9 a.m., which is unheard of unless I'm up really, really late, or sick. And I was neither. Just tired I guess.

I leisurely got up, had room coffee, showered and dressed in my own time, and then headed to the airport. The first flight I may be able to get on doesn't leave until 5:30 p.m., and I was here a little after noon.

Security at this end of the building was way lighter, but it still took about 15 minutes to get through.  Not too bad.  And I had nothing but time.

Oh yeah, Chili's.  Not the best food in the world, maybe, but they do have some things I really like.

But lunch was on the agenda, Chili's Too. Don't have Chili's in Anchorage except inside security at the airport, so it was a rare treat. Southwest eggrolls with a salad with bleu cheese dressing back. Tasted great.

Southwest eggrolls.  These are beyond yummy!!

I then wandered around the airport, trying to avoid any temptations to purchase anything. Then I saw one of my favorite stores, Spirit of the Red Horse. I think every time I've ever been in there I've purchased something. This time I was trying to get through without buying a lot of things. Into the store I went, but I was not rocked by anything I saw … until … a necklace and earring set made to look like feathers of various birds. Oh my, it was beautiful. $384 worth of beautiful. Ordinarily I'd buy it, because I liked and wanted it And I did want it, but I want to pay off the credit card that I've not quite paid off each month as I usually do.

What to do. I lied. I told the lady behind the counter that I'd be back through Minneapolis in a few weeks, that I was just starting my vacation rather than ending it. If I had money left at the end, I'd get it. What is wrong with me? But I got out of the store without buying it. I narrowly escaped giving in to my temptation. But I'm still thinking about the thing!!!

A policy security guy asked if I wanted a photo on his machine.  Well, yeah!!!  It will go 25 mph.  I did not get to drive it.

Instead I went to the candy store and bought a pecan-covered caramel apple and two large pieces of almond toffee, probably two inches square. I went down to my gate to sit and wait, check e-mail, read, type this, and ate it all. Now I'm too sick to move, so don't expect I'll change my mind and go back for the necklace. Thank you, sick stomach!!!

Hoping to get on the 5:30 p.m. flight to Anchorage, but I'm way down on the standby list and the flight is full. So, probably not much chance for me. But the 8:30 p.m. flight was wide open when we checked this morning, so I should get on it. Wish me luck.

Made it … home to more snow!!!

Ugh!!!  So much for my 36-hour vacation, the week of Feb. 18.

A bird of a different nature

Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, the site of history … today … when a FedEx Boeing aircraft, a giant bird of white, blue and orange, was the first-ever 727 to land at the historic airstrip..

I'd read about it in the newspaper, about the request to land the aircraft at Merrill which has an aircraft weight limitation of 12,500 pounds or less. However, this was a special occasion. FedEx donated an aircraft to the University of Alaska – Anchorage, for the university's Aviation Technology Center (located at Merrill) so the students can use it for educational purposes. The waiver was approved. So I gathered up a friend, and off we went to witness the event.

Flounder and me in wait mode.

The FedEx 727 left Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport for its short flight and an ETA of 2 p.m. The crowds were unbelievable, with vehicles and people packed around the landing strip, here, there and everywhere. They stood on buildings, on the beds of pickup trucks and the tops of their vehicles.

Coming around ... east, south, west.

The plane was sighted, and then began a long, lazy loop toward the mountains, a turn to the south and then the west, and on it came, big, bold and incredibly beautiful. It floated on the air, heading toward the runway, from the east to the west.

Fly-by complete.

It appeared to hover for a moment above the landing strip and then the pilot rolled on the power and the nose went up reminding me of a hound sniffing the air. It flew by a bit higher than eye level and went out of my line of vision. The first fly-over was complete.

The bird circled, and made the apparent same flight path … a sighting, the turning to the east, to the south, to the west, the lazy way about it as it made another pass over … it didn't mattter that I'd seen it only a few minutes before. It was totally thrilling. And then it was gone. This next time was going to be the real thing, the real deal … a landing and the last flight for this FedEx bird that had been in service since February 1979.

The 727 came around for the third time, but this was different. Hundreds, thousands of eyes were focused on the plane coming toward the end of the runway. It settled in for the landing, it floated onto the runway, and voila! The 727 landed effortlessly on the 4,000-foot-long east-west runway. Noise, reverse thrust, whatever it is they do … it was done. I'd almost swear that bird stopped in as little space as the 150s I used to fly out of this very same airport. Okay, maybe not. But the stopping power and the expertise of the pilots in getting the plane stopped was nothing short of major impressive. The crowd cheered, photos were snapping faster than fingers could fly, and the plane taxied to a stop. What a thrill for everyone that turned out to watch this historic landing.

On the ground.

A tow and a parking spot near the Aviation Technology Center.

Merrill Field was originally known as Aviation Field and was first used in August 1929. It was located one mile east of downtown Anchorage on 436 acres and was the first real airport in the city. It was named in 1930 after Russel Hyde Merrill, an Alaskan aviation pioneer who disappeared in September 1929 on a flight to Bethel. Merrill Field is a commercial service airport mostly used by small aircraft. I learned to fly and obtained my private pilot's license at Merrill myself, back in the late 1960s.

Birds, birds, birds

Wednesday, Feb. 6, I showed up for my first day of volunteering at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center. The organization treats sick, injured or orphaned wild birds, ranging from chickadees to bald eagles with the intent to allow the sick or injured to recover and be returned to the wild. The group also educates thousands of people with live education bird programs.

One of the eagles at Bird TLC (photo by Jaz).  This one (I think it's the female Petra), is used for presentations.

In order to volunteer, I had to have a valid tetanus shot (November 2011) and read a well-put-together volunteer manual, which I'm still reading. All I probably really needed to know for the first day was about cleaning up bird poo and cleaning cages, mats and perches.

As it turned out, that wasn't what I did. Most birds come into the Bird TLC in the morning, so there wasn't any of that to do, and apparently all the cleaning and feeding had been finished. But I was able to do some data entry, including names of people who brought in birds, what type of bird, problem, where found, and the history of the bird and whether it was released or died. Some of the stories I read about the birds were plenty interesting.

Giving some cash to the cash crow, Kodi.  (Photo by Jaz, taken at a Bird TLC open house.

But the best part of my four hours there was that Kodi, the cash crow from Kodiak, was there, just outside the door where I was working. Every time I walked by he'd squawk, which startled me. By the third time I was getting irritated that he'd “get” me every time. Then Guy, the Volunteer Coordinator, let me practice with Kodi on his cash gathering. I'd met Kodi a few weeks prior. He has a trick … he'll take cash from your hand and deposit it in a jar. I played take the cash with him and was allowed to reward him with a mealy worm. I wanted to know if they are alive. Yes. Ick!! Then I was showed where the worms live in the back and how to get more of them. Apparently Kodi won't eat dead ones. I put the first couple on my hand, but then let him pick them out of the little bowl. It was fun, and hopefully he'll get used to me and not try to spook me each time I pass by him.

My second day, Feb. 13, was totally different. No data entry today. I was all geared up in my smock. I chose yellow to remind me of my new motorcycle (yellow and black) and sunshine. It made me feel like part of a team. In through the main door, over the towels and disinfectants and on to the kitchen. There are a couple of things you step in to remove things from your shoes as you go into the clinic area, and you go out the same way to remove possible organisms from your shoes prior to leaving the building.

Coming into the clinic and getting stuff off my shoes.

Today I was helping Denise do food preparation for the birds. We first toured all the bird cages and mews, both inside and outside. We reviewed the charts for each so we knew what each bird had been eating or not eating, how much they were eating, which birds weren't eating well, which ones were. There are some that eat everything they're given, at least one that doesn't really care for salmon, others that prefer their food in small pieces rather than large ones. Even birds have a variety of different appetites, just like people.

This was the first of several packages of salmon.  The cutting board was still clean.

Back to the kitchen we went to start preparing the food. Cut up salmon, cut up hooligan, cut up chicken, cut up caribou. Wow. It was a regular smorgasboard. There are other things you can feed, such as birdy corn bread (a mixture containing corn bread), berries if you have them, and even some fruits and vegetables. We were mostly working with meats for proteins. Most of the birds currently at the clinic are eagles, with a couple of owls, a duck, the crow and a redpoll.

I cut up more stuff than I've cut up in the past two months … more salmon, please. I also ended up cutting some and bagging most of a big bag of caribou that was thawing. I'm surprised I wasn't queasy, but I just did the work. And I felt I was contributing.

I was up to my elbows, literally, in sorting, bagging and tagging caribou meat.

The eagles on Eagle Row, inside the building, are moved, or herded from one cage to the next so their areas can be cleaned. Blankets and people herding are how it's done. I watched as one eagle walked fairly calmly from one cage, through the door, along a short walkway and on through the door and into the cage next door. It's interesting what goes into keeping all of these birds clean, healthy and well-fed. And I'm pleased to be a part of it.

At the bottom of the blanket you can just see the eagle walking from one cage around to the other one, being herded.

There's also an owl who arrived recently and is probably not going to be there when I get back the next time. It's in very poor condition and so to try to keep it comfortable, the crew gave it some fluids. Denise did the honors while others held the bird (with a blanket over its head to help keep it calm). It's a beautiful bird but has had injuries to a foot and talon so it's twisted. It appears to be an old injury and it's possibly been able to feed, but something happened to get it to Bird TLC.

The owl really didn't struggle much.

Denise administers the fluids, while Guy and Sharon hold the owl still.

I wouldn't want this talon grabbing hold of me.

It was a great day. I met some wonderful folks and it felt good to contribute to such a great organization.

Bird TLC is a 501(3)(c) non-profit, always in need of volunteers and donations, either of cash or items such as paper towels, waterproof tarps and garbage bags to name a few. Check out the website at www.birdtlc.net or call (907) 562-4852.

Power up

(All photos by Tom Schulman.  Thank you, Tom.)

Thursday, Feb. 7, I showed up at Chugach Electric, my former workplace. Why would I do that? Part of it is because I go in to pay my health insurance premium (secondary insurance after Medicare) and I usually visit with a few former co-workers since they were my work family for years.

This time I was also there for a few special reasons. I am on the Chugach Nominating Committee, my second year. This is one of three annual meeting committees that are charged with looking and interviewing prospective board candidates, overseeing the election process and reviewing potential bylaw changes. These committees are necessary for a successful election. During many of my working years I was the staff liaison for the Nominating and Election committees and was also charged with recruiting members for all three committees.

Now I'm just a committee member, a volunteer. Partly I'm doing this because so often there are not enough volunteers and partly I'm doing this because as a member, and part owner of Chugach, it is my duty to volunteer to an organization that I own a small piece of. (Yep, ended it with a preposition.)

All geared up.  Safety everything.  I felt like a penguin I had so many clothes on.

The great hook for this meeting was that the committees had been offered a tour of the $369 million SPP (Southcentral Power Project), that Chugach took control of at 11:59 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 31, 22 months after the start of construction. The SPP became operational way ahead of its scheduled June tranfer date.

The Southcentral Power Project, SPP.  Up and running.

Safety first, always.  We were geared up in safety gear and had our safety briefing prior to being taken into the plant.

I'd worked at Chugach when this project was not even a thought in someone's head. Then it became a thought, a design, a purchase, a construction project, a groundbreaking. I had also been on a tour while it was still under construction. While it is not 100 percent complete, it is mostly, and is now operating, and owned by Chugach (70 percent) and Municipal Light & Power (30 percent).

Power control for the plant.  One dispatcher can operate it but the norm will be to have two on duty.

Had to have a photo inside the plant.

The inside is so clean, and there's not a lot of noise like there is at the older plants.   

The SPP is a sight to see. It operates using only about three-quarters of the fuel that the older natural gas-fired units use. It has three natural gas-fired turbines and also has a steam unit that uses the exhaust of the gas turbines to make steam, producing electricity at no additional fuel cost … read very economical.

The steam unit is an efficient use of exhaust from other units ... and the electricity from it is basically free.  Well, except for the cost of the unit.  But it's very economical to use steam units. 

The plant is also set up to be efficient for its workers, and one of the coolest things is you can drive a semi through from one end of the other of the building, making it more efficient and safe to load huge pieces of equipment that need to go in and out of the building. The plant is also quite colorful, with pipes for various things being color-coded … purple, blue, yellow and more.

The color-coding is quite amazing as if there is a problem with something it can immediately be identified due to the color of the pipe or equipment. 

I'm glad I got to go on this tour, twice, once while under construction and once when mostly completed. It was an amazing project, and the largest Chugach has done in years.

Road trip

Ah, life is good. Two old retired bags decided to head to Seward for the day on Tuesday, January 29. Lunch and a visit to the SeaLife Center were the agenda items for the day.

Jaz was the pilot of her Mini Cooper; I co-piloted and we got underway about 9:30 a.m. While the drive overall was quite relaxing both ways, there was a little bit of snow flurrying around us as we drove through some areas. But it was nothing we couldn't handle.

We arrived in Seward about noon and drove up and down a couple of the streets just to be sure we didn't miss anywhere that might be open for lunch that we might like to try. But it was back to an old standby – Cristo's. Not only was the food good, but it's just across the street from the SeaLife Center.

The SeaLife Center doesn't disappoint. I'd been down late in the summer last year to see one of the baby walruses that was on display before being shipped later to a zoo in the Lower 48. While there were no walruses, there was plenty to see. And it was a great visit because there were so few people there other than us.

I'd not mind having these crab legs on my plate.

We went into the bird area where there a number of birds in a big pond. They are separated from you only by the wall of the pond.

The birds don't seem to care how close you get to them as they come close to the wall where you stand.

The seals and sea lions are behind glass, but they are such a joy to watch. While photos don't turn out great, you can still see them pretty well. There is a lot of personality, and mostly it's playfulness and what rather appears to me to be a joking manner.

These two appeared to be sweet on each other.

This must be a female ... voicing her displeasure or whatever she might have been feeling at the time.

Not a bad shot considering all of these were taken through glass that had lots of water splash marks on it.

There is a petting zoo with starfish, but we chose to only take photos rather than touch. And there are tanks with starfish, salmon, rockfish and so much more.

This beautiful specimen of a starfish was so colorful with its purple and yellow coloring.

The SeaLife Center is a jewel for our state, and well worth the time to visit. Not only is it fun, but the drive or ride (if on a motorcycle), is usually pleasant with spectacular scenery and lunch is always in order.

Check it out at: http://www.alaskasealife.org/

January 13, 2012

It's a new year, with places to go, things to see, people to visit. Except I've been a bit lazy. You can tell. No recent blog.

However yesterday I invited my friend Jaz to go to something I'd seen advertised in the newspaper. I'm glad she went because I chose to not take a camera (dumb) so my photo support comes from her. Thank you, Jaz.

The Public Service Announcement read: Save the Eagles Day at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center (Bird TLC). Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the clinic; meet some of the education eagles. Snacks. Nothing wrong with any of this.

Cookies with cashew beaks, made to look like bald eagle heads.  Very clever.

Jaz and I arrived early, wanting to get a good parking spot. While we waited around we talked to Guy about volunteer opportunities … we'll make contact later. But I've found a new place to recycle newspapers.

In the front room was a crow named Kodi (originally from Kodiak). He's 12 years old and they think hand-raised by someone since he has no fear of people and doesn't know how to hunt. Squawk, squawk, squawk. Or maybe he was crowing. I don't know. But he was loud.

We were then invited to go into the back rooms where there were two bald eagles in one room and a golden eagle in another. These were beautiful birds.

The bald eagles, Hal and Petra, were alert. The white-feathered heads turned back and forth, yellow eyes followed people and missed nothing. But they didn't appear to be bothered by us either and remained mostly calm. Occasionally one or the other would flap its wings, but for the most part they stayed on their handler's leather-covered arms that rested on wooden sticks for support.

Petra and her handler.

Petra is 19; Hal is 23 and has a feather cowlick on the back of his head. Both have been at Bird TLC for years. Petra is the larger of the two, weighing in at about 23 pounds. Female birds (at least the ones they spoke to us about) are the larger of the species.

Beautiful Petra.

Denali, the golden eagle was a rich mahogony color, with golden highlights. You couldn't get hair these rich tones with all the coloring tools in the world. The golden eyes watched everyone, but particularly the youngsters. Small prey is what they eat. Perhaps small children have been considered prey in some parts of the world.

As we were getting ready to leave we discovered that Kodi (the crow) is a cash crow. He will take folded greenbacks from your hand and put them into a plastic container. I watched, and then had to do it myself. All I needed was photo support for proof. What a bird this is. He's as shiny as a high-gloss paint, with his feathers all smoothed down and in order, and he vocalizes often … for reasons only the crow would know. But he's very amusing.

Give that crow some cash.

Deposit complete.

Our visit was enlightening, and fun. And just in case you're interested, Bird TLC was started in 1988 by Anchorage veterinarian James Scott. The organization treats hundreds of sick, injured or orphaned wild birds each year, ranging from chickadees to bald eagles with the intent to allow the sick or injured to recover and be returned to the wild. The group also educates thousands of people with live education bird programs.

Bird TLC is a 501(3)(c) non-profit, always in need of volunteers and donations, either of cash or items such as paper towels, waterproof tarps and garbage bags to name a few. Check out the website at www.birdtlc.net or call (907) 562-4852.

Thursday, November 8, installment 11 –
what was lost has been found

Marieke, Evaline, Flounder and Justin went to look for the camera at daybreak, about 6:45 a.m. I tore down our tent by myself mostly … although 7-year-old Rachel helped. Then Birgit, Andrea and I tore down Marieke and Evaline's tent.

THEY FOUND IT!!! The camera was recovered. Thank you, thank you. The memories have not been lost.

Camp ... looking at the sheep shacks, old house and even the outhouse in the distance.  (Photo by Flounder.)

There were several sheep shacks.  They were the cutest litle units, and have been here for quite some time.
 (Photo by Flounder.)

The entry is a Dutch door, so you could leave the top open if you chose, but could leave the bottom half of it closed.  I hadn't seen a door like that in some time  The families stayed in  some of the little units.  (Photo by Flounder.)

We said our good byes to the families and the cowboys. It was hard as I feel they're more like friends. I'll miss their goodness, their integrity, their fresh-air approach to life, their sense of family, their love for each other and the land. It was a wonderful, heartwarming experience. Yes, with camping, cold weather, cold and sometimes frozen water, teepees and outhouses, but so much more – a bond to people who believe in helping with camp chores, family suppers and preparation when Chef Mel let us, doing dishes, pitching in, and most of all … old-fashioned values while living in the technology age.

There's not much room in the sheep shacks but they do protect you from the elements ...  (Photo by Flounder.) 

Then it was time to load up and head to the gas station to redistribute us into other vehicles. Then it was back to St. George. Parting from our new friends was difficult, but there's always Facebook and e-mail. And I expect to see some of these wonderful folks again as I go through Utah a lot.

Marieke and Evaline were staying a night at St. George so they let us use their showers before we had to catch the shuttle to the airport. The dirt just streamed off of me to the bottom of the tub as I washed my hair twice and soaped everything and everywhere. I must have dropped two pounds in dirt alone. It was probably the best shower I've ever taken … nine days without a shower. I've never done that before, and I felt like a new person.

It had taken me a few days on the trail to realize that we'd not have a chance to shower before getting on the plane. My plan was to hit the restroom and do a big spit bath. But thanks to the Holland girls, there was no need.

Then it was the shuttle to the airport and back to the reality of our lives. I now really understand Hobbs' hunting trips and the starkness and solitude he enjoys.

The shuttle had a couple of young guys, pants down to the bottom of their butts, underwear showing, talking trash about others and about getting wasted. What a difference a few hours makes.

I miss life on the trail and our “cowboy up team.” But I sure did enjoy my shower! And clean, soft hair. It's done, but the memories will be there, as well as the people who I learned to love and will see when our trails cross again.

Yeehaw! Cowgirls and cowboys rock … big time!!!

Tuckered out.  (Photo by Flounder.)