Rain, rain and more rain, that has been the forecast and reality for the past month. There sometimes is an occasional break in the weather toward evening. The sun then comes out and blue sky is seen, but within an hour, rain falls again. Often, it rains with the sun out which makes us question whether it is really even raining at all.. This being said, I have decided that living on mushrooms is totally possible as they have sprouted up everywhere. No need to wander into the forest as they are growing on the roadsides, in the yard and pretty much everywhere I look. We have not collected gypsies, a delicious easy to find mushroom, this Fall, but I did take pictures of a lot of mushrooms that I need to identify. I will stay busy in retirement identifying my alpine flowers and forest mushrooms.
Lactarius ?
The rain has caused huge pot holes on Wolf Track and Woodpecker. I was pleased to hear the sound of the road grader this morning. When I ventured out with the dogs, Wolf Track looked like a long straight racetrack waiting for post time.
Between the raindrops, Bucky and Carlisle have been able to work on her cabin. With a little more work, it will be totally livable! Bucky worked in the rain yesterday and ran power over with plans of installing an exterior light taken off of our cabin. It is turning into a nice usable space. Next summer we will attempt a sod roof. I have great plans for window boxes. Flowers go nuts with the continuous daylight. I'm thinking some hanging nasturtiums might be just right!
Carlisle's cabin in late June
The cabin today. Two lovely etched glass windows, a loon and a king fisher, created by Karen Mannix adorn the gable end. There was some talk of perhaps dragging the cabin to the corner of Woodpecker and Wolf Track to be used as an espresso stand catering to the Princess buses. This supplemental income was attractive, but no one seemed willing to work the window! Darn!
Also on the neighbor's lawn are these beautiful soft grey mushrooms. They are perhaps my favorite and deserve the name Grey Minks.
True to the Alaskan adage that "if you don't work in the rain in Alaska, you won't work at all", Bucky used come-a -longs to move the garden shed from where Carlisle had built it in early Spring, due to snowbanks, to a new spot in the trees behind the garden. I had thought at one point that totally removing it might be the solution, but I am now realizing that there is never enough room for all our junk! We are definitely falling into the Alaskan trap of the one with the most square footage in roofs wins!
edible boletus
Vermonters drive Subarus and Alaskans drive Toyotas, particularly Toyota trucks. We agree that it is the perfect vehicle for Alaskan roads and climate. However, we were bothered on several occasions by the truck not starting. Bucky was sometimes able to rock it a little and it would start. Other times, we would make sure we were parked on a slight hill so as to be able to pop the clutch. It finally became necessary to consult Robert, our local mechanic. Unfortunately, Robert was stuck at his cabin due to high water, no sh..... as it's been raining for a month! But, like any good doctor, he was on call and our diagnosis of a starter problem was confirmed by speaker phone.
Robert, do you hear the click, click, click? You may still need to talk me through a few things.
Maybe pounding this will help!
And then along came Pete!
And under Pete went
Four hours later, a turn of the key, some celebratory Genesee and we were good as new. Even the rain didn't dampen the camaraderie! Tomorrow we head into Anchorage to catch an early morning flight for Kotzebue. We're hoping for a successful hunt, but it is what it is.
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