Boat Work

This morning we started out the day by hitting all the garage sales in town and we found a few good things we couldn't live without.  It's not hard to buy stuff, it's just hard to find a place to store it once we get home! 

After that we headed to the boat to work.  I haven't been down to the boat all winter.  In fact I think there were still dishes in the sink from the last trip last year!  Let's just say that boat work is not my favorite thing to do.  Well, now the galley is all tidy and ready for the new guiding season.  This may be the smallest galley in the fleet, but it is quite efficient and has everything I need.

After a while we took a break to get a burger and drove out the road to see if we could see the herring seine fleet.  They were fishing today, but they were too far from the road to get a good view so we headed back to the harbor.  The sun was shining in the window of the car and it felt so nice that I stayed in the car and crocheted for a while.  I am working on a sweater for some friends that are expecting a baby.

Then it was back to the boat were I found the guys hard at work, wondering what had taken me so long!

No work in the garden today.  The only thing I did was water the driest seedlings in the sunroom and start to plan what I am going to do in the garden tomorrow.

The good earth

Yesterday was a good day.  I started out by cleaning out Mr. Adams' truck.  A couple weeks ago we cut enough wood for next year and hauled it with the truck, so it was pretty well trashed.  Guiding season starts soon and Mr. Adams is very busy, so I got the job.  Here is our pile of wood....

Cutting wood is one of Mr. Adams' favorite things to do...he calls it "therapy".  Every once in a while I catch him out there admiring his enormous stacks of firewood.
After cleaning out the truck I hauled out my rototiller, aka "The Beast", and tilled up 3 rows.  One row really didn't need it- I had amended it with dead salmon and seaweed last fall and had covered it with plastic all winter.  It was so lofty and wonderful!  The other 2 rows sort of needed it, but I have not amended them yet.  I will just plant them and then mulch around the plants with seaweed.  Although it was really unnecessary to till -it was so much fun and it makes me feel ready for Spring!

Two steps forward, one step back

Things do not always go according to my plans...first, my little egg fridge quit working, so I had to go to Spenards and buy a new one.  I think I will really like this one though, it is bigger so I can store other things in it too like my sparkling water and seeds.  Now when I get thirsty I don't have to drag my garden dirt through the house to get a drink.  Don't tell anyone, but it also has a tiny freezer in it- so I can hide icecream bars from the rest of my family! 
Secondly, the dog got my extra large seed potato and started eating it!  I saved it, but it looks bad...

On a good note, yesterday I planted the last of the seeds that I needed to start in March.  Cutting it close aren't I?  There must be 300 sunflowers planted!  I may be crazy.

Tips

Yesterday was a long day!  We cut black cod tips and halibut cheeks and packaged them up for the freezer with Norman. Say "Hi!" Norm!

The tall fellow in the orange bibs is my husband, Dale, (I call him Mr. Adams).

Here is what a blackcod head looks like...it still has the guts attached.  The strips of meat are located in the chin area on either side of the little fins.

And this is one of the "tips". There are 2 on each head.  We had them marinated and cooked on the grill last night.....they are heavenly!

Down to the docks

I don't know how much work I will get done in the garden today.  We are going down to a friend's boat to cut black cod tips- one of my favorite seafoods!

-this is what I see out my kitchen window first thing every morning.

Priorities

First things first right?  I did read my Bible right after breakfast today, but take a look at my kitchen sink...

...my bed....

...my desk...

...they are all calling out to me for attention....but the loudest voice of all is the call of the packets of sunflower seeds waiting for me in the sunroom.  I love sunflowers and every year I  plan to have them surrounding my garden, but something always gets in the way...not enough pots, not enough potting soil, not enough beds prepared, too many starts to deal with and the sunflowers get shoved in the back to die...it's always something.  Well, this year I am determined!  I had a friend die this past month and her favorite flower was the sunflower.  So I think I am going to sit down in the sunroom with a good cup of tea, plant sunflower seeds, watch the ducks out the window, enjoy the sun and think about Arlene and how she would have loved to see my sunflowers growing from her kitchen window this summer.....

Still Planting Seeds

Today I continued to work in the sunroom planting seeds.  Lettuce, spinach, arugula.  It was really nice today so I stepped outside and pulled up a few dead broccoli plants left over from last year.  The raised beds are warming up nicely close to the house.  Once the seeds are all planted I need to get out there and work!

A Sunday Kind of Day

As you can see we still have a lot of snow.  Went to church this morning and heard a great message!  Came home and had rockfish for lunch.  The ducks had been nibbling on the garlic and onions so I spent some time this afternoon placing floating row cover and fishing net over the bed.  Here is the final result.

Spring, Spring, come out wherever you are

Spring is trying to arrive, but it is still a little cold.  Parts of the garden are still covered with about a foot of snow, but other parts are now bare.  I see garlic, rhubarb and flower bulbs peeking up through the ground which gives me hope.

This is the time of year that I usually spend lots of time on the beach collecting seaweed, sand, starfish and crushed seashells, but it's too cold yet.  Nature is so amazing....virtually everything the garden needs is here on the beach, free for the taking.  You need to be willing to spend hours schlepping heavy buckets to the truck though!  It is SO worth it.  I always say that the success of a garden here in Sitka is in direct proportion to the amount of seaweed that you haul in.  Also, every year my beds get better and better.  I think the lime, bonemeal, and nutrients build up over time and drainage improves with added sand.  I have high hopes for the coming season!

Even though it is too cold to garden outside there is plenty going on inside.  Celery, tomatoes, cabbage, leeks, broccoli, parsley, strawberry spinach, basil and kohlrabi are all up in the sunroom, but there is more work to be done!

 FIRST POST

This is my first official blog entry!  Please have patience while I figure this out.