Fall

Well, that whole love thing didn’t work out so hot. Onward.

Finally, here in October, we get our summer. A high pressure system sitting just off the coast; winds come out of the northwest. Cotton candy clouds in the morning which the lowering sun makes short work of. We lose a chunk of the sun each day; it sets further and further to the west. Last night the northern lights pinged, pulses of white-green and occasional pinks. The sea lions move slower in the harbor. Even these summer days tinged with darkness.

I moved the boat inside. To finger two. Last year was untenable, out there on the transient. Between the 60-knot winds and drunks knocking on the door at 4 am and getting slammed against the bull-rail by the swell that started in the Aleutian Islands somewhere – it just wasn’t tenable. The move went smoothly. The boat ran well. Brooks pushed with the Roamer on the stern, and we tied up thanks to the help of a seine crew from the Artemis. It feels like moving from the country into the city.

And now buckling down for the winter. I installed the Squirrel, a little stove topside. In these winter evenings I don’t envision moving too far from the little guy. Just need to do something about the windows now, hang blankets or something. Maybe get ambitious and sew some curtains.

Back to the land of renters. Looks like a happy couple will move into the fo’c’sle. He works maintenance out at the Silver Bay processor. She came up to work a summer on the slime-line and they fell in love. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Started tendering on a sea cucumber boat. Work. 
Also got a job as the GC at the Hames Community Center. Astonishing how the town empties out for fall. Like a great wind blows out everyone without the will or strength or desire to find a tree trunk and hold on for dear life.

What else? Brought in Mathilda because I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why she was losing on her power curve. When the guys at the garage test-drove her the muffler fell out. Impeccable timing.

I started a company with my friend Chris Stock, who runs the Sitka Spruce. Please check out Sitka Wild Foods. It’s at http://www.facebook.com/search/results.php?q=sitka+wild+foods&init=quick&tas=search_preload&search_first_focus=1350946241353

We ship wild food from Alaska to where they need to go. The idea of starting the third business in my life gives me heebeegeebees.

But one foot in front of the other.