Silvers!

Here are my new bones, hanging over my moose antler





I woke up this morning to a call from Mark, asking me if I wanted to go fishing. Of course! I got ready and stepped outside to realize it was a BEAUTIFUL day!!! The sun was shining bright, it was warm, and the sea looked like a lake. We jumped on the 4-wheeler, with Sadie (Mark's black lab) sitting in a little box he made for her in the back. We headed out to Moses point, seeing several ptarmigan along the way and a dead walrus on the beach. John was already out there fishing, and by the time I got my fishing pole threaded, he and Mark had already landed their first fish. I cast out and immediately had a fish- a big one! He fought a bit and snapped my line! Shoot...I had to put different line on- so I did that, while they continued catching fish and then cast out again- and the line got wrapped up in my reel (on the inside part). As I couldn't really see which way it had wrapped around I guessed....wrong. I made a big mess and had to cut the line- saving only what had already been cast. I re-tied that on, and reeled it back in. It worked fine, but was just a little short. John went to clean his fish, so instead of re-putting line on, yet again- I used his pole for awhile. I caught two fish and went to a big metal table sitting out there on the beach. I wouldn't say the table was the most sanitary...but you take what you can get. It is better than cleaning fish at home. I had 2 female fish (which I learned you can tell by looking at the head. They have a shorter head and are missing the real hooked mouths). I pulled out the eggs from their bellies and will cure them to use as bait for ice fishing this winter. I also learned you can eat them raw....I tried them- they weren't bad, but not something I would savor, either. After cleaning my fish, I caught one more and lost two.
On the way home, we took the beach out to Iron Crick, where Mark showed me some bones he had found- a vertabrae with two rib bones attached to it. I am pretty sure they are from a seal- as the vertebrae looks to be about the same size as one I got from a seal last year. I brought the bones home and put them on my moose antlers. They will fit into my unit about bones and our bodies at school. I have one more day left of the weekend before working again- and I work on Saturday, too this week. So, if the water is antything like yesterday, I am going to do a serious search for my inflatible kayak that Wayne shipped me and try it out. I think it is probably up at school somewhere, as that is where I found all my other boxes that I shipped from Anchorage (food, etc). The blueberries are starting to come now, too. So much to do, so little time! I wish this time of year was much longer, but it goes fast and then winter comes..... Here are some pictures from today!