Well, day 2 is finished. The kids are already starting to learn some of the rules and things are going easier. I had one little boy break down this morning and have a tantrum, but he was fine by lunch time....that pretty much happens at least once a year. Kindergarten can be a hard transition for some kids. They have a lot more expectations than they are used to.
Today after school again, I headed out to the beach, but as soon as I stepped outside I heard a kid crying on the playground. Looking over I noticed it was a very small kid and he was all alone, so I went over to him. I think he was partly just upset that he was left all alone. When I went over there he lifted up his arms and wanted to get picked up. He maybe just turned 2. I took him home, asking other kids where he lived, but nobody was there, so I took him with me, and a couple of my students followed, down to the beach. I didn't want to leave him all alone and he was sort of clinging to me, so I figured I would just watch him for awhile. I did find his Dad, when we came back up.
Here is a picture of my gillies (sea glass) finally, and my fish that I wrapped over my lunch break on Saturday (we had a Saturday work day)....I should have plenty of fish to get me through the year now. I wouldn't mind catching more, but I am not sure what I would do with them! I'm not going to fit much else in my freezer!

first day of school

Well, today was the first day of school. Everything went well, but I forgot how exhausting the beginning of the year is! I think the kids were ready to go home by lunchtime.....they are not used to having to follow directions for so long. It looks like I have a pretty good group of kids though- and they actually know quite a bit of things already, which will make it easier. Most of them can write their names already and count to ten. I didn't plan enough stuff, as I forget how quickly their attention wanders, but I managed to find enough things to fill in the extra time (45 minutes!) we had before lunch. After school, I cleaned my house which I have been putting off for 2 weeks, and then Sadie and I went down to the beach. I waded in the water and looked for more green rocks. Surprisingly, I got used to the water pretty fast and it wasn't too cold...or was I just slightly numb? I don't know. One of the 4 year olds followed me, and was actually swimming in it. I heard thunder approaching but kept on going until the wind really started picking up and I knew I better hurry to beat the storm. I didn't get too wet- and the wind felt great. I kind of enjoy those rushes to beat the storm- I love feeling storms come in. The beach right here by town had lots of rocks for me....so I'll probably head there tomorrow too- unless I have the energy to go to Nex Crick. Something tells me I may not...the first week of Kindergarten can be pretty exhausting! I took some pictures, but left my camera at school, so will upload those soon!

Fishing

Today after school, Mark and I set off with out fishing poles and Sadie- taking his 4 wheeler out to Iron Crick. Yesterday he had been catching them left and right out of the ocean, but today we could see quite a few in the crick. I caught 4 silvers which I kept, and I don't even know how many humpys that I threw back. The water was very clear, and I could see right where the silvers were- looking much fresher and bigger than the humpys. One of my silvers I snagged right in the eye...if they weren't biting, I tried to snag them....but I think they started catching on, as they started to dart AWAY from my lure....oh well. We cleaned the fish there on a board someone had left there, then headed out to Moses Point to see if the fishing was better. The bugs (more specifically the noseums)were getting pretty bad. At Moses Point, the tide was low and the current was strong. The fish definitely weren't jumping like last time I was out there. We made a deal, where the first person to catch a fish had the other person make them dinner. I thought for sure I would lose- but I WON! At one point I found a spot where the fish were jumping and I cast out and got one. I also lost two fish that were on my line while I was out there. A couple other families soon joined us, but left before us when the fishing didn't pan out. Michael, of my kids from my classroom last year was there, and I think he grew almost 5 inches over the summer- he looked WAY bigger!
I cleaned my fish and put it in a garbage bag to go home, after REALLY cleaning one, that I managed to drop in the sand! My other mistake today I soon realized, was not changing pants before going....my new kakis now have fish blood on them- oh well- I am not meant to wear light colored pants to teach Kindergarten anyways. If it hadn't been the fish blood, it would be paint or something else.
I snacked on some of Mark's musk ox jerky before going home, where I made some enchiladas (even though I won) and Mark and Sadie came over . I could only eat a half of one....I think I make them bigger each time. I am pretty sleepy now, I didn't sleep much yesterday and I think the sun kind of zapped me....but I have to clean out my fridge and get the rest of the enchiladas in there, and package all my salmon.....I wonder if I can wait to do that until tomorrow...I know I have put fillets in a cooler overnight....I wonder if I can fit my pan of enchiladas in there with 2 pans of salmon eggs curing, a big bag of fillets, and all my other stuff I have in there....or maybe I could use the hallway fridge for one day. Boy have I been lazy when I get home the last few days. I really do need to sleep more today though. I didn't get ready for bed until 2 this morning, then remembered they were cutting the sewer this morning and had to take a shower then.....they are re-doing the sewer for the village- a big project! They have been digging up all the roads to do it...but our roads are all dirt anyway, so they are pretty easy to put back to the same condition...actually, they are in better condition now. No big moggles- the road is actually flat! Well, I am off to see about the food, then hitting the hay!

Beautiful Day!

Well, today was a wonderful day! I stayed at school until about 5, then went home and grabbed my backpack and got someone else's puppy (Miles) and set off to Nex Crick. It was a sunny, beautiful, and warm day...but unfortunately very little breeze to blow the bugs away. I had a container to pick blueberries, but was disheartened by the bugs, and was too warm to put on a sweatshirt, so I just kept walking. Down by the ocean, the bugs weren't nearly as bad, and there was a breeze. I crossed the crick, which was chilly, but not as bad as I thought it could be, and started wandering along the coast. I found a lot of green rocks, which I thought were really pretty, so I started picking up those and putting them in my berry bucket. Then I started thinking, maybe I can use them for some kind of project on my land....making a mosaic in my sidewalk or patio? I would need more green rocks....I like to make things with leaves and nature stuff.....the ocean water actually felt really good on my feet. There were a lot of dead humpys lining the shore- and we saw quite a few in the crick, too. Miles had fun chasing a few, as their humps clearly rose above the shallow water in many spots. After awhile, we heard Hondas, and Doris K (an aid in my classroom the last 2 years) came by with her family. They headed up the hill just a little ways to pick berries, and Rhoda, her daughter came down to the beach and had a blast playing with the puppy. We then headed back to town, and I picked quite a few berries along the way and ate them- some plants were loaded with big ones! They were so tempting, even the bugs didn't stop me from enjoying them. By the time I got home it was almost 9:00, but I felt so relaxed, and so good after getting out and enjoying the sunshine. Fall is definitely on its way- the plants are starting to be tinged with orange and red. Fall is my favorite season, but it sure doesn't last long! I better enjoy it while I can!
Later, Mark came over and brought me some fish. He caught 17 silvers today. He said out of 13 casts, he had 10 fish....not a bad ratio! The fish he brought were already cleaned and cut, and he helped me package them, then we sat and talked and drank some tea for awhile. We made plans to go fishing tomorrow...I hope the fish are biting as well then as they did today! It is a GOOD year for silvers! I like this kind of fishing!!! =) Here are a bunch of pictures I took today- flowers I saw, Nex Crick, dead fish along the shore.... you know me....I like to take pictures of dead things!

Pictures from Council

Well, day 2 of getting my classroom in order.....there aren't too many noticeable changes, but I did get a lot done today. After school, 2 girls came over (5th and 6th grade) and we made fudge bars and chocolate chip cookies. I also unpacked my kayak today- and it looks great. The only trouble I think I am going to have with it, is getting it packaged up in its' bag for transporting. I was able to do it once today, with only a little bit of difficulty, but that was before I inflated it.....I don't think it will be so easy now. If the waves are small tomorrow, I think I might take it out and try it- but we will see how the weather is. I am hoping I can get it onto my bicycle, but we will see how that goes- I'm not sure my rack is big enough. Nothing too interesting to share today, so I am including some pictures from when I went out to Council (east of Nome). We stayed out there at a Gary's Aunt and Uncle's cabin for the night and came back the next morning. His Uncle Bruce gave us a ride back and forth across the river, and we celebrated Lucille's birthday (his Mom's twin sister). The humpys were everywhere, and just starting to die off. You can tell they are getting old because they are starting to get a white streak on them. I took a picture of the river, to show how thick they were. I am also including a picture of the "last train to nowhere"....an old train from outside Nome that does not even have all the tracks to run on anymore- it is old and rusty- leftover from mining days. I also included pictures of a grayling that Charles snagged (the first one I have seen, though many people fish for them around here) and an old abandoned cabin at Council. Another work-day tomorrow- I am glad to get so much done, but it is not very exciting....

A paddle and berries

Di and Miles (the puppy)







This morning I set off on a 4-wheeler ride with Di to the river, where we jumped in kayaks and paddled out to a good berry picking field. Lots of blueberries now! The salmon berries are ending, but there are a few left, and the cranberries are here, but they are very small yet. That's OK, the blueberries are my favorite anyway! It was nice to have a chance to get out on the water again...I sure do miss my kayak, even though I didn't have it for very long.
The bugs were pretty bad out there, but I had a bug-net I wore for awhile. They tend to drive me battier than the bugs, though, so after about an hour I took mine off and just dealt with the bugs. They mostly just bite me on my lower back- in between my pants and shirt....for some reason I just can't get shirts to stay over my beltline when I am berry-picking. I could have tied my sweatshirt around my waist, and it was warm enough to, but I discovered the bugs could easily bite through my thin long-sleeved shirt I had on underneath, so I wore it even though it was warm.
Paddling on the way back to the 4-wheeler, the tide had started to go out a little bit, so we hit one spot that was pretty shallow, but overall, the river was great for paddling- and there was a beautiful view, with the mountains in the distance. Getting back to shore, I had a little mishap getting out of the boat- as I had one foot still int he kayak and it started to get caught by the current. Determined not to let the boat go, I kept my one foot in it and the other on shore and tried to swing the boat back to shore more, but if anyone knows how well I balance, they can already guess what happened next. I toppled over...one of those slow motion falls you can really see coming. The water was warm though (and surprisingly salty). Luckily, I had brought that waterproof box with me for my camera, and it was not in my pocket. See?- I KNEW that would be a good investment! I really don't need to buy a fifth camera this year! Now I am home and heading over to a friends for supper. I baked a pie to take with- one of my "creations". We will see how it turns out. I didn't use a recipe at all, not even for the crust, so we will see. It LOOKS good, and smells good....... It is sort of a blueberry (and other mixed berries I picked) and banana pie. I put brown sugar and cinnamin in it, so it should be alright....I'll let you know.

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!