I got a call from my good friend Boo of Tall Tale Charters in Homer. The conversation went like this. Boo: Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? Me: Well, I’ve got things I’m doing at the cabins. Boo: Do you want to help me out on a shakedown fishing trip? I have a couple of your cabin guests booked and I need …
The Dock Is In!
There are a couple of things that really make me feel like the season is underway, or at the very least, that it will begin shortly. One is the dock going in. And the other is my neighbor getting a keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon for the summer. Both were done this past week. The morning the dock went in it was cool …
Mermaid Festival/Harbor Opening Weekend
On May 15th and 16th, Seward celebrated the 9th Annual Mermaid Festival and Harbor Opening Weekend. Jane and I look forward to this event every spring. Not only do we get to break in the camper for the year, we get to hang out in a spectacular location with our friends Ron & MJ. The day before the festival, Jane …
Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day! Bonus points if you can guess what decade this Holtan family photo was taken….🤣 …
Smoking and Canning Salmon
Every spring I take a salmon inventory of what’s left in our chest freezer. Ideally, the perfect amount of left over salmon would be 2 or 3 fillets. That would be just enough to eat before fresh salmon are caught for the year. As you can see, we ended up with more than a couple of fillets left over. Luckily, none …
Beluga Watch
My phone has been active this spring. It’s because I signed up for text alerts for beluga whale sightings in the tidal areas of the Kenai River. The text alerts come from the Alaska Beluga Monitoring Program. The data is collected by organizations, communities, and individuals and is made available to the …
Bird’s Eye View of the Kenai River
I still get excited when I think about what’s about to happen. It won’t be long and the salmon will be returning to the Kenai River. You know I’ll be there to greet them. It’s not like I need a a nudge to know what’s around the corner, but a video I recently found on YouTube sure got me going . It’s July drone footage from …
A Final Goodbye
Back in early January, a service/celebration was held for friends and family to say good bye to Jane’s dad, Bill. Many, many stories were shared about this amazing man and his adventures. This past week, the Matthies family, along with a few dear friends, said their final good bye to Bill at a Committal Service at the …
Happy Easter, Passover, and Birthday
There are four important events happening today. Easter, Passover, Jane and Uncle Mike’s birthday. Enjoy the day! …
Spring?
The Farmer’s Almanac missed the mark this year. Their Alaska winter forecast called for a “milder-than-normal, drier winter for 2025–2026.” It’s been just the opposite. And it’s pretty much been that way across the whole state. Fairbanks had their 9th coldest winter on record. Imagine having 31 days where the …