“Nice” Weather

We’ve been eating up life in the bays and islands this week.  Monday the boys tried hiking to the Tutka lagoon again for more reds.  But the seiner had been there the night before and had caught up most of the fish.  (In case you're wondering, a seiner has a large net attached to the crane (called a boom) on his deck. A skiff runs the net in a circle alongside the boat around a school of fish, it's pursed up and pulled on board - I probably didn't that all right but something like that).

The boys enjoyed the 4 mile hike anyway.  While the boys did that, the girls and I rode out to Sand dollar beach with Ann Daigle.  The guys dropped us off at the Jakalof dock on their way to the trail, and Ann picked us up in the skiff for the ride over. 

I have absolutely fallen in love with Ann's dog, Indy. But she has made me terribly homesick for Lucy. I may have to borrow Indy for a camper cuddle... it is absolutely adorable how she trots from side to side on the boat, obviously thrilled to be there, wind in her ears, hoping to sight the next seal or otter.

If you visit McDonald spit on a very low tide, you can collect these sand dollars. They are literally scattered all over. Rivers of them. It's pretty fabulous. It's definitely a plus to be offered a boat ride too. You can walk the length of the spit yo reach them at the end but it's a few miles of walking in sand. And then back out. And you have to time it so you get to the end before the tide comes back in.

After an hour or so of collecting a TON of sand dollars we skiffed back over to Ann’s island and visited and warmed up in the cabin.  Since it was “nice” out (Alaskan talk for “not rainy with calm seas”) Ann insisted that we girls try out the paddle boards while she made dinner.  Ann is one of those type A people that can’t understand why anyone in their right mind might want to just sit and chat for more than a few minutes, especially on a “nice” day.  On a really nice day with actual sun, it’s definitely a sin to sit indoors for any length of time.  Even things like making bread, sewing, or canning fish is done outside if there is real sunshine.  I love her warm and lively spirit.  She is full of life, love and creativity.  She can make something out of nothing and fun out of a paper towel.  My young motherhood was most definitely influenced by her inspiring example. And on top of it, she is full of Godly wisdom with a Bible verse on the tip of her tongue for just about any situation.  She truly amazes me.

Anyway, Abbey, Hannah and I were shooed outside to have fun on the “nice” day while Ann made dinner and watched Zip and Moriah.  The water was still as glass, which was good considering we had never been on paddle boards before and it was the Alaskan ocean after all.  Neither of us were interested in falling into the frigid waters on an already chilly day. So we hugged the shore.  So closely that the fins on the bottom of my board scraped the bottom and almost knocked me in anyway.  Sheesh.  But after trying on our knees for a while, we did manage to stand up and make our way around for quite a while.  I still prefer kayaking. This is the exact same spot I set out in a kayak for the first time, and I remember then being a bit unnerved by the cold, dark waters, the seaweed and barnacles sliding beneath me, and the thought of what else might be lurking under there that I couldn’t see…  like with maybe teeth or something else scary.  Anyway, I’m long past my fears after several years of kayaking and I didn’t feel the same unnerving sense on the ocean anymore.  But I still didn’t want to fall in. I'm sad to not have any photos but I wasn't interested in losing my phone to the depths...

We made our way back up to help Ann with dinner.  The girls helped her mix up her famous “under 5 minute” brownie recipe for which she literally put on a timer as they mixed - and had them in the oven in 3 minutes. She is always full of ridiculous little ideas like that to make the time pass and to keep spirits high.

Pat and their 18-year-old, fresh out of CA, deckhand, Caleb were about to head out on a another round of fish picking and also to pick up the boys from the dock for dinner.  It took a while so I thought that meant they were cleaning fish before heading in but unfortunately there was no fish to be had.  We had started a fire to eat our stew and biscuits outside on the “nice” day and that was followed up with a game of Platform with Ann and the kids.  Simeon (Ann and Pat’s oldest) had made his way up from his cabin with his infant, Elliot.  So the rest of us visited around the fire, I bounced the fussy Elliot, and the kids had fun running and screaming through the woods.  Another wonderful day on the Daigle’s island.  Is it any wonder that my children love it here?  Moriah especially is having a hard time with the idea of leaving.  She has fallen in love with Ann (a 60 year old!) but who demonstrates so much love and attention and fun to each and every person (children especially) that Moriah is

completely smitten with her and her island.  My children are really understanding just why we wanted so badly to make this trip a reality now.  It truly is a magical place - the people and the location.  And I haven’t even finished telling you about our week!

The next day was supposed to be extremely rainy.  I dreaded another day in the camper with only the library (which is not the best, but they do a great job for the resources they have over here!) as my back up.  The older kids especially were tired of long days crammed with screaming and squirming children who have no where to run off pent up energy.  It is a very tight space - we are always tripping over each other trying to make dinner, get dressed, clean up, play a game… it’s all a little chaotic and there’s a lot of bickering between the 14 and 16 year old especially, and the oldest is mopey a good portion of the time (it’s super annoying the older ones are honestly the worst of the bunch - they were even the whiniest on the drive.  Ridiculous).  And you can’t really see out because it’s too cold to open the pop out screens.  Makes for a very dark and cavernous, not to mention, damp, space.  Super fun.  Anyway, I asked Ann if she would be ok with us spending the next day in the church so we had some room to spread out.  She agreed of course and we packed up a bunch of games and food for the day.  Pizza and Rhubarb crisp (fresh from Glenn’s garden) were on the menu.

What followed was a very Daigley sort of day.  We started with a giant game of ping pong with a line as our net (Pat made it very clear that “rope” is only rope for land usage, in marine situations it is called “line”.  We had several rounds running it as a tournament between winning teams.  The kids loved that. 

Then we attempted to head outside because it was “nice” (remember, no rain = “nice”).  But once we got everyone bundled, it was raining.  Plan B: board games.    After an hour or so of that, during which Ann pulled out an actual sewing machine from goodness knows where and made a purse with Moriah for her doll (Moriah’s doll, not Ann’s lol),

we decided everyone really needed a change of scene, so it was outside regardless of weather.  It was about time for another round of set-net fishing for the fisherman. Hannah and Micah had been curious to see what it was all about so they were bundled into gear and packed off - Hannah with Pat and Caleb and Micah with Simeon. 

Abbey had the privileged and very dry position of “helping Ann with dinner” in the church.  The rest of us were prodded somewhat reluctantly into wet kayaks as it drizzled - Tim and I and the 4 youngest, Malachi, Elias, Moriah and Zip.  I took Zip in a single, Tim had Elias and Moriah in the tandem and Malachi was on his own on a single.  We decided to kayak over to Tim and Jane’s island.  Ann checked in first and Jane told her to come on over as the “cookies were just coming out of the oven”.  That spurred on the kids to head out on the the rainy seas and sit in puddly kayaks for about the 30 minutes it would take us to cross over.  We saw a few seals and sea otters - these ones not as friendly as the harbor critters - which didn’t allow us to get nearly as close to observe.  But it’s always fun to see them.

Despite the rain, the beauty is hard to miss.  If it’s a gorgeous Alaskan summer day this place, I’m convinced, is the most beautiful spot on earth.  But even in the grey gloom, the rocky ledges rising from the dark waves, the deep green spruce on the islands dotting the bay, mist and fog floating over the water and hovering over the mountain tips which are still capped with white snow.  Man, I was really beginning to remember just why we stayed here as long as we did.

I was grateful for a place to warm up and dry off while we got out of Ann’s hair for a bit.  She is a busy and fun person, and her desire to keep everyone happy and doing something I feel must get extremely exhausting, especially with a brood my size.  Tim and Jane were happy to visit with us for a bit over hot cocoa and cookies.  We used to meet at their cabin for church years before the church building was up.  Nothing seemed to have changed one bit.  Including Tim and Jane. 

The kids enjoyed the treehouse and buoy swings at Tim and Janes.

Jane is very much like her sister and I soon lost her to the children, playing games and such, while I hedged in on the Tim’s conversation about life and kids.  Their two boys - Logan and Bridger had been about Malachi and Elias’s age when we left and were now off in the world in their early 20’s.  Logan actually back in NC as a salesman, and Bridger in Bristol Bay on a fishing boat for the summer before heading back to college. It’s so strange to come back to a place leaving children and finding adults.  And it made me again realize the precious time we have with our kids when they are young.  It goes quickly and time has no mercy on those of us who mourn our children’s little years.  Tim and Jane were fishing alone this year and they still spend their winters in Montana with Tim’s family where he works in the school system and guides hunting trips.

I felt like we should head back to help Ann get dinner on and Tim graciously offered to toss the kayaks into the skiff and boat us over to save us another wet ride back.  I was grateful because I was not excited about sitting my still wet Carhartts back into the seat I’m pretty sure hadn’t dried out much in the constant rain.  Elias was the only one who wanted to kayak back but he was overruled and we loaded up and headed to the beach. 

Since the boats lived at Simeon’s house, I popped over to see how Micah made out fishing and came in on some very unhappy little boys.  Naomi and Simeon have three boys, 4 and under. I remember those days when it seemed like everyone was crying at once and it was hard to know how one person could cope with all the hurts… and then you just start crying too.  Although I have been so impressed by Naomi's cool and quiet demeanor in the midst of it all. She has a calm and gentle quality about her that seems unperturbed by even the most unhappy toddler. But still I was torn - not wanting to leave Naomi with the tearful mess, but wanted to make sure I didn’t leave Ann with dinner for all our crew and hers.  So I ran over to the church, checked on progress with food, where it seemed everyone had it under control pitching in on pizza making, snagged my baby whisperer, Hannah, and we headed back to help pack Naomi's kids to the church for dinner.  Titus, their 18 month old, has taken a liking to Hannah and quieted the instant she picked him up.  Elliot got his milk, Skylar walked over with Moriah and the rest of us grabbed food and headed over.

The wall of mugs

A lot of pizza and a bit of worship music later, we were skiffed back to Jakalof to go to bed.  A day on the water was planned with Oliver again for the next day.  We hoped it would be “nice”.

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