Whale Watching

Last night, my friend Melanie posted on Facebook that they'd gone out on their boat and had seen lots and lots of whales up close.  I commented, "I want to be invited!"  Nothing like inviting yourself, huh?  She called today to say we could go out with them this evening if the wind didn't get up too much. 

 We layered up and headed out in the rain.

  Her husband Troy gave us a great ride and lots of whale sightings

 Rich looking for photo ops

There were so many whales, all close by. Some of them seemed very curious and kept coming toward the boat.  Very cool!

It was really grey out there after awhile. We got home and it looked like the second half of our photos were in black and white!

This one kept breaching over and over.  We counted 9 times!  It seemed to be having lots of fun.

Our "after" photo--I'm a little bit wet and bedraggled, but had a blast! Thanks, Mel and Troy!

Whales!

Whales, whales, whales everywhere this past week!  I was really wishing we had a boat. Some of our friends have posted some amazing close-ups because they were actually out on the water.

These whales came pretty close to shore so Rich was able to get a few photos.  It was so cool to see them!

You can see how close the whales were!  These guys were so excited and it was funny hearing them whooping and hollering. They were also calling people on the phone, shouting excitedly about the sights they were seeing. (Out of towners, I think!)

We Don't Need a Groundhog to Tell us Winter is Here for Awhile

Dinner
Icecapades, bird-style

I thought I knew what this seagull had found for dinner. What's your guess?

Storm front

                  After watching the snow and wind come down all day, it was time to head home and ride out today's storm amid comfortable surroundings. Standing in the doorway I took some photos of the bay and the birds who are are now sitting on the water instead of floating on it. Probably wondering why they didn't continue on down to Canada last October. Too late now. Some seagulls flew right in front of me and I got a few snapshots of them. Later, I was amazed at what I saw in this one's beak. Tell me what you see.

                 Dinner tonight was pork tenderloin with an orange-maple mustard glaze, cumin-lime basmati rice and zucchini/ red pepper/tomato sauté.

                 RICH

Seals, a Sea Otter, Snow, Halibut Tacos, and Easing into Semi Retirement

These photos were taken a couple of months ago when we looked out our window and saw a large group of harbor seals swimming and frolicking in the bay.   One of my favorite things about living in our duplex is that we look right out over the water and catch some amazing sights of the marine life in Unalaska.    As always, if you click on the photos, they will enlarge for you and you can get a better look.  I can tell I am back home because our slow internet will not allow me to upload big pictures so I have had to go back to resizing.

  The Raven Bay is a local boat that belongs to the family of one of my coworkers.

Cropped and close-up!

I love these cute little sea otters.  Occasionally, we will spy one outside our window, usually all by him or herself!  I read once that a sea otter floats on its back while eating, "using its stomach as a table."   That's what this one is doing here.

The eagle is either enjoying or toughing out the snow in our yard.  We had so much snow yesterday that my car is stuck in the parking space in front of the house.   The snow plows have a habit of coming by and clearing the road but, at the same time, creating a huge berm that my not-such-a-good-Alaska-car cannot get through.    Sometimes I like being stranded since it allows me to hang out at the house and get some things done that I might otherwise ignore.  I spent most of yesterday cleaning out closets and drawers.

A couple more views from our doorway.

A few years ago, I heard people talking about fish tacos.   Having lived in Texas for a long time, tacos meant beef to me, maybe occasionally chicken, but FISH?   No way.  Sounded disgusting.   :)   But after experiencing Rich's halibut tacos, I became a huge convert!   These are the best tacos you will ever eat, fish or otherwise.   From the (just right) soft tortillas to the perfectly battered and deep-fried halibut (we avoid a lot of fried foods, but we make an occasional exception for these!) to the tangy chipotle sauce, topped with a crisp, fresh slaw of cabbage, cilantro and jalapenos, lightly pickled with lime, sugar and salt, it's a taste combo that can't be beat.   We both gained weight on vacation (note all of the blog entries about food and restaurants and you know why) so it was our last treat before getting back into the eating-healthy-and-going-to-the-gym routine.  

I've begun a new phase of my work life as a part time employee.   I am calling it "semi -retirement" and I am enjoying it already!   I will be able to do some of my work from  home and will go in to the office at other times for meetings and specific activities.   Thursday I had lunch with my fabulous co-workers Darcel, Judi and Donna, and I know I will miss seeing them on a day to day basis but we will also have plenty of opportunities to get together and to work on certain tasks.  They are definitely the very best part of my job.  (Thanks, gals!)

With a little more time on my hands, I hope to keep up with the 100 book challenge, take part in more community activities, stay on top of housework a little better, get more organized (LOL) and learn some new things.    

Winter Vacation

They say the weather in Unalaska is harsh.

They say we live in the "cradle of the storms." That we may not live at the very end of the world, but you can see it from here.

We have appropriated a lot of pithy sayings and cliches to describe the ever-changing wild weather and we toss them around to our friends and family down south and to the island's newcomers whenever we can:

"If you don't like the weather now, wait a few minutes and see what happens."

"It was raining (or snowing) sideways."

"In any other part of the country, the storms we have would be given names (as in hurricanes)."

We say such things as grumbling complaints, but they barely conceal a blustery pride that says "That's right. It ain't easy, but I'm tough and I can take it. What kind of wimpy, everyday existence have you got going?"

It's all true, of course, and I would be the last to deny any of it.

But don't tell that to the ducks. They don't believe it for a minute.

Starting in October, they begin to arrive in the Aleutians and Unalaska, coming from faraway places like Point Barrow, Alaska, unmapped Siberian marshes, North Slope bird towns, and nameless ice floes in the Arctic Sea. They include harlequins, cormorants, emperor geese, thick-billed murres, goldeneye ducks, common eiders and black oystercatchers, among others.

When Makenzie Bay freezes over, and the Yukon is getting seriously cold, it's time to fly away and find a more friendly place. Like Dutch Harbor.

Our ice-free, fish-laden, deep-water bays are just the ticket for the ducks and migrating birds from way up north who think we live in a paradise on earth. They have never found any reason to search any further for a pleasant place to winter.

So the next time you're about to speak about the hellish weather, think about the ducks.

They're in heaven.

Rich