Water Day

I got drenched twice today.   Usually water-haul day is fairly uneventful, other then the extra work it entails, but today....

For a bit of background to start out with...we have a very nice indoor water system with modern plumbing and running water to kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room.  With two connected water tanks and capacity at about 800 gallons, we can go quite awhile on one filling of tanks. 

In winter when it is below freezing, the chore of filling the tanks must be done by hand by carrying 5-gallon buckets of water into the house one or two at a time...very labor intensive, to say the least. Pictures below show our son Jay helping out with "water-haul" on one of his visits home:

From the lake

Down the hall

Into the tank

Fresh water comes from our large lake near the house.  The lake is frozen over, and a water hole is maintained.  Usually water is dipped from the hole into big containers sitting on a sled behind a snowmachine and pulled up to the front door, then dipped out of the big container and carried into the house to the primary tank.















In the summer, the chore is considerably easier, since we can use a water pump and hoses to transport the water into the tank.  It takes a few minutes to set up the pump and roll out the hoses, but only a  fraction of that time to fill the tank, as the water pours out of the 2 inch hose at powerful pressure.  It usually took a 3-person team to pump water, one running the pump out at the lake, one holding the hose at the tank, and one being the control person at the outside door.  The person by the lake would start the pump and water flowing through the hose, the person at the tank would hold the hose and monitor the tank and yell out to the person in the doorway when the tank was nearly full, “CUT!”  The person in the doorway would repeat the “CUT” with a “slice across the throat” motion to the person at the lake’s edge who was carefully watching for the signal to shut the pump off. This method only failed once when the pump person was distracted watching some birds at the critical moment.  I wish I had a video of my mom (the inbetween person) running out toward the lake screaming, “CUT, CUT, CUT”, and waving her arms frantically to get the attention of the pump person.  Meanwhile, I was frantically trying to figure out what to do with the “fire-hose” torrent of water shooting all over the bathroom and the tank overflowing.  It took a few seconds for me to realize the best place for the hose was over the shower drain.

Now our indoor holding tanks need cleaning several times a year.  Obviously, this is done just prior to a filling.  I have been the designated maintenance person for this job for quite a few years, since I’ve been the smallest (capable of the job) person around for some time.  Today was one of these days.   I climbed down into the tank with scrub brush, small bucket, dipper, and sponge.  The tank sides needed wiped down and bottom scrubbed, then the small amount of water that sits below the drain hole needed dipped into the bucket and handed up to Jim for him to go dump out.  The top of the tank is about a foot above my head.  Here’s where I got my first drenching of the day.  As I handed the small plastic bucket off to Jim, I bumped its bottom edge and proceeded to cover my head and shoulders with dirty water.  Once out of the tank (which is a gymnastic feat all its own), I had to go change into dry clothes.

Now came the “filling the tank” part.  While Jim got the outdoor pump and hoses ready, I put the indoor hose in place.  I also had to rig up our super-duper signal string that takes the place of the missing third person in the outer doorway.  (Jim and I have been alone on the Homestead for over 10 years now.)  This little contraption is a small weight with bright orange flagging attached that hangs from an eye hook at the top of the door frame on a heavy string that runs through several more eye hooks all the way to where I stand on a stool by the indoor tank.  When the tank is full, I yank the string hard and it makes the weight and flag fly up to the top of the door frame, signaling Jim to turn off the pump.  This system has never failed us...UNTIL today

I was standing at the tank, and as usual, waited to pull the string until the very last second.  The water kept coming.  Panic...scream... “STOP!”,  knowing he couldn’t hear me and wondering what had happened to Jim?  Remembering the last time this happened, I was quicker at swinging the flailing hose over to the shower drain, but even so, I was soaked again, as was a lot of the bathroom.  At least the tank didn’t overflow this time.  The bottom shower pan was filling faster then water could escape out the drain, but at least I was freed to run to the door and see why the pump wasn’t off.  Jim saw me waving and immediately shut the pump off.

With sincere apologies, Jim said he was watching the door-flag faithfully, but never saw it move.  Of course it did move, but Jim was blinded by the sun in his eyes and dark sunglasses.  He said later that he should have shut the pump off when he noticed Ruby (his faithful dog) perk up her ears and look toward the house - probably when I first screamed STOP.  Anyway, another change to dry clothes was in order.

So much for another day in the Arctic.

Break-up and the Music of Spring

Well, I haven't been very dedicated to posting new content to this blog, plus I also realized that I've spent more time telling about trips out of the Arctic then actual Arctic Living.  I suppose that is because life at home is so normal and routine that I'm more inclined to write about something that is new and exciting for me like a trip to a new place.  However, I'm reminded by friends who like to hear from me, that what may seem routine and "every day" to me is often interesting and extraordinary to others.

It has been a  cold spring with little snow melting until just a few days ago, when it starting reaching above freezing ambient temperatures.  Snow is melting fast now, although we still have snowdrifts over 10 feet deep around the house that have a long way to go before they are gone. The snow has become mushy, so it is hard walking around without every step sinking down several inches, and occasionally a plunge clear to the hip.  A short walk out to the edge of the river to dump my kitchen slop bucket means putting on knee boots and hoping I don't get snow over my boots.  There is still plenty of snow to drive our snowmachines, but it's easy to get stuck if not careful.  Jim dug our 17' aluminum boat out of the snow and pulled it over next to the river bank so it would be easy to launch when needed.

Break-up varies every year and depends a lot on weather conditions over a long period of time and area, from melting in the mountains to temperatures and snow cover along the face of the delta. This year we have had a cold April and May and thawing has been slow. But when it finally did warm up, things have suddenly broken loose.  Break-up actually started today, May 25th, or at least what we consider the beginnings of break-up.    Water started rising up through the snow that was still lying on the river ice about noon today.  We had heard that water was already flowing down the Colville a few miles upriver from us.   The water is really just flowing on top the river ice that is frozen down to the bottom of the river bed in the shallower parts of the river.  In the deep sections of the river (we call deep "channels") the rushing water from upriver just flows under the ice, even lifting the ice somewhat at times, depending on the pressure. It is usually a week to 10 days after water floods over the ice before all the ice actually breaks up and gets washed out to sea.  Much of the ice simply melts during this time, but the deep "channel ice", which may have been as much as 8 feet thick, must still break up and be washed out to sea, where it finishes melting.

Water bubbling up through hole in the river ice and flooding over the top of the ice on the Colville River Delta.

It is during ice break-up when we have the danger of the island flooding.  We have never had it flood bad enough to get water inside our house, but we have had it inside some of our "out" buildings, plus had to chase down floating drums of fuel, and other supplies and get them back before they washed out to sea.  It has been quite a few years now since we've had a bad flood, but we always have to be prepared, in case an ice jam backs up water unexpectedly.  That's where having the boat and canoes ready comes in.  We'll see how it goes.

One fun spring activity for us is watching for "accidental" birds that show up here for a few days...ones that don't normally belong here.  They seem to be drawn in to our place by all the dark buildings against the stark snow and then they discover our bird feeders and we become an "oasis" in their lost world.  This year we have had 3 white-crowned sparrows, a tree sparrow, a Rusty Blackbird, a Wilson's Snipe, a few different warblers, and a cliff swallow.   Some of these birds are regulars in lower parts of Alaska, but have over-shot their normal destination, or they are way off the beaten path and are totally lost.  We love giving these vagrants a chance to refresh and head back to where they belong. Of course, we also have the many, many typical summer birds around our house, such as Lapland Longspurs, Snowbuntings, Redpolls, Sabine's Gulls, Savannah Sparrows, various sandpipers, etc.  A short distance away from the window feeders are so many more birds which include hundreds of nesting geese (Whitefronts, Brant, Snowgeese, Canada geese), all three species of loons, many ducks (Pintails, Oldsquaws, etc.), Plovers, Jaegers, Owls, Gulls, Ptarmigan.....so many birds that the air is filled with a symphony of bird songs.  This is what makes the hardships of winter worth enduring.

Birds out kitchen window

  Lapland Longspurs in bush out kitchen window

Maui, Hawaii 2010

 

I got to spend 6-13 December in Maui with my eldest and youngest sons, Derek and Aaron.  It was their birthday present to me and my first time to Hawaii. I had a wonderful time and I think they had a lot of fun too.  Every day we spent time at various beaches  sunbathing, body surfing in the waves, snorkeling, or just walking and enjoying the beauty.  Plus we squeezed in as many other activities as we could, such as hiking, driving the spectacular northern coast, parasailing, visiting the Ocean Center, wandering through a botanical garden & aviary, a sunset sail, watching the sunrise over the eastern ocean from the top of Maui’s highest volcano, and making the long drive through rain forest habitat to Hana.  The Hana drive included many stops to enjoy waterfalls along the winding road plus the hike up to 400’ Waimoku Falls.  Rather then try to identify individual photos or adventures, I’ll post several albums with a sampling of the 731 photos I took.

The first album is just a mix of pictures:

View Full Album

Beaches and Sky:

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Maui Waterfalls:

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Maui Flowers (just a very few of my 100’s of photos):

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Parasailing – Aaron and Teena in Lahaina Bay:

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Some day if I get to return to Hawaii, there will be many things to do that escaped our time on this trip.  I look forward to that day, but meanwhile I have a boat-load of memories and pictures to keep this wonderful trip fresh in my mind.  (By the way, I kept enough sunscreen applied to prevent sunburn…didn’t want to put a damper on all our planned activities.  However, a bad blister on one foot gotten on a hike through the lava fields slowed me down for a couple of days early on.)

Adak Again – August, 2010

 

I took my mother, Bonnie Wartes, to Adak this time.  I hadn’t been there since November, 2009, and I was anxious to get back, not only to see Isaac, Crystal, and little Rhianna, but to also enjoy the beauty of Adak.

Mom joined me in Anchorage and we spent one night with Kerry Bennett (Nick’s wife) before catching the long flight to Adak.  We were in Adak for a week and much of that time was very windy with low clouds. Isaac had hoped to take us out fishing in his boat, but weather didn’t allow that.  We did get to drive around on several occasions to show Mom the town and surrounding area.

Of course, Rhianna had to go to take care of Daddy. How she loves to go riding with Dad, whether it’s truck, boat, snow-machine …or whatever.

 

 

 

 

Plus we got up in the hills twice when it was sunny enough for beautiful views around the island. The last day we even caught a few fish at a gorgeous pool with a small waterfall. It is a favorite fishing hole of many locals for good reason.

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July 2010 continued…

 

WARTES COUSINS REUNION – July 24, 2010

My brother Mark, Denise, their son Marwan and granddaughter Matia were the only other Alaskans at our Wartes Cousins Reunion in Seattle besides me.  My mom and both sisters came from Spokane area.  Many others came from all over the Pacific NW and as far east as Denver. My mom was the oldest present at the reunion and I came from the furthest to attend.

The event was hosted by my cousin Barry Rodda and his wife Jan at their beautiful home overlooking the Puget Sound in Burien.   The view was breathtaking and so was their beautifully landscaped yard.  Flowers everywhere drew me like a magnet.  I could fill a large photo album with all the flower pictures I took during the whole Seattle area trip.

 

 

These flowers were just a few samples of ones in Jan & Barry’s yard:

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This reunion was based on my Wartes grandparents and all their progeny. Since Andrew and Lena Wartes had 8 children, the gathering was big even when many members weren’t able to attend. My dad was 6th of the 8 children and he had 6 children himself.

Just the part of the family chart showing all my parent’s progeny covered a large part of the entire family tree chart.

 

 

 

 

Here are just a few of the many pictures taken during our fun gathering:

                                                                                                                  Sister Merrily getting camera advice from Chris Wartes with cousins Barry and Bill looking on.

 

 

                   

 

More cousins. Such fun was had by all.  The time went by too fast.

 

 

 

 

 

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ORSBORN FAMILY REUNION – July 25, 2010

A reunion of family from Mom’s side of the family followed the next day north of Seattle at a beautiful park in Marysville.

 

 

It was the largest gathering in many years and my first time since a teenager.

 

Mark

Mom

Denise

Teena

 

 

 

 

 

More pictures as we looked through albums and family history and enjoyed the food:

 

Mom and Teena                                                 Mom, Denise and Mark

 

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After the Orsborn Reunion we were able to visit my Uncle Eldon (Mom’s brother), who was unable to attend the reunion.  He lives a little further north in Sedro Woolly, and  I had never been there before. It was wonderful to see Uncle Eldon and Aunt Vera and their interesting home full of amazing keepsakes of every kind.

 

Uncle Eldon, Mom, and me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uncle Eldon’s house is a double Geometric dome house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Another very special visit made during this Seattle Area trip was to see my college freshman-year roommate, Marianne Henderson.

She is one of the few school-days friends I have remained in touch with through all the years.  It was wonderful to see her, and visit together on her  well shaded deck tucked in between some giant fir trees that also surrounded her whole house.  The greater Seattle area was having a heat wave, so Marianne had been enjoying the relaxing time on her peaceful deck.

 

 

 

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Earlier on the day we returned to Alaska, my brother and I spent a few hours enjoying the sun on Alki and Lincoln Beaches, places we have fond memories of from high school days in Seattle.

 

 

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I made it home to the Colville to be with Jim by the end of July and we celebrated Jim’s birthday a few days late. 

Our summer guests, the two muskoxen continued to be very photogenic as they grazed and slept in our yard.

 

 

 

Catching Up On The Colville With Teena - June and July 2010

My goal today is to finally get another post up on my blog.  This chore has been neglected way too long. The summer has flown by and there have been many things I could have been sharing.  I will just hit the highlights for now.

JUNE

Most significant was Jim and my 40th Wedding Anniversary. Jim gave me a homemade card.

Jim is holding one of our little sled-dog puppies in the early 1970's.

                      

The month was generally uneventful, except we enjoyed the usual bird activities ramping up, summer flowers coming on, and our muskox cow and calf still hanging around.

JULY

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July was a pretty full month, starting out with our oldest son, Derek, coming to the Colville to help out so Jim and I could get away on a little outing.  Bad weather prevented us from fulfilling our original plans of a camping trip inland, but we did have a gorgeous July 4th trip upriver on the Colville in our super cub, The Golden Plover.  We landed at numerous locations to enjoy the scenery and masses of flowers beginning to bloom.  

Colville River Bluffs - east bank

"The Golden Plover" on a Colville River sandbar about 40 miles above delta.

Lapland Rosebay (Rhododendron lapponicum)

Looking out at the Colville Bluffs from the cub

We flew along the Colville and the water levels on the river were still quite high, yet our usual sandbar landing spots were available.

Field of Lupine

Jim in the pilot's seat. Blue-bird day.

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Another July event was carrying on with usual summertime guests - mostly birders and people who love adventure in unusual places.  Among other guests, we had a delightful group of birders the first week of July: Jon & Peggy Traver, George Archibald, Sara Simmonds, and Matt Campbell & Carol Kasza.

Sara Simmonds, Jon & Peggy Traver, George Archibald

Muskox cow and calf wandering by lodge

They were treated to "close encounters" with our special summer guests,  Mama and son muskoxen.  (As I write here in late September, the two muskoxen have stayed near our home for nearly 5 months now.  They first showed up May 22 , when the calf was only a few days old.)

Sara and Teena on departure day

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July 6th was warm and sunny and a large caribou herd came by our place. We took the opportunity to harvested some much-appreciated fresh meat.  It is always nice to have our fresh meat delivered to the backyard so conveniently.

Fresh meat delivered to backyard

Ruby's first fresh caribou meat

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On July 13th we were treated to a special "first of its kind" event when our son Jay flew up to the Colville from Fairbanks with his 3 young children also aboard the Cessna 172.  It was the first time one of our boys had piloted a plane into the "old home base".  It was something Jay had been looking forward to for a long time, and it was exciting for Jim and me to have them here and exciting  for the kids to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house again.  Especially Natasha had been asking her parents repeatedly about when she could go to G-ma's house again.

Ride with Grandpa after arrival at Colville

Also aboard the plane was Jon McIntyre, our long-time friend and aircraft maintenance expert, who had come to help Jim prepare the C-206 to be flown to Fairbanks after several years of sitting idle at the Colville. After Jon got the C-206 prepped to fly, he and Jim left for Fairbanks. The C-206 was headed to a new home.  Jim was to return by commercial airlines and Jay picked him up in Deadhorse with the C-172 and returned him home to the Colville a few days later.

C-206 on take-off run at Colville

Grandma had to bundle up the kids to go for a walk on a blustery day.  Dad had forgotten how even summer days on the Colville could be quite chilly, so Grandma had to rustle-up some warmer gear.

Elisha, Melody, and Natasha

Kids watching TV with hot choc after cold walk

Kids with Grandpa

Natasha, Melody, Elisha at counter

 Time flew by and the day to head back to Fairbanks came too soon.

Dad getting everyone settled aboard the C-172

Grandpa and Elisha

Natasha in co-pilot's seat

Elisha and Melody not too happy to leave.

Good-by Jay and kids. Thanks for the visit!

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The next major July event for me was a whirlwind 5 day trip to Seattle.  It started with one day in Fairbanks to connect up with my brother Mark and his wife Denise.  That one day included time for enjoying a few events and friends at the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO).  I saw friends from Barrow, Nuiqsut, and especially my friend Doreen Simmonds, a childhood playmate going back to the 1950's in Barrow.

Mark, Denise, and Doreen at WEIO

Friday, July 23, 2010 was a long day starting at 4 AM, flying from Fairbanks to Seattle, meeting more family in Seattle for lunch, and then driving to Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula with my older sister Merrily and her husband Steve, ending up at my dear friend Brenda Williamson's house for the night.

Brenda lives in a paradise of beautiful plants and flowers.  Since the last time I had visited her, the house was newly built sitting in a large empty field, so it was delightful to see the results of Brenda's green thumb and hard work. Timing was perfect to enjoy lush patches of bright flowers and plants of many kinds and colors.  I felt I was in an elaborate botanical garden or famous arboretum.

Part of Brenda's yard

Merrily and Brenda by front porch

Flowers galore

Roses

Brenda, Teena, Merrily

The stay with Brenda was short because the main reason for the Seattle trip was to attend two family reunions, so we returned to Seattle after only one day on the Olympic Peninsula.  The weather was beautiful and I reveled in the green scenery and beautiful mountains all around.  Mt. Rainier was spectacular the entire time I stayed in the Seattle area.

Crossing Hood Canal Bridge with Mt. Rainier on the horizon

This posting is getting too long, so I will continue in another installment, sharing pictures from the Wartes Cousins Reunion and my Mom's Orsborn Reunion.