Have you met winter?

Last October Lauri wrote:
“Greg and I hauled 3 trailer loads like this one from his place to Kasilof this week! ( Beetle killed trees.) I guess our 6 months of work on the island has us in good shape, as neither of us is sore or complaining! Yes, the full wood shed is a years' worth, and it feels soooo good. Let winter begin!”


So Lauri works on the milling equipment (mentioned in the island cabin building section) to cut up trees into fireplace/stove wood. And she and Greg proudly pose in front of the years' worth of wood. Of course, I'm looking at those pictures and thinking "Let winter begin? Isn't that snow I see? And aren't you pretty seriously bundled up there?" Well, what do I know? I live in Florida. Winter has many faces.


Like these. These look like genuine, sincere winter faces. The kind of winter that freezes your blood. The kind that turns your breath into frost on your beard. (Can that really happen? I've seen it in movies.) The first two pictures are along Kasilof Beach, where the constant moisture gathers and then freezes on the trees. The beautiful sunset is the view from Greg's parent's house and there actually is some ice there on the edge of the water (that's the Cook Inlet and Mount Iliamna on the other side).

Of the winter that Lauri is experiencing, she writes:
"Still colder than sh**. We cut up enough firewood for a reasonable winter, but we are going through 2 days worth in one day. Yikes. Every little crack or gap just spews cold and ice!"

Down here in Florida, we don't know anything about this kind of winter. I've lived in California, Arizona and now Florida for so many winters that I cannot remember the winters of my childhood that included snow. Of course, those winters of my childhood were about sledding and school being closed, not trying to keep a house warm, pipes from freezing, and your car able to start. Nope, I don't know those winters, never met them.

Visitors

How would you like to find these cute critters lounging around your front yard? I think it would be just fine.


Lauri writes:
"These two were sleeping just below the house today, and Greg thought the calf looked odd. Close up revealed he had started to grow one nub of an antler above his eye!"

Not to worry, he's fine. He's just a bit odd. Aren't we all?

I remember the first trip I took to Kasilof. I stayed with friends of Lauri's and slept in their living room, which had a huge picture window looking out over the Kasilof River. One morning as I was stretching and wishing for a cup of strong coffee, a bear sauntered through the yard and down to the river. My mouth was hanging open and my brain was trying hard to comprehend what I'd seen. This was no zoo. That bear was not in some well-designed enclosure. That sucker was right outside. Since nobody else seemed too awfully concerned, I didn't make a big deal about it. Alaska's funny that way.

He's quick

I no sooner posted "Greg's been busy" than I got a message from Lauri with this photo.


And in answer to the question "wonder what's next?" GuessWho (I think we know who you are) writes:
"Weeeellll, today he is putting the hand rubbed finish on the chairs.
Next, I will get him to clean the shop and take a break. Would like to drive to Fairbanks to watch some northern lights for a bit, as they are so much more spectacular there.
Then, he will gear up the shop for welding and build 2 small size wood stoves for the island cabins!"

Greg's been busy

In case you thought Greg just lazes around the house in the winter, think again. This guy has been very busy. I think I mentioned back when I wrote about the island cabin being built, that Greg and Lauri ended up acquiring milling equipment at their place in Kasilof. In other words, they have a kick-ass shop. Well, it gets put to extremely good use.

His most recent project is a birch table for the Hesketh Island cabin and, of course, chairs. Lauri writes:
"Greg has been keeping busy in his workshop the past 2 months. He made a picnic table and benches for the guest cabin. Then, a new door for our cabin to replace the drafty one. Now he has started on a birchwood dining set for our cabin--- this is the prototype chair. Wowee!"

He's finished the table and has cut all the pieces for the chairs. He'll have them done in no time, I'm sure, and then he'll pick another project. Hmmm, wonder what's next?

Sandpipers on Kasilof beach

Where in the world is Lauri?

I just realized you might not have any idea at all where Lauri is. Of course not, how could you? I haven't shown you where she lives. Let's rectify that right now:


This is a map of the Kenai Peninsula and the Cook Inlet (click the map, it gets bigger). Lauri lives in Kasilof, Alaska. See the little black box? That's Kasilof. At the top of this map is Anchorage. Lots of people have heard of Anchorage, not many have heard of Kasilof. Perhaps you've heard of Homer, Alaska? It's below Kasilof.





So, that's where Lauri built her house. It started as a one room cabin and over the years became a three bedroom house, with an attached greenhouse (naturally -- how else would she be able to grow 4 kinds of tomatoes for her sauces and salads?) and garage. There used to be a gigantic workshop in the yard. I slept there when I visited in the summer of 1991, my third trip to Alaska.






This is the view from Lauri's living room and from her bedroom. Wouldn't you love to watch the sun set behind Mt. Redoubt every evening? Of course it doesn't look quite like this in the winter months. That mountain is across the Cook Inlet from Kasilof. It's a very, very, very long way away.



These pictures remind me of how connected to nature I felt while I was there -- and how disconnected from nature I feel in my life now. I'm sure there are beautiful, natural settings and critters I could see if I went far enough from my house. But in Alaska you have to go a long way to NOT see beautiful, natural settings.