Getting better!

Ohhhh ya!
The wife pulled out all the stops this week with some good art sales.
Of all things at the moment, which has encompassed my last wekk, Im missing my cameras, both in the same basket, like eggs....somewhere, some place... hmmmmmmm.....
Anyhoo, Im now typing on a computer the wife picked up for three hundred $$ as the folks who sold it have no electricity, but were anticipating the service that hasnt made it to them quite yet, and since X mas have had this boxed up and stored.
My daughter Mary got it for her 10th birthday, and like a great daughter, she gave me an account :D

As well, we picked up a nice snubnosed Rossi .357 pistol with a caribou on Caribou picutre for the second daughters 13th B-day as a Berry patch pistol, and then a nice .30 carbine Ruger Black Hawk, for a couple hundred Whitefish to a local dog musher.

The best part is that this camputer can take all kinds of cards, disks and such, so posting here will get better strting today.

Hey, Im happy!

Kids playing

Got a kick outta the kids tonight, and while they are kicked outta other rooms  that are being cleaned, they just danced and stayed outta the way while still having a good time.

Caribou skin stretched with Caribou Picto's migrating from scattered to a moving herd , following the "Lead" Cow at the first snowfall, heading South to the winter feeding grounds.

   Of course , this is a work put together by the wife and I, with her drawing.

Not bad, eh? :D

Thinking of Spring Birds.

Been thinking of Spring lately and figured Id posta few older pix as well.

My favorite is my second son, with his first Goose.

We really love the Geese/Duck hunting that we get to do in our few months of Summer.

In Spring, around the end of April, birds will arrive from down south after having been gone since Mid September. Seagulls will arrive 3-4 days ahead of the Geese, and Ducks somewhere inbetween, as they are often following the cracks in the ocean ice.

For us, Springtime birds are a change in diet, and something delicious to share around.

We have differing seasons with Spring arriving earlier, we have more water around, and the birds spred out abit more, nonethe less, we still score 'em by the pound and by the ton........

Sometimes we hunt across the ice, sometimes ina blind by a favorite lake....

Swans are fair game as well. We can score three each year.

We usually pluck them right away, 'cept for the Decoys, and here my oldest son simply shot a bunch right outside the house, so we had a mornig plucking party.
the wife saves the feathers for when shes working on Seals and other oily animals. The Feathers redily absorbe the oil that shes working with all the blubber and such, and she can easily wash the blood off her hands in cold water and have them very clean.

Where I like to hunt, the ice is effected by tides, and often the water will quietly rise and make a short walk into miles........

Sometimes the hunting is so good, we just stay untill we have a loaded sled, so taking the wife and a daughter is fine for company

All done, a pict by the former decoys.....

The quicker plucker in action.....

These were plucked in the blind and put in grain sacks, about 16 per sack.

Spring birds that arrive from down south are FAT!

they are usually looking for a mate and flying about without worrys..........this is their demise.

We hunt them intensively for about 3 days. By then, we have to go home and share around. After 3 days, there is usually water all around and the birds are spred out a bit, and sled is loaded.

We stop hunting the birds and jar them up, repair our stuff and get a boat ready, as the water will soon erode the ice and snow on the land, and break up is close.

With break up, we boat around, and we hunt other animlas, Muskrats , Beavers and water animals. We will shoot Ducks/Geese for fresh meat, but in limited numbers.

With break up over, the water going down, we will start fishing.

Depending on where we are, it will be for little Smelts or big Sheefish.

Right after the smelts go by, the birds will all nest, and we will gather Seagull eggs, 3 days inna row , 3 from each clutch, as thats what they will lay every time. We do Not gather Geese/Duck eggs, as we give 'em evry chance to grow. After we stop gathering eggs, the Seagulls will still nest and have babies.

Now we will stop hunting Geese at all, and now shoot only male Ducks for fresh meat, as they do not pair up or help raise the young.

Later, in late August, we hill hunt the young Geese that are just learning to fly, and put them in our freezers for winter. They have LOTS of fat then, and big legs, so we call them "Drumstick Geese", because all they have ever done is walk.

They come when called and fly very straight and unscared.....sometimes its crazy.

snaring em

Well.............

Ive been fighting my computer foor a few days now, and downloaded some totally usless Internet anti this and that, where? ~~LOL!!~~

Being slow, the picture posting was timing out and I could post no pix, as well, I couldnt log on after many many trys...Adeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

So here I am, and I think I have it back to normal.......sorta.....and on some pictures I see a shadow....and can hear a peice of something rattling in there as well as a few very bum pix.Nothing lasts forever.....~~LOL!!~~

Sooooo, despite the fact that I have a backwards order to my pix, you can see the progression of me, the second daughter Iri and out walk along friend Paul ventured forth and set snares among the willows, just out of town as we are now in " Walking mode" since the spare parts for my engine are still comming with the returne I made when they sent the wrong years type...
No problem, if I want to hunt, I just leave the yard......

So while setting snares I popped a nice fat Snowshoe, and after setting a couple dozen, the daughter say some Ptarmigan deep in the willows.

Now that stuff is about bullet proof, and a 12 gauge will make things right when used in this stuff, but .22lr are NO "Brush buckers", out of 40 shots, the only connections made were three, when we were about outta ammo, and FINNALLY some Ptarmigan had climed to new buds and out of the bullet proof densly packed willows. Im talking 20 feet away, with only small parts and outlines visable~~LOL!!~~

But try we did , and sucess follow'd. # Ptarmigan and a Rabbit......

Next day, with the Daughter in school, Paul and I check'd them and brought home enough to make a variety type dinner..

The first, which should be last, pictures shows the remains of 2 Rabbits, 3 Ptarmigan, 3 Mallards, a Goose and a 10 lb roast, homemade bread, rice and Goose gravey.......Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........

And with such skill, she will feed herself and a dog team....someday....:D

Some fishing with the kids

I figure to let you in on my favorite Fisherwoman, My wife Agnes.
Born and raised to fish, this woman grew up commercial and Subsistance fishing, for $ and food. The Kotzebue Sound drainagaes are Salmon rich with Kings , Chum, Pinks and Silvers....with some Reds showing up now inthe last few years.
Shes a master at drying, canning and cooking all kinds of fish, from Smelts to 60lb Sheefish

Best of all, she has alotta help from our daughters as well.......heck, we all pitch in one way or another.

Heres some vid of the kids and us at where we like to fish for Salmon.

They are side by side, so Im not sure how this will turn out ~~LOL!!~~...but Im experamenting here, and trying to get 'er done.

The kids make the work fun, from start to finish, Its always a blast when the work is there.

We make our kids the knifes they use and make sure they are in on every part of the process.

The wind drys the fish the best,and in an hour or so, the flys wont be able to set eggs on they, but on still ,windless days,we often set a smudge of smoke to keep the flys off untill a nice dry crust. Its also a great idea to keep the sun off drying meats as well.

If its drizzling, we will drape tarps to the ground and make a big smoke house to keep the bugs off with a smudge on. The meat racks are also a place the kids like to hang out at, and so do loose dogs.....~~LOL!!~~

Twice a day the wife inspects all meats, and decides what they will be used for, where and when.

2010 census starts here.

The 2010 census starts here in Noorvik.
So much for a news link.........

I cant figure out how to "Dashboard " unless its a new post, so I cant correct stuff...I cant get here without a roundabout way "in" and I cant copy/paste stuff, such as internet adress's.
Arrrrgh.
Been losing my posts, like 4 so far, writing more than 1/2 way through , losing it, rewriting it again................and I loath to write so much and see it dissapear.

How do I even know if more than 1 guy even reads this?

Gimme time, just frusterated here......