Let it Rain!!!

We had almost a foot of snow in November in small increments, but December brought in a Pineapple Express that gave us 18 1/2 inches of rain in the first ten days of the month with half of that in the first three days!  That took care of any snow we had on the ground around the lodge!

Snow view from the lodge.

Sadie Creek in the snow.

Documenting Thelma and Louise's first snow!

December 1 rainfall was over 4"!

Sadie Creek on day two of the monsoon after almost 8" of rain.  I've included my left index finger for scale!

Baranof Falls after 8" of rain in two days!

Here is a short video of the falls after the first few days of rain.  A friend who was on his boat at the dock estimated the current there at 6 knots!  The current actually swamped his skiff and pinned it under the dock.  He was finally able to get it out at low tide when the current was directed away from the dock.  (This is the first time I've posted a video, so I hope it loads OK!)

Back to Warm Springs Bay!

 Hi Friends,

We are fortunate to be spending the winter in Warm Springs Bay caretaking the Baranof Wilderness Lodge!  We figured out a while back that our first year here was 2004!  A quick Covid update on us--Jen is furloughed from Alaska Airlines and won't be flying until 2022!  Rick's job as captain of Polar Mist's extended summer cruise through SE Alaska has been postponed until next summer.

We have been here at the lodge since October 16th.  This photo is actually one I took from the skiff while I was out logging, but shows our dock, the main lodge, and some of the guest cabins.

We got a ride from Sitka this year with Jackson Dozier, who brought us and all our supplies around from Sitka.

All the bare necessities needed for seven months of remote living are protected under the tarp!

Thelma and Louise pretended they didn't like the boat ride, but they settled down once we got underway.  Thelma and Louise have been with us since last May.  They're siblings from Petersburg who I picked up with our friend Captain Paul, so they are experienced boat cats.  On the way back from Petersburg we actually spent the night here at the lodge, so this is not their first time at the lodge!

Capt Jackson backs the boat away from the work dock at the harbor in Sitka.  We normally take 10 to 12 hours to make the trip, but Jackson got us here in about 3.5 hours, in spite of what he said was the heaviest load he's had on the boat.  That slowed us down from 30 kts to about 25 kts.

The trip through Olga, Neva, and Peril Straits was smooth running!

We did get to enjoy a little "Chatham Chop" once we rounded the corner into Chatham Strait.

We had lots of cat accessories to unload.

Thelma and Louise enjoying their cat condo in their new home for the winter!

The cats love the "Artificial Sun" (big radiant heaters we use in the lodge)!

Lodge owner Mike Trotter heading out for a week of fly fishing on the Kenai.

Mike flew to Juneau by float plane to connect with Alaska Airlines.

That's Mike's plane taking off.

One of our fall chores is to lay in a supply of firewood for the winter.

These are two "volunteers" that I found floating out in Chatham Strait.  A "volunteer" is a log that I don't have to wrestle off the beach and into the water to tow back to the lodge.

Each log is cut into rounds.

Then "we" split and  stack it.  The woodshed is full, so we've got four pallets of wood that we tarp alongside the shed.

Mike's return from his trip.  He brought some supplies in for us from Juneau.

Mike rowing his dory over to the townsite for winter storage.

Not a bad spot for "Miller Time"!

Thelma and Louise

 Warning--this page contains way too many photos of our new cats, Thelma and Louise!  Proceed at your own risk!  Last spring, after Jen got furloughed and my summer's sail on Polar Mist was postponed because of Covid, we decided to move up our schedule to get a pair of kittens.  Unfortunately, we couldn't find any kittens on the west coast until our friend Lizzy shared a Facebook post from her town (Petersburg) in May.  The next day I got a call from my friend Paul asking if I could help him take his boat over to Petersburg so he could buy a 20-foot skiff.  It was meant to be--we came back from Petersburg with a new skiff and two kittens!

Thelma and Louise on the day I picked them up in Petersburg.  We stopped at Baranof Wilderness Lodge for the night, so the kittens got a sneak preview of their home for this winter.

I got home with the cats the next day and Jen was happy to pick them up in the harbor!

Louise relaxing in her "doughnut".

Thelma and Louise wrestling their new home in Sitka.

Thelma exploring in the garden.

Louise took a break to stop and smell the Forget-Me-Nots!

Louise exploring in the yard.

Checking out the new plants.

Trying on some Xtra-tuffs.

Naptime!

Peacefully hanging out on the stool.

Until Thelma invades!

Celebrating the Fourth of July

Yo Yo Pa!

Hanging out on the deck

Good smells!

Sisterly Love

This is Louise chasing bugs on the living room window.  Yes, we do have a good view!

More Deck Time!

Time for human interaction!

Thelma tolerated human interaction better than Louise!

Some of Jen's favorite new furniture!

Chasing bugs on the deck.

Louise showing off the incision from her spaying.

Mousing at the lodge.

Window cleaning supervision

Playing on the "Puddy Pallet".

Puddy Pallet sneak attack!

Election Day!

Enjoying a nice day on the lodge deck in the mobile cat prison.

Bacon Grill Supervisors