We have been in Homer for a little over 6 weeks. It has been a restful time, like having a long pause in the action as we attempt to see if this could be our new home over the next few years.

Homer is a quirky little town of about 5,500 people. Filled with unique shops, and very friendly people.

As well as it has an espresso shop on about every corner, and a coffee roasting shop in town!😊

It has an active fishing harbor, as well as a harbor for cruise ships and ferries,  as tourism is a large part of the economy.

It is known as the halibut fishing capital of the world.

Halibut are large flat fish that lay on the bottom of the ocean,  they have dense, tender,sweet white meat. Currently the market price for halibut is about $22.00 per pound.

Recently a tourist,  a woman who was about 5’2″ tall caught a 9 ft halibut! It was too big for the boat, so the captain of the boat towed it into the harbor.

The boat the Time Bandit from the show deadliest Catch is docked in this harbor. Also the kilthures from the show Alaska the Last Frontier live outside of Homer.

The Alaskan Highway ends in Homer. Homer sits at the bottom of the Keni Peninsula. It is surrounded by the Cook inlet which then flows in to the Ketchamack  Bay, both of which flow out of the Pacific Ocean, because of its location next to the Pacific Ocean, this keeps the temperature very moderate.  In the summer the temperature ranges from the upper 50’s to the upper 70’s with very little wind , and no notable humidity. The winters also remain mild with temps rarely dropping below 0 .

Right now we have about 19 to 20 hrs of sunlight the longest day is the summer solstice on June 21st.

The combination of the large amount of sunlight, with the gentle occasional light rains bring an unbelievable amount of wild flowers, and dense foliage .

Every day Randy and I wake up , have coffee , discuss and review new properties via trulia on-line.

Then we load up the dogs and head out the door. We have had so much fun exploring different areas to live.

Some places feel like we may be going up to the top of the world, the views are breath-taking!

There are the Kechamack mountains and Wilderness to the east, with many visible glaciers.  There are 3 volcanos to the west.

When you look toward the west you think you may be looking at clouds but upon looking closer you realize you are seeing the volcanos.  On a clear day you can see them completely, ,they are massive ,dwarfing the landscape around them, the locals call it the ring of fire. The last eruption of one was around 5 years ago per one of the Homer locals. One is named Redoubt, another Illiama, and I am unsure of the 3 rd ones name. I was unable to get a good picture of them. I will continue to try to get one and post on here.

On days when the tide is out i.e. at low tide, the ocean becomes the most marvelous dog park. There are a several birds that hang out there, ie. Eagles, fishing off shore, sea gulls, fishing in the shallows, and Ravens scavenging for tidbits from the sea.
It is amazing to watch the ravens and the sea gulls begin to enter act with the dogs. They will fly along side the dogs as the dogs are running along the beach, and swoop down looking like they might land, the dogs speed up to try to catch them and they take off again flying high and fast, It becomes a game of ” Catch me if you can”.

Every Saturday there is a farmers market here in town, with many local artist, displaying their works, as well as restaurants serving their specialty.  From Thi food to halibut tacos,, it is a great time for all, and a good way to meet people in the community. 

There are all kinds of home-made items from ivory carving, pottery, knitted items, to homemade lotions and soaps, jewelry, paintings, and ink drawings, all from local artisans. As well as a local gentleman writes about his sea excursions. It is a fun time to get to know people.
you can buy everything from a halibut taco, as before mentioned to fireweed jelly, or even birch tree syrup.

Fireweed is a weed that blooms all over up here, it is said when it blooms there are only so many weeks of summer left. I believe it is 6 weeks. It is usually in full bloom mid to end of July.

We have found a little church of about 200 people called Homer Church On The Rock. It has a non accredited bible school with it, and was started about 15 yrs ago as an out reach for the native people of Alaska. It is very strong in the word, has wonderful praise and worship services. We feel it is some place where we will fit right in.
2 weeks ago they had a church picnic at a small homestead own by church members that designate their property for church functions. They have a river running through their yard, they had water baptism that day of 3 people, it was only around 58 degrees that day so you can imagine how cold the water was.

I got a job at Homer Hospital it is named South Peninsula Hospital. It is a very small hospital. 22 beds in acute care, 20 beds in Swing bed, 2 OB beds, and a 9 bed ED. Homer is the 5th largest city in Alaska, so this little hospital serves a large population of people who live across the bay, and surrounding area.
Anything very serious is flighted to Anchorage, or Seattle, Washington.
It is a very friendly place to work, I feel very welcomed by them.
I will be working 12 hr nights, starting 07/3/2015.
Of interest to my medical friends they are not under JACHO regulations, something about their location. They are much more are much more laxed. Patients walk out when discharged, they do not have to sign anything, it is just much more relaxed. They do however have state examiners that come in and review the hospital, charting ect. They still have to meet medicare and Medicaid rules and regulations.

Often times Randy and I go on hikes on state park trails, there are Moose every where. So I always carry my gun, and I attach bells on to my walking stick and on the dogs collars as there are also a large amount of bears in the area, black as well as grizzly. Though I have not seen any as of yet.
One of our favorite places to go is Evangeline Trail. The Dogs know when we are going there because as soon as we get close, they begin to get so excited,begging to get going.

I love seeing all the wild flowers, there are so many, I only know what a few of them are. There are forget me nots ( the state flower), wild cotton, Lupin, Elderberry, raspberry, Alder Trees that produce very small little pine cones and many others that I do not know the names of.

One of my favorite things to see when we walk in the woods are the ferns, and the moss, and the small eco systems that grow on dead wood, or in boggy areas, each on is its own little world and is different from the previous one.

I hope you have enjoyed this small peak into our lives up here. As the adventure continues.

Finn

Janette.