Mother nature this time of year, is like a beautiful woman removing her jewels before bed as summer gives way to fall and then winter. The flowers and foliage that blanketed the land one by one change in color and gradually die down in preparation for the long winters sleep.

 

The summer was a busy time for us as well as an exciting time.

In June we moved into our house. What a blessing to have a washer and dryer, a dishwasher and large refrigerator. I did not realize how much work it was living in the 5th wheel. Just doing everyday things such as cooking, cleaning, etc.

Soon after we moved into our home our 1st guests arrived. My mother Ines, brother Lynn, and cousin Joe Dejmal came to enjoy our home.

Many stories told around the table as shown here. I am sure they were fish stories about the big one that got away. LOL

We called cousin Joe (right) the fish slayer, LOL. The guys i.e.. Randy, Lynn and Joe had so much fun catching fish.

Here is Joe showing off a small amount of their catch.

Lynn and Joe both had large boxes of Halibut and Salmon to take back to their families.

I so enjoyed having my mother up here again this year. We again went to all the art galleries, enjoying the many creative artists in Homer. This picture was taken outside of one of the coffee roasters in Homer that I frequent, K-Bay Coffee. Yes we enjoyed many cups of coffee there.

I decided it would be fun to take her on a boat ride across the bay to a cove named Halibut Cove, there are art museums and a nice restaurant there.

When I purchased the tickets for us I did not think about the tide being out and how steep the decent would be to get to the boat from the road. It was almost straight down. My little mother was quite the trooper.  Because the tide was out, the ramp we needed to go down was about 70ft. at a 45 degree angle.

Mama said, “Well when I looked down I was a little scared but I just said, ‘Ines you have got to go down to the boat.’  So I did not look down and went on ahead and made it down.” That little lady is fearless!

Here she is after she made it down, very proud of her accomplishment. As she should be.

We had a wonderful ride over the water was calm, and the skies clear, as we voyaged on out little boat The Danny J.

 

As we neared into the cove waters we began to see many of the homes in the cove. It was settled by one family many years ago, The people that live there need to take a boat from the cove into Homer for groceries and supplies. (This is about a 45 min ride in good weather.) There is an electric line that runs under the bay to the cove for electricity,  however, fuel and any other supplies must come in by boat.  It is a very unique lifestyle, for sure.

The developer of the cove has covenants for building that all the structures need to be in Cape Code style, this lends the community a particular charm.

Mom and I had a wonderful time together. The whole area is tied together by boardwalks, the rock formations, and vegetation there is just beautiful.   We had lunch at a nice restaurant there (in fact it is the only restaurant there). We ate a leisurely lunch, watching the sea life (ie. seals,  sea otters, cormorants, eagles, etc.) playing in the water, and near the shore.

On the way back to Homer the trip became a little more serious. Mom had been struggling with light headedness for about 2 years. No one was able to figure out what was wrong.

I think possibly because of all the exercise the lightheadedness became more intense, so that night after we arrived home off to our ED we went.

I guess she had to come all the way to Alaska to find out she was having significant heart pauses, and would most likely need a pacemaker but for now some medication changes were in order and a night spent in our hospital.

I came in the next day to see her and she was the belle of the floor, everyone was visiting with her, and anxious to show her all the art work that was up in the different areas of the hospital. This worked out well as she was to walk and remain on the telemetry to see if her heart would pause after they had stopped the one medication.

Later that day I broke her out of the hospital and we were on our way back to my house none the worse for wear.

One of the things we needed done at out house was for the 500 gallon oil tank to be placed outside of the house so it could fuel the boiler for the in-floor heat Randy had installed.

Our neighbor, Sue, is such a wonderful neighbor.  She brought over her tool Cat and moved the barrel where Randy had planned for it to be. It was a show enjoyed by all our guests.

One of the most amazing things about living on the Bay in the late summer and early fall is seeing the amazing sun rises. It rises behind the mountains and looks as though they are on fire. Part of the reason for this is the sun runs its course across the  sky in fall and winter low on the southern horizon.

 

We had a very interesting pair visit us many times this summer. Two young bull moose hanging out together. They would pass by our house and graze their way down the ravine to the state park below us.

My brother Lee and his wife Gail came out to see us next.  They landed around Fairbanks, AK and fished their way down to our house over a period of 1 week.

When they got to our house we spent time together eating out and seeing the sights. Then they took a charter out with one of our friends for halibut fishing.  It was a rough day for Gail, she got very sea sick but as usual she is quiet the trooper. They made a good catch, and were able to take 3 boxes of salmon and halibut home with them.

The next to come and visit was our daughter Erin from Colorado Springs, CO and her boyfriend Rex. It was so good to see her and to meet him.

We really miss our kids. It can be up to 2 years before we see them, so any time with them is special.

Randy and I took them to a raw oyster bar, Erin and I looked on with disgust as Rex and Randy enjoyed them. Randy teasingly placed one of his empty plates in front of Rex to make it look as though he had eaten them all himself. He and Randy probably ate about 4 dozen between them. Erin and I enjoyed the home brew. I did sample a small piece of one from Randy’s plate. Disgusting! Is all I can say.

Unfortunately it was the end of the season when they were out, so most of the salmon they caught were already dead or dying as they had already spawned. Rex laughingly called it fishing for zombies.

All too soon our visit with them ended and it was with such sweet sorrow that I bid them goodbye. I felt like a large black hole was in my heart as we left them to board a small plane in Kenai, AK which would take them on to Anchorage where they would catch their flight home.

Randy was so kind a patient with me, as I grieved there departure. Later in the day it abated and I felt better. We are very proud of our kids and thankful they are all doing so well. I would not want anything else for them.

It has been a strange winter this year, they say it is because a tropical depression is over Alaska. This has caused us to have an unusually warm winter, lots of rain, and very little snow. We have probably only had a total of 12 inches up where our home is. Homer never gets as much as we do. With the warmer temps during the day, and freezing at night the ice has been a big problem on the roads. It has caused many knuckle bitters into work and or home from work for me. I however have been unscathed by the weather. I am very thankful!

I know the weather has been much colder in the south and the midwest then we have been up here.

It is mid march now and the moose are starting to make there way down out of the high country in preparation for spring and dropping their calves. I see them munching on the wild rose bushes on the rose hips still left on the vine, as well as the birch trees along the roadway and in our driveway.

Randy and I will be flying to Kansas, leaving here April 11th. We have to take care of all our belongings we have stored in a trailer at my brother’s farm. We will be spending 1 month there. It will be wonderful to see family and friends.

God bless you all with His eternal love and grace. As he fulfills His promises to you.

A rainbow seen from or living room this fall. Reminding me of God’s love eternal mercy and fulfillment of promises to us.

For now love and blessings to you.

 Janette