Month: October 2018

On our afternoon walk, I found a mysterious brightly painted piece of rock at the 8 mile bridge on the Port Saint Nicholas Expressway.

I wonder what it was?

[daily log: walking, 4km]

I think Richard has decided I need training to be an Alaskan. He asked for my help on his landing craft again today. So when Arthur and I went into town, Arthur hung out with Jan (Richard's wife and, coincidentally, Arthur's local VA advocate), I spent a few hours with him putting on the port side deck piece over the other engine, which he'd gotten dropped in place. It's a two-person job because one person has to be on each side of the deck (above and below), while the nuts and bolts go through and get attached.

Here is the landing craft. The engines are at the back, in the compartment under the cabin canopy at the stern of the boat.

It was raining the whole time we worked, and the tide came in, so that halfway through the work the boat began floating, lending a certain instability to the proceedings.

[daily log: walking, 2km]

I went into town early this morning, because I'd offered to help Richard (the guy who's doing the work clearing the adjacent lot, here, with his excavator) with his work on his landing craft. I mentioned his landing craft a few weeks ago when Juli and Keith and I visited it (previous blog post). 

He got his starboard engine installed, and is putting on the deck over it. It's a two person job to be on both sides of the deck piece (above and below) while the bolts are all attached. So I got to climb around the engine compartment. A good morning's entertainment.

[daily log: walking, 4km]

I broke down the temporary tarp arrangement over all my stuff (meaning, the stuff he didn’t want in his house – about half of what I shipped here). It was time to free up Arthur’s driveway and start using my new storage unit. Which is a glorified tent.

So I moved it all in.

Classified Ad
Furnished Studio: premium plastic tarp construction, dock access, moss garden adjacent, slightly tilted, no electricity or plumbing – classic “Alaskan granny flat”.

[daily log: walking, 1km; boxes, a lot]

Today had a foggy morning.

I'm feeling overwhelmed by the tax paperwork I've been working on, but I genuinely feel it should be my priority.

I sense Arthur is frustrated, too – by his own struggles. He doesn't feel in control, but as time passes, he seems to be becoming more aware of not being in control. I can see the discomfort of it. One has to decode his remarks: "Full Ahead Slow" means things are going OK. "It is what it is" indicates extreme displeasure. 

Life goes on. Winds cleared the sky in the afternoon.

[daily log: walking, 3km]

Arthur says this all the time. It's like his motto, nowadays.

So it's mine, too.

Here is the water, just after dawn.

Here are some alders (I think – not totally confident on tree identification, here, yet).

Here is a snail, crossing the road.

[daily log: walking, 4km]

Not much to report today. I went off tromping on the southern property line again. Slow going, my search for those other two stakes. It's fully overgrown. I'm trying for a precision method, laying string on the southern lot line, perfectly straight with the right compass bearing, from the one stake I found. It's tedious because then you need line-of-sight: trees to be moved… 

Here is the mouth of the Saint Nicholas River, taken during our afternoon walk.

[daily log: walking, 4km; tromping, 300m]

I started building my new "storage unit" today. My stuff that I shipped from Minnesota – the stuff Art didn't want in his house, like all the furniture, etc. – has been sitting in his driveway wrapped in a giant plastic tarp to keep it hopefully dry. So we bought a sort of kit "garage tent" which are quite popular up here in Alaska. And I started building it today.

It's going to be set up in what I call Arthur's "moss garden" AKA his front yard. It's not much of a yard, and he said he'd rather it be there than in the driveway. I can tell it's hard for him to accept this particular thing – it's because it doesn't fit in with his view of how his property should look. Hopefully it will be temporary and I'll transition to a more permanent shed at some different location in the future.

[daily log: walking 4km]