Swimming and Canoeing

What a fun filled day on the water. I went swimming with Myra's family. The kids were so nice to let me play on their rafts. If you know me well, I was a little nervous going into the Koyuk River because it was dirty looking and I don't like to touch the bottoms of lakes or rivers. Well, Romay was motor boater. She motored me around while I lay on the raft. We got into a barge whole and it freaked me out. I stepped down and I sunk in the mud. I rushed to grab the raft and swim out of there. Ethan was also kind to let me borrow his raft. We swam for about an hour. We walked up the beach a ways and then floated down. I loved the water and it didn't take me too long to get used to it.

Picture: A bloated dead walrus

Myra, a smart Eskimo as she is, made a fire with one match. It was nice to stand by the fire when you got out of the water. The temperature was about 75 degrees.

After swimming, I went canoeing with Mandy on the Koyuk River. She just bought the canoe and it was so much fun. It was a tough job carrying the canoe on your shoulders all the way down to the beach. I was really buff! We took a couple of breaks. The mud was sticky and if you stayed in one place too long it sucked you in. So we finally got out and went up river. The tide was out so it was a little hard to start. It was a little choppy out there but so beautiful. The clouds were amazing. We passed a family swimming where I was earlier and tried to find the inlet of Coal Creek but couldn't. So we went to a point and pulled the canoe up the beach so it wouldn't float away. We went onto the bank as quick as we could so we wouldn't get stuck in the mud. We picked a handful of salmon berries to go along with crackers and peanut butter. We enjoyed the beauty of Koyuk once again. The tide was out further as we came back to shore close to the village so it was even longer to get the canoe home.

Berry Update

After a day home from the Emergency Vet, Berry went back to coughing, throwing up, and heaving. I was very nervous and didn't know what else to do besides pray for her and trust God would take care of her. Well, He was faithful once again. After a day or so with a bland diet of rice and chicken she was more playful and wasn't obessed with eating grass every time she went outside. She is still heaving a bit and it's after she eats her food, so I dumped that out and tried some newer food. She's still not eating regular dog food as much and is still pretty tired most of the time. Maybe that is the medicine. Thanks for your prayers.

Surpise!

On Sunday Berry came home from Anchorage. First, Joe and I went up with the HOnda because I heard the plan come. When we got to the airport there was no plane in sight. We waited a half hour and Joe had the wise idea of checking to see if Sopie, our Frontier Flying Service Agent, brought her down. Well, we went back to the apartment and Sophie was there and she told me that Berry had to stay because there was not any room on the plane. I was a little upset and thought Sophie was joking so I went to look in my apartment and there was the little monster. I was so happy to see her. She seemed pretty calm and later she passed out because she was so tired. I really wanted to take her berry picking but thought it would be best if she rested one more day. A good friend Matt (Mandy's husband) watched her for me and said she slept almost the whole time.

So we (Joe, Mandy, and I) went berry picking for Salmon Berries by Mukluk. This is also the place where we have our duck blind. There are lots of little ponds around and very muddy in some places. It was nice to walk with Mandy all the way out there to discuss the plants and the uses for them. As I was walking I stepped in what I thought was solid ground but was mud and it sucked me right in. It was pretty funny.

The mosquitos were so bad that you could hear the buzzing in the air. We found lots of big Salmon Berries in a few different patches. Then we walked a little further into more of a salt water marsh and found some more. We were so surprised when we found hundreds of bushes full of blueberries! We picked a quart in only 30 minutes! The mosquitos were so bad we wanted to leave but I was torn: leave or pick more berries?

I was thinking to myself as I was picking berries, this is why I love Alaska. I can pick fresh fruit from the land, surrounded by mountains and the beauty of God's creation.

I can't wait for blueberry pancakes and Jam!

Berry and Bones

Berry and I were so glad to be back in Koyuk. She loved running free through the tall grasses and fireweed. I thought it would be good for her to have a cord outside where she could enjoy the fresh air. In Wisconsin she could spend hours outside digging holes, chewing on rose bushes, eating twigs off the lilac bush, catching fireflies. So I put Berry where I could watch her outside my bedroom door. So I looked out and saw her laying in the bushes and heard a snap. I ran out there as fast as I could and took duck wing bones away from her. These bones were probably ones left from May when we plucked our ducks. I didn't think she swallowed anything until later that night she was coughing, gagging, and clawing at her face. I called the vet in Nome and he was on vacation. I didn't know what to do. Do I wait to see if the bone passes or do I send her to Emergency clinic in Anchorage and pay a ton of money in flights. After praying, I decided I would send her. I spent from 10 am to 3pm making phone call after phone call to get her to Anchorage. Luckily a guy was taking over for the vet in Nome but was not a vet. So he picked her up at the airport in Nome and boarded her there for the night so she could make the morning flight to Anchorage. She arrived in Anchorage today about 3:15 and the vet gave her just a little sedative so he could check her mouth and throat. Thanks to God there was nothing and it didn't cost that much either. So the vet tech said Berry was looking at her wondering when she was going home. I can just picture Berry's expression: wide sad eyes and droopy ears. I miss her terribly and can't wait for her to come home Sunday. They want to keep her an extra day to just make sure. So now I need to make more phone calls tomorrow to get her back to Koyuk on Sunday.

Berry will be famous! She got her photos taken for the Anchorage Daily News because they wanted to do a story on bush vet emergencies. I had a reporter interview me over the phone. So check out www.adn.com. She will be in the Sunday paper.

I wish for...

The after I arrived from the Lower 48, I went berry picking with Heather (1-2) teacher and Elvina (Native of Koyuk). I thought I was all prepared: bear spray, camel back, some snacks, camera, lots of mosquito spray, hiking boots, sweatshirt, and a small medical kit...just in case we got bitten by a bear. I jokes! So Heather comes to the door and says do you have rubber boots and a heavy coat? I was a little confused because I never wore rubber boots and a coat to berry picking before. Then Heather finally said, "We're going upriver in Elvina's boat. I was so excited because I never went upriver to pick Salmon Berries. So we went into this narrow slough but it was so so deep. On the way there I was wishing we were going to see a bear. Elvina put the boat on the bank and we climbed out in water and mud and mosied onto the tundra. As we were searching for berry patches Elvina who is a basketball court away starts running back. There was a grizzly bear in the distance. So we booked it back to the boat and Elvina called Koyuk with a cell phone because she wanted the bear taken care of because there were awesome berry patches. It was great to watch Elvina tell us and other people what the bear did. She thought it was a tundra plant. I told Elvina, "I won't wish for bears only for berries." I also said, "Next time I'll save us with my bear spray!" By the way we did have a pistol with to protect us. We then went to four or five other berry spots and picked lots of berries and no bears. By the fourth stop I was so tired and content with the berries I had but didn't say anything. We ate dinner in the boat: fresh canned chum, bagels and peanut butter. I got a gallon of Salmon berries. They are the consistency of a raspberry, more tart than sweet. I learned something new about Salmon berries; they have 3 times the amount of vitamin C than what you need in a day.

I hope to go berry picking again tomorrow with Mandy and Kemper. (Myra and Jason's dog)

Blueberries are next in a couple of weeks.