It’s beautiful out walking in the woods. I love the fall colors.

Sitting out by the lake I got a real treat watching our resident swan family moving through the grass. They have to keep hidden from prey so they never did come out on the lake. Mom and dad raised 5 babies this year who are almost grown now. They’ll all be taking off soon for a warmer home in the south then return to Alaska next Spring.

Me and Jeff hanging out at the lake this fall looking for moose. This is one of the times I went hunting with him but we didn’t find one. Even when you don’t get one it’s worth the trip for the view.

Started picking potatoes in the garden. These are Yukon Golds which grow great in Alaska. Look how big they get!

When moose hunting during open season you can’t just get any moose. Jeff has spent many years looking and not finding moose that meet the qualifications to be able to shoot them. First off, at least in this area, you can only hunt for bulls, secondly, the size of the antlers matter. They must be 50 inches at their widest span or 3 or more brow tines on at least one side. This moose is 52 inches and has 3 brow tines on each antler which makes it legal in quite a few ways. The other legal option are smaller bull moose with a spike or a fork. In general most bulls are in between small and large and are not eligible for shooting.

Because the weather has been so rainy and wet it was a bit of a challenge getting to the moose. I drove the 6 wheeler out to help retrieve the moose. There was so much water on the trails and in the swamp where Jeff shot the moose that we got very wet even in rain gear. The water in the swamp was so deep it went over my boots. It was kind of fun getting all wet and muddy like being a kid again!

Jeff went out early this morning to look for moose and sure enough found one. What a blessing!

With the long summer days, even with all the rain we’ve been having, some things are growing well. Check out this mammoth sunflower I grew. It’s much bigger than me now.

I’ve been watching this seal hanging out in the river in front of the cabin and he’s been watching me.

It was a very windy day today all day and this evening the sky was a very pretty almost odd colored pink hue at sunset. I thought it was worth photographing.