Video....Springtime Shmingtime....

Here is a photo I just took today.  The last few days have been the same.  Cold temps, blowing and heavy snow.  Just a couple weeks ago it looked like spring would finally show, the snow was visibly melting, the sun shone bright and warm.  But Mother nature had other ideas apparently.

I have heard that the river folks have been having flooding in the interior of Alaska, with this late and haphazard break up.  Up north the sea ice is misbehaving and preventing most of the communities from harvesting whales and other important sea life, causing heavy risk for the hunters that venture out on the ice.  Here in the mountains we usually get two weeks of good geese and duck hunting.  My husband just went out in this mess, with heavy gear on and with a few buddies. They have ventured out to try and hopefully get a few geese and ducks for the freezer.  The birds have been flying aimlessly at the edge of the Brooks range, flying incredibly low, searching for open water...of which there is none.  We even see small flocks of seagulls huddle in the center of frozen lakes....

I have a house full of plant seedlings and young chickens that are supposed to be out of the house in the respective raised beds and chicken coop.  But who knows when this weather will finally let up!  My husband started building the coop, but had to stop because the weather has made it almost impossible to work on it. 

Most people suffer from major cabin fever and get upset, but here in the village we find other things to do: visit friends, start a long night of card games with wily old ladies, work on gear that needs mending or replacing, and a million other mind engaging tasks saved for this purpose.  Me...I am enjoying watching sci-fi movies, catching up on reading chicken how-to books and digging through my old digital library reminiscing on warmer weather.

I found this little video on my ipod, and thought you would like to see it. It was taken in the spring of last year...around this time...it is the approach to the village through these ancient amazing mountains.

Video...first fishing trip to Shanin Lake...

I have come to the conclusion that if I am given more time during an outing, I will come back with more media to share.  This last trip we went on was to Shainin lake which is a good distance from Anaktuvuk Pass to the North West. You can catch monster lake trout there if you are lucky!  Since I had never been there before, I jumped on the chance to experience it.  I ended up making a little video of our return trip which was easy since I wasn't driving our snow machine...though I couldn't help it being so wobbly!  The drive there was a crazy adventure through 3-4 feet deep snow that involved a lot of digging snow machines out and holding our breath as we plowed through it all.  Driving through deep powder is kind of like driving in water....you have to have speed and use weight to maneuver...and if you stop....you will probably sink!  I was the only person to catch a fish when we got there.  We realized a bit late that we should have consulted with an Elder to find the best places to fish before we left.  The surface of the lake was already wet in some spots from water seeping through deep cracks in the springtime heat.

My husband, making a trail to follow with our Ace through some deep snow.  It was up to my hips when I took the photo.

Taking a break on top of a foothill slope.  It was so intensely bright I was sure all of my photos would end up blown out.  

Shainin lake with a snow machine for perspective.  All that undisturbed snow makes you want to run through it and make tracks!

fishing under some on the nearby craggy mountains.  We noted the small avalanches with nervousness.

Spring photos....with Chickens...and fish

Spring! 

I have been busy busy busy....but I thought I would post some photos just to show you what has been going on.  Stay warm and snug everyone and enjoy!

We travel for 30 miles and immediately start drilling holes.  Here is my husband and his brother.

Pretty view taken while the guys were drilling holes.  An Elder who went with us showed us a grave marker where her grandfather was buried.  The bears keep tearing the markers down in the summer months.

On the way back one day we spotted a wolf who was acting weird and running parallel to us.  My husband shot it.  It was a very very old wolf, that was very very underweight.  His teeth were worn down to nubs.  We opened his mouth and saw why, his mouth was covered in hundreds of porcupine quills.  He was probably looking for humans.

A Arctic char my husband caught.  Yummy!

you can see us in the distance.  Such a wide and beautiful place....Lake Chandler

My husband caught these lake trout one after the other!  It was very exciting! We give away about half our fish and freeze or dry the rest to eat over the summer into fall.

The ice is at least 7 feet thick.  It still creaks and cracks and moves beneath our feet in a a very unnerving way.

Sometimes you could see the bottom of the lake near the edges through the ice.  It actually made me a bit dizzy gazing into the depths.  It felt like I was miles above....floating on glass.

Fishing in long rows of people. 

Yes we now have chickens!  I forgot to take photos of them when they were cute. lol.  They are feathering out now...and they look like punk stars with their half formed feathers.  i have ten Black Langshans, with pretty feathered feet.  I'm sure I will posting about them tons in the future!

Ptarmigan Stew recipe.....

Yes it is that time of the year!

The ptarmigan have blanketed our area heralding the coming of spring.  Much more reliable than any ground hog.  They usually show up right before the willow start to bud.

Since I have moved here I have been experimenting and learning about ptarmigan and their many little quirks.  I have also been trying new recipes.  The first batch of ptarmigan this year went to making a ptarmigan stew, something a little different.  I like this much better than roasted ptarmigan or fried ptarmigan.

Be aware that I don't really measure things so you will have to use a bit of common kitchen sense and adjust to your own tastes and requirements.

Ingredients:

3-4 ptarmigan cleaned and cut into bit sized pieces
half an onion
a few strips of really good bacon
a couple of garlic cloves (or about a tablespoon of powdered)
a couple pieces of celery (or a teaspoon of celery seed)
a tomato (or a can of tomatoes)
three or four good sized potatoes
a cup or so of rice
Tablespoon dried rosemary herb finely crushed
teaspoon cinnamon
one bay leaf (remove before eating)
teaspoon dried dill
teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, but we like it hot!)
A coupled of cubes of chicken bouillon or replace some water with liquid chicken stock

1. Prep ptarmigan and add to a big pot.  I personally like to use cubed breast, the legs, and the heart meat only.   which is not traditional Native way but I get lazy. :/  Add water (or chicken stock) to half way up the pot. add salt, bouillon and pepper to taste. turn heat up to med-high.
2. Add finely chopped bacon to a frying pan and fry.
3. chop rest of veggies to bites sized chunks while bacon is frying and add to pot.
4. when bacon is just about done (I like it browned and crispy) add onion and garlic and cook til clear.  make sure the bacon mix is cool BEFORE adding to pot, since hot oil and water will bubble and splash something fierce. Add to pot. (ptarmigan is very lean so I use the bacon for a fat source, you can of course omit it)
5. Add rest of the ingredients minus the rice.  Once it is boiling....add rice.  cook till rice is done.

Notes: I like using a mix of wild rice sometimes but you will have to adjust cooking plans to allow for the wild rice to cook without making everything else mushy.  Mushrooms also go very well with this recipe.  I have learned that the ptarmigan will taste like what they eat, so I only get them right before the willow really starts budding, when they are eating last years berries and labrador tea.  Once the willow start to bud vigorously the birds will taste more like the astringent willow brushes. 

Serve with bread and butter or pilot bread!

The legs and breast meat and hearts (under the breasts) ready to be chopped up and thrown in the pot.  Ptarmigan is a very flavorful dark game bird meat. 

Tree line trip....photos

We went on a breif trip down to the tree line to pick up a little bit of wood and to visit with friends and family that were camping there.  The weather was crisp and a bit chilly.  We took only one snowmachine because the village gas station had run out of gas before the weekend, so we had to be extra frugal.  Our gas bill is a huge part of our house budget, as it costs us about $9.60 a gallon.  It is flown in to the villageo n a huge pot bellied plane, and it is incredibly disturbing to watch it land!

Anyways...here are some photos from our trip.

The bull moose antlers on top of the cabin are accompanied by a fresh wolverine skull. 

A typical set up for heating water for coffee and tea and for warming lunch meat.  I love the smell of a willow fire

The evergreen trees shed the snow for spring.

Camp robber birds are a permanent part of every camp in the trees.

They perch on nearby trees and wait till we drop a morsel or two.  I have even had one land on my head.  They do not eat gummy bears.  Which has me suspicious of said gummy bears.

On the way back we ran into a red fox.  I always found it odd how nature made these animals such a bright hue, making it almost impossible to be camouflaged in the arctic.