A rainy rock-n-roll weekend

The weather in Homer has taken a turn for the nasty the last few days, with freezing rain replacing the snow we got last week and making the streets (especially the steep side street we live on) slick and dangerous.

So what to do when winter gets oppressive? Well, turn to music, of course. 

I didn't get any pics of Three Legged Mule at the Down East on Thanksgiving weekend, which is probably a good thing as I got a wee bit tipsy with Nova and Uncle Dave, but I did take the camera to the Dan Bern show at Alice's on Thursday. 

I had never seen Dan before. He was great.

My homegirl Shannyn Moore drove down from A-town just for the show. Here she is with Dan and Marhall Crenshaw afterwards.

Saturday night it was Nova and my turn. I fired up the vocal amp and we took turns entertaining Otto and Alice.

Electric.

For those lucky few who have heard Nova sing, you know she's got wicked pipes and an innovative style. That, and her goulash, is why I married her.

And yes ... that IS duct tape holding the microphone together.

Otto (wearing one sock and no pants) was more interested in playing with Mommy's hair thingy, however. Heathen.

@ Mariner Park, 11/22

It was a beautiful evening out at Mariner Park last night, with the setting sun lighting up the bay and the clouds in shades of pink and violet. We weren't out there long - it was pretty cold and we were underdressed - but I got a few photos.

Homer knows how to smile for the camera.

Alice the speed machine.

When little Otto is in the baby backpack, one of his favorite games is to try to take Mommy's hat off.

Nova and Otto head off into the sunset.

Anybody know what this thing is? I'm still learning my sea creatures and I've never seen one of these before.

The Frozen Swamp "Trail" Expedition

So yesterday we decided to take our neighbor's advice and go for a nature walk through the woods into town. Our neighbor, Nantia, lives just down the street from us and has a large spread with a great view of the mountains (we seem to be the only people in Homer who don't have a view of the mountains). Nantia also has several animals on her property, including goats, roosters, a pair of surly geese and a legion of noisy ducks who follow the geese like cult worshippers. 

We put on our boots and warm clothes and loaded Otto, bundled up in his snowsuit, into the baby backpack before we set off on  our adventure. First, we went to Nantia's house, where we ran into her and her son. Nantia gave us general directions on how to take the trail leading away from her house into town.

Maybe we should've taken the "No Trespassing" sign as a ... um ... sign.

The duck zealots and their geese dictators are aggressive and must be warded off with a spruce branch (Nova took care of this while I cowered in fear behind her).

We stopped briefly to say hi to the goats before heading into the unknown.

"Just follow the sewer line trail," said Nantia.

So we did, and learned pretty quickly how swampy the terrain was. It would be impassable in the summer (unless one were to employ hipwaders, maybe) but was frozen enough to have a stable, walkable crust of ice on top of standing water. I would soon find out just how deep the water was.

This abandoned minibike kind of seemed like a bad omen, too.

After following the sewer line path for awhile, it just sort of petered out and we had to start choosing from a selection of game trails. We tried to stick close to the woodline (we were getting closer to Beluga Lake, which we could see in the distance) and maintain a west by northwesterly direction.

Although we weren't carrying a compass, we were never in danger of becoming lost in the thick woods and swampland, as we could see the bright Sun to our left and the Homer bench to our right. When we started to catch glimpses of Beluga Lake, we decided to head in it's direction, with the thought that we could travel more easily on the lake than we could on the increasingly unstable swamp ice.

When we came out of the woods and into the marsh surrounding Beluga Lake (pictured above) the view improved and the footing worsened. Right at the moment I was warning Nova to be careful of thin ice, my right foot broke through and Kersploosh! ... I was in the ice cold water up to my knee.

Awesome.

We decided to turn back and go the way we came, with the hopes of finding an alternate trail into town. My foot was wet but not too cold so I decided I could make it into town and maybe pick up a pair of dry socks at Ulmer's. After about an hour of trying various trails through all kinds of terrain, we ended up at Paul Banks Elementary School.

So we decided to play on the swings for a little while.

And the slide.

And then we said "screw it" and took the road back home, where we took naps and had Hamburger Helper for dinner. 

So we didn't complete our goal of taking the backwoods into town on a Saturday afternoon, but we did see our friend Nantia, played with some goats, walked through a quiet forest and saw some terrific scenery on the shores of Beluga Lake. 

@ Kachemak Selo, 11/8

One of Homer's nicknames, "The End of the Road," would more aptly apply to the Old Believer community of Kachemak Selo. Situated at the head of Kachemak Bay, about 25 miles from Homer on East End Road, the little village is one of the most picturesque places in Alaska. It would probably get a lot more visitors if it wasn't for the final stretch of road leading in: an extremely steep, winding switchback that tests the bravest of drivers. 

But the Old Believers there, who originally split from those in Nikolaevsk, seem to prefer it that way. There is still a "Private Property" sign posted on the road leading into the village, although we have been there several times and have never felt unwelcome. 

Kachemak Selo has become one of our favorite places in the Homer area. We stayed on the beach just to the east of the village this time (there are vast cattle pastures in the area) and didn't get any photos of the village.

NOTE: The first five of these photos got cropped funny when I uploaded them. I'm still working out some bugs with blogspot getting photos, text and links to format the way I want them to. Bear with me. I'll figure something out.

Kachemak pigeon

The area just past Kechemak Selo is a wetlands.

Alice + wide open spaces = happiness.

My hot wife, Nova.

Think the Subaru corporation might be interested in this photo?

Barbed wire fencing marks the boundary of cattle pastures.

We look cold.

Little Red Devil

We had fun at the Halloween celebration at Homer High School Friday night. Appropriately, Otto went as a little devil and Nova and I, because we are lame, didn't dress up at all. Afterward, we waited patiently for trick-or-treaters, but only had three (perhaps because our house is at the bottom of a big hill?).

Here are a couple of photos of little  Satan, Jr.

As usual, you can see more at my Flickr page.

With kids, take time to enjoy adventure of every moment

From the Oct. 23 issue of the Homer News:

I have two sons – Gabe and Otto.

Gabe will turn 13 next week and in many ways, he’s already a typical teenager. He talks on the telephone a lot, mostly to girls. He’s pretty conscious of his cool-ness level, spending a lot of time tweaking his wardrobe and engaging in an annoying habit he’s recently developed – flipping his hair out of his eyes every ten seconds like an uncontrollable sufferer of Tourette syndrome.

Gabe is also an intelligent, strong, courteous and compassionate young man who works hard at his studies and isn’t too cool – yet – to help his folks out around the house. I’m very proud of him.

Otto is 15 months old. He has a vocabulary consisting of five words – mama, dada, ball, dog and book – and likes to spend his time eating bananas and putting Legos in the toilet.

I love my sons, as every father loves his children, and I love being their dad. I didn’t set out to have two boys 12 years apart – it just kind of worked out that way.  I wouldn’t change anything about my experiences as a dad, however, as I’ve learned a lot from it and continue to learn all the time.

There’s an old parenting cliché that you’ve probably heard whether you’re a parent or not: something to the effect of  “don’t miss the moments” of childhood or, in other words, be sure to fully appreciate every stage of development your child is going through.

I’ve always thought “don’t miss the moments” was a sappy, Hallmark card-worthy sentiment. Don’t all parents appreciate their kids?

If you are a parent, however, you know it’s almost impossible to not look forward to “missing the moment” of changing another full diaper and it’s hard to resist looking forward to the day your toddler can use the toilet for something other than a Lego depository.

As with many clichés, there’s a ring of truth to “don’t miss the moments,” and it took having another child for me to truly understand it.

It’s true that, when Gabe was younger, I probably missed some childhood moments looking forward to his next step. When he was a small and helpless newborn, I couldn’t wait for him to walk and talk. When he was finally walking and talking, I longed for the day he could throw and catch a football so we could go play out in the yard. And when he could do that, I dreamt of life stages on down the road – his first day of school, his first girlfriend, teaching him to drive, attending his graduation and seeing him off to college.

Having Otto around has made me appreciate Gabe more, and vice versa. Although I try not to compare the two boys, and they are very different, Otto reminds me of how cute and fun Gabe was when he was little – I miss him calling me “daddy” and sitting in my lap for story time – and how far he has come in his development toward adulthood.

It’s not that I completely missed his childhood. It’s just that maybe I rushed it along a little bit. He’s about to turn 13 and, even though he may resist it, I think I can help. I remember what it was like to suffer through the seventh grade, to be suddenly confronted with girls and growth and changes all around – to be aware of the natural longing to step forward into adulthood while knowing you have much to learn.

Watching Gabe grow into a man makes me appreciate where Otto is in his life, as well.

With little Otto, it’s mostly about the ceaseless entertainment of watching him toddle around the house like a drunken sailor, exploring his world with reckless abandon. I absolutely love his zest for life and for learning, not to mention his boundless energy. Otto is my little adventurer.

I plan to enjoy very minute.

@ Mariner Park, 10/22

Nova, Otto and Alice the Wunderhund playing at Mariner Park Tuesday evening at sunset. It's been pretty warm here (high 30s to low 40s) until the last couple of days.