A walk up to the to the ridge

The Map and the Slug

The village of False Pass, a 2nd class American city, and the pass in general sit at the cross of fifty four degrees fifty five minutes north latitude and one hundred sixty three degrees thirty minutes west longitude. Due south is the northern Hawaiian island of Nihoa. Due north, Bristol Bay, Norton Sound, and Kotzebue Sound of the eastern Chukchi Sea. Also just south of the fifty fifth is Londonderry, N. Ireland, Newcastle, England , central Denmark, and a line through the Baltic Sea landing in Estonia.



We presume this slug is native (unlike those surrounding Puget Sound). I've seen it beneath the fall time salmonberry twigs and cowparsnip canes. It looks content and full. It also likes the greenhouse, or rather all that's in it. Pea pods, radishes and carrot tops, the fallen leaves of romaine, and finally the budweiser death trap in a cup (photo to be posted later.)

False Pass

The Pier


We pull the skiff in here when visiting town.




False Pass is a village of about 30 people. We have met (we just counted) 7 people not including a few cars that have passed us and one boy playing in the mud puddles. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Even the boy gave us a wave. Bob has noticed some changes in since his last stay. There is a new post office, a grocery and a liquor store. They are building a harbor and a processing plant on the north end. He seems to think that town has spread out a bit. People are hopeful that the new additions will bring more opportunity and new people to village.



Harbor construction





It's just a ten minute walk to the post office, usually our reason for coming across the water. We are always greeted and chaperoned by this dog, whose name we cannot remember. He likes to attack Bob's boots. The farther one, is very alpha, and did not like Inde at all. For this reason we leave Inde at home.




Looking down the main boardwalk on the Peter Pan Seafoods grounds. Upon it's establishment in 1920, locals from nearby villages, now abandoned, began relocating to False Pass. Cannery buildings from Morzhovoe Village, on the peninsula, were towed to False Pass. For the next 61 years the cannery was the primary economic driver in the village, that is until March 6th, 1981 when it burned to the ground. It still provides indoor storage space, fuels, loading, a mess hall, and lodging.



I must admit this was an exceptional day for mail. Packages are so much fun, even if they are just computer stuff for Bob.

Working for food security

The Greenhouse

Outside, The Laukitis family left us with lots of greens, rhubarb, beets and potatoes.
Inside, there is more greens, beets, carrots, peas and rutabagas. We are hoping to make these last as long as possible!












We needed to reinforce the seal of the greenhouse. The structure is aging quickly from winds and rain.

The Chickens & "What is a crowberry?"

Here they are: Suzie, Janice, Ruth(less), Carol-Anne (tail), and Natasha.



Egg production from the five resident chickens has slowed with the waning daylight, but they still love handfulls of grass thrown their way. We think it helps produce the tastiest eggs we've ever had.


Once in awhile we have to clean out the coop - the straw and manure "litter" gets mixed with washed kelp and discarded vegetable stems for the garden compost. We've learned that this "litter" is pretty good for chickens, providing vitamins A & D as well as live food-so we don't clean it too often. "6-8 inches deep, it gets better with age."


Crowberry or Mossberry (Empitrum nigrum): by far the most common plant in the tundra. You usually can't walk a step without it under your boot.

Looking out from the shop

Harvesting The Bolete

Boletus vs. Leccinum?
Our friend was able to help us realize that we have not been harvesting The King Bolete. However, we are not able to positivly id our mushroom with the books here and online sources. Any ideas?

An afternoon's partial find


Now comes the hard part


Upon further reading..."The King bolete is one of the most desirable of the boletes and highly prized any place in the world it can be gathered. Consistency is like that of a raw potato and the flavor is excellent."
Lucky us.









I think mushroom hunting might be my passion. Really. It is the most entertaining of walks, to be in search of this delicious treat. Somewhere between a scavenger hunt and hide and seek. Once I get started I cannot stop and often I have collected more than I can reasonably carry. And given Bob and I, a lot of cleaning work to do later. It is all worth it when dinner time comes. There are other shrooms around, but it is hardly as exciting if you don't get to eat your find.

The Stonewall Den

The house's power comes from the water sources along the two ravines branching up behind the house. Water and gravity.


The last days of summer


The Regulator (and our main source of heat)

The stove elements are the primary "loads" we can throw onto the constantly charging (floating charge) battery to keep it's voltage just where it likes it. Two appliances run on thermostats, the freezer, down in the rootcellar at the beach, and the water heater up here in the house. Other than them, the loads are predictable and directly controlled by us. The other variable is that floating charge. Specifically, how many amps is the battery getting from the waterwheel? If it's less than normal, we've got to figure out why and make adjustments. The reasons are elemental: Not enough water due to freezing temperatures, drought, air in the penstock, fall litter plugging the screens...these would be common. Broken belt, rock in the penstock, a broken dam...these we don't want. Other possibilities somewhere in between the common and the fretful exist too. We maintain the charging system and regulate its output. Looking for a healthy dynamism, all around!


Looking from kitchen...


...and the usual eatin' spot.

The larger scene

Sourdough Flats, Unimak Island




Isanotski Peak aka Raggedy Jack




The continent, the strait, the island




Unimak Ridges




Sentinal Peak




Ridge shadow in clouds

Putting up winter's wood

A Moonbow?

Walking down to the beach last night to turn off the freezer, I noticed, through the mist, darkness, and lashing wind a faint light angling upward from the shore on the opposite side of the strait. Was it a reflection? The only light was the rising moon behind me, still blocked from my view by clouds. The only other source of light I could imagine might be from far up the valley behind False Pass, and this light would have to be situated further to the right for it to be coming from there. Imagining that it might be coming from the moon, I either saw or willed the sight of colors. The picture shows the colors better since it was a 13 sec shot. Anyway, this is a "moonbow." Not often seen but basically the same thing as a rainbow. Last night we had sustained winds of 50mph, almost all night long.

Lonesome Einar's and blueberry pickin'

Einar, a trapper from Norway, passed on in the 1950's (I think.) His other cabin was a 50 mile walk back up the peninsula.


Here's the legend: one day, near his trapping cabin, the one 50 miles yonder, he beheld the sight of a choice driftwood log, and a great one it must have been. Knowing that his axe was here at the cabin, he jogged the 50 miles, grabbed the tool, then retraced his steps to chop and split the find. What he did with it then we can only happily ponder.

As the rest of the pictures show, the Aleutian Isles (and the peninsula) are practically treeless. We did see a sitka spruce in False Pass last week in the lee of the mess hall, but otherwise its all dwarf willows and sitka alders - shrubs and small shrubs. Wind's the cause for the open slopes. These days, the locals get wood, still a useful fuel, by scanning the shores from skiffs usually, peaveying the logs down to the surf, driving into it an iron staple, roping it up and towing the wood back home. We nabbed on the first day here with Buck. I felt better about skipping out in the middle of the Seattle stream season digging that peavey in and prying as hard as I could. we are waiting for another calm day to go fetch another one.







Jen is now a shotgun toting berry harvester. Possibly not news for those who know her well. So far the gun's remained silent, except for basic training purposes - not Inde's favorite sound.



Oval-leaved blueberry (Vaccinium ovalifolium)


Upon our arrival and for about three more weeks, we were blessed with an abundance of blueberries. Stonewall Place is home to two species. The above mentioned and the low-lying blueberry, or bilberry (Vaccinium uliginsum). The sweeter, tastier one being the shrub-like Oval-leaved blueberry, although we happily devour either. We have gathered these delicious fruits numerous times to the north of Einer's cabin and just north of the house. We were sad to see them disappear last week. In order to hold on to their pleasure throughout the winter, we have bagged and frozen 13 quarts and made a gallon of wine.



Oh yeah, since we are surrounded by the Izembeck National Wildlife Refuge its only appropriate to wish everyone a very happy National Public Lands Day!