winding down

The summer's boot and gear work have come to an end, and our hard-working assistant Karen has flown off to a well deserved tropical vacation with her family. We continue to work the last of the bait work, to be ready for the beginning of next summer's season. It is hard to have the same enthusiasm at this point, and I must say, I've been a slacker of sorts, in that department. (deep sigh...)

Fall foliage is now lining the hillsides, and the last of the flowers around town are still brilliant with their peak of color. Any day now we could have our first hard frost, and the downhill descent into cooler temperatures will be upon us.

"The Mr." is finally getting caught up on sleep, still occasionally taking out clients to fish for Steelhead, which are strictly catch-and-release. No more dinners at midnight. It's nice to have some of life getting back to normal, after being on a treadmill for 5 months. I'm jumping off!
We've had inches of rain this past week. E-gads, lots! We're now thinking of fall/winter projects that need to be tended to, and things to still finalize from summer's many piles of supplies. There are friendships to rekindle after a busy summer, books to pick up again that were half-read last spring, and travel plans to make for a later get-away. I have art projects in progress and more on deck, with a mental catalog of many more to do once those are completed. All I could do was imagine them as summer sped by. Now I can create. I feel like a bird released from a cage!
Life is good.
And, we are thankful for the Alaska Permanent Fund, that came through for all Alaskans this past week.
Sarah jetted home to see us for a quick visit, and now, she is back in the middle of the political firestorm. Won't we all be glad when politics do not dominate every form of the media?
This weekend's big event is the wedding of "G.I. Joe" and his lovely bride, back in Pennsylvania. We wish them many long, and happy years together, and look forward to seeing them back in Alaska in a couple of weeks.