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Story’s From Alaska

Craig H. Wilson

No I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

Spring is here, despite the snowstorm we had last Monday. Two inches of

Blowing snow. Looked like December outside, even though the thermometer

Read 40 degrees. The livestock and wild animals acted suitably perturbed

At the weather reversal. By the following day we were back to mud season

However. Bob went and lost his Chevy blazer in the mud on Tong Road. Four

Wheel drive doesn't do you any good if you've high-centered on a frost

Heave and all four wheels are in mud. He was walking for the better part

Of a week before he could get pulled out. We ended up using the Beast from

The fire department to get his blazer out.

The Beast was the original fire engine here, now being rebuilt for tanker

duty. It's an army surplus truck with an old fuel truck tank and a Coast

Guard surplus dewatering pump tied and duct-taped to the chassis. Six

wheels, all drive wheels. Drop her in low gear and she'll crawl through

almost anything. In high gear she just crawls. No ignition key, just a

start button and a kill switch. No lights either, except for a halogen

flood mounted on the front bumper.

The wild geese have been hanging around. There's a flock of about 70 dusky

Vancouver geese that overwinter around here. They're Canada geese, but

with shorter necks and darker chest plumage. The flock stayed together

until about three weeks ago. Now they've all paired off. They buzz my

office regularly.

The bald eagles are also active. Both of the ducks here became eagle

Breakfast. The first time I didn't see it. Early in the morning I heard

The farm geese and ducks raising a racket. I just figured that it was the

Neighbors dog or a moose and went back to sleep. Later into he morning I

Looked out the window and saw the ravens and magpies having a feast. By

The time I got out to the paddock, all that was left of one of the Khaki

Campbell ducks was the bill and part of the breastbone. I originally

Thought the duck had died of natural causes and had been scavenged by the

Ravens and magpies, but a few mornings later I heard another ruckus in the

Paddock and looked out the window in time to see the other duck meet its

Demise. A big cloud of duck feathers drifted downwind. Eagles can pluck a

Duck a lot faster than I could.

The farm geese were suitably impressed by the death and cowered inside the

Coop for the next couple days. It's probably unrelated, but the geese also

Started laying eggs at the same time. Goose eggs make good omelets.

The chickens continue to pop out an egg apiece a day. The large buff skips

A day every once in a while, but her eggs are larger also. The two reds

Are the still the mental equivalent of feathered bricks. Like I told a

Neighbor, chickens are good at being chickens, and fortunately for them

It’s a job that doesn't require much intelligence.

Lupine, Joan's pony, escaped from his pasture this morning and ended up

Over here. Frank, Joan's husband, thought that Lupine got spooked by a

Moose. Horses and moose do not get along. In any case, he ended up in our

Yard acting pretty flighty. Last time I saw him like that was when one of

The construction workers out at the park rolled a company pickup truck

Through the fence where Lupine is kept. It takes a while for a horse to

Calm down after dodging a rolling Dodge extended cab 1/2 ton. Carrots help

The process.

Several people are getting horses and ponies this spring. The reason Joan

Didn’t come to get Lupine was because she was up in Haines, trying to

figure out the logistics of getting a Norwegian Fjord pony from Haines to

Gustavus. She and Sky and someone else went thirds on the pony, which

Was trucked by road from Oregon to Haines. They didn't truck it further

Because the road ends at Haines. So Joan was trying to get the pony onto

The state ferry as a walk-on. There is no set fare for walk-on horses on

The ferry, so there was some negotiation regarding whether to charge Joan

By bodies (two; Joan and the pony) or by pairs of legs.

Hopefully the pony doesn't get seasick, because there have been small craft

And gale warnings out most of the past week. I, for one, would not want to

Be aboard a small ferry vessel when a horse decided to lose its stomach.

The LeConte, the ferry between Haines and Hoonah (the closest ferry stop to

Gustavus, there is no ferry service here), is not known as a comfortable

ride in rough weather. I have been on board when the number of green-faced

Folks outnumbered everyone else to such an extent that I thought I was at a

Convention of Martians. Foul-smelling Martians.

Anyway, once the pony gets to Hoonah, it and an Icelandic pony are getting

Loaded onto a landing craft for the trip across Icy Strait. If the ferry

Was an uncomfortable ride, the thought of two horses in a large?

Flat-bottomed skiff pounding through steep choppy seas makes the ferry ride

Pale in comparison. I think large quantities of animal tranquilizer are in

Order.

The Icelandic pony is going to the Brown's, who already have two cows, a

Half dozen sheep, a gaggle of geese, and a flock of ducks. No chickens,

Though. One has to draw the line somewhere, especially if one has ten

Children.

A third horse is going to Pat and Dave. They only have chickens at this

Point, and I think the deal is that Dave gets to kill and eat the chickens

In trade for letting Pat get the horse. Strike another blow against

Vegetarianism.

Enough rantings for now. Back to work. Got to build another chicken coop.

Getting more chickens next month from Minnesota. Those poor birds are in For a shock when they get here.