Leave It Unlocked...

UNLOCKED. So despite the gun-slinging, law-screwing, we-are-pretty-much-our-own-country vibe that Alaska can have, there is a spirit of survival coupled with generosity that is simple and beautiful. Take for example the culture of cabins here. They are left unlocked. Okay, so maybe your $1000 a night, fancy smancy, ooh la la, tour cabins are not, but in general, back country cabins are left unlocked. The philosophy is this: Conditions can be unforgiving and if you are caught unprepared, the shelter and provisions of a cabin can be life-saving. That said, it is expected that you leave a cabin better than you found it - extra chopped wood, more matches, a taller candle. So this past weekend we and some friends stayed in our first unlocked cabin. It was a very much expected visit and we came prepared - so prepared that we needed to paddle back and forth across the lake twice to transport everything we "needed." Luckily the rain let up for a few hours and the fish were jumping. Not that I know anything about fish, but now Indigo does... she caught her first two and ate them both, cooked in foil on the wood stove with butter, salt and pepper.

Handmade boats by our friend Matt.

Kim, Indigo, Rosemary and Jodi set off.

Unlocked.

Still cranberries out here!

Teagan and Indigo picked (and ate) a lot!

I'm getting the hang of this...

Got one!

Mirror Mirror on the Earth...

Collecting extra firewood.

PFDs. At the bank last week I had a gal ask me what I planned to do with my PFD. My mind immediately thought of "personal floatation device" (otherwise known as life vests) and I struggled to interpret her question. It had been raining a ton but finally was letting up, so I thought perhaps people had been sporting PFDs and were now getting rid of them... Retrospectively this paints a ridiculous picture, but really, I quickly conjured images of families driving through Kenai, vests on, just in case. Come to think of it, I'd been noticing the signs all over town advertising for PFD sales... "Now is the time to fly to Hawaii! PFD Sale!" (People wear them on the plane?!?! Are the pilots that sketchy?) "Why wait? Buy your sweetie the gift of her dreams! PFD Sale!" (Of all the things, J had better not get me a life vest for Christmas...) Well, come to find out, in Alaska, PFD means Permanent Fund Dividend. Translation: You get paid to live in Alaska. $848.00 to be exact. Not a lot compared to past years where the figure came closer to two grand. Per person. Even children. And I wondered why everyone in Alaska has a gazillion kids. Apparently a portion of the state oil revenue is saved and distributed to "current and future generations of Alaskans." Super cool, except that the members of Team Leslie do not yet count as official Alaskans; we need to live here one full calendar year. In the meantime, we'll just wear some.

Floataliscious.

Paddle on.

THE BEACH. Just an update. No terrestrial mammals of note lately, but definitely another wave of spawned out fish from the river... fun to look at, less fun to step on.

Yikes. I eat that.

Gigglepuss.

Team Leslie.