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| Anybody can grow petunias--and they smell great! |
Summer is one third over! YIKES!!!
After watering all the flowers around outside the house and in the greenhouse, playing with the dogs and cleaning their yard, I head to work.
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| Maggie and Jack hanging out on the deck. |
I work in a great place, part of the Alaska State Parks system...Willow Creek State Recreation Area.
My "office" is the Willow Creek Campground. Most of the time I hang out in my booth collecting fees from the day parkers and campers. On King weekends, life gets really crazy as a couple hundred people arrive to participate in "combat fishing" for Kings.
But on a day like today, it's the calm before the storm. The sun is playing hide and seek with the clouds. A refreshing breeze keeps the mosquitos at bay. The sound of the river is so soothing for frayed nerves.
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| Mouth of Willow Creek |
I watered the newly planted willows and then walked the shoreline to pick up all the thrown out fishing line. (I just can't figure why people think it's Ok to drop nylon line on the ground. Do they
not realize it's not going to disintegrate?? It's an eyesore and a threat to wildlife. Maybe we need to bring back the weeping Native commercial.) I spend the afternoon doing chores along the shoreline, listening to music and watching the show going on around me. The Kings are in!They are quite plentiful in the river now. I haven't seen so many stacked up in years. They spent the afternoon jumping and splashing and zooming around under water. Wow!
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| Click on this photo to make it larger and see all the water thrown by this fish. |
We seem to have an unusual visitor in the form of a sea lion. Not sure why he's up here, But I am sure he is feasting on fish!
Of course, if there are fish, there are also birds.
Lots of sea gulls and quite a few eagles flew over.
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| "Sometimes I fly like an eagle...." |
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| seagull |
And then there are the people on the river enjoying a float down Little Willow or Willow Creek to the campground. I've done this float and it is really peaceful and beautiful.
Ah well, the peace won't last for long. The second King weekend starts tomorrow. I probably will not see the river for the next few days. The campground will be jammed packed. The day lot will fill long before the river is open again for fishing at 6 am saturday morning. And then, it's also 4th of July.
I wish you all a wonderful holiday! And in case you wonder if I get to catch a King--I went last week with my friends Pat and Sarah. We went with a guide on the Deshka River. I caught my first King!!
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| Pat--who caught the first fish, Sarah--who caught the biggest, and Me--with my first King-about 18 pounds! |
