So, the State has denied Kadee's informal PFD appeal. Very, very nice. It is impossible to get to the Supreme Court of the United States if the administrative monkeys don't keep screwing up! Hell if the State needs that $3269 more than we do, they can fight like hell to keep it. On to the next stage, the formal appeal. Every US citizen has the same rights as every other US citizen. Pretty simple right? As anticipated I had a quiet weekend. I did take the Rhino out to Gray Cliffs yesterday and drove 20 miles or so up the beach. Of course, I had to scavenge what I could. I could hear G's (or is it G2 or G3 now?)voice calling me 'cockroach' as I stopped for every treasure. My favorite cabin in all of Alaska is up that beach. It is perched just so. It strikes me as a place where I would just sleep and sleep. J has some sort of tooth infection and is miserable. Too bad because this weekend was simply stunning. It must have been in the high 70's. I got a lot of things done around here, including selling the old Subaru. I went dipnetting tonight and the beach was crowded. Everyone was having fun and catching fish. The season on the Kenai opens friday so I am taking J and the girls dipnetting off the boat. I hope J catches her first salmon. Back to work tomorrow. It will be hard after such a beautiful weekend.

So happy birthday to me. Although there is nothing "special" about being 36, I must admit being a little sad the last few days. I think it started when I was doing some investigation for a case in a cemetery. It struck me how fleeting life is and how quickly we all will be forgotten. Maybe our children will visit our grave. Maybe our grandchildren. Then we are gone. I am another year older. To cheer up, I left work and went dipnetting by myself. Got three very nice fish. 6 nice meals for us. The chickens get the spines. The hogs get the heads and guts. Everyone is fed. A lazy night for me. Will deal with the fish, some beer I made and just hang out. A long weekend for the Fourth of July but the many people in the office are gone, so a quiet weekend too. Have a good holiday.

So, I rounded out the weekend focused on food. Funny that. It seems that gathering/growing food, getting firewood or making booze consume most of the short Alaska summer for me. I took the interns clamming on Saturday. I didn't personally check the tide book so we missed most of the tide but we still got enough for a nice chowder. Plus, it was just a beautiful day. Then we came back and spent 5 hours making
sausages. Yes, yes, the jokes will be hilarious I am sure. I must say the interns are really getting into this stuff. Not only are they coming up with their own ideas but they don't mind cutting wood, killing animals, making booze and all the rest of it. I am glad they are here.

So, Kasilof River dipnetting. As I have said before, but for dipnetting and road kill, I would not take much of Alaska's bounty. A few hours of standing in the river netted 3 fish tonight. That is ok...there will be many more. Besides, the view was amazing.
Afterwards we went to the Tustumena Lodge to have a drink and enjoy the fire. The best part was that I was covered in blood. No one batted an eye. Will that be fries with that sir or a salad? At the end of the night we sat around Jesse's and had a beer. The view of Mt. Redoubt from his porch is amazing. The only thing that made me at all sad is that summer is now half over. Damnit. Well that, and I only have 3 fish. I will miss getting home at 2 am and cutting fish with interns.

So, I am truly the world's worst fisherman. I went where I was told the fish were. I had the right bait. The right gear. Yet this weekend's trip produced not one halibut. Damnit. On the upside the boat ran like a champ. It did suck up a lot of fuel but it was carrying 5 guys and our gear. I went 25 MPH everywhere we went. Divided by 5 it wasn't bad. I also got to explore more of Kachemak Bay, a simply stunning part of the world. We camped last night in Sadie Cove. We explored some of it but we were aware we were low on fuel. Today I put 54 gallons into my 50 gallon tanks! Close. We pulled into Seldovia and had a beer so I got to see that town too. We took Jesse's little Zodiac and anchored the boat off shore. We rowed back and forth all night, catching Dolly Vardens and enjoying a beautiful night. The smart ones slept on the boat...it poured last night and I woke up to enough water in the tent that my shotgun was submerged. It was my own fault...you always prepare for bad weather in Alaska and I left the tarps behind. I was a little sad last night realizing that the days are now about to start getting shorter. Winter is coming back and I am not ready. I am going through my summer 2009 list pretty good but there are still a lot of things on it, especially with my murder trial starting in mid August. Happy Father's day. I need to clean the boat and gear and then enjoy the family...

So, we have a sick pig. It is funny how much you can care about the welfare of an animal destined for the table. I thought he might have something in his mouth so everyone came over to help hold him while I looked. Nothing. He appears to be dying and I don't know what to do. There is one large animal vet on the Kenai Peninsula and he is being called in tomorrow. Hold on little pig! P.S. Yet again the Interns will have some unique stories to take back. Helping to hold a sick pig in exchange for some salmon burgers.

So, today we put away 36 chickens. Cornish Cross are amazing birds. 8 weeks from egg to freezer. As usual, nothing was wasted. The birds are in the freezer, the feathers and heads are going to the worms and the pigs ate the boiled heads and feet. It was another stunningly beautifulday in this part of Alaska. The group is not doing much this weekend..we are all pretty tired from all the activities going on lately. Not to mention that I have been working hard on the murder case I am taking to trial. I really, really wish I could talk about it because it is the most fascinating piece of legal work I have done. All I will say is that it is a cold case murder and the State got the wrong guy. That's right, I don't think my client did it. Doing a First Degree Murder trial with a client who didn't do it is the absolutely highest level of criminal work. I am profoundly honored to do it. Needless to say I will be working a lot of nights and weekends this summer. I had better get some fishing in soon. Tonight, people are coming back after they clean up and we are roasting a chicken on a spit. It is amazing outside.........

P.S. This is how it looked. Delicious.