Currently: August

Currently living/working: As the summer season draws its curtains, I would say we more than earned our keep jam-packing the season with multiple jobs (guiding, cleaning, writing). I guided 15 trips in August, and Justin 18, making for the busiest month for both of us thus far! 

Current mood: I always mourn the loss of summer and struggle against the transition to the next season … Summers in Alaska are not just summers for us; they are our opportunity to squirrel away enough money to float the freelance writing life through the winter and travel a bit. Seasons establish rhythms, and summer’s rhythm is akin to herding a clowder of cats. But it’s over in a snap, especially compared with our endless winters, and I have to let go. In an effort to psych myself up for the switch to the inconceivable darkness and slow pace of the winter, I made a list of all the things I love about winter and was surprised I came up with 15! I am excited, I am, I am, I am. 

Currently excited for: We have another few rounds of visitors coming in Sept! At the risk of offending our other visitors, I am so incredibly pumped for this next set! Hear me out—we haven’t seen Paul & Kristen since 2017, they have been our child-less kindred spirits since we met in 2008, they have visited us in pretty much every place we’ve lived, and we are going on a new-to-us Alaska adventure with them!!!! They’ll be here in just a few days. 

Currently thankful for: We made time for some blueberry collecting, and I am so thankful for a land that provides! 

Currently worried about: We have a little international travel planned for this fall, but the question is: will Justin’s passport arrive on time??? We sent it in for renewal July 1 … 

Currently proud of: I’ve mentioned this before, but we do virtual library presentations in the fall and winter. We already have 6 programs lined up for this fall, and are hoping to schedule a few more into 2024. If your local library offers virtual programming, let us know and I’ll reach out to the programmer! Also, here’s the info for one coming up in mid October if you feel like tuning in! 

Current confession: We’ve mastered berries, but we both yearn to learn more about mushrooms. So we took a step this month by taking a mushroom class along with our co-worker (who is sampling the “strawberries and cream” mushroom in the picture). Anyway, the a tried and true mycologist guy who taught the class and is writing a book about mushrooms in Alaska told us that there are over 500 species of mushrooms in our area … Womp womp; I don’t think we’ll be mastering mushrooms anytime soon. 

Currently not excited for: As I predicted, we only tackled 1 exterior wall of our cabin for sanding, filling in cracks with caulk and applying 2 coats of stain. We learned a lot of lessons in refinishing that one wall, but mostly that it is a massive undertaking and we’re not keen about doing it to the 3 other walls next summer and beyond. 

Currently regretting: We seriously have a tug of war with nature this summer. Found 3 beehives, 2 dead birds and 1 squirrel nest around our properties. 

Current guilty pleasure: One survival tool we rely on during our busy summers is the fact that there are 20+ restaurants that are open versus 1 bar in the winter. We can justify the luxury of eating out at least once/week since we are both working our tails off.

Currently reading: I only read one book, but I listened to 2 audiobooks!!! My Traverse trips this month included about 12 hours of driving across the state without clients, which I saw as an opportunity to get back into audiobooks.

I listened to Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics. Now I’m a Heather Lende fan! The nonfiction piece is about Heather’s experience as a borough assembly member in Haines, Alaska, and the dirty details that go hand-in-hand with small town politics. Maybe it’s because her descriptions of Haines (population 2,500) reminds me of Denali Borough (population 1,600) where I live. Maybe it’s also because my small town has 7 open seats on the assembly and 7 open seats on the school board for the upcoming election in November. Whatever the reason, this book captured my attention, and you better believe I’m going to be paying attention to Denali’s candidate platforms. I highly recommend this one and now added her other books to my to-read list. 

I also listened to Julia Scully’s Outside Passage: A Memoir of an Alaskan Childhood. It was good, but not great. Just kind of flat in the storytelling. I guess I don’t blame her though with her bleak childhood in the 1940s—from being dragged to the bitter north of Alaska (Nome) to feeling neglected by her unpredictable mother. You really feel the cold environment and home life unfold through Julia’s sheltered eyes. 

I finished my third Seth Kantner book, Swallowed by the Great Land: And Other Dispatches From Alaska’s Frontier. I basically will read anything he writes. I liked this book because it was a bunch of short stories from different time periods in his life. 

Currently watching on Netflix/Peacock/HBO Max/Starz/AMC: We’re still in the more green, less screen season, although we did finish season 5 of Yellowstone this month, which was really good, but now we have to wait again for the next season. We also watched a phenomenal Netflix docuseries, Painkiller, about the rise of oxycontin. It’s disturbing and sensitive, but well done.