52 Lists: List the things you want to make

I've been sitting on this list so long that I've made 4 fur bears: beaver, mink, rabbit and nutria, finished my first beaver hat and cut out another one, and made a quilt for my bestie's wedding present. Now that's some blogging procrastination right there.

Egg hunting

I went egg hunting this year with a friend and his mom and found zilch. :) But it was good exercise and a new experience. My friend's mom was the only successful one. She found two eggs. I think it was a little early for egg hunting. At least I know how to egg hunt now. I mean, it's really not that hard. You walk around on the tundra and look for eggs. You want tundra with little lakes and pools and such. Pretty basic.

How cute is this little guy. He wasn't very scared of me but just kept scooting around in the water as I looked in the tundra around him. I don't know what kind of bird he was other than small.

An empty nest, this was all I found.

Ducks! Too bad bird season was over. They were much more skittish than the little bird, probably because they get shot at all the time.

It was really bright out. I could barely open my eyes.

Seagull eggs!

Beaver hunting

This spring  I was a very lucky girl and was invited out beaver hunting with Frank, Heather, and Christian. Our adventure took us way up Chirosky.We left town at around 8 or 8:30 and sped off. It was my first time on the river this year. And it was perfect. There still weren't many mosquitoes out and the it stayed light all night.

Unalakleet receding into the horizon as we head up river

Looking for beaver in a little slough

Frank is a really good driver, much more adventurous than me. I tend to go a lot slower and am still pretty scared of tight curves. I was comfortable with him at the steering wheel.

A beaver house in the Chirosky River

There's a swan in the middle of this picture

It was an absolutely gorgeous night

We ended up getting 6 beaver altogether. I shot two of the six and one little muskrat. It was such a fun night. I can't wait till next spring. And I can't wait till this guy is all stretched and tanned and sewed up.

The other beaver I got had quite a hole in his head so I declined taking a picture of him

Iris pin

This was a commissioned piece for a lady that lives here in my town. She gave this to her daughter for a birthday. It's done with delica beads using the peyote stitch. It's hardened with nail polish.

Spring time stuff

Spring time in coastal Alaska means fresh seal oil and fresh oogruk (bearded seal). This girl was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to help make both. I also ended up with three seal skins to stretch and turn into sewing material. This is my friend Chara and her family. She gave me the spotted seal skin that they're taking the blubber off of in this picture. Since I was being given the hide, I helped. Chara's Uncle stopped by and asked who the blonde was trying to cut seal (yes I dyed my hair blonde), this caused some laughter until he realized it was me.

My cousin Velma spoiled me with her eskimo salad. I ate the whole jar in one day. Not ashamed of that at all.

Fat Ab gave me some beluga tail.

And an oogruk rib cage and back bone. I cleaned off all of the meat and and hung t up to dry. Now I have enough black meat to share! (Normally I have just enough to hoard.)

I took last years silver salmon out of the freezer and smoked a bunch of it. Just trim off a little of the freezer burn and twelve hours later you have your self a delicious tasty treat. Some of it will be made into a smoked salmon cheesecake for my friend Jay.

Here's a picture of my oogruk drying into black meat. I love this stuff. When I was younger I used to write on the bag that it was mine and for no one else to eat it. Yeah, I was that kid.