Wednesday and Thursday will be nonstop (almost) outdoor adventures - hiking, fishing, and photography at Afognak Island.

I’m looking forward to seeing the wildlife. We’re going to a extreme wilderness area - only accessible via boat or floatplane. The photographic opportunities should be unique and plentiful.

Late in the day of August 31st we will fly back to Kodiak Island (via float plane) and from there back to Anchorage for the night. We want to get a good night’s sleep because there is much to do on Friday.

First thing this morning we’ll go to the bureau of vital statistics in Anchorage and get our marriage license. We had to fax the application a week ago to take care of the waiting period. So today we’ll pay the fee, get our signatures notarized and get the license. We’ll then pack it away in a safe place and head to the airport.

At the airport we’ll catch a flight to Kodiak Island, and when we land there we’ll catch another flight - this time a float plane - to Afognak Island. Of course that second flight will depend on the weather. If it’s stormy or too foggy, we won’t be able to go to Afognak Island, and our plans will change considerably. At Afognak, we’ll be staying at a lodge where we’ll fish and work on some photography until Thursday evening. The owners of the lodge told us that EVERY visitor to the lodge so far has gotten their limit in fishing. Sure. Salmon, halibut, trout - don’t know what else. I’d like to get some great fish and have it shipped home. They’re set up to handle all that. I realize that after all the costs, it’ll be some of the most expensive fish we could have. But, nevertheless, it would taste so great.

RT and I have been eating a lot of fish lately - lots of salmon and Tilapia and Tuna. Less carbohydrates. So a trip to Alaska fit right in with our culinary tastes.

That’s right. Today’s my birthday. Since I was born in 1949, that makes me (Can it be true?!) 57 years old today. Holy maroly! Just doesn’t seem possible. Time truly goes by much too quickly. Since I’ve done a birthday tribute to RT, each of my siblings, my mother, my two children and my two grandchildren on their respective birthdays, I figure I may as well finish up the family and do one for myself. So, without further ado, here’s my photo tribute to myself.

 

As a newborn

 

 

 

My first piano concert (also one of the last).

 

 

 

 

 

With my father and three of my siblings. Notice that this is the photo of me that was used for my blog header.

 

 

 

Appropriately decked out for my birthday a couple years ago.

Okay, that’s enough photos.

So Happy Birthday to me!

How have I celebrated my birthday? I’m not complaining, but ONE of my errands today was to buy underwear for RT. Of course I also had a manicure and pedicure, RT and I ate breakfast with some friends, and tonight we’ll go to a party for our pastor.  So far, so good.

Sorry that I haven’t been posting much lately.  My life is a little hectic, to say the least.

(1)  School started two weeks ago, and I’m busting my booty at school.  Even though I don’t have my own class of students, I’m giving reading assessments to kids in kindergarten through fifth grade, helping organize reading buddies, keeping the leveled book room and professional reading room up to par for the teachers’ use, writing the newsletter, and working on a couple of volunteer programs. Plus, the past week I’ve been getting things ready for my almost two-week absence.

(2) RT and I are leaving on Monday for our 10-day trip to Alaska.  We both have been busy working out all the arrangements for that - flights (a total of TEN flights in all!), lodging, fishing guides, car rentals.  And we had to plan alternate arrangements for some of the flights inside Alaska since the weather is a major factor this time of year. Three days of our time there will be as part of a photography group at Denali.  So we’ve also been busy getting cameras and photos ready for the trip.

(3) RT and I are getting married a week from tomorrow (September 2) in Denali - on the Alaskan tundra within view of Mount McKinley, and I’ve been also busting my booty getting things ready for that - picking out rings, re-sizing rings, picking up re-sized rings, deciding I didn’t like the original ring I selected (it didn’t look right with the engagement ring) and taking it back and picking out another one.  Making the arrangements for the marriage license and ceremony has taken quite a bit of work, too.  It’s going to be a very informal wedding - we’ll wear hiking clothes (packing space is at a premium) and we’ll be the only ones there except for the commissioner and maybe a couple witnesses which I think are required by law.  No reception or music or anything else.  So you wouldn’t think it would take much planning.  And I guess it hasn’t taken that much time - just making sure everything is handled to get the out of state marriage license, and we have to write our own vows since we won’t be using a set religious ceremony.

(4) It has been amazing how the story of our engagement and wedding has caught so many people’s interest.  I’ve had lots of people tell me that when they heard about it, it brought tears to their eyes, and I guess our story IS quite unusual.  My mother tells me I should write a book about it.  I don’t think it is THAT unusual, though.  Our story is a testament to “true love conquers all” . . . or something like that.

We’ll be back in town on September 6th - and soon after that maybe I can get back to regular blogging. In the meantime, keep coming back, and leave a few comments.  I don’t want to lose all 7 of my regular readers.

I got my new camera - A Nikon D50 - and I’ve taken a BUNCH of photos.  However, I realized a little late that I did not have it set for automatic focus, and so most of the pictures were so out of focus I deleted them.  Here are four that survived the delete button…barely.

This first picture is of a hen turkey with two chicks (rather large chicks) who were in our front yard yesterday morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next photo is of a deer who was on the hill behind our house Tuesday morning.  There were actually two deer and several turkeys - but they were too far apart to get all of them in the same photo.

 

And here, friends and neighbors, is the bane of my existence - poison ivy.  I took this photo last night when I was standing by this tree helping RT as he worked on the engine of the tractor.  I was VERY careful not to touch any of it.

 

 

 

And this is the second photo from last night.  Two blooming flowers - the background is one of the tractor tires.

I took this photo yesterday morning.  This is a photo of a turkey hen.  Three of her chicks were also in the tree, but I was unable to get a picture of them.  At one point (after I put away the camera), the mama turkey was silhouetted on that branch with one of the little chicks beside her.  It was SO cute - but of course they were gone by the time I got my camera again.

There was a turkey hen on a long curving branch of a tree in PawPaw’s yard awhile ago.  Behind her was a tiny chick - following closely.  They were silhouetted against the sky.  Two other chicks were on other branches of the tree.  A fantastic photo op.  By the time I ran inside and got my camera, they were gone.  Sigh.

I enjoy photography, and I hope to get a new camera soon so I can take better photographs when I return to Alaska in September.  I’m going to take a photography class before then, too. As a matter of fact, while we’re Alaska, we will spend two days with a photography group in Denali.  Here are THIRTEEN of my favorite photos from the past year.

1. A photo I took last July in Alaska - it’s a sunrise with a dock in the foreground.

 

2.  Another Alaskan photo - this is of a flower I saw out on the tunda of Denali.

3. Yet another picture from Alaska - snow-capped mountains and clouds reflected on Eagle River.

4. Some forsythia blooming early this spring in PawPaw’s yard.  I like the way it shows up against the sky. I had to lie down on the ground and point the camera upwards to get this shot.

5. Some flowers on the land where PawPaw and I will build our house.

6.  These are roses PawPaw gave me for Valentine’s Day.

7.  This photo is of a rainbow that appeared for about five minutes during a hailstorm last month.  That was the day that the tornadoes did so much damage in north Nashville.  It hailed for awhile, then the sun shone through the clouds for a few minutes, and then the storm resumed.

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8.  The hail I picked up from my yard right before the rainbow (above) appeared.

9.  Sunset in the countryside outside Nashville.

10. Another shot of forsytia.  I like this one because of the graceful curve of the branches.

11. The absolute lights of my life!  Here are Sunshine and Sweet Stuff (my two granddaughters) last summer when I babysat them for a week.  A great action shot, I think.

12. Flowers again - an unusual looking one from our land.  They’re called “Sweet Betsy”.

13.  One last flower photo.  It’s not in focus very well - but when I get my new camera soon, I should be able to take much better photos.  I like the delicate blooms of this wildflower.

 

 

One of the fun aspects of wandering over the land where PawPaw and I are going to build our home is seeing all the different wildflowers.  We bought a Tennessee Wildflower identification book — which PawPaw has.  I took some pictures - not the greatest in the world, but okay for identifying the flowers.  The “Sweet Betsy” is the most unusual — three spotted leaves (are they called “varigated”?) with a dark red flower spiking up in the middle.  The whitish flowers are “something-or-other Toothworth”.  I remember the toothwort part, but not the rest.  They’re pretty, aren’t they?

Photographs taken this past Sunday in Tennessee…  I just love springtime!