Salmon...Not Just For Eating Anymore

Last week I had the opportunity to go hang with Asher on his field trip.  His fifth grade class is one of a handful of classes in the school district that get the opportunity to raise salmon from eggs in a salmon tank.

I learned a lot that day!  Salmon is a culture here in Alaska.  There are so many things that revolve around them.  Most people seem to know when the different types run and when the different fishing seasons are and about their life cycle and, of course, how to prepare them once you've caught them!

A very important (okay, of legal importance) thing I learned was that a permit had to be obtained to raise salmon in the classrooms.  Evidently, it is illegal in this state to raise wild fish.  This is simplistic, I know.  I don't know all the ins and outs of the laws but that is the gist of it.

If some of my pictures seem extra blurry it's because I had to blur out the images of kids that aren't mine.  Can't post anyone else's people on here without permission.  (call it, Amanda's legal policy).

We were out on the Chena River for this adventure.  Alright, we were on the bank with another class and the fish and game department.  It was beautiful!

And yes, the water was calm.  The other class, not so much.  But that is another story.

On to the salmon egg tale.  We were harvesting eggs from Coho (or silver) salmon if I understood correctly. Any corrections I will gladly take.  Coho salmon are born in freshwater, migrate to the ocean, and then return to freshwater to spawn and die.  Circle of life.  They are silver in color while living in the ocean and when they return to freshwater to spawn they turn a deep red color.

In order for us (or fish and game for us) to harvest the eggs some salmon had to be caught.

And then bonked on the head.

Who said science wasn't brutal?  All the girls were, "Ewwww."  All the boys were, "Cool!"

The male is the top fish.  They grow that massive hook snout and teeth on their return to the river.  The female is the bottom fish (and those are the roe showing where her belly was cut).  The females spend the rest of their lives (be it hours or a couple of days) protecting the eggs.

So, during the demonstration I thought they were saying, "Milk" instead of "Milt."  Asher graciously corrected me when I was explaining the fertilization process at dinner that night to Bryon.

This is the end product that was taken back to the class to be put in the salmon tank.  For the rest of the school year they will be observing the growth of these eggs under very exact conditions (temperature, light exposure).  In May, the live salmon will be returned to Chena Lake so that the permit conditions are fulfilled (and so fish and game doesn't go and put a bunch of 5th graders on their "Most Wanted" list).

I learned just as much as the kiddos out there.  It's fascinating what a species will do just to make sure the next generation carries on.

I asked Asher tonight if anything had started happening in the tank yet.  He said, "One has an eye and it stares at me."

And cue the theme from The Twilight Zone.

Rowan had fun too.

Tell me my dear lab partners, what did you do in the name of science back in the day? (or last week. whatever.)

Rowan Goes Bananas!

Bryon and I had been talking for a little bit about starting the Rowan-Man on some solid foods.  We have decided that we aren't going to buy any baby food.  Instead, we plan on making our own!  It's way more cost effective, we control how it's prepared, and it just seems a little more wholesome and less processed.  (this is not to pass judgement on anyone, this is what works for US)  There are so many creative recipes out there and it's not really that time-consuming to make it.

The first question, what food do we start with?  Traditionally people start their kiddos on the cereals, but since when have I been known to go with the flow?  We did some research and found that bananas and avocados are actually good foods to start with.  So when I did my grocery shopping this week, I bought the following for Rowan: brown rice, steel-cut oatmeal, bananas, and avocados.  All you need is a food processor (check!) and you are good to go.

Technically, Rowan's first bite of solid food was instant mashed potatoes Sunday night.  It was on a whim though and not prepared just special for him.  He has been watching us eat for awhile and now he starts to drool at the table!  We felt pity on the poor guy and gave him a taste.

Last night, we prepared some bananas mixed with some breast milk.  Yes, we did a taste test before we gave it to our baby and yes, it tasted pretty good.  Kind of like a banana smoothie.

This is Mine!

What are you doing to me??

I think I am getting the hang of it now.

Really, Mom?

If I had jeans I would unbutton them about now.

 He really enjoyed the bananas last night!  Another bonus, he slept from 10:30 p.m. until 5:45 a.m.  Score!

Tell me friends, what was your baby's first bite?  Do you have any recipe suggestions for us?

And It's October

I've been absent from the blog world for a little bit (if anyone has noticed).  September came, it conquered?, or it was super-busy.  Trust me, my fellow readers (admirers? what?), I have written so many blogs in my head it would blow your mind!  None of them have made it to the computer however and are, alas, lost to my memory.

So in light of this absence, here is a summary of what the family was up to in September.  It has pictures.  Enjoy.

Bryon worked A LOT last month.  We did get to make it down to Soldotna for Labor Day weekend though.  I learned to can salmon (which is awesome).  We canned enough to eat canned salmon once a week for a year if we wanted to.  We had a great time spending time with the family!

Lot of fun was had by all!  Anything involving cake, cats, salmon, and goats has to be fun!

Asher has been super-busy as well.  At the beginning of the month, he went on an overnight camp-out with his fifth grade class and had lots of fun.  The canoeing was his favorite activity.  He still talks about it (and how all activities would be better if they just had canoeing).  Rowan and I went out to hang out with him during the day.  I helped make spaghetti for dinner.  I have never seen (or made) that much pasta in my life!

My two boys having fun!

Asher has also been busy with his cub scout pack.  They are in the midst of selling popcorn (and we must get on it and get some sold!).  Rowan and I had another opportunity to hang out with Asher at a cub scout event.  We went geocaching at the Chena Lakes Recreation Area.  It was a neat activity, kinda like a modern day treasure hunt.  I look forward to making this a family activity sometime.

Asher trying to work our GPS (note to self, figure out how to use it outside of the car for  the next time...)

Rowan had his four-month well-child check and shots towards the beginning of September.  He turned four months old on Sept 19.  I can't believe it!  He is growing up sooo quickly.  He is on the right track though, gaining weight and inches.  My favorite Rowan milestone for September: rolling over from his back to his tummy.  He is a little talker too.  Very noisy and playful!  He makes everyone in the house smile big!

Such a handsome little man!

As for me, September marked the beginning of exercise.  That's right, three days a week for the whole month!  I haven't missed yet.  While I haven't lost any weight yet, I am starting to look a little firmer, not so floppy.  I've written a whole post about this in my head, hopefully it will make it out to the computer this month!  I've also been living the life of a stay-at-home mom who never seems to spend all of a day at home. We always have stuff going on it seems!

September brought a gorgeous fall to us up in Alaska.  Next year I am going to devote an entire day (or weekend, or month, whatever) to taking tons of fall pictures.  I'm telling you, this was the most vibrant fall I have ever experienced.  It was odd, however, feeling that fall chill towards the end of August.  I'm used to those feelings in October.

Breathtaking!

To wrap it up, I will close saying this: It SNOWED on the last day of September here.  That's right.  SNOWED.  It doesn't matter that it didn't stick to the ground.  It was there.  I'm not sure if I am ready for it.

I will be much more present in this month of October!  That is my goal.

How is everyone else's fall going??

I Remember

I'm jumping on the bandwagon and posting my thought on September 11, 2001.  Usually I stay away from what everyone else seems to be doing, but today marks ten years from a time that we all united together.  That unity was pretty amazing.


On September 11, 2001 I was 16 years old.  I was a junior attending a rural high school in Kansas.  


I remember sitting in my first class for the day, anatomy.  I can still remember where I sat.  One of my classmates was trying to get our teacher to let us go to the library to watch the news.  He said that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center.  We didn't believe him at first.  We thought that he was just trying to get us out of doing school work.  Shortly after, we found out that he was telling the truth.


I don't remember most of the rest of the school day except for my American history class.  We had a test that day.  After taking the test we were excused to the library where a projector had been set up so that more people could watch the news.


I remember the names of the missing running along the bottom of the screen.  The names of the passengers that were on those flights and whether or not they had been accounted for.


I remember that I recognized the feelings inside me, the immense sadness at the loss of so many lives and the fear that more was to come, as feelings I had felt before.  I felt these feelings on April 19, 1995 when I was nine years old and the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed. 


I remember going to work at the farm market that afternoon.  There was only one topic of conversation.  How could there be anything else to talk about?  I remember seeing the president's plane fly overhead.  I remember feeling awed that I knew who that plane belonged to as all other flights had been grounded.  I remember the owner's son coming in and saying that the price of gas was jumping up to over $7 per gallon because there was fear of an oil shortage.


I remember getting off of work and having to drive back out to the high school to pick up my sister who was working a concession stand that afternoon.  I remember running into the school almost panicky because I was in a hurry to buy gas before either the price went up or we ran out of gas entirely.


In the days that followed many rumors started out of the fear that this attack had left us all with.  I remember feeling scared, not secure, about the fact that we lived so close to Ft. Riley.  Fearful that this military base could be subject to an attack.  I remember rumors that the draft was going to be re initiated.


I remember hearing that the attack on the World Trade Center had originally been planned for the week in May 2001 that my mom, sister, aunt, uncle, and I were in New York City.  We visited those twin towers while we were there.  I remember the relief that I felt that I was not there.  Then I remember feeling bad and selfish about that relief because of the innocent people that lost their lives.  How was my life any more important than theirs?

Me and my sister on Liberty Island May 2001

I remember a few days later when we saw these beautiful red and green lights in the sky one night.  I immediately attributed it to another attack.  Turns out it was the Northern Lights.  Something extremely rare to be seen in the Midwest.  I didn't fully appreciate their beauty at the time because of the fear that sat within me.  I regret that.


I remember feeling that our country needed to retaliate against those that plotted and carried out this heinous attack.  For me to feel patriotic was an odd feeling.  Not a feeling I was used to.


Time has not yet distanced some of those feelings that I felt that day.  However, as time often does, I think that in 20 years I might feel a little distance.  I know that if another terrorist attack occurs on our country the feelings I have felt twice in the past will resurface like they were there just yesterday.


This is our generation's JFK or MLK moment.  The "where were you when this event happened" moment.  I hope that we don't liken it to just remembering where we were.  I hope we always remember to pause and remember the feelings that we felt that day.  To really remember and really feel what we felt that day.  

View of the World Trade Center from Ellis Island May 2001

***Guest Post***Enjoying the Free Bounty Alaska Has to Offer

*This is a guest post from my husband, Bryon.  Give him props.  This is his first blog post and I think he did awesome!!!*

This morning I decided to take a couple of picking buckets along with me while walking our son to the bus stop.  Two hours later I made my way back home.  Oh, and the bus stop is only a 3-4 minute walk from the front door.

Do you ever find it hard to stop picking?  The wife and I joke about having a little OCD when it comes to picking berries.  Oh but there are a few more over here let me just get these then we can go in.  Yeah right, that never happens.

Off to the dehydrator for most of these little beauties.  The Birch boletes dry nicely, the quaking aspens dry up dirty (discolor but are still good), and this will be the first try for dehydrating the slippery jacks.

Picked too many for the dehydrator, oh well I guess we can always make some more fried mushrooms out of the little slippery jacks.

This was our dinner last night, deep fried slippery jacks (Dipped in egg and breaded in 1/2 and 1/2 bread crumbs and flour), along with hamburgers with sauted slippery jacks (sauted in 2 tbsp butter and garlic)

Rowan, Tell Us How You Really Feel...

One finger speaks volumes....

He was telling us even before he was born!

I love my baby boy!!  Don't worry Rowan, I used to do this a lot too (except I was old enough to know better!)

Shhhh...Be Very, Very Quiet...We're Hunting Mushrooms

No, not the psychedelic kind....well, we've found them....but we've only ingested the boring, edible, non-psychedelic 'shrooms, PROMISE!

Since we have moved up to Alaska we have taken a larger interest in foraging.  This is something that has always sparked curiosity in me and now I am finally starting to educate myself on it.  While we've done a few types of foraging, mushroom hunting is our big interest at the moment.

Alaska has TONS of different types of mushrooms.  It is insane how many types exist!  We went and bought some books (any hobby that lets me buy a book is a hobby that I like!) on mushroom identifying and have been researching the internet extensively.

We found at least ten different types in the woods around our yard alone!

These are the mushrooms we found in about 30 minutes around our house!

After we collected our mushrooms we looked through our books and attempted to identify them.  The next step was to make a spore print of the types we wanted to identify further.  Call me paranoid, but I want to make sure that we are accurately identifying the mushrooms we intend to eat.  No reason to make an ER trip for an accidental poisoning

After about 12 hours, this is what shows up on paper.

We have now increased our confidence in identifying certain mushroom types.  We have tried a couple of different mushrooms to eat.  The puffball variety is fantastic!  We have also tried the birch bolete and the trembling aspen bolete.  I have enjoyed the flavor of all of them.  Of course we are being very careful and only eating a small amount of only one type at a time just in case!  They are exceptionally good sauteed in butter with some garlic added.  And for all of you texture nuts out there (I'm one of them, not judging!) the texture didn't bother me in the slightest!

Example of a puffball mushroom.  We didn't eat this one because we had handled so many mushrooms that day and were worried about cross-contamination.

Birch boletes that we found.

We definitely will always retain a healthy respect for those 'shrooms that can kill you.  However, now that we have some knowledge, wild mushrooms don't seem near as scary!  In fact, some are quite tasty!!!