I’m trying to enjoy the peace and quiet while I have it!  As I get older, I have less energy and lack the desire to multi-task like I have done all my life.  I love quiet and long periods of puttering, and I don’t know how well I’ll handle the coming busy-ness.  Next weekend will be my 50th high school reunion (photos to come).  We will have three days of activities and I’ve helped the planning committee a couple times.  On the third day, Peter and 7-yr-old Janek will arrive on Sunday afternoon from Germany just before our reunion picnic, so that will be the end of my solitude for the summer months.

I’ve spent the past three weeks receiving orientation as a Stream Watch volunteer for the Kenai Watershed Forum and the U.S. Forest Service.  They assist with environmental education for several fishing areas along the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers, from Cooper Landing more than 50 miles south to Kasilof.  There are about 100 volunteers who take shifts along the river at seven different sites.  We received shirts, jackets and hats to make us official.  Feels strange, but good.  We have to carry pepper spray for bears at all times.  As most people know, we have lots of bears in this area, and they are drawn to the fishing areas, sometimes are happy to compete for the fish or take the carcasses that are left after fishermen filet the meat off the bones.  Enthusiastic fishermen have created a lot of environmental damage in past years, so this is a good program for enhancing the rivers and maintaining salmon returns for the future.  Besides, it makes me feel useful.  Through the summer, I’ll add pictures from these fishing sites.

I got an email this week from the German couple I met in Mexico last winter, and found out that Martina and Norbert are on their way to Alaska in their big overland RV rig, they will be here in July to visit.  Fortunately Peter will be able to talk with them in German, since neither one speaks much English.  I’m not sure where we can park them, but we’ll manage.  They are such a nice couple, I’ll be glad to see them again.  Although I’m planted in Alaska, I am still often in touch with my friends who are on the road, living the gypsy life in their RVs.  There’s a big group of motor homes travelers from my Solos group who will be driving around Alaska together, and when they get to the Kenai Peninsula I’ll probably find them for a Happy Hour to say hello.  As long as I have this lakefront haven and big lawn, I might as well use it for some picnic and BBQ gatherings this year.

Yesterday we had a huge hailstorm with thunder and lightning!  That almost never happens here, so it was pretty exciting.  The hail was about the size of frozen peas, although it melted pretty fast.

UPDATE — The wildfire reached over 196,000 acres, but it got overcast and began slowly raining, so the worst is over.  The fire was almost completely within the Kenai Peninsula Wildlife Refuge, all the way from Skilak Lake to Tustumena Lake, although it skipped over the river in some places.  More than 1000 households were evacuated but they have been allowed to return home.  They say the fire will keep smoldering and then flaring up all summer.
—————————————————-

Right now we are just north of a huge wildfire which is across the Kenai River.  It has already grown to over 100,000 acres, and although we were lucky for several days that the wind was blowing south and kept the smoke away from town, for the past couple of days the wind shifted toward us and now we have ash drifting down and grey skies that block the sun.  This is making our Memorial Day weekend, when campers begin the busy summer season, quite a nasty time to be outdoors. This is what it looked like when I first saw the fire — it was surprisingly beautiful!

Last weekend I drove to Anchorage to attend the chartering of our new Rotary e-Club.  It’s interesting to create a virtual club with members from various places in Alaska and around the world.  Hopefully we’ll make it work, even though different time zones make attending group meetings somewhat difficult.

I kept heading north to Talkeetna to see my Aunt Pat who runs a hostel there, and to spend a few days in that interesting, quirky little town.  This is the place where mountain climbers hire small planes to fly them to the glaciers from which they can attempt to climb Mt. McKinley, the second-highest mountain in the world.  Many of the climbers stay at my aunt’s hostel, and not only do they love staying there, she enjoys getting to know these interesting adventurers.  The mountain is so big that it creates its own weather and sometimes it is difficult to even see it.  But the weather was nice when I was there and this photo is of me with my aunt, with McKinley in the background (or rather, Denali, as most Alaskans call the mountain).

Here are a few pictures of Talkeetna –
    

And a couple more shots of the (almost) pretty wildfire, from a distance.  This morning they announced on the radio that an evacuation alert has been issued to people living in the path of the fire.  This means business!
 

Here is a lovely, restful picture of my dog Cheyenne with my aunt’s dog Mac, in Talkeetna.  They are both good roommates for the old ladies who live with them.