July 22 Odds and Ends

Local barge/tug up on blocks for the winter and thru the summer so far- if the owner ever comes along I want to get to know him better.
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This is the studio I have carved out for myself above the garage. I share the space with extra furniture they have lying around.

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The postcard and the barge photos give an idea of what the River looks like when the ice is still upon it and breaking up. We arrived May 11 or so and  2 weeks before you could still walk across it.

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The ice wasn't completely melted away with no more ragged bits coming downriver until late May. This is a painting on canvas paper of ice breakup on river.

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Here's a skiff similar to those used by fishcamp/village folks on the river. Our public landing is the only pullout for quite a ways up and down the river. We've seen a small 50 person cruise boat come down and tie up and eat here, and then continue its journey down to the ocean- 800 miles away. Also, right out of Huck Finn, a father and son came through recently with a homemade log and tent raft they had created by gathering logs as they went pushed upriver by a motorboat, and will float downstream again with the motorboat tied to the back. John recently bought a skiff like this one but without the cap on it you see here, which most people use. 

At any one time in the landing parking lot there are 50 cars and trailer beds parked, with their owners out there somewhere on the river. John and I went out on it last week which was really neat. Went up a "slew"- a side channel and saw a huge Gray Owl. Bald Eagles are seen a lot around here too. The plan is within a couple weeks he will leave me on an island somewhere so I can commune with nature and paint... and then come back for me.

Bebe with a rather small King Salmon donated by Matt. Much bigger examples have come in courtesy of Matt, who we in turn keep his frozen for him in the walk-in. John goes right to work on these donations. Even the head is cracked open to get whatever meat is in there. Eyeballs taken too, he says they taste like butter.