Icewind's Ramblings

The days are getting shorter now and winters on the way, there’s whispering on the winds telling us it’s that time to pray.   Pray for a quick winter and a return to our beloved summers. We are almost at that time when the frost is on the windshields of vehicles not tucked away in a garage and the time to return to using the auto-start on your rig to warm it up before you get in for that drive to work.   I originally came from the South and I have been surprised that no one there has started selling vehicle auto-starters for the use in summer to cool their vehicle before getting into them in the near 100 degree heat.   Could do well there I bet with a little promotion.   Not I mind you as I could not take the heat full time unless I was on one of the tropical islands somewhere with a drink in hand.   Jeff Foxworthy made famous the “You might be a Redneck” jokes and along those same lines we have our share of Alaskan humor that is a little different than the...

Great news in Alaska, Burger King has just announced that I can have it my way . . .   finally.   It was debuted today the left-handed Whopper. It’s the same sandwich . . . with the condiments rotated 180 degrees for all of us ‘lefties’ in the world. I hope this will spread like wildfire all over the world. Ice

During the bathroom remodel as I bored of working on it in what seemed like all of my free time I decided to build an outdoor kitchen area.   My brother-in-law Mike and I had talked about it since last summer when we were always cleaning and processing our fish on coolers in the driveway. At the time he was working out at the end of the world on Shemya Island which is on the far western end of the Aleutian Islands.   His work schedule had him working for three months at a time on the island with two or three weeks time off.   He has worked out the schedule so he could be home for the beginning and end of the fishing season. I needed a break from the bathroom work and headed to Lowe’s to grab some lumber.   Mike had bought a new stainless steel electric smoker over the winter and I wanted to make a place where we could smoke our fish out of the weather as many times it was always raining while we would tend the smoker for 6 to 8 hours. Things I wanted to include...

This one will go under the Useless Trivia category . . . The Statue of Liberty 's fingernails weigh (on average) 100 pounds each. I hope everyone has a nice holiday and you took time to remember what this day means besides the cookouts, hot dogs, and fireworks. Give thanks to those who serve for giving us those Freedoms we enjoy each day.  Ice

Summer is a great time for grillin’ keeping the heat buildup out of the house and fishing season is upon us so I thought I would put this one out there for everyone. 1/4 c pineapple juice 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 4 (6 oz) salmon fillets 2 tbsp brown sugar 4 tsp chili powder 2 tsp grated lemon rind 3/4 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp cinnamon Cooking spray Lemon wedges (optional) Combine first 3 ingredients in a Ziploc plastic bag, seal and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally. Before we start grillin’ let me give you a few tips on barbecuing salmon recipes. Make sure that the rungs on the grill are clean.  There’s nothing worse than old bits of food burnt on the grill bars, not only does it leave a horrible taste but it will make the Salmon stick. Get that barbeque really hot.  Depending on charcoal or a gas grill use plenty of charcoal to build a really good fire that will retain plenty of heat. Let the flames die down until you can see...

Tomorrow is Bike to work day and my company is hosting a BBQ for our new interns who come in to work with us during the summer months.  The combination bike day and a welcoming BBQ will make it a fun time and the weather is looking great for the event.  I was volunteered to help cook and people were bringing side dishes and deserts.  I figured I would give everyone a treat with my slightly different baked bean recipe. Baked beans are a favorite side dish in the South.  It's rare to go to a barbecue or to a pot luck dinner and not see a baking dish with baked beans. Some baked beans are a whole lot better than other baked beans . . . it takes some "doctoring up" to make the really yummy baked beans . . . the kind that means you come home with an empty casserole dish or crock pot.  If you’re really lucky someone will take the cornbread and lap up the juice in the bottom of the dish. There are probably as many baked bean secrets in the South as there are South...

Four or five days ago there were some changes coming to the Anchorage area which gave us our first real glimpse of summer.  The clouds parted, the sun continues to give us the sunlight lost during our long winters.  We are up to about 17 hours now with sunrise around 5:30 am and sunset around 10:30 PM so you can still see it light outside to the west after midnight. The city is in that period of time when everyone comes together to walk the roadways picking up trash that has either been dropped or blown around the streets.  Everyone has the opportunity to clean up the debris and limbs that were blown down in your yard.  The City of Anchorage opens up the two landfills for a couple weekends for those that want to clean up and drop off their debris.  For those two weekends the do not charge so the lines are long but it makes a big difference in how the city looks during the summer. With the sun out in force giving a sense of warmth at about 60 degrees it wa...

Sorry this is not another tasty treat from my Alaska Road Kill Recipe book but one you should really like. Here’s a little holiday recipe to serve your houseguests who drop by.  If you are lucky and no one comes by feel free to enjoy these with your favorite beverage . . . it leaves more for you to enjoy while kicking back on the sofa. Crab Nachos 2 packages Hollandaise sauce (made as directed on the package – with milk, not water) 1 pound lump crab meat 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped 4 tablespoons green onion, chopped 4 pieces bacon, well cooked & chopped 4 teaspoons pickled jalapenos, chopped (for that little extra bite) 1 package shredded cheddar 1 package shredded Monterrey Jack Tostitos Scoops Prepare Hollandaise sauce according to package directions; reserve. Preheat broiler. Mix crab meat, cilantro, onion, bacon, cheese, and jalapenos in a bowl.  Add hollandaise sauce.  Generously spoon mixture into Tostitos Scoops and place und...

Alaska is a sometimes strange and wonderful place to live. And while coming into winter with five fresh inches of snow for Thanksgiving the down time gives one time to reflect on the summer and have a chance to write a few things down from earlier in the year.  I think with the longer nights there “seems” to be more time as you stop doing some of the outdoor things in the afternoon and early evening as darkness sets in now around four in the afternoon.  Put away now are the fishing gear, boats and personal watercraft as well as most of the hunting gear as much of the subsistence game has been acquired and in the freezers with only some winter trapping still going on in the rural areas. I have many friends who do live a subsistence lifestyle which hunt and fish each year to provide food for their families.  It is a time honored tradition here that both Native and non-native families participate in which makes one appreciate where and sometimes when you get food to ...

I have not kept up with the news lately but the times I have had a chance to either watch a news program or a quick look online there have been a couple things that stood out. Veterans Day should not be a sad day. Yet, in the days before America pauses to honor the men and women who have fought for this great nation, the country was forced to note the awful handiwork of two one-time soldiers who dishonored their country and their comrades. The tragedy at Ft. Hood is one that hits hard with these fine men and women serving their country to be assaulted and killed on our home soil in a ‘secure’ environment of an Army post.  I guess it stands to reason when I was sworn in so many years ago the words “against all enemies, foreign and domestic” still rings true, today thirty nine years later. "I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true fa...

Alaska has been sensitive to Oil spills especially after the Exxon Valdez incident over twenty years ago.  I think things have moved past the anger and aggravation dealing with the Exxon now that they finally settled the law suit brought against them . . . it only took twenty years and many people have grown old or have died before Exxon paid a dime.  Lawyers . . . kept playing ping pong within the court system even after being fined postponing having to cough up the money. For many years there were many protests about the environment and how things were going, especially here in Alaska with all of the “tree huggers” and environmental groups going on and on about one cause or another.  Things have calmed down somewhat now and seem to be a little easier to deal with when things go wrong. There recently was a small oil spill in Alaskan waters and you could see in the response that those earlier feelings had mellowed a bit.  People were now saying that a little...

Friday afternoon we head out to sea leaving the boat harbor in Homer heading 265˚ while running about 16 knots.  The fishin’ area we wanted was 26 nautical miles from Homer in the direction of Augustine Volcano which we could see in the distance with a plume of steam rising out of the top.   The "Ring of Fire" (map) is an arc stretching from New Zealand , along the eastern edge of Asia, north across the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and south along the coast of North and South America . The Ring of Fire is composed over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes. This huge ring of volcanic and seismic (earthquake) activity was noticed and described before the invention of the theory of plate tectonics theory. We now know that the Ring of Fire is located at the borders of the Pacific Plate and other major tectonic plates.  Alaska has many active volcanoes ranging across the Cook Inlet from Anchorage winding its way down along the Aleutian chain. ...

This year provided a mixed bag of things going on, outings planned and changesthrown in with a couple of surprises. I had planned for several weeks to make another trek out to Big Lake for one last weekend for Jet Skiing, boating, and relaxing mixed with those things Alaskan’s do preparing for the upcoming winter. The cabin needed cleaning, winterizing, and some repairs to make it through the extreme winter on the lake.  It is not unusual for minus 35 below zero for weeks at a time so making sure everything that can freeze is out, the toys are stashed away in the shed and firewood stacked in the tinder box are just a few of the chores to be completed.  There was one last lawn mowing and we kept a fire going in the fire pit burning up all of the old decking and joists from Scott’s efforts putting on a new deck several weeks ago.  We made it to the lake and mowed the grass put all of the jet skis into the water and everyone headed off in different directions.  ...

I woke up this morning to head out to my Saturday breakfast at Village Inn but before I left the house I took Gus out for his morning nature break and walk. While I was enjoying my first cup of coffee I put more peanuts in the bird feeder when the 4 Jays came swooping down into the tree limbs just off my deck and on the hand rails. They landed within a few feet of me and made their ‘good morning’ noises to greet me. I can tell they really know when I put out the food and nuts as they are looking for me several times a day. I picked up one of the peanuts and held it out toward the limb where one was impatiently waiting to see what was going on. Gus usually barks and makes every attempt to scare the birds. The hand is held out and slowly the one Jay hops up to within a few inches from the nut and quickly grabs it and moves about 4 feet away. I had him take two peanuts before I went to breakfast and several hours later when I returned he took another one. It was pret...

The future you have control over is the one you create. There are some things we have no control over. It is wiser to accept what you have not been given the power to change. I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday weekend. I spent mine with friends (Scott & Kim’s family) out at their cabin on Big Lake . It was a combination of families which included: dogs (3, with one having OCD), kids (5), grandkids (1), grand dads (2), Nana’s (1), Mom’s (1), and Dad’s (2). This is just sort of a mix match of all kinds of things. It was an interesting weekend with many things going on between relaxing, riding wave runners, 2 pontoon boats, a speed boat, and a paddleboat. The kids were all over the place having fun and one surprise Saturday evening was 6 kids ranging in ages from 5 to 15 years old all on a trampoline jumping, having a great time without anyone mad, whining, hurt, or not wanting to be there. It was strange but nice. The wea...