Failed Familial Portraits

Dogs: They are uncooperative with photos.





I like this crop though:


Yay for sun!

Veggies for the week

Rosie Creek Farm has apparently been struggling with the weather as much as I have with my garden. My basil just plumb died, and my tomatoes refuse to blossom. My weekly veggie share, while much, much, much better than anything I could grow myself with my meager resources, has also been slim pickings. Here is this week's:


My salad greens came in a "Rosie Creek Farm" logo bag, which is not normal for CSA subscribers. I think those were intended to be sold either to the farmer's market or to the local produce store, and were pulled back at the last minute to add to CSA shares instead. That tells me that I made the right choice in doing the CSA thing. I had heard that the local farms prioritize their best produce for the CSA subscribers, and send the rest to the farmer's market. This confirms it.

Also, also: Most adorable photos of behbeh koala ever, here.

Manley Hot Springs

Last weekend, a group of friends and I made a trip to Manley Hot Springs, population 72.

Some scenery on the drive:




There is a whole lotta nuthin' on the Elliott Highway:




Minto Flats:


Being manly in Manley:


The Manley Roadhouse:


The slough on which we camped:


When car camping, folks get spatially greedy, so we each brought our own tents. The result was something that looked like a hobo camp:


Autumn enjoying herself:


The Elliott is dusty!


Home sweet home:


Chillin' at camp:


The Manley Airport:


The Manley Trading Post:


The Manley Firehouse Fire Shed:






The hot spring water is diverted from this creek:


Into this greenhouse:


Where grapes, tropical flowers, and other non-arctic things grow:


And visitors can enjoy hot tubs:


Mmmm S'mores!


The next morning, I took the dawgs for a walk to the end of the Elliott Highway--the farthest west one can drive on the US road system. I made two observations:
1) The Alaskan definition of "highway" is very generous.
2) It's ironic to walk to a place known for being the farthest one can drive.

The local community hall:


The Stanley Dayo Race Trail:


The dowgs lead the way:






When we got back, the human boys had breakfast going:




Chewie eyeballing the grill. Note how carefully the veggies are balanced with beer bottles. Only a campsite full of physicists can achieve this.




Stick biscuits!


The dogs were pooped after walking to the end of the accessible world:




The Manley Gas Station. To get gas, you ask the guy at the garage to call the owner to come over and turn on the pump for you.




The Wildwood General Store, on the drive home. I bought some cookies and was very, very disappointed to discover that they were some kind of fat-free health crap.


Alaskan limo for sale:

Dowgs

It's cooled down enough now to make huskyballs:



Autumn with her "Woe is me" expression:

I've come to realize that quite a few huskies have that. It's congenital and not related to actual happiness; they just like to hang their heads and look pitiful. I've heard them called "Eeyore dogs". :)

Linden with her perpetual smile:

Linden is another type that is common. I call them "Goober dogs". :)

A friend's corgis:

Veggie photos

My veggies for the week:


My neighbors' garden. I love the way she intersperses flowers in with the vegetables. Especially considering that those are not flowers that are amenable to cutting and putting into a vase. Their only purpose is to beautify the vegetable garden. :)


This, my friends, is an Alaskan rhubarb leaf:

And it's a perennial, would you believe? I saw its little red tips poking out of the snow in the spring!

A ladybug that I found in my underwear drawer. The poor thing must have climbed onto my underwear when it was out on the clothes line.

Yikes! My finger looks terrible in closeup!