The sheeting is on!

We are one step closer to having a roof!!!

After we got the trusses up, we were able to get the sheeting on.

The finished product!!

(Well, this step is finished)

After the work is done, we get to swim!!!

Bones is loving the water!

Rebel usually gets to the stick first, but when Bones gets a hold of it too, it's a fight all the way back!

After a swim, you must have a good roll and get all the clean off!!!

Here is the view out of our front windows.

The trusses go up!!!

Well, Clint and I decided that we better get a roof on the cabin, so we went up and got started. The first day we got the trusses up!!! It's amazing how you think something will go fast, but then you get started and there are a million challenges!!! Needless to say, we got them up and everything came out right!

The antelope have had their babies, and this little guy didn't want to stick around for a picture!!! Isn't it cute!

You may have to click this picture to enlarge it. The bugs are hatching and they form clouds right on the edge of the water. They didn't show up really well in the pictures, but you can see them if you look close. They almost look like little dust devils... Pretty cool...

Look how big Bones is getting! He is turning into a dog!!!

UPDATES!

Where do we begin!?! We have so many different projects going at once!

Well, the kittens have done amazingly well! The little black one has already been adopted into a great home. Her new name is Isabella and I think that she will be very well loved! The other kitten goes to her home on Monday, and she will be going to a great home as well. She is so playful and seems to have an identity crisis... She thinks she is a dog!!!!

Rebel is so good with them! He is very gentle and lets them climb all over him. As you can see, this kitten wanted to sleep between his two hind legs.... As long as she didn't get too frisky, he was okay!

She has decided that cat food is below her, and she will just eat what Bones is eating!!! She almost stands completely in the dish to eat!

We also have the cabin painted... As you can see, it doesn't have a roof yet, but that should be fixed next week.
This has been quite the year for storms. Here are some pictures from a recent one! Some parts of Great Falls had golf ball sized hail, ours wasn't that big, but it was a heck of a storm!

Last week, I made the trip to Ketchikan Alaska to spend the week with my friend Jeremy Baum. We grew up together, and were two peas in a pod. Jeremy moved to Alaska several years ago and is a state game warden. He has always invited me to come up to hunt, and I finally got up off my duff and took him up on it. We pursued the coastal black bears from a boat. Looking for the bears at low tide and before dark in the tidal bays. The bears come out of the forest and feed on the green grass and anything washed up on the shore. The first day we looked at several good bays, but did not see any bears. The second day we saw a bear, but we were unable to stalk him as the wind was wrong. After spotting several other bears, we found one that was stockable. Although he was not huge, I decided to give it a throw. We paddled across the flats in a cedar canoe that Jeremy's grandpa had made by hand, We reached the other side and located the bear. Now with a rifle, this hunt would just about be over. But with a bow things are a little more intimate. I eventually found myself at 26 yards with the bear broadside eating grass. The most intense part is that just prior to finding a shooting lane, I made some noise and the bear looked up, right through me with his two little black eyes. For the first time I thought, oops I don't want to be a bear hunter right now. Bears don't have good eyes, and after I froze for some time, he went back to eating grass. Long of the short is that I made a very clean kill on a nice bear with my best friend there to share it with. The ingredients for a true trophy and a great memory.

South East Alaska is wild and beautiful, most of the coastal forests were old growth. with salmon streams spilling out of the mountains. The wildlife was awesome, I saw sitka blacktail deer, bears, whales, bald eagles (white headed beach vulchers), and seals. After returning from the bear hunt, we headed south and did some halibut and rock fishing. We caught ling cod, red snapper, halibut, a few small king salmon, and other assorted rock fish. At times the fishing was so good Jeremy and I both had fish on at the same time. We set crab traps out on the way down and when we returned, they were full of crab, over 60 in three traps, almost every one a keeper. Only in Alaska.

Jeremy's home is on the beach with a tree that the eagles like, every morning between 0400 and 0500 they are out side chattering,,,,Alaskan alarm clock. Any way, it was tough to go, I had a great time and I cant thank Jeremy and his wife Kristy enough for putting up with me. It was great to spend time with him, but I was happy to come home to Tanya and the pups.

First black bear spotted during the trip,,, the little black dot in the center of the photo (click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo of the black bear I harvested....1st animal with a bow.

Another look at the bear, the bears are rubbing, as you can see on his forehead.

Headed out on low tide in the tippy canoe.

Jeremy with a small halibut
Me with a nice one on
Red snapper..... it does not get any better than this.
This is the big one, what a workout. This fish is between 60-70 lbs.

A crab trap full of good eating.

A nice 15lb lingcod. Those boys have some teeth.

A waterfall into the ocean.

Clint's in Alaska...

Well, my hubby is in Alaska chasing a mighty black bear..... So, hopefully we will have some fun pictures of him when he gets back. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get to go, but all in good time! Someone had to stay home and watch the "dogs/kittens".

So, before he left we went and looked at his moose!! The taxidermist finished it and did a great job. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but if gives you an idea! We haven't brought it home yet because our ceilings are not really high enough... But we will make it work!

Here is an update of the kittens. They are growing like crazy, playing and rolling around! It's great!

Here I am FIRST thing in the morning (notice the coffee and PJ's) feeding the kittens! What I'd also like to point out is Rebel licking his chops in the background... Hmmmm.....