Happy 4th. We've been having bears in Pitka's Point and Saint Mary's too. I think it's because no subsistence fishing is going on, no fish carcasses and guts for the bears to eat.

We overloaded an undersized boat that was underpowered. But dang if we didn't have a good time! Kids played in the dirt and water, we cooked moose over the fire, and made tie dye shirts. A blast was had by all!

Ava B is the Queen of Tie Dye! Good to know that she has influenced your crew!

Pete

Great video!

Nice video, Temple. Some clever touches in there made it fun.

Fun video

Darn nice pictures Jeff I've still got a pan similar to your's but i know it's not filled with fresh picked berries some good eating for sure .

PARADISE!

I've got me one of those old remingtion pumps. Grew up using one of my dad's, and bought one like it off a friend a few years ago. Love that gun!

Happy September Folks. The fun begins.

My shot gun looks like yours but not quite as beat up. I bought it in the 90s and then the lead shot ban and the barrel blew up. Got a new barrel but it a left handed shot gun so the barrel had to go back. Finally got it good about 2 years. been a reliable partner ever since. The stock has started coming loose recently though. might have to get a new shot gun in a year or 4.

What's it like plucking swans? Heard it will give you strong thumbs.

Muskrat. That gun is put together from two old broken guns. Been using it myself for over 30 years. Shoots nice when I can aim it properly.

Swan can be tough plucking. The old ladies here will smear some Crisco around their wrist so the bugs cant climb up their arms and have at it.

Most will be skinned though including mine. (pretty tough skinning too) In the old days the skin would be hung to dry and then the oil scraped off with a spoon and eaten. A few still do it.

The meat is dried a lot. I pressure cook mine, turns out great. Swan neck and legs are the bomb.

If you get whistlers in that area drop one or 2 fisch. Don't shoot the trumpeters tho!

what is interesting is when the beaver felting market collapsed around 1830 . HBC turned to trading of dried swan skins and wing feathers. Which was used for ladies powder puffs for the whitening powder tack ( with high levels of arsenic) which nearly whipped out the Trumpeters. If I recall some 100,000+ skins a years moved over to England
There is some yellow lours below the eyes so it is a Whislting or Tundra swan

Interesting historical tidbit I didn't know.

Here you will sometimes see a lady sitting on a swan skin on the ice fishing in the winter. Pretty warm for sure.

I believe its a Tundra swan. I thought that's all we have here.

Jeff you have both trumpeter and tundra swans. Trumpeter Swans show pink or deep orange at the edge of the bill the tundras show little or none.

Oh yea I see them with yellow or orange, and without. Thought those might be yearlings.

I was 12 feet from a swan yesterday when I went cranberry picking. Should have shot would have made sauce out of the berries to eat with it. You going to be posting any pictures of swan supper? Hows the cranberries in Alaska this year? lots in the Great White North. When you going moose hunting?