The Singular Focus

We aren't sure how many of you have seen the crazed look in Nicks eyes when he has caught fish or is in the process of catching them (It is the same look he gets when thinking of catching Lemmings). Well, today is your lucky day..... Note the dilated pupils, the glazed look he likes to call, "the thousand yard stare." Not food, nor gold, nor woman can come between Nick and his desire to slay fish--aka: his "fish problem."Really folks--What do you say here? Can I say anything about this picture that it doesn't already say? Still in fish coma? You decide. (And yes, Mike--You may recognize this look as his "chum-face"--out of 68 silver salmon caught, Nick caught the only Chum). His only comment was, "Sweet Ambrosia." He knows you will understand, Mike.

Seriously, though, 68 fish (we aren't counting the chum)--took about two hours to filet. Nick, master of the filet knife was busy until after sunset, which is saying a lot.
One of the cool things is that we get to net fish, and in the process of netting Silver Salmon, a Chum heard the siren call of Nick, and was ensnared by his charms. Again, Mike, this one's for you.
One of the not so cool things is that there was a fire nearby and the entire village was engulfed in smoke for over a week. So bad, that not only could no one fly in for our trainings, but all planes were grounded. No mail came in or out--Below is a picture of the smoke on a better day since you could actually see where the sun was supposed to be. On a bad day, it was like going scuba diving in chocolate milk. To give you an idea of how bad--Bush pilots can land with only a mile of visibility--I think the vis was about 30 feet (Nick says about seven and a half inches).
Both of us have been sick because our sinuses got irritated. However, the smoke did finally blow away and everyone cheered today when the first mail plane landed in a week!! Ahh, the excitement!

Below: The Ulu is a type of knife used by many Alaska Natives to cut fish and game. Cutting fish is typically considered the work of the women, and men typically bring the fish in from the nets. Nick was mocked by a group of boys the other day for doing "woman's work." Luckily, Nick withstood the taunting and did not question his manhood. This is Janna's Ulu, made by a local in the village. The handle is ivory, and the blade is made of an old saw blade.

One of the reasons that Janna bought an Ulu was because she was lucky enough to be taught how to cut fish with one. It is amazing how much easier it is to filet with an Ulu. Much less fish is wasted with an Ulu than with a regular filet knife. Below is a sequence of Janna's education on how to filet with an Ulu. It took about three fish before she really got the hang of it--

The learning curve was a little steep, but luckily she had a good, very patient teacher.

Finally FINISHED!! Janna's first filet with an Ulu--She was so excited, yes--she bought her own!

We miss you all--please write! We are desperate for even junk mail.