When I was growing up my parents wanted two things for our house: to keep it warm and to keep it nice. My father was mostly in charge of keeping it warm. The only source of heat was a Moloch-style wood stove that crouched in the basement and sent its warmth up through a metal […]
Author: Evelyn J. Willburn
A zen for all seasons
Whenever I need a moment, I drive to a tiny overlook in the west side of Craig. There is room for two cars, but more often than not I have the space to myself. One of my favorite things about Craig is how small it is: I can drive to this spot, almost all the […]
Subscribing is tough!
I am seeing and hearing that subscribing to my blog is very confusing and contains multiple steps. I have a consultation with a word press designer on Monday to get some answers to my questions on this topic. Meanwhile, I have posted an explanation of how to sign up over in the sidebar. Please give […]
The one and only front-yard trolley
My father was always looking for ways to keep us kids active and entertained. He built a catapult out of a rat trap and a block of firewood so we could fire acorns and walnuts across the yard. He hung a long cable from a tree so we could swing back and forth across the […]
Adventures with Huey Long
I was quite grown before I learned that Huey Long was a Depression-era politician from Louisiana who was assassinated at a young age. During my formative years, “Huey Long” was an odd-looking dog who had volunteered to become a part of our family. We estimated him to be equal parts beagle, dachshund, basset hound, and […]
The tenacity of salmonberries
The salmonberries move in when the trees move out. In Southeast Alaska, and no doubt other parts of the Pacific Northwest, salmonberry bushes are a common sight, especially in areas that have been clear cut by logging. (Here in Southeast Alaska, the trees will grow back naturally, and the berries will in turn subside, but […]
In which I mindfully don my painting clothes
I use “don” in the sense of “don we now our gay apparel” in which “don” means put on (clothing, etc) and “gay” means “festive.” “Don” is a perfectly fine word. It only had one job, and it did it well. Why our living language chose to drop it and replace it with the rightfully […]
Welcome to Port P
Port Protection, Alaska is a community of about fifty souls, many of whom are ex-patriots of urban living, who migrated to the end of the road and a little further. Port P, as it is often known, is almost to the very northern end of Prince of Wales Island. To get there from the rest […]
Adventures in pyrotechnics
Of course, it’s a fairly common occurrence for conditions to be too dry for fireworks. Here in Southeast Alaska, though, it sometimes gets too wet for fireworks. This happens when the ground is so saturated with rain that you can’t find a stable spot to put things down. In conditions like this, you might light […]
Poor Clarence
Poor Clarence showed up in our back yard one day, skin and bones, wearing a collar that appeared to weigh more than he did, and suffering from a whole-body tremor. He appeared to be a cross between a Chihuahua and a beagle. He was desperately fearful of everything that moved, and of many things that […]