Fishing frenzy and huckleberry harvest

Late July in Southeast Alaska means salmon coming into the streams and berries ripening in the woods, and we have been enjoying both over the past couple of weeks. Caden has caught the fishing bug that infected Dada when he was young, and he has hooked and landed a variety of fish in the nearby river and ocean, including lots of Dolly Varden, a quillback rockfish, a little king salmon - too small to keep - and a pink salmon.

An evening's catch, not counting the ones that we let go. A couple of these are Adad Bruce's dollies.

Quillback rockfish make yummy tacos.

Tonight's dinner.

When we arrived a couple of weeks ago, the salmonberries were going strong. Now, they are waning, but the red huckleberries are here. This afternoon, we picked a bunch. Tonight's dessert? Huckleberry muffins!

Berry picking.

Huckleberries for Finn.

Finn is 1!

On July 10, we gathered in Sitka, Alaska, to celebrate Finn's first birthday. Family came from far and wide - Ama and Adad from Corvallis; Nana and Boopa from Petersburg; Aunt Erika, Uncle Brad, and Cousin Rowan from Hillsboro; Auntie Sally from Denver; and of course Mama, Dada, Caden, and Finn from Irvine - for a teddy bears' picnic. It was a great day, and it was wonderful to have so many family members here for it.

Sink bath

We are crazily preparing for our trip north tomorrow, packing bags with clothes and  research supplies. Finn and Caden have spent a lot of time in the lab over the past couple of days while we sorted gear and figured out how to fit it in our bags. Look, we caught a larval recruit!

Also on the agenda was haircuts for Dada and Caden. Here is Caden, pre-haircut:

And this morning, Finn got a quick bath in the sink.