The Obligations of Sunny Weather

In Southeast Alaska, people have a different attitude toward sunny weather. We make the most of it while it lasts. That means that if it lasts very long, we begin to tire out. If it lasts too long, we grow a bit haggard!

We find this especially true on the homestead. So many projects are best done in clear weather that when we get it, it’s very difficult to decide what to do, and what to let go.

Today for instance, I’m limiting myself to three jobs, and hope that at least two of them will be done well.

My big job will be to cut up as much of a dead fall as I can. A birch fell across a neighbor’s trail last winter. He offered me the wood, and I’ve been working at it over the last month or so. Like most birches here, the base is dead, but the crown is still alive. The top half of the tree is green wood. The bottom half, while dead, is very wet. As soon as I bring sections down from the forest, I chop them and pile them on the beach. Some of the greenest wood, set out less than two weeks ago, is already close to being burnable! I can’t let such an opportunity pass; any wood I can get to the beach while this hot spell lasts will be that much closer to fully seasoned come winter.

Next, Aly and I are building a kitchen accessory for Michelle. We need to cut some of the lumber on the table saw I keep stashed under a counter in the shed. To use it, we need to put it in the yard and connect it to the gas generator. That needs clear weather to protect the saw, so we must seize the current opportunity.

The third task is to rebait a crab trap. This could be performed in all but the stormiest weather, but we want some crab for dinner tomorrow, so we’re pressed for time. A canoe trip around the point, while pleasant, might interfere with the other two jobs.

That’s my plan. It will inevitably postpone other jobs: repairs on at least three boats, rearranging the wood pile, painting, construction projects—the list goes on. These are my projects; Michelle and Aly each have their own lists as well.

No wonder we feel a certain sense of relief when the rain returns!

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One Response to The Obligations of Sunny Weather

  1. Hallo Michelle, Aly und Mark!

    Herzliche und liebe Grüsse aus der Schweiz!

    Eveline und Erwin

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