Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Eagle has Landed!


Sorry for the skip in this blog. I left Spokane Thursday, and after 13 1/2 hours reached Dutch Harbor. (That includes a 5-hour layover in Anchorage.) Upon arrival I learned that the internet connections in both the church and the parsonage were out of order. We've spent two days unsuccessfully trying to get them back running, but today I found the library, so we're at least re-connected with the outside world. While I'm blogging, George is out fishing with a member of the congregation who last night left three live Dungeness crabs on our doorstep. Today, I think they are fishing for halibut.

First impressions: There are eagles EVERYWHERE! They perch on the light standards (sometimes two to a post), the big TV dishes, roof tops, fences around the graves in the Russian Orthodox Cemetery, and any other spot they can find. Since there are no trees here, they make their nests on the ground on the steep hillsides, and you can see them everywhere. They fly overhead, and at this time of year there are a lot of adolescent birds. They are particularly ugly, with scruffy brownish feathers and no white head. They look like turkeys perched on the light posts--not at all the attractive regal bird that we usually think about when imagining Bald Eagles.

The locals say that the eagles have over-bred because of the fishing industry here. There is not nearly enough salmon to support a population this size, but they feed on fishery wastes, and continue to over-populate. It is amazing to go to sleep and wake up in the morning to the sounds of the waves on the bay shore (which is just across the road from our bedroom window) and the eagles talking to each other. They have a high pitches almost laughing king of sound that sounds like Whee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee, wheet, wheet, wheet. There are variations, of course, but this is the most common cry at the parsonage. Maybe it means, "Look out for the two big dogs in the back yard!" (The picture was taken from the parsonage window!)

My plan remains to write daily here, and the public library is open from 10 AM to 9 PM Mon-Fri and weekends noon to 6 PM! That in a community of 4000 people. They do not require residency to use the free library services, either. Compare that with the library services where you live! The computer room has 8 stations, and today it is almost totally full, mostly with youngish men, who may be on a break from fishing jobs. I frequently find myself to be the only woman in stores and other public venues--and if not the only woman, almost certainly the oldest.

1 comment:

  1. So glad you got there AND found an internet connection. I've missed your comments. Both Marty and I enjoy them immensely. The dogs and deliveries had us laughing out loud. Rita

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