Winter making you feel crabby?

Living in Alaska, especially in a remote place like Nome, means people commonly make use of the subsistence resources that the region has to offer. Now that we have lived here for more than a year, I was able to invest in crabbing myself. This is something that I was excitedly exposed to last year, but only on two occasions was I able to go out to help others check their pots. This past summer, upon cleaning out the church garage, Pastor Charley found two old crab pots wedged in the rafters. One was quickly nabbed by someone else. The second, however was up for grabs, so I claimed it. It's an old wooden framed crab pot with metal mesh walls and weights in the corners to help it sink. It didn't have all the necessary pieces required on a legal crab pot, so I had to upgrade it a bit.  The only piece that was required to make it a legal pot was a biodegradable escape hatch, in case the pot was lost and washed away. Pictured below, there is a zig zag line of white cotton string threaded through the mesh to keep it shut. Step two was collecting bait. Crab are typically baited with small white fish, called Tom Cod. Tom Cod are fished through holes in the ice and while they can be fried and eaten; they work the best as dog food or bait in my opinion. Not having an ice auger or giant chainsaw of my own, I've only had a few opportunities to fish for these and didn't catch many. After a week or two of checking the crab pot and replenishing the bait, I was out of those. Then came the collections of freezer burnt meats that senior center had discarded. Chicken scraps, pork chops, moose ribs, and anything else I could get my hands on. Some seem to work better than others, but there isn't much of a pattern to it yet.

There's Nome in the background. I'm about 1/2 mile out on the Bering Sea.

Check out my sweet ride

Zoey helping to uncover the hole

I had already worked it out with a friend that we would work together to have this crab pot. I would gather all the pieces to make it legal and usable, and he would use his snow mobile and sled to get us to and from the pot regularly. The last thing we needed was a way to cut through the ice. Thankfully another friend, whom I work with, mentioned his plan to go out and check his own pots, so he offered to cut a hole for us in exchange for my help with his. The picture above shows our pot, about 1/2 mile off the coast of the east side of town. The ice averages about 24" thick, however many people have come across spots that were much thicker, making a crab pot difficult to put in. We used a chainsaw for this hole. The last few weeks have been cold. Really cold. It was hitting in the low ranges of -20º regularly for about two weeks and has been intermittenly that way for a while now. Thankfully, we have had a few days of warm and sunny here and there to break up the difficult weather.

This really cold weather is obviously a necessary part of crabbing. It needs to be cold enough to freeze the ocean before you can go drive on it, but it has been extremely cold. Cold enough that our hole has been frozen shut nearly every time I've gone out to check it, which is about every three days or so. It's the most labor intensive hobby that I've had. It is, however, rewarding and delicious!

Catching

This wasn't even the coldest!

Greg and I snow machining while Zoey runs along

The ambulance delivered presents with Santa(s).

Snowshoeing!

Winter time is a great time to catch up on sleep, catch king crabs, and catch colds!  Although I've gotten sick more times than I'd like to admit for this winter, I've been having a wonderful time.  Greg and I have tried snowshoeing for the first time. I got to go cross country skiing multiple times, one which was 6 miles to a cabin that we got to camp out in with some friends.  Greg set a crab pot this winter and we've been getting to enjoy some very delicious Alaskan King Crabs.  It's also been nice being able to share our catches with others as so many have done for us. We've also had the opportunity to continue dog sledding with friends- I even got to mush last time!  The Christmas party that we had for Boys and Girls Club was so much more successful than I expected; we ended up having 60 youth!! The youth loved their presents and had a great time.  Greg has been snow machining a few times and I drove for the first time this winter. Even though this is our second winter in Nome, we've gotten to have so many more new experiences!  We even got to experience temperatures in the negative twenties for a few weeks. Once it hits the negatives, though, it all starts to feel pretty similar.  It felt like a heat wave when it jumped back up to the teens!

The B&G kiddos at the Christmas Party

I go back and forth between how much I enjoy working at Boys and Girls club and how frustrating it can be.  I have really bonded with the youth and care about them very much. The youth have opened up to me quite a bit, but I struggle with how to support and teach them.  Without a behavioral health background, I often feel like I'm not equipped to help with their conflicts and problems, but I try. The simple daily challenges we face are just the surface of deep rooted problems. It sometimes feels like no matter what I say or demonstrate, the youth just don't get it.  I pray and hope that through the time they have gotten to know me, eventually something beneficial will finally sink in and help them through whatever turmoil they may face.  This reminds me very much of a conversation I had when working at Bethany Birches Camp about planting seeds. We can plant the seeds, but we may not be around to see it grow into something beautiful.  No matter how challenging these youth are and how good they can be at trying patience, I see youth who have so much potential and possibilities for a bright life and that makes it worth it.

These girls brighten my day.