Blueberries

For about the last month Hatcher's Pass has been abundant with wild blueberries.

So we took advantage of this opportunity on several occasions to pick some for ourselves.

And these are my boys pretending they are hard at work picking :)

Eric's "contraption" actually works really well and helped us be successful in our pickings.

We found lots of berries and now have our pantry stocked with Blueberry Syrup and the freezer full of frozen berries. They are going to sure taste good this winter in muffins and pancakes!

First Day of School

First Day of School 2010-2011

He wanted to ride the bus so here he is getting on the bus.

Artic Thunder 2010

There was a huge airshow this weekend and so we decided to brave the weather and check it out. We left in the morning with all our rain gear since it was raining. Once we got there the rain stopped but there were still clouds in the sky. But we had a great time and got to see some great performances. Here are just a few of the many we saw....it was an all day event.

These guys (Screaming Eagles) were part of the starting performance, landing with the National Anthem on loud speaker.

As were these guys with the Alaskan flag. They were part of the "Wings of Blue."

This guy flew around for a while in his WWII grasshopper plane. The guy was 84 years old and flying in his original WWII uniform. Very impressive if you ask me.

This lady on the other hand didn't have such a great day. I am sure her performance would have been awesome. . .but due to low clouds it was unsafe for her to perform. She did however take off and make an attempt. Oh well, she later walked by and gave Tate her autograph.


These "Canadian Snowbirds" were quite impressive to watch. Pictured is 11 snowbirds but they only performed with 9. I think the extra two were only for cases of emergency.

Their performance started before they even left the ground. Each pilot and assistant came out in a choreographed manner and prepared for takeoff.

Once in the air, they were full of formations and gave a great 'loud' performance.

And their final fly-by.

And a special treat. . . .Fat Albert. . .bringing you the. . . .

Blue Angels!

And what a performance they gave. . . . .

Harvest

Well it is harvest time here, actually we have been harvesting for almost 4 weeks now. We will continue harvesting into September and possibly October if weather permits.

Below workers are harvesting broccoli and putting it on the conveyor.

Once on the conveyor it is pulled up and onto a rotating table that is on a trailer attached to the conveyor. A couple packers then pack the produce from the table into boxes that are then loaded into a truck.

Below you can see the truck behind the trailer. The truck is attached and pulled behind the trailer. Once boxes are packed they are then loaded onto pallets on the truck. Once we have enough harvested the truck is then taken into the warehouse. At the warehouse it is cooled to an internal temperature of 34 degrees F in a matter of 20 minutes or less in a pressureization tank. After it is cooled internally it is put in a cooler warehouse until it is delivered to local grocery stores or wholesalers.

This is a weedy patch of broccoli that is ready to be harvested.

This is a patch of cabbage that is nearing harvest.

And this is green leaf lettuce that has not been harvested yet, but could possibly be too far along already. Alot of extra lettuce is planted each planting. The orders vary each week so it is hard to plan for the exact amount of lettuce. Broccoli and cabbage however keep longer so we harvest all of it and keep it in the coolers.

Well I will work on getting a better picture of the tractor, conveyor and trailer, but until next time.....

New kids on the block

Welcome the newest addition to our neighborhood. . .

These kids belong to our landlord. Sure are cute kids!

Charlie and Edward I believe were the final names chosen for them, but it could still change.