the last pics of West Coast Extravaganza 07

Poor Keegan, his forehead all mosquito-bit up.


Racquet zappers! Such a wonderful invention, I brought one home. Not only can you avoid touching the offending insect directly, but there is a satisfying sizzle when you snag it with the racquet. Now if they just had one that worked for cockroaches ...


Rick in the loft reading Eldest to the boys. Rohnan in mosquito tent - he was the first to be tented due to his allergies, and then me, and then everybody.


View of the yurts ... but the view is always changing! Next time I see it, there'll be siding and maybe a screened-in deck underneath.


Garden beds we put in, and the newly painted picnic table. The yurt theme is orange and green. I asked the symbolism of living "behind the green door" - and Rick suggested the new name be "Behind the Green Door Kennels." Tiff did not approve and exercised her veto power.


View of lake from picnic table. Some more of the trees will go down eventually.


Keegan wrapping me in the Princess Mosquito Net.


Talkeetna or Bust!


Tiff & the boys at the Talkeetna Ranger Station, where we learned about scat and tracks and Tiff made a Ranger-homeschooling connection.


Rohnan & Keegan in bright sunlight at 8:00 pm, in Sitka roses at Talkeetna.


Another moose for Moose Dropping Festival ... in an outhouse! Rohnan reports there were even nuggets for a most authentic moose.


The local high school, which burnt to the ground the night I arrived. (The boys and I convinced Tiffany we should stop on our way back from Talkeetna, and we thrilled her to no end when we snuck across the crime scene tape to snap a pic of the still-smoldering debris. I'm such a good influence.)


Tiffany ... mining? Um, no - removing invisible splinter from an unhappy Rohnan's finger.


Rick, eliminating the suspected mosquito entrance. (And after this, the population dropped dramatically - hopefully it worked!)


When I first started chopping wood ...


... and when I left (plus one pile of the bad wood around the side of the house to use for outdoor fires).


Brumby at post - telling somebody off about something, as usual. We put these posts in - Rick digging the holes and putting the posts in, me finishing the backfill and attaching the hardware. A rewarding task.