Jan. 27, 2009 First Day

The first thoughts, when I stepped foot on land from the float plane, were 'Sure hope I made the right decision'. My expectations of what the hatchery would look like were based on my experience with hatcheries in Washington. It isn't that the buildings and hatchery equipment appeared run-down, they don't, they were just not as permanent in appearence as was expected. All of the hatchery equipment is constructed of Aluminum instead of concrete and the building are metal sided and roofed. So much for first impressions.

The hatchery faces N NE onto Kitoi Bay, with daylight at 8:00 and sunrise over a small ridge at 9:15.

It is a year ar ound position and today was my first day at Kitoi Bay Hatchery on Afognak Island. It perhaps similiar to Longbeach weather but colder with perhaps a little more wind. Today was calm and above freezeing, yesterday in Kodiak it was sunny and in the mid thirties. The posting is in an attachment, it will explain my duties, there are a lot of Brown Bears on the Island. The most bears counted at one time in the small river at the hatchery was 29 last year and 27 this year. They claim that the bears are not too much of a danger. We'll see.

The following paragraph is in answer to questions from Ellie.

Yes and they follow you around as if they were your dog. I have some other pictures to share but it takes a long time to down load and then send.I installed the camera soft ware last night late, so will give it a try later today. Have a good day and I will be watching the Super Bowl. If you watch it, then we will be able to watch it together. Catch you later. The Fox will not let you get to close but they will take food out of your hand and come to within inches of your feet. I do not believe that they would bite because they are afraid of us. I have not seen any other animals yet, because it has been so cold. The bears will mostly be in hibernation for 3-4 more months. They tell me that a few of the Kodiak bears do not hibernate, so when the opportunity comes a photograph will be sent. A chance for a hike this weekend did not happen.. A hike to Little Kitoi Lake would have been fun with maybe some fishing if the water wasn't frozen over. It is 16 degrees right now.