Herring are here!

The harbor is full of big herring boats, so many that there isn't room and many still anchor behind the barrier. The herring season lasts 6 hours; in which crews can make millions of dollars. So the sense of anticipation is pretty high, even for peeps like us that don't have anything to do with the herring! They are caught when they are ready to spawn their eggs, used for caviar (hence sold for lots of $). As of last friday the fishery was put on a two-hour notice; the season will start with that little notice! Choppers and small planes can often be seen, trying to spot the best spots to go, while many boats peruse the waters checking it all out. Eagles have en-massed, and we've seen some sea lions close to shore. We're hopeful the season will happen before we leave for Anchorage Thursday morning so we can see all the boats go out; it's supposed to be pretty wild, and often tense, though this is a record high catch limit, so the tension shouldn't be too bad. The season seems to be the harbinger of spring; the songbirds have come back in the last week, the plants are starting to bud, and everyone seems to consider this spring. I'm still waiting for it to get warmer though! I don't love the heat, but I might miss the seventy degree perfect spring/fall days.