Fitting In

Ive been putting off picking up propane for days but yesterday, with the offer of salmon heads free for the taking, I knew I had to jump on it and get our freezer in order. Frozen moose needed to be cooked, and other meat cut and packaged to make as much room as possible. Since we substitute our regular kibble with meat, an offer of scraps is greatly accepted.

Moose scraps generally come in the fall but this time of year the salmon are running and scraps from the processors are abundant. We save a lot on our food bill through supplementing meat and the dogs are happier and healthier because of it. They LOVE the idea of extra treats with their regular meals and there is always extra happy barking when they hear the freezer lid open.

When I drove to the gas station down the road, with propane tank in tow, I didn't think much of it. When I got there another lady was ready to fill her tank and she politely made small talk about their upcoming bar-b-q and how they couldn't start cooking meat until their propane tank was full.

I was at a bit of a loss to tell her my own reasoning for the propane... not too many people understand or can comprehend cooking moose scraps for dogs that includes just about every body part with nothing going to waste. Nor would she understand the two big garbage cans in the back of my truck waiting to be filled to the brim with salmon heads and guts. All delacasies for my dogs but a stomach turning thought for the general public.

Most times I feel Im living on an edge. Showing up at the gas station in old hand me down clothes, jeans two years past their prime, an old shirt from who knows where, the only thing new being my hiking boots already showing wear and by the end of the day would be painted with salmon guts.

This is only a fraction of a life that Im used to that others have no concept of. As I fished through the ooze for the last sneaky salmon heads at the bottom of the trash cans after the rest had all been packed for the freezer my thoughts traveled outwards, beyond our little home tucked away in the woods of North Pole fully surrounded by the general public living out their lives so differently than my own.

Its not a huge stretch living these different ways of life, villages and other bush communities are far more outside the norm than I. But from time to time I get glimpses into what passes here for city life. A life looked on by many of the people in the lower 48 as strange even though we have many of the same habits and living conditions as they do.

We officially entered the 'main stream' when Wal-Mart came to town but I remain, and most likely always will, a creature that so desperately strives to live off the land as much as possible and to get away from anything not serving a lengthly purpose of use. I am one who takes advantage of every scrap, every piece of discarded clothing fallen out of fashion, every piece of meat we can fit into our freezer for the dogs and every fish, moose, caribou or other meat for ourselves when it is offered. There arent many things that go to waste here...