Growing up in the Wild

I mentioned my Aleut mom (only 1/4, but still!) back in my June 4, 2008 blog. This weekend I spent several hours with my parents and brothers perusing and sorting family albums. I found two pictures which confirmed my childhood suspicions that my mom was indeed an Eskimo! Both were of her at age 3, one with her sitting on a dead wolf in the snow with a rifle nearby, and the other pictured her in a rugged sled with sealskin boots up to her knees! My mom did indeed grow up in the wild, at least until age seven when her dad was given a legislative appointment and wound up in Washington, D.C., that other wild place.
On Thursday I photographed EllyRose, another girl growing up in the wild, only this time on 200 acres along the sloughs and dikes near Samish Bay in Skagit County. EllyRose's growing up was filled with flocks of ducks, mounds of fossils, visiting whales, rodeos, and more. I captured a few of these wild spots with EllyRose. Afterwards, her mom sent me home with fresh corn and 2 crabs! I have the best job in the world!