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Battle of the Books By Zoya Saltonstall

Thursday February 25th, 2016
Kodiak, Alaska

Amen! The kids looked relieved. I can breath again.

A serving of moist blueberry buckle warms spirits and eases nerves.

Posted by Zoya, Patrick, Nora and Stuart at 10:14 PM No comments: Labels: Zoya's Column Articles


Another Jet Labels: Landscapes, snow and skiing


Some Snow Time Posted by Zoya, Patrick, Nora and Stuart at 7:09 AM No comments: Labels: snow and skiing
 Yesterday we had a scout troop hike planned through the woods in the afternoon. I didn't think the recent rain  would end for our walk, and I asked the scouts to dress warm and wear boots to tromp through the mud. They all came very prepared to be in mud and wetness.

As we drove out to Russian Ridge Trailhead, snow fell from the sky and we all felt giddy with excitment. The snow sprinkled down on us in the woods. "Its so magical, Ms. Zoya" the scouts said. Erica and I agreed!

We found a comfy spot in the moss and enjoyed rice krispie treats and hot cocoa to celebrate two scouts' birthday.  The snow renewed our winter spirits and I was glad we were out and about in it. Posted by Zoya, Patrick, Nora and Stuart at 12:53 PM No comments: 
How old is this Site?

We've been digging at the Kashevaroff Site for 3 years now, and based on the types of artifacts we've been finding and the stratigraphic evidence I have had a pretty good idea of the age of the various layers we've uncovered. But a few days ago we got back the results of three radiocarbon dates I had run on charcoal from the site.  Now I have official confirmation of my educated guesses.  And guess what?  My estimates matched the radiocarbon results pretty much exactly!

This does not always happen.  Once I thought we had been excavating a 6000 year old house and then after radiocarbon analysis it ended up as 3000 years old.  Radiocarbon dates are a good check, and this time they confirmed rather than refuted my interpretations of the site's stratigraphy.

The ancient Alutiiq structure seen in the profile in the picture above - the flat surface in the lower right above the mottled ashes is the floor of the structure - ended up a little older than I thought it would be.  It had ground and chipped tools so I had thought 6300 years.  It ended up dating to around 6700 years old.  One of the oldest dates for ground tools on the Archipelago.

We also believe the inhabitants were catching seals and smoke processing the meat on site (we only found calcined sea mammal bone - no fish).  As suspected this activity was on going 4 to 5000 years ago.  The grooved cobbles pictured below might have been used to hold down nets used to catch seals.  If so these are the oldest net sinkers ever found on Kodiak.  Later in time netsinkers became more standardized and had the notches on the long rather than short axis.

It's nice to finally have some firm dates!

Radiocarbon dating works because every living thing incorporates carbon into their bodies (all carbon based life anyway) and a percentage of this carbon is the radioactive isotope carbon 14.  Through time and at a steady, known rate the radioactive carbon breaks down into normal carbon 12.  So by measuring the ratio between carbon 12 and radioactive carbon 14 one can get an idea of how long ago the organism died and stopped incorporating carbon.  The half life of radioactive carbon 14 is about 5700 years ago - so if half the expected carbon 14 is present then the organism died around 5700 years ago.

However,  radiocarbon time is not the same as real time. Scientists figured out the decay rate of carbon 14 by dating the individual tree rings of really old bristlecone pines.  They knew the exact age of the wood they were dating and were able to create a curve showing the age of the wood and the amount of radioactive carbon left in the wood (see multiple points on curve below).  What they discovered is that the curve wobbles all over the place - it turns out that the cosmic rays that create carbon 14 vary slightly in intensity through time.  Hence radiocarbon time, unlike real time, speeds up and slows down.

And this is why all radiocarbon dates should be calibrated into real time.  At times (see below) a radiocarbon date can intercept the curve in a number of places, and there is also always a degree of possible error.  For this reason all radiocarbon dates end up as an actual range of time and not a single point in time.  But depending on the age that range can be small or large.  For instance, the calibration curve shown below shows a lot of wobbling between 4500 and 5000 years ago - radiocarbon time was slow, the curve flat, and the range of the date is large.  Another of the dates shown above has a smaller age range because between 6500 and 6800 years ago radiocarbon time was moving fast and there was a steeper curve.

Anyway, the take home message is that radiocarbon dates are NOT all that precise.  I'm happy with plus or minus 100 years or so, and fully realize that they do not represent a point in time.  Patrick Labels: Archaeology


We got dumped on!

I was sick for the last few days and did not go skiing.  It was super stormy and rained hard in town.  So today when I did go I was pleasantly surprised to find three feet of new snow on the mountain.  That's a serious powder dump.  There is even a foot of slushy snow at the pass.  It was so deep that I had to go super fast so as to not bog down.  And when I did wipe out I was buried.  It took a while to get back up onto my skiis.  Now let's hope it sticks around, or, better yet, we get some more!  Patrick Posted by Zoya, Patrick, Nora and Stuart at 5:06 PM No comments: 

President's Day Ski I love the President's day Holiday.  It seems to be one of the few holidays us adults get off but the kids still have to go to school (thank you teachers).  And this year the weather was perfect - sunny, calm and cold.

I headed up Pyramid for a day of back country touring.  Usually when I go skiing it is an 'after work up and down' affair.  But yesterday I took my time and did some exploring.  The cold temperatures had frozen up the snow - so no powder - but the light was stunning.  A few low clouds created a contrasting mottled shadow pattern on the landscape - the white peaks contrasted with the dark clouds.

I literally ran into some goats while skiing down a hill.  I heard their hoofs on the snow and was trying to figure out where the sound came from when I saw the herd running away.  I later watched them climb up the backside of Pyramid.  Beautiful day. 
Daily Ski 
"Yeah! She just left!" he replies.

I was totally wrong. Ella had been there.

Twins 0, Cashier 1. Labels: archives, Zoya's Column Articles

Hospice and Doula work by Zoya Saltonstall

In the past months there have been several well-known celebrity deaths including  David Bowie and Alan Rickman, both of whom leave artistic legacies in their musical and cinematic talents. Here in Alaska, we said goodbye to Eva Saulitis. Eva was  scientist, teacher, writer who lived in Homer and passed away at her home after a long bout of cancer. Eva shared her journey of preparing for death in her writing; her friends and family were there with her as she physically and emotionally prepared for her death. The close timing of these deaths  bring our own immorality to the forefront of our minds, as we think about how we live, how we want to live and how we want to die.

How these these final days, hours, and moments of life unfold  are crucial for the dying and the living as well. On February 13th is the 5th Annual Heart for Hospice Ball, a major fundraiser for our Kodiak Hospice Organization.  Hospice is a group which supports families during the time of death and dying. Kodiak Hospice offers in-home support, palliative care as well as bereavement classes/groups. People can be supported by nurses, volunteers and community support in their final days.

It was in my  living room, at the age of 16, when I learned about the importance of the journey of death.  I sat with my dad during his last breaths.

My dad  suffered from a six month bout of cancer and 3 rounds of unsuccessful chemotherapy in San Diego. When it became evident that the treatment wasn't working, he was encouraged to return home soon so he could die in Kodiak.

During those final days before dad's death, we watched him slowly pass from this world to the next. He spoke of seeing people around him, of a feast. Of strawberries. Of an elevator which went somewhere. He wanted us to take the elevator, to get the food. In a span of several days we saw him get ready for the next life.

Dads agonal, final gasps of air scared me. Even though I knew they were coming, it was something one can never be fully prepared for. "We should call the ambulance" I cried to my family near me. It wasn't a rational response. He was prepared to die. We knew this was coming.

My family shared that space with him, as he  passed from this world to the next. He didn't seem scared. By the end, he seemed ready.  I wasn't ready and never would be ready. I was 16 and just starting life with him.

Our family was supported by the community in his decision to die at home. I remember a doctor home visit and little need for dad to leave the house for palliative care. There was no hospice at the time, but yet an overall feeling of support of dad being at home.

On the day of dads death, I witnessed how powerful and important this time and space is. Honoring  the sacred passage of life. We're never fully prepared for these life changes. No class or book can fully prepare us. Which is why that support nearby matters so much.

As one of my life callings, I am a doula-a support person for women in labor giving birth. I  am with women and their families at the time of birth. It was many years into my doula work before I realized how similar this presence is at birth and death.
As a doula I  honor the moment as well as the overall  journey.
As a doula I hold hands, comfort, encourage, smile, cry, laugh, listen.

Birth and death jolt us out of our existence and make us question all we've ever known about living. Birth and death take our breath away and knock us off our feet-in good ways and hard ways. They are times when a loving presence and kindness can be even more important than words.

Whether it be first breaths, or final breaths, these are the  times when we need our hand held with caring support in more ways than one.

Thanks to the dreams and amazing hard work of many local citizens, Kodiak now has a Hospice Program. They are here to support us, to help normalize the death and dying process. To acknowledge a more comfortable, quieter, calmer way of approaching death.

Thank you, Kodiak Hospice.
Posted by Zoya, Patrick, Nora and Stuart at 6:53 PM 1 comment: Labels: archives, Opinion, Zoya's Column Articles

Taos' 'Rio' Grand Canyon

One of the cooler things we did while at Taos was visit the nearby Rio Grande Canyon.  The highway bridge goes right across the gorge.  I gather in the old days before the bridge that the canyon was quite the impediment to travel in the area.  Looking down into the canyon from the bridge induced some serious vertigo.  I did not like going anywhere near the edge of the bridge.

The canyon itself is about 700 feet deep.  It's not anywhere near as big as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but it does have a bridge across it.  And it is VERY impressive in its own right. Posted by Zoya, Patrick, Nora and Stuart at 9:39 AM No comments: 


Posted by Zoya, Patrick, Nora and Stuart at 5:52 PM No comments: 

Accommodations in Taos

Mark took good care of us in Taos.  He found us an awesome house to stay at and stocked, rather stuffed, the fridge with libations.  The house had rooms for everyone and an amazing number of bathrooms.What was amazing is how small the house looked on the outside.  I gather Taos is also something of an artists' colony and the house was full of local art.

He had teashirts made for each of us with '888' and 'Taos' on them.  A reunion T shirt!  Highlights for me included playing gin rummy with Scott and Tomas, the backyard hot tub (lots of 'hot tub time machine' jokes), and cheese and crackers after skiing.

On the final night Mark cooked up steaks, potatoes, and string beans for dinner.  And we opened a few bottles from the case of wine he had provided.  I do believe that it was the first time that all eight of us who graduated in 1988 had been together since graduation.  We've gotten together 7 a few times but to the best of my recollection never all eight.  Patrick