My time is almost up here, for this Alaska salmon season, 2017.

Last week I drove "out the road" for a dinner picnic on a non-rainy day, since we have not had many of those. It is so gorgeous out there and it's where I always seem to find Moose. Last time I went there, I had 2 Moose jump right next to my car, then scramble and gallop back into the woods.

That night I was discussing with my friend why we keep coming back to this place, Cordova, Alaska, year after year and what it means to us.

My natal planet Venus, the planet of love and connection, beauty and what you value, is in the sign of Cancer, the sign of the home and family, sensitivity and compassionate caring. This Venus in Cancer sits in my 11th house, the house of your community, your aspirations and goals, your hopes and dreams and your tribe.

If you put these all together, with my Taurus Sun that loves nature, trees, the ocean, animals, flowers, rivers and mountains, to name but a few, in the 10th House of mission in life and career, you can see why I would be drawn to this place.

One of the unique aspects about coming here is the connection I feel with every other person that's here. It's because no matter what job we do, we all fall under the umbrella of "Fish."
Whether you work on a boat, in the marine store, at the bank or you are a handful of Copper River Net Menders such as myself, we are all connected together.
That's why I feel the love of this place so strongly; (Venus in Cancer in the 11th house)

I have lived in a small town and valley for well over 30+ years and Winthrop, Washington has connective-ness too. It's just different. It connects based on recreation and tourism, which has grown a lot over the years while still keeping its small town feel.

So I understand what benefits these connections provide.

But there is just something about this place that pulls on my heart strings a bit. Even though in the past 5 years that I've been back, this year was by far the most challenging.

First off, coming here after 2 separate knee replacement surgeries last fall and winter has been difficult and humbling to say the least; but I made it work anyway. The scary part was the first 2 weeks of walking down the ramp at low tide. It's so much better now. And mending was never the issue, it was the walking.

Secondly, working in the wind and rain almost every single net job pressed my endurance level to the max but I still managed to appreciate my job out there and be happy doing it. Of the 5 seasons I've been back, this was by far the rainiest. I know the locals will tell you that this year it was just normal rainfall and the previous 4 seasons were unusually sunny. If I had an inside job, it would be a non-issue, but I don't.

And thirdly, the salmon season started off slow and continued so. We lost a longtime fisherman to the sea, a boat capsized and a local family lost a son on shore. Fishermen were allotted minimal time to fish and this season many gill-net boats left town to fish across Prince William Sound so it kinda feels a bit empty without the fleet nearby.

This job is like an addiction to me and I always want to do it whenever I get the chance. It's meditative, it keeps me in the present moment. It challenges me to make decisions on the spot and be responsible to the consequences of those decisions. It highlights something I'm good at, that I'm fast at. I get to work with my hands, it's like knitting, only dirtier.

It allows me to listen to the bald eagles chirping overhead, the seagulls calling and I can hang out with any podcast, book on tape, Steven Forrest talk, playlist for the season or just the activities on the dock. It's silent and it's social all rolled up into one. Many times I wish it wasn't seasonal because I would love to do it for more months than I do.

With all these challenges of this season, I still feel drawn to this place, even as I exit early in a couple short days. I'm grateful for a friend's open arms to let me stay with her and I have enjoyed getting to know my new roommate. Overall, even though the season was hard for all of us, we learned some valuable lessons that we can incorporate into our everyday lives forever.

Cordova, Alaska speaks to my Venus in Cancer in the 11th house. And I'm glad it does.