Let's See What You Got, 2021

Even the morning traffic is beautiful in Alaska!

It doesn't take long for the Chickadees to find their food

January was filled with a mixed bag of projects and some beautiful days. Many days were between 20ºF and 30ºF, and a couple of times we saw 40º! It has been wonderful being out and about, and also being able to work on things in reasonable comfort. Having a usable workshop combined with the gentle weather, we’ve been pumping out a lot of sawdust. Window sills, trim, and floor boards for the loft in the cabin have all been in production. The increased precision required for the interior finish work is forcing us to start learning the finer details of milling our own lumber. While a lifetime could be spent mastering the art of producing and working with beautiful pieces of wood, we will just settle for "not bad" and "good enough" for now. Even though much can be learned from reading or watching videos, nothing can replace the knowledge which comes from actually trying something. Whether deemed a success or not, something is always gained in the form of experience. And if experience leads to wisdom, then we should all strive to stay busy!

Having the new home-milled spruce boards in the loft has really cozy’d up the place compared to the previous OSB plywood. The boards, though not yet stained or sealed, almost have a glow to them and look great beneath the pine tongue & groove ceiling. We also trimmed out one complete window as a test and it more-or-less turned out great! We’re excited to get the rest of the trim up and enjoy the finished product. Although, Pete did not mill nearly enough birch boards last summer for all of our trim, so we will need to also do that in the spring and then allow them to dry. Maybe by next winter we will have a “finished” cabin?

Spruce boards in the floor of the loft.

Uniquely uneven. Once we tack it all down and throw a rug down, it'll be perfect for us.

The mild winter (so far) has had us outside a lot where we eagerly await springtime when we can begin working on things which require ice-free ground. If one is to believe the early-forming buds which currently cover the tips of the birch tree branches, as one should, then it will most likely be an early spring. That said, the first couple days of February have brought us sub-zero temperatures and a few inches of snow. We’re just entering the coldest month of the year, so winter certainly isn’t over, but springtime is just beyond the horizon! I know that come summer, I’ll be having visions of sitting near the warm wood stove sipping tea and watching the snow fall. Kind of like how the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, or as Pete says, over the septic field.

Moody evening: The sky was a strange bright blue with low clouds. The pink & orange sunset reflected off of the clouds casting a pink glow on the snow.

Chickens will be one of our exciting spring endeavors. Although we both grew up surrounded by farm land, neither of us have raised any livestock before. Chickens seem to be a good starting point, and, since we eat a lot of chicken meat and eggs, they will provide a good return on the effort. Since we will have to buy all of our chicks and also food for them, it won’t really save us much money compared to if we just bought the same amount of meat and eggs from the store, but the increased quality and freshness of what we will get is not something offered at the store. The garden will also benefit from their nitrogen-rich manure. If we get good at raising them, we can eventually hatch our own eggs and we could also grow some of their food to lower the costs. We will see how it goes and here's to another hobby!

"Can't see me, I'm hiding"

With the beautiful weather, Pete even pulled some logs off the pile to start building the coop. Unfortunately, the weather cooled down the next day and made it not so enjoyable to work with your hands. That’s okay though, it’s good to have half-finished projects strewn about in case one were to get bored at some point--it's the Alaskan way! Inside, we’ve been getting things ready to install some tile for the wood stove hearth. We have all the supplies, we just have to wait until it warms up enough for us to let the fire go out for a full day and night so the tile can set up. There’s a chance that might not be for a couple months and we’re okay with waiting.

Visiting a neighbor: Pete's truck was swarmed by moose! A momma and her babies passed by to say hello.

We’ve also been working on our house plans and are hopeful we’ll be able to get the concrete slab poured this summer. There will be lots of prep work and planning to do beforehand, though, and it will be easier with some help which we are looking forward to having here. It will be a difficult balancing act when company comes to visit – between getting as much work out of them as we can and driving them all over the state showing them some of the amazing places we’ve found.

Bear enjoying a morning run around the lake while Pete and I ski.

Spruce grouse thinking I don't notice it while on a walk. It looks pretty tasty, though!

Summer is many months away, yet it feels as if we have already filled it with too many things to do. Hopefully there is still some time left over for us to fiddle around with something that doesn’t really need fiddling with or to suddenly drop everything and go on a spontaneous day trip to some place we’ve been wanting to see. Even though it sometimes feels chaotic and exhausting, the endless options for places to explore and things to experience is what makes us excited to call this place home for a long time to come.