OctoBurrr

Autumn falls into winter as we get our first snow here on the homestead.

We gave it our best effort and got done as much as we could on our outdoor checklist. Now, after a few nights of near 0ºF lows, the ground is frozen solid and “it is what it is”, as they say. There are a couple unfinished items out there which we will now have the pleasure of looking at and walking around until the ice melts in the spring. We still have a dozen open fence post holes lining one side of the driveway which we did not get filled in. There are also two dump truck loads of rock and gravel which didn’t get spread out. Our reluctance to rent a machine (again) to get these things done means the timeline stretches out significantly. All of these projects could have been done in a few hours with an excavator or skid-steer on site. Using only a back and a shovel, however, it takes a week to do the same amount of work, and that’s without juggling a one-year-old and all of the other homestead chores.

A momma moose and two of her calves graze in a nearby meadow one chilly October morning.

Patience is a virtue here, and not completing the checklist does not imply failure – it implies a poor estimate! The bumpy driveway will even itself out once more snow arrives, and the gravel piles will turn into snow hills, perfectly sized for a little girl and her sled.

Rez pauses for a brief moment to pose for a picture.

Pete was able to get one dump truck load of rock spread out in front of the cabin. This built up and leveled out the grade and will provide a foundation for the porch. He thinks he will be able to still build the porch this season – which would be amazing! A porch would give us a space to clean off our boots before tracking all that snow inside and also allow us to keep a nice stack of firewood just outside the door. Also, it would be nice to also build an arctic entry on the porch. This would provide a second door and a small space to store our snow covered clothes and boots. Currently, there is a brief moment any time someone goes in or out where the brutal Alaskan winter comes right into our living room. A roaring wood stove will keep it at bay and no one complains too much, but we are still creatures of comfort and the more snow we keep out of this tiny house the better!

Other small accomplishments this month include running two cables under ground from the cabin to the garage. One cable will provide power to the garage, the other will connect to a backup generator for when the power goes out. We also got a propane heater for the garage, making our new workshop a comfortable place to work. Pete wants to build a stove for the garage next year which will run on used motor oil (which we have plenty of).

On the fun side of things, Pete got a good deal on a couple of old snow machines! These are not like the modern high-power rocket sleds all the cool kids are out riding on. Instead, they are more of the leisurely type which you take for a mellow ride around the lake or down the trails.

Mini orange flowers still blooming at the beginning of the month.

Rez showing off the “new” snow machine.

Views of the ocean in the Knik Arm, looking in the direction of Anchorage.

We currently have a dusting of snow on the ground and haven’t hardly seen any temperatures above freezing for the past two weeks. The wood stove has been steadily burning as we tap into our supply of firewood, kept dry by our beautiful new shed. Last year, we didn’t get our first snow until a week into November, and we were grateful for the chance to finish the cabin before that! This year, we are already much more comfortable and are looking forward to the beautiful blanket of snow which we know will be coming soon.

Well that is all for this month, friends. Thanks for reading! Take care and stay safe.
Cheers!