Snow Place Like Home

The first few feet of snow blankets the yard.

 December has made a show-stopping arrival here on the homestead.  

Standing next to one of the trucks. Time to dig it out!

 As I type this month’s blog, I’m taking a rest from shoveling snow off of roofs. The first week of December brought about a foot of snow. Then, the next week we got another 3 ½ feet over the course of 48 hours. The week after that, just before Christmas, we had a couple days of 70+ mph winds. Winter sure made it’s presence known this December! It's hard to believe we're only just a couple days into winter with the solstice on the 21st. The days finally start to get longer! During the snowfall, all structures and vehicles on the property received heavy snow loads, putting everything to the test. It took most of a day to get the driveway cleared and our vehicles cleared off. My car was barely visible! The greenhouses were also important to clear off because their exterior structures were just plastic sheeting. The greenhouse lean-to had a seriously sagging roof. No sooner did we get the driveway cleared did the lean-to collapse. It doesn’t appear that anything under the roof was damaged besides it’s wood frame. Digging it out and repairing sounds like a 2023 problem!  

My little Subaru has never been buried like this before!

The lean-to on the greenhouse did not pass the load test. Notice the sagging roof on the pig pen in the background to the left.

 After the snowstorms, we received a wind storm for about 24 hours. Wind gusts up to 75mph knocked down trees on power lines all over the MatSu Valley. Afterwards, there was debris everywhere just like the larger windstorm in January this year. Our area was without power for about 13 hours. It was quite miserable outside with all of the fresh snow blowing off the ground in the high winds, so we stayed inside and played games and puzzles to pass the time. I don't mind when the power goes out here. We are equipped to switch to temporary off-grid living and I find reassurance in that. The wind had knocked down a large spruce tree onto a nearby power line on our road which caused one of the outages that day. Pete was quick to snag the tree that the electric company safely fell. It had a beautiful 20' log which will be great for milling....once we find where the sawmill is buried. ​

A momma moose and her yearling sharing the one-lane road. The deep snow is tough on the little ones.

As a blessing in disguise, the wind cleared off the roads (besides some drifting) and alleviated a lot of the snow loads. Our chickens did well in their cozy coop even though some snow drifted in past the door. The poor moose are sure struggling to trudge through the deep snow. Their yearlings are especially struggling with the snow up to their chests. The moose are using the cleared roads to get around so we are always on high alert when driving. Our daughter sure enjoys climbing and sledding down the countless snow berms in the yard. Next month, if the temperatures stay moderate, we hope to do some cross country skiing.

Before the wind came, the snow fell peacefully and sure piled up causing the swingset to disappear quickly!

Despite the inclement weather, we still enjoyed the holiday season. We attended a favorite of mine, the Colony Christmas Parade in Palmer. It’s a local parade of lights and a fireworks show that follows. Our 3 year old really enjoys the Christmas excitement. Santa makes an appearance along with the Grinch. The Grinch runs from each side of the road attempting to steal the kids’ candy from their bags. Another favorite is the horses. All of the horses are dressed up with lights, wreaths, and glow sticks as they walk through the parade. Their riders hand candy out which is so neat to see! That same weekend, our daughter rode her first horse and made Christmas ornaments at some local stables.  

Brightly lit floats in the Christmas parade.

Exterior light installation.

A In between the holiday fun we managed to plug away working on the shop build. Pete finished putting up the ceiling, got the walls insulated, and installed lighting inside and outside. With the shop being dried in, it provides a dry place to work, even though it’s still not heated. This last weekend Pete and I managed to blow in insulation in the ceiling. This wasn't our first time blowing insulation, as we had done it at our previous home in Minnesota. We rented a blower from the nearest hardware store and completed insulating in about 2 hours. A bonus with the new exterior lights, we are now able to work outside after dark with no headlamp, which is very convenient.  

Pete playing with the electrical panel.

 Pete continues to process bacon inside the shop in small batches. Each batch gets tastier! We’ve enjoyed all kinds of pork since we harvested the Bacon Brothers in October. Our pig supplier advised early December is when the Bacon Brothers would reach optimal maturity for harvest—I am actually thankful we harvested them almost 2 months early because I can’t imagine trying to raise the pigs in 3+ feet of snow! At one point during the windstorm I was crawling on my hands and knees past the pig pen to get to the chickens for their daily feeding!  

A smoker full of pork: cured loin and prime rib for bacons, a shoulder roast for dinner, and ham hocks for making soup stock.

 This month Wild North Design closes out it’s most successful year. I finished out some custom Christmas orders and did a pop-up show at the JBER military base in Anchorage. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support this year! I had so much fun pushing boundaries for myself and trying new techniques with the lasers and epoxy resin. I am excited for what the new year will bring for Wild North! Stay tuned for new products on the website and local pop-ups.  

 We hope your Christmas and New Year was merry and bright! See you all next year. Thank you for reading!

Rez loving the fun in the snow.

Pulled pork tacos complete with PICKLES. A trick I learned in Alaska.

Mini Baked Alaskas: our Christmas Eve tradition. Dense vanilla cake topped with flavored ice cream, then smothered in toasted meringue.

Bear wondering if he can get in on the sled dog action.

The Eggcono Lodge is quiet during the off-season. Come June when all the snow has gone, it will be filled with baby chicks once more.

Sled dog team out for an early December run.

Pete made a video recapping the 2022 growing season and how things have progressed with learning how to market garden. Check it out here:

My camera phone doesn't do the evening apenlow justice. It was a beautiful blue that faded into purple then pink.

Peaceful mornings as the sun barely breaks over the tree lines as we approach the shortest day of the year.