Tag Archives: Homesteading

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Yes I wear combat boots!

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Oh happy day! My boots arrived from Altai boots and I absolutely love them! I have to admit when I felt the box (it was very light) I had some doubts about the durability but let me just say that those doubts are gone! First of all I have to point out that we live in a very wet area where the terrain changes from muck and mud to timber and I have to traverse all in my daily routine. Not once did I slip and not once did I do the flamingo stand-you know where one boot gets sucked into the mud and you try pulling it out only to come up with a sock covered foot and the boot stays in the mud. Yes many times I’ve had to attempt to stand on one foot while retrieving a boot from the muck!  No more!!!!!  I might add they are pretty stylish too-for combat boots! I can’t wait to see how they feel tomorrow after the grueling tests I put them through today.  

   www.altaigear.com

We had a new arrival today. Our last nanny kidded until we start the next round in June. Another beautiful little doeling who dear hubby named Doris. 

 Everything is growing!!!! Last year I tried an experiment where I took potatoes that were beginning to grow eyes and not being one to waste I peeled them for a meal then planted the eyes. A few months later we were digging potatoes. This year I repeated the process and currently have about 40 plants coming up and that was 3 days ago!  I now have about 200 different plants growing in the greenhouses and outside with more to plant soon. We’re waiting on the piggies to finish tilling the next garden area. Soon my cold crops will fill one half of the fenced area and another greenhouse in the other.  

   The moose are really out now and we’ve begun keeping our eyes out a little closer oh and so are the Bears! My goodness I was a bit to close for comfort the other evening when I realized the grunting I was hearing was a huge brownie! I swear when he stood up he looked 12 foot tall! He truly was a big one though as his pads are as wide as my foot is long! 

 I buried my wheeler for the first time of the season and as it was getting late I called dear hubby and told him I was heading the rest of the way in on foot. He ended up going to retrieve the wheeler with the kids and I went to town. Had a wonderful time at my friend Maura’s and to be honest I enjoyed the girl time. The next morning I met Dear Hubby and 2 of the kids on the trail so the kids could go into town for some down time with their friends. Maura and I went to do a load of laundry (which is still in the truck) and get a few groceries. I had been on a search for Rosemary seeds but could not find any so bought one plant that I gingerly carried home. It was a fun day for sure but am still tired from hiking in with a full load. 

The kids went in today to their first shooting sports get together. Caleb did awesome but the girls still haven’t developed enough upper body strength and have decided they would rather watch for awhile and maybe try again at a later date. Caleb hit 10 out of 25 clay pigeons which for his first time skeet shooting was pretty darned good!

Our pig Charlotte is getting close to her farrowing time so tomorrow I will begin working on redoing the old goat pen. She’s going to be irritated that her buddies are not with her to use as pillows but she will love the not having to share her food!

Tonight I was feeling ambitious and made my Jalepeno popper chicken for supper so I’ll leave you all with the recipe if you would like to try it-my family including the kids love it!

Good night and I pray your all feeling as blessed as I am.

Jalepeno popper chicken 4 servings

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced in half then pounded thin

2 jalapeños split and seeded

4 tbsp cream cheese

4 thick slices bacon stretched

4 tsp Jalepeno jelly

Fill each Jalepeno half with 1 tbsp cream cheese and set aside. Lay chicken breast down place cheese filled Jalepeno on then roll up. Wrap bacon snugly place cream cheese side up in shallow baking pan. Repeat with remaking breasts. Bake in 350 degree oven 30 min remove and top with 1 tsp jelly each return to oven for 5-10 min. Or until jelly has melted. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.  These can be cooled and sliced as an appetizer too! 

 

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It’s the Bees Knees! 

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What a busy time here on Two Moose. We hived bees today and will be splitting them at a later date but am impressed that one of my 10 year old twins begged to help! She was quite the trooper and did very well even with thousands of bees flying around her. I felt good today as I only got stung twice instead of the 6 times like last year! 

   Hubby has been busy with Caleb building fence panels for my cool crops that I will plant outdoors and the girls and I are planting the “Kitchen Greenhouse” with herbs, salad mix lettuce and radishes. In a month we will have fresh veggies!!!! Kids are as excited as I am as they love vegetables of all kinds. 

   My turkeys are laying regular now and I do wish one would go broody as it would be quite handy to have them doing the work.  

 The sap is still running and I’m trying to stay caught up but it’s a job with everything else going on. We have a couple gallons of syrup now but will wait until the run is completed before I package it.

Papa Fred is nursing his broke wrist and getting antsy to get started on his cabin. He feels closed in here  as he’s a long time bachelor but I keep telling him be patient it’s only temporary.

Everything is turning green now and the days are long. It stays light until 10:30 and soon we will be light at midnight. I love this time of year! 

 Hope your all enjoying spring as much as I am. May you be blessed with a happy heart.

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Long days have returned!!!!

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well it’s 10:30 pm and starting to get dark. I love Alaska in the spring! The days are longer,fiddlehead are starting to come up, the sap running and everything is turning green.

I’ve always loved springtime. It’s Gods promise fulfilled of new life. Everywhere you look there is something fresh and new. From the sprigs of grass poking through the soil that was just a couple of weeks ago frozen ground, to the new animal babies hopping and jumping around. Spring to me is a time of renewal. When the doors and windows get flung open to allow the ocean breeze to push the staleness of winter out and usher in the energizing scents of salty ocean air mixed with the aroma of the spruce trees, grasses and even the faint scent of manure that will fertilize the gardens. Yes I love spring!

The kids sure enjoyed the day today. It was 52 degrees out and the ran and played for hours. Sometimes you just have to skip school work and allow their imaginations to let go and be free.  There were hunts for moose taking place in the front yard with stick guns at the ready. After the game was processed, a feed sack “hide” was then made into “leather” knapsacks to carry their bounty back to home. Of course no good homesteader would be happy with just red meat so they caught their fish but a bear got it so they decided bear was next on the list. Then they had to defend the farm from some invisible force to which I’m not privy to as I am but a poor helpless civilian who needed protecting. Oh to have the imaginations of children. To find happiness with a stick and the freedom to be anywhere in your mind you choose but for this momma I am happy they chose home as their exotic place.  

 Mike returned home today and our wonderful friend Dan brought Papa Fred out. Papa Fred is indeed sporting a broken wrist so for now his cabin building must be put on hold. He will mend quickly if he just gives it time to heal. On a good note the doc told him he is as healthy as someone half his age. 

My dear hubby is so awesome. He spent yesterday running papa Fred to the VA and digging raspberries for me. He then spent the night with Dan and Robin and what a time they had. Viewing pictures, telling stories and enjoying good company. It’s so nice having great neighbors.  Robin is currently incubating turkey eggs for me. She calls them her kids and watches over them like they were gold. I do pray they hatch. More so for her than myself as I don’t want to see her disappointed. I thank God daily for putting such loving people in our lives.

As I mentioned before Mike dug raspberry plants and stopped to share them with my lady friends out on the road. Mary gave him a sack of rhubarb for me to split and plant which I was very excited to get but then gave him 2 huge pots for me! I can now cook 30 gallons of sap at a time! Yes we are truly blessed! 

 Today Mike disassembled the green house Robin gave me and then he and Dan loaded it on the trailer Dan pulls behind their side by side. The load was a bit much for these terrible trails and the trailer rolled. I was worried sick but soon he came pulling in the yard with a lighter load but no damage to his trailer or person so I said a quick prayer of thanks before getting steam rolled by 3 kids and a dog rushing out to greet him. Speaking of the dog-Missy was upset when she realized Dan did not have Robin yesterday when he came out and today she was just plain mad! She rushed out, seen no sign of Robin and did her grumbling/growl thing she does then went and pouted. Funny how dogs get attached to people.  

 Sunshine is in the forecast for the next week or so and that is good news! Much to be done and with the longer days we should get a lot accomplished. Tomorrow I will be busy planting rhubarb and raspberries-you can bet I will have visions of canning dancing through my head!

   
 Well that’s about all I have to report as not much excitement but enough to remind us we are very much alive. I’ll leave you all with a prayer of Thanks and a hope that the sunshine warms your face tomorrow.

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A simple life

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Another day is winding down and it’s quiet time for me once again. Kids of the two and four legged variety are feed and in bed. All is well on Two Moose Farm. 

Mike will be gone for the next couple of days as Papa Fred needs to go to the VA. He’s been stuck out here for weeks with his wrist bothering him so much he is unable to ride his wheeler out. A friend is coming out to retrieve him and hopefully the VA will finally do surgery and get him on the mend. With summer coming he has many adventures planned and isn’t relishing the thought of being stuck in one place.

I’m still cooking birch sap down, it’s something I am grateful only comes around once a year for a 10 day period. The weather has stretched it out a bit longer but it should wind down soon with warm temps and sunny skies in the forecast.  

It’s after 10 pm and just getting dark. The long days are upon us and soon we will have very little darkness. That is alright with me! I would love to be gardening at midnight!

Another rabbit just had babies. I am wondering what her attitude will be like. The little 7 pound lionhead cross finally had hers and her attitude got worse! The only way I can describe it is imagine 7 pounds of fluff, teeth and nails suddenly becoming Ninja rabbit. Nope-she’s not so cute anymore!

The mud is drying up a bit now. Hoping by weeks end it gets really dry as I need to go to town and pick up a few things. Most of you have never experienced mud like this so let me explain. Imagine hiking out 3.5 miles and the entire time playing twister. Yes it is just like that except instead of other people’s hands and feet your tangled up in its branches, willows, water holes and muck! Don’t get me wrong it’s not that I’m truly complaining but with a pack on your back full of supplies if you land wrong (which I do quite frequently) you end up looking like a turtle stuck when they are upside down on their shells.

Pretty excited that I will be in the grow mode soon. Dear hubby is going to help dismantle the greenhouse my friend Robin gave me and her husband said he would help get it out here. Praying this wind dries everything out as I want to get that in here and I have bees coming on Wednesday that my sweet dis Cathy got for me after mine died in the last cold snap. Lots of excitement for sure in the coming days ahead!

The wolves are howling tonight and there was a moose out a bit ago. It’s going to be calving time soon so hoping our little mama returns and hangs out close by again. She obviously is used to humans as she would just hang out by the cabin. We gave her a wide berth just the same as momma moose can be very dangerous. It is still nice to watch the little one all knock kneed jumping and playing. 

Well the sun is setting and I’ve still much work to do but I’ll leave you with some pics of the world as I see it. Good night and God Bless all. 

             

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Feeling sappy

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It’s  a cool spring day here on Two Moose Farm. It’s been raining on and off since yesterday evening but that doesn’t mean chores can be left especially during the sap run. 

For those unfamiliar with the process of making syrup from sap, it is a simple process but very time consuming. Once the trees are tapped the sap is gathered twice a day. It is then filtered to remove bits of bark and such then is put on the stove to cook down and condense. Sounds simple enough but the tricky part is reducing it down without burning it. This is a long process as you don’t want to boil the sap just let it get hot enough to evaporate. This takes about 26 hours to do which means the stove must be constantly fed wood and attended to and the pots much be watched. Let me tell you that old wives tale-a watched pot never boils is true! It can be fine one minute but turn your back for a minute and it boils..,,.and burns!  Yep first pot I burnt and while it may not seem like a big deal consider this, it takes 25 quarts of sap to make 1 pint of syrup. That is a lot of work!

The seeds in the greenhouse are poking their little heads up through the soil and reaching out to the light. Quite a cushy existence for them as I keep it heated to a balmy 72 degrees with 2 kerosene lamps. Won’t be long until they will be full fledged plants and I will be in my element-bare feet and hands in the dirt!  I do love gardening as it gives me a lot of peace just playing in the dirt.

I was asked a question the other day I haven’t quite found an answer to. Someone asked “when is your slow time” hmmmm after much pondering I have come to the conclusion the appropriate answer will be “never”. There are always critters to feed, meals to make, pens to clean, spring and summer is the growing season and fishing, late summer and fall canning and more fishing and hunting. Winter brings new work with keeping pens cleaned, dried and making sure animals are warm, that their water is thawed and for us we spoil our animals with hot meals. Yes it may seem silly but an animal uses less energy if they are warmed on the inside I believe. Yes lots of work but it brings us joy.

Oooooh happy day! We got our first turkey egg! How cool is that!

Well I will leave you all for now with pics of the syrup and the turkey egg. Yes it’s another milestone and very exciting for us. Have a blessed day all.

   

 

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Sprinter time! 

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Well it is supposed to be springtime in Alaska, it’s not 40 below like the old song says but it’s not exactly sunshine and roses either!  I have decided since it’s not quite winter yet not quite spring we need yet one more season and we will call it Sprinter! Sprinter will be that in between time that anything goes!  Here is what Sprinter looks like it’s snowing and 34 degrees out. 

       

The sap run has been interrupted by the cooler weather so it’s going to slow down completion of that project. Here is what birch sap looks like before it’s been cooked down to reduce then after when it is syrup 

   

The process is very simple but time consuming. The pint jar is what remains of almost 15 gallons of sap. 

Oh here comes the sun again! This weather is quite fickle. Last week we had torrential rains and hopefully it will begin drying up. 

Dear hubby is hauling lumber from the sawmill today on his back as it is too wet to do otherwise and we are hoping it dries out soon because we will be needing some supplies from town.the wheeler is out of commission again and has us stumped as to where the racket is coming from. Always something isn’t it!

Babies everywhere now as we have the 5 new ones, one goat left to kid and the cycle begins again in 2 months. We are getting quite a bit of milk now so hoping that I can figure out what is going wrong with my cheese. Never had this problem before so it is a mystery. Going to try my old granny stand by recipe and see what happens. I’ll let you know!

   

        

Well sun is out and I have raspberries that need planting and more seeds to pot so I’ll bid you farewell for now and pray  your day is blessed with busy hands and a happy heart.

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Birch trees, baby goats and 3 seasons in a day.

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you can definitely tell by our crazy weather that it’s Alaska! In the last 48 hours we have experience over 2.5 inches of rain followed by 3 inches of snow.  The sun did come out yesterday afternoon and that coupled with the wind melted the snow very quickly. It is now 2:00 a.m. 38 degrees and snowing once again! 

         

The Birch trees finally began running yesterday. Not full out running but a slow trickle so the race is now on! We will have 10 days or so of a routine that consists of gathering then slowly cooking the sap down for syrup. Yes this is a 24 hour a day job as the sap that is gathered must be cooked down and bottled to make room for more. 

 

We are still waiting for the last goat to kid but Bandit doesn’t appear to be in any hurry. The big question is how many will she have? So far this year we have had 3 single births and 2 sets of twins from 5 does. We will keep the doelings (so far there are 4) and the bucklings will most likely become wethers and find new homes.  

      Sorry for the bad pics but snow rain and overly friendly goats wanting attention doesn’t make ideal photo sessions!

The names of our new kids are quite varied. Each one is named randomly and the big white boy pictured above is Olaf. Named after the movie Frozen my kids so desperately want to see. Hoping to make that happen soon!

Well time to stoke the fire and stir the syrup. I’ll leave you for now but pray blessings of plenty upon you all!

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Insomnia again!

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was very tired after the big day yesterday and then the arrival of the new goat kids last night so thought I’d call it an early night. Crawled into bed at 11 pm and slept like a baby until 12:40. Eyes wide open and here I sit at 2:45 posting because sleep eludes me. I guess I will catch you all up on the past few days.

My youngest son Caleb turned 12 on Saturday. We planned a get together with friends for Sunday and met for ice skating and pizza afterwards. It was a great day until we came home in the rain through the mud and we’re all soaking wet! Regardless it was fun seeing friends and having the kids get some time to play with their friends. My oldest son Corbin even joined us for a couple of hours!

               

I was late getting chores done so as I hurried up to get the milking done the kids and hubby fed and watered all the other critters. As you all know we have goats that are kidding and no idea of due dates so I make my final checks each night around 9. Nothing really happening so I went back in and around 10 Mike had Caleb shut off the generator. He suddenly starts hollering for his dad and tells him “I think there’s a bear cub screaming for its momma out here” dear hubby chuckles and yells in to me-“Mom, better check your goats I think your herd just grew” upon closer inspection Bubbles who less than an hour before was playing and being silly had just given birth to twins. Mind you it was still raining and she was in the girls’ pen not in the kidding barn so with a bit of team work we moved her and the two babies, through the rain and into the warm barn. 

   

The smaller dark kid is a doeling we named Illiamna and will call her Illy and the larger light is a buckling we have named Junior. All are doing well and Bubbles will spend a few days with the kids before we separate her from them during the day.

The busy time is on us with the break up in full swing. Another week of these warm temps and it will be walking the 3.5 miles to the road as the wheelers won’t be able to navigate through the muck. I am anxiously awaiting seeds a friend gifted me from Denali seeds. They are supposed to be acclimated to our climate and growing season. Thank you again Cathy for yet another thoughtful and useful gift.

Chickens are laying now and it’s like a treasure every time we get an egg. My kids dislike store eggs so are very excited. I’m excited that the weather has warmed up and my friend Robin is incubating some Americauna eggs for me. Green eggs in my future-how cool is that!

Well our battery alarms just went off so it’s time to say goodbye before I lose the last of my charge. Praying your all blessed with happiness and peace. 

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Happy Anniversary to us! Part one

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It’s been a year since we landed in Alaska and started out on this journey. Looking back we have definitely come a long way. Many lessons have been learned, a few sorrows and a lot of happiness found.  I thought a quick walk through our progress was just what my mind needed today as I sit and wait still for yet more 4 wheeler parts to get us mobile again.

Our first spring in Alaska began in April 2014 with experiencing the break up. For those of you unfamiliar with “the break up” it’s normally a fast process that takes 2-3 weeks of ice melting, water everywhere, then mud and finally drying up for the most part. We missed the drying up part-it didn’t happen. It rained, then rained some more and finally it rained even more! 

April was spent slogging through the muck to attempt to quickly (ha ha) erect a cabin to shelter us at night from the bears and wolves.  In Alaska quickly means sometime in the next few years-lesson 1!

By May we had an Alaskan cabin erected. Yep a true Alaskan cabin-no roof!  But we did have four walls and a door-that was progress!  We were also uppity Alaskans as a blue tarp where the roof should of been was not for us we had a canvas roof-I liked to tell the kids “just like the pioneers”!   

May it rained, June it rained are you getting the picture? I spent many nights up all night emptying the dips and Swales in the canvas “roof” to keep it somewhat dry inside. During the day we would dodge rain showers and attempt to quickly (yes that word still cracks me up) an outhouse and animal pens.  

 

We had brought my beloved rabbits with us-yes I do love them as they keep us well fed. Babies were growing and new cages needed built and as you all well know the breed prolifically so many cages needed built. 

   

June brought chickens, pigs, goats and Luna the rescue horse to the homestead and for me a broken foot. Keeping in true homesteader fashion I set it, made a makeshift cast, covered in an oversize boot and life went on, albeit a bit slower for me for the next 6 weeks. 

          

 

June also was when we completed (somewhat) the outhouse minus a door. Between animal pens and cutting wood for lumber it was a busy month of building and usually done in the rain.

July was much like June except it was a bit sunnier and the fireweed was blooming. Oh the fireweed!!!! If you’ve never experienced a field of fireweed as tall as you are you have not lived! 

 To be continued…….

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Let it snow-No! make it go make it go!

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I guess I have been spoiled all winter by the lack of true winter weather. Now that spring fever has hit full force it becomes bitterly cold and now I see white flakes falling from the sky. Make it stop!!!!!! No really, I’m done, bring on spring in the form of sunshine, skip the rain, mud and all things that could possibly hinder my progress and just let me have sunny days and green grass…..please! 

The latest cold snap has little frost bitten ears on my goat baby, a chicken with frozen toes now residing in the cabin and we lost several baby rabbits who got out of their snuggly nest and froze. Oh how I hate to see little ones suffer. 

As I sit pouring over garden plans and day dreaming of green grass I must remind myself it will be here entirely too fast and will leave even sooner but I just can’t help myself. I do this every year and after all these years it hasn’t gotten any easier.

The cold has increased the workload immensely with constant thawing of water dishes, bottles and bowls for all the critters and I have lost feeling in the tips of several fingers now due to frostbite. It will return, it always does but somehow whining about it makes me feel a tad bit better-you know misery truly does love company! On a good note the weather man says we have warmer days ahead so I’m holding him to it! 

I am on high alert now as it is typical for momma animals to pick the worst weather to have babies in so night checks will continue indefinitely which translates to a lot of sleepless nights for me. I really am not complaining about this though as I love seeing new life enter this beautiful world and it does bring me joy.

Still waiting on parts for our 4 wheeler. It seems to take forever sometimes but once again I am getting impatient.

Not much else happening in our neck of the woods so I will bid you all a good night and pray health, happiness and dreams of Flowers blooming, chest high hay and fields of grain dancing in the breeze. God Bless you all.