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Sharing The Dream

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I must apologize for not updating sooner but it has been a busy week both on and off Two Moose Farm.  I had the pleasure of showing a wonderful couple around the area as they search for the perfect place to build their Alaska dream.  Ken and Tracy Baxter have now put an offer in on a beautiful piece of almost raw land to which they hope to fulfill their dreams of Homesteading Alaska.I wish I could find a beaver for the pond as Tracy is beaver crazy!  She wants a beaver in her back yard.   IMG_4386

I enjoyed the 2 days out and it is so refreshing to see others who see the beauty in all things Alaska.  Tracy was so excited to see all of the eagles, moose and sandhill cranes she would squeal with delight at each one we passed it reminded me of myself when I first arrived.  Finding joy in such simple things is truly a blessing.

Things are still moving along and its been a nice spring so far.  The water levels are dropping and I keep praying it will continue to do so.  I am behind as usual in my work but Alaska is pretty forgiving and I believe I can catch up.  The greenhouses are looking more “green” every day but I still have to get the big house up and my cool crops planted out doors.  The piggies have done a wonderful job of rototilling now to smooth it down and get them back to their own area.  Soon we will be able to let them roam free again but not just yet as Charlotte is nearing her farrowing time.

Our last goat kidded a few days ago and little Doris is doing well except her momma keeps losing her.  Bandit the momma gets so wrapped up in her browsing the green things that are springing up she wanders away as little Doris sleeps and then when its time to return home no Doris.  Twice we have had to look for the little thing and let me tell you its no easy feat finding a baby goat on 80 acres of timber and tall grass.  For the near future little Doris will be staying home while her momma goes out but she doesn’t seem to mind hanging out in the cabin.Do

The turkeys are refusing to be wild.  I know that sounds odd but they have become annoying!  I have discovered the true meaning of “peeping Tom”.  They want to follow us around and if we go indoors the literally stretch out their necks to peek inside!  The hens though I am not minding as they are delivering eggs…….Literally!  They come to get attention and have begun laying in the doorway.  I know one of these days we will forget and step on an egg but seriously is that not the coolest thing! IMG_4253 Had to share this video with you of one of the hens who came waltzing into the cabin to beg.  Definitely thinks she owns the place!

The kids are looking forward to Saturday as they will get to see their friends and Caleb will have another meeting with his shooting sports club.  He has discovered a passion for skeet shooting and I am glad that he will have a hobby that will teach him the importance of gun safety, the ability to fend for himself if the need arises and the camaraderie of having others in his circle of friends who have much knowledge to share.  Life is about constantly learning and books are wonderful instruments but life skills are just as important.

We did have a bit of sadness this week when Cami’s cat had kittens.  Not sure if it was her or one of the other cats that killed all but 2 of them but we did try unsuccessfully to save them.  It is never easy to lose an animal regardless of the type and am hoping that this is an isolated incident.

Finally finished planting the last raspberry patch today.  The others are growing new leaves and the rhubarb is 6 inches tall already! Our strawberries are growing rapidly too so hoping for a nice crop of fruit this year and rhubarb next year.

Dear hubby had to take Papa Fred to the orthopedic surgeon yesterday and what an adventure they had.  Papa cannot operate the wheeler so Caleb was his chauffeur.  All was going well until one wheel hit a deep hole and papa slid off the back of the wheeler into the swamp.It was a soft moss landing so no injuries but he did say the water was quite cold.  Poor Caleb was so heartbroken and worried but Papa assured him it was not is fault and all was well.  Caleb is growing up to be such a handsome, loving and kind young man who I am very proud of.

Mothers Day was much like every other day for us.  The guys had gone in to town overnight and it was just us girls.  We did our normal chores, split wood for our fires and then began cleaning up the brush that was laying around in the yard.  After 2 days the yard looks amazing and now I can begin planning the fence that I keep telling myself will keep the critters out-that’s never going to happen but a gal has to dream!  It will be nice to have a yard though that we can enjoy instead of the mud we experienced last year.

Well folks its now after midnight and the sun has finally set. Once again God has painted a beautiful scene for me to enjoy and I want to share it with you.  I hope wherever you are you are feeling as blessed as I am. 

      

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Random ramblings

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Seems like I have so much to say but nothing fits in a category but still I feel the need to share with all this crazy life  I love.

The long days are back with it being light out until after 11p.m. and that is a good thing as there is so much work to do. There are gardens to be put in, another greenhouse to build and always more animal pens to construct.  Today was a day of overcast and drizzle. Not conducive to doing much of anything yet we stayed busy all day. The pigs are about halfway through tilling my next garden area and I must admit I am anxious to get to planting. My friend Robin sent out a bunch of seed potatoes that I want to get started. Some are heirloom that have been planted here in Alaska for many decades. I still have one more raspberry patch to plant but did get my rhubarb in and hopefully planting it in 3 different areas will ensure that it will survive. Here’s a pic of my kitchen garden area with the greenhouse from Dan and Robin. I love the gate dear hubby built. 

 My “wild” heritage breed turkeys were not informed they are supposed to be wild. Guess they never got the memo because they seem to think that stalking and peeping is what they are required to do. Seriously! They have to be following one of us around at all times and if we are in the cabin they are stretching their necks to peek through the window! 

   It will soon be weaning time for the little goats. They are eating hay, grass, grain, pellets and cat food (no I don’t feed them cat food they steal from the cats). The momma goats are pushing them away more and more so it’s a sign it is time.  

 Papa Fred is back out here again thanks to Dan bringing him out. The next step will be surgery as he isn’t healing correctly and we really need to find a way to get a side by side as the doc informed him he will no longer be able to ride a wheeler. Say a prayer for us if you would, I know God will provide but I believe he likes it when many are praying in agreement.

Here’s a pic of Dan with 2 of the kids. They kept trying to crawl into his lap. 

 Looking forward to getting the goats weaned and having enough milk to use my separator to get cream. Was just thinking how yummy strawberries and fresh cream will taste. Folks the separator I have is top quality yet half the price of others I’ve seen. There’s always a special going on so please go check out the website. http://www.slavicbeauty.net/cream-separators/separators 

Still loving my new boots! For those of you who haven’t seen my other posts I recieved a pair of Altai tactical boots to put through the test of our terrain. I cannot find anything I don’t like about them. Now I realize when reviewing a product you are supposed to point out what you like and what you don’t like but honestly I love these boots. My feet stay dry, they give support to my ankles over uneven terrain, they are light weight and just flexible enough to be comfortable when climbing. If there is one thing I have learned this past year is not all boots are created equal. Yes quality costs but when I was going through a pair of uncomfortable boots a month due to holes being ripped in them from the timber that we go through I am sold on these. Check them out for yourself! They have a cool contest going right now too where you can win a free pair of boots! http://www.altaigear.com/ 

 I am very excited for the latter part of the week to get here. My friends Tracy and Ken are coming to visit!!!!! Was such a nice surprise when they told me but now I really can’t sleep. I’ll be sure to post pics as they will love it here I’m sure. 

Oh almost forgot to share this-my friend Kimberly is now the owner of a piece of raw land she will be building her homestead on. Ladies if you want to do it then go for it! She is living her dream and you can too! Just look at her smiling face! 

 Once again I will leave you all with random pics of the farm. Keep the faith all, keep praying and know HE is always with you.

   
       

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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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Busy days at Two Moose farm

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It’s been quite hectic here at Two Moose as of late. New pens to build as babies being born, new inventions to build and use and the crafting time has begun.
We completed the weaning shed and pen (much to the dismay of little Racer and Etta who would have prefered staying with their momma. You will see in the video what Racer thought of penning him in!

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The Turkey Tractor is complete also and the turkeys have found it quite to their liking.  My daughter thought it would be great fun to play different calls to them and see what they would do.

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Of course no one can be left out on the farm and roosters especially as they have to be in the limelight ALL the time as you can tell from prior videos the voice their opinions frequently.

The goats are our biggest source of entertainment here at Two Moose.  They never cease to amaze me with their antics. Here is Bella who was ready to be milked. When I refused to acknowledge her as it was still hours away from milking time she proceeded to crawl into the feed pan and begin bleating very loudly at me.

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The test tap I did on a Birch tree last week is finally showing signs of the approaching run.  There are a few drops of sap making a show but not enough to tap the other trees yet but soon.  My soap I created last week is aging nicely and although unscented has a beautiful clean scent about it.  I will be putting the website online shortly and the soap along with leather crafts, hot cocoa mix made from powdered goats milk and many other items will be available for sale for those of you wanting a little taste of Alaska I will have the Birch syrup available as soon s the run is complete.

Life here is about constantly moving forward and work is a big part of our lives but there is also time for learning and fun.  The children have been working on school work but their best education I believe is seeing how providing for the animals is returned by what the animals provide for us.  Cati has become quite proficient at milking and loves the goats as much as I do, Caleb is all about the rabbits.  He enjoys feeding them and can tell you which rabbit is due to have babies.  He also is a great hand at splitting firewood.  Cami is our little get it done girl who makes sure every creature has adequate bedding and with her sister Cati they are the ones who monitor the pens for cleanliness.  I still have to assist but am proud they love the animals as much as I do.

We did take a trip to the beach the other day where the kids enjoyed playing with a friend from town and they also gathered a bunch of coal for our cookstove.  Simple things mean a lot to us and a couple hours of beach time gave everyone a break from the daily routine.

Its getting close to chore time again so I must go but will try to post a bit more frequently.  I will leave you with a picture of my favorite view and a prayer God blesses you with health and happiness.

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