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July 21, 2008
According to statistics this is the coldest and rainiest summer since 1937. The potatoes, peas and beans are drowning, the tomatoes don't want to ripen, it's disgusting. Yesterday the sun was trying to poke through for about 3 seconds.
On the upside, somebody shot a black bear near the dumpster and the fur is still in prime condition. I'm making a little money on the side preparing the hides for the tannery and that will keep me busy today.
I still hope we can take the tent down dry for setting up in Anderson, I hate to pack a wet tent.
July 14, 2008
Still raining. The worst part is that I loose the signal for my internet when the clouds are too thick. Another reason why I don't like summers too much. It can snow like hell in winter but I can surf.
Anyway, here's a different way to prepare pork chops, Pork Chops a la Kristine:
You'll need:
pork chops
salt & pepper
dried yarrow (for Erich: Schafgarbe vom Kraeuterhaus um die Ecke)
Camembert
fat/oil for frying, Roasted Walnut Oil would be fine
Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt, pepper and yarrow, rub it in. Heat oil, fry from one side for 2-3 min, turn, cover pork chops with 1 or 2 slices of Camembert. Put lid on pan and fry for a few more minutes.
Enjoy with cooked potatoes and goose foot leaves. Prepare goose foot like spinach, add a sparkle of nutmeg and a splash of heavy whipped cream.
July 11, 2008
Well, Jump-off Creek took out the road, as we expected, one of our culverts quit working and the water is doing quite some damage to the drive way. But as long as it is raining we can't find the culvert to clean it. And it still rains. This mornig it was coming down for more than 4 hours. And it's not even August yet, that's when the rainy season starts. Never seen anything like that up here. We got 1 1/2 gallons of water on a square foot during the rain 3 days ago.
Wouldn't be so bad if we wouldn't have to built a cabin. Try to chainsaw trees in the rain. No fun.
But nothing we can do about, just wait and see.
I'm getting ready for the shows, we will be in Anderson for the Blue Grass Festival from 7/25 - 7/27, and at the Tanana Valley State Fair from 8/1 - 8/9.
July 8, 2008
That was a thunder storm we never ever had before. The house was shaking and a lightning hit the inverter, despite being grounded and a lightning arrestor attached. Thank God it didn't do any damage, the lightning arrestor needs to be replaced, tho, but that's only $80 compared to the last lightning strike repair what cost us $1500. I mean, what are the chances of being hit in the same place twice? And the telephone antenna, some 30feet high, is sitting right next to it, but no damage to the telephone box. Strange. Gotta talk to ABS and see what else we can do to protect the inverter against lightning strikes.
And it rained for about 3 hours, appr. 1 1/2 gallon on a square foot. My garden is under water, the rain destroyed the blossoms, no zuccini this year, the peas drowned and from the outhouse we can see a swollen creek down at the bottom of the valley. That never happened before either. Not even during break-up time. Our drive way is holding up but we expect some wash outs along the highway.
Well, I'm loosing the satellite signal, more rain on the way. And my friend Julie across the valley didn't get none. I mean none at all.
July 4, 2008
I am not a summer animal. It's 7pm and still 80, not a cloud in the sky and no rain in the forecast. But even higher temperatures. Meaning I have to go down to the river and get the water for my garden. The river is warm enough for a swim.
Even the mosquitoes are staying in the cool wooden areas. The cats don't move. I want to be a cat. A cat in a house like this one. No work and getting spoiled.
We had a nice little 4th of July parade, six vehicles, horses, yaks, goats. And a great barbecue with all the trimmings.
Two guys were exercising their guitars, somehow I got the feeling we never outgrew the 60ies and 70ies. Music wise, that is.
I took the 4wheeler, those 13mi with the warm wind in my hair felt good. Little dusty, tho.
July 1, 2008
It was the Heat Sensor that was confused, taking the wrong temperature. Now I have to catch up on vacuuming and ironing. Shouldn't buy clothes that need ironing.
This summer is more on the rainy side, one good thing is tho I don't need to water the garden and everything is just growing.
We had company over the weekend, two couples from Minnesota. I cooked up some bear meat, there wasn't enough left to feed a mouse with. They ate it all.
Today I have to do dishes, then clean the wood stove and check water in the batteries.
Cleaning the wood cook range needs to be done once a month, scrape and remove all that creosote, and while I'm at it I might as well whipe the whole stove. Some dirty work.
June 24, 2008
Gary had to take the generator to town, one of the sending units appears to be confused. Sending the wrong signals. We were planning on buying two more solar panels anyways, looks like a good time for that now. That would pretty much eliminate the need for the generator during summer and help big time during winter. We are the only one's in the village who don't loose the sun. On December 21 the sun is up for about 2 1/2 hours, but that makes all the difference in the world.
But right now we try to enjoy hot summer days, temperature between 80F and 90F with heavy thunderstorms late afternoon.
The garden is growing, as are the weeds and the grass, no fun working outside when it is that hot.
Went to Central yesterday to pick up the mail and on the way back, just a mile from our driveway, here is that pretty, middle aged bull moose standing in the middle of the road looking at me. Didn't have a rope on me to tie it up.
June 19, 2008
It's amazing how little electricity one needs when there is none. We still don't have the generator going and the solar panels aren't helping much during periods of rain. But I got to read two books, mended all socks and cleaned the house.
There is a good thing in everything.
I spend my evenings sitting on the screened in porch, listen to the wind and watch the dance of the mosquitoes. The birds are named and Mister Rabbit is getting a little more used to my presence. He doesn't know yet that he will most likely end up in my stew comes fall.
Sitting out there reminds on Fernando Pessoa, a Portugiese writer, who said that he who leads a simple life is smart and has the key to happiness because every event, every tiny event becomes important.
He's so right, yesterday I watched a fat mosquitoe dancing untill a 'skeeter eater', aka gragon fly, grabbed it just like that.
And somehow this little show was impressive.
June 15, 2008
Generators are only good as long as they run. But ours apparently is not in the mood. It runs for a while and then quits. Just like that. No warning signs, no nothing. Just quitting. And that is getting a little annoying. We changed all filters, cleaned every possible part, fuel is running, but the generator refuses to run.
Good thing we have solar panels and the sun is high in the sky shining 24 hours a day.
Gary is working at the airport in Fairbanks and I keep myself busy in the garden and yard. Today I'm planning on cutting some brush and for tomorrow I have baking bread and boiling bear feet on my list.
My daily activities are determined by weather, and today it's sunny with a few clouds and hot, already 68F at 9am, and for tomorrow there are more clouds, a little rain and temperatures around 65F in the forecast. And with the possibility of rain I'd better stay inside instead of feeding the mosquitoes. They can get nasty before rain.
The bear feet are loitering in the fridge and boiling and cleaning them sounds like a good chore on a rainy day.
The little bones make nice earrings and other jewelry, the shows in Anderson and Fairbanks are coming up soon.
June 10, 2008
Fairbanks was great, ice cream and shopping.
Got me a new fleshing beam and a new fleshing knife, perhaps now I should get another bear to break them in.
Better not, it's getting late, the fur might not be in prime condition and/or not enough fat in the belly.
The garden is growing and the grass needs to be cut. But the rain left everything way too wet, I will get Arnica blossoms and start drying.
Gary is back working in Fairbanks at the airport, looks like a quiet week ahead.
June 5, 2008
Except for work not much going on, garden is growing, need to run the weed
eater in the yard, Arnica are starting to bloom. They will be collected,
dried and covered with Olive Oil to extract their healing powers.
Next herbs will be Yarrow and Bedstraw. And by then the Dandelions will
be ready for making jelly.
I’m going to Fairbanks tomorrow,
stay at a friends place and enjoy some shopping at Value Village.
Gary said it snowed up on
Eagle Summit, wouldn’t be the first time getting stuck in a snow storm
in June.
But I got a sleeping bag and emergency food in the truck at all times.
June 2, 2008
So far no more bears. The boys and Gary are gone, home alone again. Got
all plants transplanted in the garden and the containers, the tomatoes are
hanging upside down and a thunderstorm is coming. The wind is picking up and
I hope the plants are strong enough to take it. And I hope for water. I need
a lot of water for my ever growing garden.
Rendered the bear fat the other day and kept all the paper towels I
used as a filter. Bear fat is the best one can do for the skin and those
paper towels provide enough fat to give me a skin as smooth as a baby’s
behind. Gary
doesn’t think the smell is sexy, tho.
May 31, 2008
More bear fat for more cookies. Brad got himself a little black bear
last night, around 10pm. After getting the bear back to the house and taking
some pictures we started working at 11pm. First I separate the skin from the
body and then Gary
takes care of the meat. We were done around 1am. Clean up till 2am. Short
night and I still have to render the fat and take care of the liver.
I’m planning on turning in early tonight to get some sleep but
the way it usually goes there will be another bear. We’ll see.
May 29, 2008
More bear hunters are coming today and we are holding back on our bear.
Usually we get most of the meat, the heart, liver and, most important, the
fat. It is my job to skin and clean those beasts, well, I won’t let the
guys do it, too many holes in the hide. Then comes the fleshing and salting.
Takes about 3 or 4 hours till the job is done.
Usually I keep the feet also; the little knuckles make darling earrings
and other jewelry. The shoulder blades are cleaned up and mounted on a wooden
disk for necklace and earring displays. And the spine bones are interesting
conversation pieces on any table when they are being used for napkin holders.
And there is much serenity when sitting on the porch, the birds are
singing and I’m cleaning the bones.
In case somebody is interested: the best way to clean the bones is to
boil them in OxiClean for 5-10min, let them cool, remove the meat and boil
them again for 5 min in fresh OxiClean. All remaining tissue can be removed
easily after the second boiling. Do not use a metal pot for boiling, the OxiClean
will react with the metal and leave stains. I use a big glass pot. While
boiling stir frequently, OxiClean likes to foam up and make an unholy mess.
Well, better get going and bake some bread.
May 24, 2008
The bear was trying to use the outhouse, paw prints all over the door
and the window. So last night I thought I’ll do a little hunting, got
me a cup of tea, the cat and a good book and curled up in a chair on the
porch. The .35 ready to go on the table. Till 12.30am. No bear. But both bait
stations are missing food. Well, I’ll try again tomorrow night, the
book is good and I want to finish it. Title: Ordinary Wolves, written by Seth
Canter. Great book.
We are busy cleaning up around the house, Gary is removing old stumps and I’m
running the brush cutter. It’s a small handheld one, not one of those
where the chopped brush is being spit out. Meaning I have to rake and throw
the stuff onto a pile to be burned comes snow. Who said everything is growing
slow up here?
70F, sun is shining, no more darkness. Supposed to rain the next few
days. Need the water.
May 22, 2008
Our guest spent the last night up on the stand above the bait station
and at 3.30am a little black bear came to fill his face. He watched it for
about 20 min till the bear moseyed back into the woods.
And the garbage bag was gone this morning. First I assumed the guest
took it back down to the truck because there was no garbage strewn, but he
said he didn’t. A bear must have taken it. Guess I’ll spend the day
picking up litter. Should fine the bear.
But they are up and running and it’s only a matter of days or
even hours now that we get one.
May 21, 2008
Bear bait stations should be just yummy for a hungry bear and so we
wait. And wait some more. But the weather is nice and I have work to do in my
garden. The yard needs attention also, no shortage on work.
Better get it done now because when we get the bear that is when the
real work starts. But it means meat in the freezer and fat for baking.
Baked some pineapple/pistachio cookies last night, they turned out
great. As did the bread.
No shortage on work.
May 18, 2008
Gary is back home, the bear
hunters are here but still no bears. This is unreal. The guns are loaded,
knifes sharpened, fleshing beam set up, but still no bears.
Yesterday we had a Tea Party at the museum, women only. And here we
were, all dressed up in our Sunday’s Best, complete with high heels,
hat and gloves. Once in a while we need to remind ourselves that we are still
women and have something else in our closets besides jeans and t-shirts.
The trees are green, this week I’ll try to get carrots, turnips,
beets and other veggie seeds in the ground. The tomatoes and strawberries
still enjoy the greenhouse, the danger of night frost is still lingering.
May 14, 2008
Yesterday I took the 4wheeler for a spin through the woods. Beautiful.
But no signs of bears. No tracks, so crap, no nothing. And this is going on
my nerves. I am so used to having them beasts around, this is extremely
irritating. Under no circumstances can I afford to let down my guard, I have
to carry a little .380 at all times. But I catch myself not scanning the
surroundings when I’m working in my garden; I mosey to the outhouse
without taking the cats with me. And this is a very dangerous behaviour.
Well, I’m going to Fairbanks
today, my dentist requested the pleasure of my appearance and Gary is coming home for
two weeks.
May 12, 2008
We had a marvelous brunch at the Roadhouse, Mizzy and Sandy must have spent countless hours
slaving over the hot stove. And all the deserts and the fruit, delicious. I
ate enough to hold me over ‘til Monday morning breakfast.
Beautiful weather, sunshine, temperature in the upper 60’s, but
still no bears.
I have a cousin who piled up a collection of about 1000 CDs. Somehow I
was able to talk him into scanning them onto an external hard drive. These
are the things I like: good music and good movies.
May 9, 2008
Our cats are getting
old, one is blind and their hunting days are pretty much history. The rabbits
seem to know that. Every morning when I get the wood to start the fire one or
two rabbits are munching on the growing grass and plants. I great them with a
cheerful ‘Good Morning’ and they keep on munching. The cats
usually accompany me. The rabbits keep an eye on us but their comfort zone is
wide.
That in turn is good for
me to know, because I watch them for any signs of predators. We got quite a
few lynx just by watching the rabbits go 180mi per hour. Still no bears yet
but as long the rabbits are feeding quietly I can be at ease too.
May 8, 2008
Potatoes are in the buckets. Still need to fix the fence around the
garden to keep the rabbits and the cats out. And I need to go down the
driveway to check on the wash-out. It’s not too bad, about 2”
deep and wide, a few logs should take care of that.
Chilly today. Still no bears. Strange.
May 6, 2008
According to the blood tests I am as healthy as a
horse. Should I tell Gary
about that or not? If I do he just makes me work harder. Decisions,
decisions.
Nice warm weather, still windy, tho. We never had
this much wind. But the peas and beans seeds are in the containers; tomorrow
I’ll start the potatoes and prepare the buckets for the tomatoes.
Guess I have enough to do, don’t need hubby
to throw more work on me.
May 4, 2008
The snow did not come. And it got a little warmer but windy. I to dug over
the garden and since my muscles were already hurting I thought I might keep
on going, cleaned the porch and raked the area in front of the house.
No bears yet.
May 1, 2008
Talked with a friend this morning and she said there are 6" of snow on
the way. It rained the whole day yesterday and today it's not much better.
Lost the TV signal last night. Might as well stock up on jewelry, got some
nice sets done the last days. The shows are coming up faster than a speeding
bullet.
Still don't understand how people can live in Juneau
or Seattle.
We are usually more on the dry side, this area is considered 'desert' with
less than 12" of precipitation per year. But this wet/cold is
uncomfortable. That's probably why there are so many Starbucks in Seattle.
The computer is up and running again, I'm still not a big Vista
friend but as long it's working it's fine.
April 28, 2008
Still cold, wet and miserable. I am soooo motivated to do some yardwork. But
I got some wood split to keep the cats warm. This is the coldest April I can
remember.
Better go and watch a movie.
April 26, 2008
Gary is gone and
winter is back. Snow and wet and cold. The cats are more than frustrated.
I'm using the time to reboot my hard drive. And don't I love it. ha ha
Now I only have to put all programs back in the computer. Searching for new
drivers which are compatible with Vista. Who
ever invented Vista should be, well, use
your imagination.
No bears yet, just lynx and two moose.
April 21, 2008
Gary thought he can take it easy for a few days
before going back to Prudhoe Bay, well, no
such luck.
Two days 60F, the snow is melting and the driveway is getting mushy.
Definetely not a good time for the 4wheeler to have the starter locked up. We
need it to get in and out since the truck needs to be parked at the highway.
Won't make it up the road. That takes about 4-6 weeks, depending. Not a good
time for some exercise like walking either, the bears are waking up. Some
tongues say I'm too skinny to qualify as bear food but I'm not quite sure
that the bears look at me that way too. So we decided to take the 4wheeler in
to town to have it fixed, the transfer case needs some serious work done
also. Still leaves the question open how to get up the road. Nobody will give
away his 4wheeler now, everybody is anxious to get out and enjoy some mud
flying around the ears. Only one thing to do, we have to get a new one. For Gary. But I get to
drive it first. That's nice. I like my Bombardiere, it's the best machine I
ever had for side hilling. Not too much ground clearance, but good for side
hilling. And it has the step through, I don't have to lift and swing my leg,
I mean I am still a woman. Even tho my son thinks I've got more muscles than
he does. But that's another story.
So we are going to Fairbanks
tomorrow, have a nice dinner and a comfy hotel room, he won't be back for
about 4 weeks. But I go home with a brand new 4wheeler. His. But I get it to
drive first.
April 16, 2008
So Gary's plane was supposed to touch down in Fairbanks
coming from Prudhoe Bay yesterday at 6pm. I
get up early, at 5am, it was very windy the day before and the summit was
closed. But hoping for the best I call the post office at 8.30 and she tells
me the snow blow just went by. Throw my stuff in the truck, kiss the cats
good-bye and off I drive. I catch up with the blow right on Eagle Summit. For
less than 1mi it took only 1 1/2 hours to clear one lane of up to 7' high
snow drifts. I stayed close behind, but the wind was blowing so hard the
drifts were already piling up again and I had to focus on keeping the truck
in the center of this one lane. Not that I was able to go anywhere, the snow
is as hard as concrete, but the truck got enough dents already. Almost busted
the outside mirror, tho. Anyways, it took me 4 hours to get to Fairbanks.
Get my errands done, check into the hotel, change and was about to go the airport
when the phone rang. Here's Gary telling me
he's still in Prudhoe Bay, wind blowing too hard, he was trying for another
plane to Anchorage and then back to Fairbanks but chances
were slim. Oh well. So I called a friend and her and I had supper. Back at
the hotel, I was just about ready to turn in, here's the nock on the door. He
made it. Alaska Airlines has bigger planes than Frontier Flying and he even
caught the plane in Anchorage.
We were able to celebrate our 10 year anniversary after all.
April 13, 2008
Up here we don't spend much money, no mall to go to. Value Village
and Sam's Club satisfy our needs and wants, we show off with the cloths we
bought for under $10. The trucks are old, the duct tape use high.
But we all have the newest internet and TV equipment. I just got the Nova
from starband to replace my old 360 system. And what a difference it makes.
I'm a music lover, everything from opera to techno, no rap and gospels, tho.
Anyways, high speed is fantastic. And since Gary is still working, I have time to spend
on the computer. By the way, we do have job sharing: He goes to work, I get
the paychecks.
Kinda chilly again, nighttime around 20, daytime in the sun around 45. The
bears will be up and running soon, the first grizzlies have been seen around
Eagle Summit already.
April 9, 2008
The whole house is clean. I made it. There is not one square inch I have not
touched. Almost scary. And now what? Gary
is coming back next week, gives me a few days to enjoy a clean home. Besides
the fact that the cat puked this morning. So here I am sitting in my
recliner, enjoying a scented candle, a clean cabin and watch the dust
settling back on the bookshelf.
I still need to fire up the blue truck and drag the road.
April 8, 2008
So much for spring, if I would be a bear I would turn around and pull the
blanket over my head. Nothing but snow the last 3 days. Around 7". The
problem is, I do have to do something. If I fire up the blue truck, hook up
the drag and clean the road it starts to melt and I wasted time and fuel. If
I don't do it, I'm stuck. Guess I'll wait, don't have to go places.
It's too warm for the snow to stay, chances are it's going to melt off.
Hopefully.......
April 5, 2008
With the melting snow, the sunshine and temperature around 50 my senses are
in high alert and I got the .35 dusted and ready to go. Every noise, every
unfamiliar sound makes me act like a weary rabbit. I expect the bears to be
running around any moment now.
The landscape is changing because of the melting snow and tree stumps, earth
hills, brush piles are emerging. Could be a bear, that dark spot over there.
Is it moving? Going to the outhouse I like to take my cats with me, they
sense more than I do. But only sometimes, we had the bears looking into the
windows and the cats were snoring.
And then, I can't barely wait to get a nice cinnamon bear to meet the
business end of my gun, it means a new coat, meat and fat. And pancakes
without bear fat are no decent pancakes.
April 3, 2008
OK, generator is up and running, the fuel filter needed to be replaced. Hubby
could have told me that before he took off. Husbands.
Three days of sunshine and 55above. Snow is rotting, and so was the meat
around the bones I needed to clean up. And those martens without fur just
plain stink. Yesterday I started boiling the bones, cleaning them and boil
them again in OxiClean. The best I found for whitening the bones fast, easy
and inexpensive. Now I have 4 moose shoulder blades for necklace display, 6
lynx shoulder blades for windchimes and window decorations, a marten scull
and a set of marten shoulder blades to make a cute pair of earrings.
And after burning a dozen incense the house smells nice again.
April 1, 2008
Unfortunately this is no April joke. The generator quit on me yesterday.
Guess I don't have to worry about finding something to do today.
It always happens when hubby is gone.
March 28, 2008
Snow dripping off the roof, ahhh the sound of spring. The cats are spending
more time outside, the litter box needs less cleaning. Time to break out the
shorts.
I'm making the summer-do-list, somehow that list appears to be too long for
those few weeks. That's the problem with summer: too much to do and too
little time. But the sun is up, yesterday I noticed at 10.30pm there was
still light in the west. Meaning sleep deprivation time is coming. No other
way to get all those things done anyways. We can catch up on sleep comes
winter, what is right after 2 days of fall.
March 27, 2008
Gary called last night, he's working night shift up in Prudhoe Bay, meaning
he gets supper for breakfast and breakfast for supper. Makes my home cooking
look great.
He'll be back in three weeks but only for one week and then another run for
about five weeks. The work needs to be done and we need the money for the
guest cabin. If my readers have nothing else to do, please come up and help
building the cabin.
And instead of enjoying my time off I go on cleaning my house. All the logs
need to be washed, carpets scrubbed, where do all the spider webs hanging
down from the ceiling come from? And when I'm done with the last corner I
have to clean the first one again already. And the kitchen stove needs to be
cleaned. and and and It never ends.
March 25, 2008
Eagle Summit demands respect. Dropped Gary
off at the airport yesterday, got supplies and headed back.
The winds were so strong, sometimes it takes less than an hour to blow the
road shut after the plow went through. I probably broke the record, made it
in less than 2 1/2 hours from Fairbanks.
Right after I passed through Chatanika the wind picked up. My old GMC was
doing more than 80 and I got lucky. No moose, caribou etc on the road and I
made it over the summit shortly after the plow.
Freedom for the next 4-6 weeks. But then again, things will go wrong and I
have to deal with them. And the bears will be waking up soon. Better get the
.35 dusted off and loaded.
March 21, 2008
Freedom!
Gary is going back to Prudhoe
Bay on Tuesday, at least for four weeks, more likely six weeks.
What translates into a long 'Honey Do' list. Cutting wood for the kitchen
stove, clean stove pipes, fill water tank, do laundry.
The kitchen stove is all I need now to keep the cabin warm, but it needs more
and smaller wood. Break-up is around the corner and with the snow gone I like
to have the 300 gallon water tank full. The roofs are too dirty to get
drinking water, except the outhouse roof but that is kinda small.
Got my garden started, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli are planted and
should show some green soon.
Spring is the worst time food wise, too warm for frozen stuff and no fresh
veggies in the garden. We don't like that canned food too much but no way
around. Home canning sounds good but I never have enough growing in the
garden, we usually eat it right away.
March 17, 2008
It got cold again, 15below this morning. Looks like snow on the way.Split
wood yesterday and filled the carts. Gary
is coming home from Chatanika today and I promised him a German Plum Cake.
I used the time him being gone to clean the living room area. Washed the windows,
inside only, pulled the sofa from the wall, removed an extended family of
dust bunnies, found some missing stuff and washed down the walls with
Murphy's Oil Soap. I call it 'making room for new dirt'.
March 13, 2008
All my rugs and runners are scrubbed, looking like brand new. This is the
best time to do it, first scrubbing them with Oxi Clean and then with the
coarse snow. Our snow is as dry as sand, can't build no snowman with it, no
snowball fight possible. Just won't stick. But the cabin looks good now.
I only have to train the cats and the husband to wipe their feet. The cats
will be the easy one's to train.
Chatanika Days are being celebrated Saturday and Sunday, Gary is going to help out. Gives me a
break. He made some beautiful furniture some of his customers want to see,
there will be a small exhibition of his woodwork at Chatanika. Could use the
money, I just bought my ticket to Germany.
March 11, 2008
We need a new refrigerator, the old one is really old. Gary got it some 15 years ago out of a RV
and it was already old then. But it's still working, the thermostat is about
to end it's life, tho.
Propane refrigerators are expensive. The one I got is really small with a
Barbie like freezer compartment, and it does not keep the stuff frozen no more.
I do have the big freezer sitting at the power plant in Central, a 25mi round
trip, and during winter it's not a problem. Except for those Pineapple
Express times. And I have a place in the shop with fridge temperatures and
during summer I put the food underneath the house where the temperature
doesn't get above 45F.
I used to have a hole dug in the permafrost to keep the frozen food during
summer, but one day the bears discovered it and that cancelled that idea. The
butter, cheese, meat was all over the place. That same night we played a game
of Scrabble when I heard a noise outside. We had to interrupt the game for a
while but that bear never got into my food again.
March 8, 2008
It's way too warm, record temperatures in Fairbanks, the roads are slick. But I had
to get supplies and drove, very carefully, down the highway. Try driving on
icy washboard. Oh well. But the sun was shining and I had good music on my
Ipod.
We live in absolute silence and the town is noisy. It's exhausting. All the
traffic, the people, the sounds. It always takes me a day to recover.
Sometimes I like to sit on the steps down from the porch, sip some tea and
enjoy the sun and silence. Listen to absolute silence. Only interrupted by
the mail plane, a raven or my Gray Jays.
This is the thing I appreciate most. This absolute silence.
March 4, 2008
Gary is one
year older, it was a quiet birthday with perfectly grilled sirloin steaks and
a Scrabble game. He won.
Today was laundry day. Nothing but work. First, shovel and melt snow. That
takes at least one day. The next morning get the big tub for soaking.
Meanwhile, fix breakfast and clean up kitchen. Time to start the generator,
wring the soaked laundry, fill washer with hot water, add detergent and let
it run. Start soaking next load. I usually do two loads, whites and darks, in
the same water. And I like to add Oxy Clean. That stuff even got tea stains
out of a light yellow pure silk pullover.
The dirty water goes in a bucket and then out in the yard. To the first rinse
I like to add one cup of white vinegar to neutralize the soap, the second
rinse gets some fabric softener.
It was pretty warm today, we had 20above and the sheets are hanging outside.
After a couple sunny days they get pretty dry. If not I'll take them inside
and hang them over the stove. No dryer in this home.
With all that water to carry and wringing and hanging laundry days are work
out days.
I treated us for supper with a black bear heart in sweet-sour sauce with
rice.
And for desert we still have some frozen fruit with heavy heavy whipped
cream.
March 1, 2008
It was blowing snow yesterday on the summits. So hard, Gary couldn't make it back home. I checked
the weather station readings, winds 30mph and more. Meaning no visibility and
guessing where the road is. I drove once over Eagle Summit and didn't know if
I was still on the road or not. Made it somehow.
This morning I checked the weather station again at 7am, it was a Yellow
Warning. Called and told him. Yellow is fine, a walk on a Sunday afternoon.
At 10am I checked again, Red Warning: extremly dangerous driving conditions.
By then he was already on his way and since cell phones don't work up here we
don't have one. Wait and see.
He made it. The snow plow driver he talked to up on the summit told him the
road was open for now, but by 7pm the road will be most likely blown shut
again.
Life in Alaska.
It's his birthday tomorrow.
February 29, 2008
Them cats woke me up at 5am, one day I am going to skin them. Most likely
not.
Got up at 6, temperature 15below. light snow.
Yesterday I cleaned the wood cook stove, scrubbed the garbage bin, cleaned
out some cabinets and mopped the floor. Today I'll clean the corner behind
the door where the vacuum resides, the board with all my teas and some more
cabinets.And wash down the tong-and-groove walls.
And then I dump the dirt outside only to have it carried back in.
I call it ´making room for new dirt´.
February 27, 2008
Two days of cutting wood and some muscles are aching. Not a good sign, either
I'm out of shape or getting old. Oh well, hope it's the first option.
Busy with spring cleaning, every day a bit. Almost done with the kitchen
cabinets, next on the list is the cook stove. It needs to be cleaned of
creosote once a month, big mess.
Then come the windows, at least from the inside.
Gary is in Fairbanks,
the remote control is all mine. But the wood cart needs to be filled before
night and 20 below. Right now in the sun it's around zero, beautiful, I'm
already thinking about starting the veggies. Time goes by so fast, in about 8
weeks the bears will be waking up.
February 25, 2008
Back to normal temperatures, around zero, light snow.
We decided some outdoors exercise wouldn't hurt and started cutting some more
fire wood, not a bad idea with 40below on the way again. It takes about 3
hours to get a months worth of wood, not too bad. And after the forest fires
dead wood is abundant. The kitchen stove needs most of the wood, we keep it
going all day long. Cuts down on oil for the shop, too, the stack robber Gary
designed works great.
The solar panels are charging, not today with snow falling, but on sunny days
we skip a generator run time here and there. That's the next thing on the
shopping list, more solar panels.
Not much going on otherwise, Gary is getting
ready for another 3 weeks in Prudhoe Bay and
I am looking forward to have some quiet time.
February 22, 2008
This Pineapple Express lasts longer than usual, temperatures between 40 and
50 above what is nice, but: the ice cream is melting, too. It always works, I
buy ice cream and warmer weather moves in.
We do have a freezer sitting at the power plant in the village, but up here
all we have are two large coolers. Today I moved the coolers from on the
porch to underneath the porch, out of the sun and directly on the ground.The
weather forecast keeps promising us colder temperatures, but their computer
aparently is not very reliable, kinda like the weather. It used to be cold
from September to April, period. Now I can dry the laundry outside without
freezing.
And a warm spell like this can cause some serious overflow on the river and
creeks, making snow machining somewhat dangerous. At least it's not raining,
that could be a real desaster. The rain would melt the snow and then freeze,
making it impossible for the caribous to get to the food underneath. Caribous
starve to death under those conditions.
And it does not feel right. I went to the Road House this afternoon, dressed
in shorts. Still nice, tho.
February 20, 2008
We left a door to the screened in porch open and one of my Gray Jays flew in
and, like always, couldn't find it's way back out. It was my darling birdie
'No 5', the tamest of all. When I noticed it being trapped I approached it
slowly and kept talking to it like I do when I feed them and it did not
panic. It remained pretty calm while hopping from chair to chair, not taking
it's eyes off of me. I called Gary
for help and even tho the bird is not used to being around him we were able
to guide it to the way out.
That was actually pretty amazing, we had other birds trapped and they always
panic and bump into the screen. I have never seen a birdie staying that calm.
A Pineapple Express is coming through, 50 above today, sunshine and snow
dripping off the roof. The outhouse is a mess, ice melting and running down
the walls. But it won't last long, the weekend is coming and so is 10below.
Kinda extreme winter this year.
February 19, 2008
This is the best time of the year, the sun is back, rising 4min earlier each
day and setting 4min later, not too cold no more, it's nice to be outside,
checking the trapline, cutting wood, shovelling snow etc etc. Work never
ends.
The cats are about to get skinned, tho, waking us up at 5am in the morning.
They think that when the day dawns it's time to go out, so they scratch away
the insulation infront of the pet door, only to find out it's still winter,
still too cold for little kitty paws. And with their cold paws they jump up
on the bed and walk all over us, trying to wake us up to feed them.
We should teach them to start the fires and make coffee and tea.
February 17, 2008
Sometimes, when watching TV and nothing else to do -ha ha- I get the urge to
make myself more pretty than I already am. I do like purple nail polish,
frosted if possible. The bottle promises it's supposed to last at least 5
days, but I don't know, I must be misreading something.
I get up at 7 every morning, take out ashes, start the fires and the coffee
and the tea, feed the kitties, empty the litter box, mosey down the path well
traveled, the outhouse that is, and by the time and get to sit down and enjoy
the newspaper and a cup of tea it's 8. And the nail polish applied just 12
hours ago is already damaged.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different
results.
I must be pretty insane.
Oh and the newspaper is last weeks paper, we read it a little later but to us
it does not make any difference.
This afternoon is a little get-together for the Yukon Quest volunteers at the
Roadhouse, meaning I do not have to cook. And for a late night snack there is
some ice cream, chocolate and cookies.
Sounds like a pleasant Sunday, the only thing I have to do is check the water
in the batteries, might be getting low.
February 15, 2008
Guess I'm getting old, can't work all day and party all night long no more.
For the Yukon Quest I was up almost 40 hours straight, 6 hours without a
break in 50below outside and when I was able to go home I caught a ride with
some vets, but they couldn't leave the highway and I ended up walking the
last 2miles up to my cabin. Guess that qualifies for a good cardio work-out.
Had a good night sleep and had to go to Fairbanks
to pick up supplies. And a Valentines card for Gary. I didn't get one.
Came back last night after a beautiful drive over Eagle Summit, no wind, clear
sky. Looks different today, a snowstorm is blowing. Sounds like a good day to
take a long nap.
February 9, 2008
The Yukon Quest is on it's way, it even warmed up a little, from 50below to
40below. Still 70below in Eagle.
It is my job to check the teams in and out of Central Roadhouse Check Point,
meaning, I have to get serious about some warm clothing since I'll be
spending the whole night from Sunday to Monday outside.
A few years back I got me a pair of Extreme Weather Pants from the Army
Surplus store, I paid $6 for them and they are the best and warmest money can
buy. The only problem occurs when I have to go to the bathroom. Thousand
buttons to undo and redo, no wonder we lost the war. I don't remember which
one but it sure was the one where those pants were worn. But hey, they were
only 6 bucks.
And my Beaver Muklucks, old but warm, very warm. I do have a pair of Bunny
Boots, too, but since there is no overflow to be expected at the Roadhouse I
won't need them.
Gary and I share a Canadian Goose Down Parka, he wears it in Prudhoe Bay when it's colder than 50 below and I like
it during those nights spend around the burn barrel. That thing is warm.
I just love it, outside all the time, a mug with hot tea, the lawn chairs
around the fire, the stories, the people, the dogs. And I am proud to be a
member of the Yukon Quest team, a volunteer, because without us this event
would not be there.
The Trail Breakers deserve our utmost respect, sure they get paid for the
fuel they burn, but it's their snow machines, their days spent on the Yukon trying to break
a trail through a jungle of shelf ice.
But it's a big part of our life and we wouldn't want to miss it.
February 7, 2008
Tok checked in with 70below, Central 'only' with 55below. And us here up in
the 'Banana Belt' had 34below this morning.
I'm feeding 6 Gray Jays, they are hand tamed and sit on my fingers while
feeding. Their eyes all frosty and the feathers all fluffed up they are not
really pretty but cute birdies. I like to believe these birdies are grateful
for the nutritious breakfast I'm serving. One of them I call 'No 5' was
really skinny and the feathers all ruffled up when he started showing up and
now he is the first one every morning diving down on my hand that holds the
dish. He sure gained some weight and looks so much better than before. I make
myself believe I got him through winter.
Other than that it's pretty dead, no moose, haven't seen lynx for a while,
just a few rabbits and the wolfes. February 6, 2008
Planning ahead is not the right thing to do, it never works out the way we
had it planned.
When it's cold it's cold and the kitchen stove is going strong, the big stove
not so much since the sun is throwing quite some heat into the windows. Saves
a lot of wood. Anyways, better keep the cook stove going and then I might as
well make some rosehip jam. I had a nice harvest, more than 1gallon, and
there is nothing better with home baked bread than fresh jams and jellies.
Actually I wanted to to some outside work, but even in the sun it's cold so I
only get the buckets shovelled with snow to melt some water. That I do have
to do, no way around. And get some more wood for the kitchen stove. And after
that a hot cup of tea feels good.
February 5, 2008
There are 3dog nights and 3stove days. And today definetely is one of them,
32 below at our place and 50 below down in Central.
Yesterday I had the kitchen stove running the whole day, baked to loaves of
bread, a blueberry cobbler and some cookies. That kind of cold requires a few
calories.
Got up at 6.45 this morning and it was 50 above in the cabin, not too bad.
Sun is coming up at 9.30 and sets around 4pm, but the thermometer refuses to
climb above 20below.
Well, Gary
has to cut the Chatanika pins and I have some beadwork to do, sounds like
another cozy day around the stoves is coming up.
The Yukon Quest starts next Sunday in Fairbanks
and Julie and I are preparing for the mushers coming through Central. The
Steese Roadhouse is an official checkpoint what means many visitors and
entertainment. We are hoping for warmer temperatures, between 20 and 30 below
would be just perfect for spending many hours outside. Rick is most likely
already gathering wood for the burn barrel and rounding up some lawn chairs.
Nothing beats sitting around the fire in the middle of the night and swapping
stories.
February 1, 2008
Our Creator gave us the brains to ask the questions, but he did not give us
the brains to answer them.
Gary made it
back in time to be at the get-together for Josiah and he was glad he did.
Thank God for an ex-wife since I couldn't pick him up, still a flat tire. But
now it's his flat tire, not mine.
Nothing else going on, just same-old, same-old. Shovelling snow to melt for
water, getting fire wood, still 25 below, sun is climbing higher every day and
the solar panels are charging.
It's time to start the wooden buttons for the Chatanika Days, some 600 need
to be cut, dried, sanded, printed and varnished. And after that it's time for
the spring cleaning.
January 31, 2008
Still 20 below and an almost dead battery and a flat tire. What is a girl
supposed to do?
First, hook up the charger, second, put 'new battery' on shopping list. I do
have another battery, the one in the plow truck, thought it might be a good
idea to get it inside the house to warm it up in case I need it.
The flat tire is another problem that needs to be addressed, saturday is the
get-together to honor Josiah and I need to be there.
There will be no rosehip jam cooking tomorrow what I had planned on since Gary is coming back
sometime next week and I wanted to have everything done and cleaned up. But
that's just the way it goes, no time to think too much about things we don't
understand anyways. I read something a while ago about anything worth
thinking about is beyond the capacity of our brain.
More wolf tracks in the yard and fresh lynx tracks along the driveway.
January 28, 2008
For Josiah Hendrickson
Those events are never easy and never will be. We all know that leaving is
part of life but when we have to deal with it we are helpless. He was so
young and full of life, just had finished High School and was about to join
the Coast Guard.
I remember when he was 12 years old I visited his mom, it was one of those 40
below days and when I was about to leave he went out and started my snow
machine. Those bright and shiny eyes when he came back in the house and told
me my machine was already warming up.
We all miss him, we all were so proud of him.
January 25, 2008 late afternoon
We mourn the loss of one of our sons, Josiah Hendrickson, 18 years young,
died today early afternoon.
Please say a prayer for his family
January 25, 2008 morning
During a 10day period we went from 50 below to 40 above and back to 40
below.Talking about crazy weather patterns.
As a result I had whole grain cereals for breakfast and Rocky Road for supper. Healthy. But the
ice cream was melting.
Somebody once said that if you need hospitals and/or churches Alaska is not the
place to be.
Well, now we do have planes for medical emergencies. A teenager, just got
finished with high school, is fighting for his life in a hospital in Anchorage. He is stable
but still critical with brain swelling and pneumonia in both lungs.
His mother made it over the summit, weather conditions were horrible, winds
up to 60mi per hour, his dad was out breaking trail for the Yukon Quest but
another guy fired up his plane, found the trail breaker group and got the dad
back so he could go to Anchorage, too.
Eagle Summit
can be dangerous, it can blow shut in less than 1 hour after the snow plow
went through. I have been up there in conditions nobody should even go to the
mail box. That's why a sleeping bag, warm clothes, food and something to
drink is in the rear seat at all times.
January 22, 2008
OK, I got the snow machine running and was able to to take it for a spin, a
short spin, lost one cylinder. So I sit in the middle of the drive way and
let her die, go for some new spark plugs and try to fire it up. And try. And
try. And then try some more. If I set an engine on fire in the woods and nobody
else is there, is that murder? Need to think about that for a while.
But now the fun really started, the machine was sitting right where I have to
go with the snow drag so I had to move it. Try moving a 600 pound bearcat. A
come-along, a long heavy chain and some muscle grease did it. Had to move the
machine about 25 feet uphill, but I made it.
Some muscles in some weird places are hurting, tho.
Did I mention that the temperature went from 50below to 40above? But it is
supposed to drop back to 40below by the weekend.
As a reward I baked some pizza bread in the kitchen stove. And I had to
finish the ice cream, too warm.
January 21, 2008
Snow machines and all other engines/motors are definetely designed by men.
There is no other way to explain their moodyness, their 'I have headaches
today' attitude.
There is some problem in the fuel system, I got it running, but can't keep it
running. As soon as the fuel pumped into the system via primer and choke is
burned up it dies.
Gary and I do have job sharing, he works and I get the paychecks. Perhaps
it's time for a new machine? Something more powerful? The new model bearcat?
There are more than 3500mi on the machine and those 2-stroke engines are
somewhat 'mid life crisis' after so many miles. Let me think about that for a
while.
January 20, 2008
Way too warm, 20 above. And I have to fill the wood carts and split kindling.
That means work.
Will see if I can get the snow machine running and go for a spin down on the
river. Or perhaps visit friends 20 miles down on the other side and see what
they are having for supper tonight.
January 19, 2008
Quiet winter days, temperature a little above zero and since yesterday we are
gaining more than 6min of daylight every day. Even the cats stick out their
noses once in a while.
Time to get the snow machine out and go for a ride. We have to break trail
for the Yukon Quest and the guys are going on a 3-day trip to break trail in
remote areas, I will go with them on shorter runs, can't be away from the
house for 3 days, the cats don't know how to keep the fire going.
January 17, 2008
10 above this morning, snow in the forecast and I have to do it. I have to
make a trainingsrun with the snow drag.
We do have a plow truck, but right before winter settled in the engine
decided it's time for a rebuild. Who wants to rebuild an engine in the cold?
A friend of ours took a motor cycle engine apart in the living room once, but
his wife was not amused at all and Gary
didn't want to have the same experience. So he built a snow drag. Smart.
I don't have to put the space heater to the truck when it's that warm, what
makes it easier, but I still have to do it. The snow is only a couple inches
deep and most of it is already packed down, but I think it might be better to
get a feeling for the drag now and not in blowing snow. One year it snowed 10
inches in 2 hours, white-out conditions, I mamaged to keep the road open but
that was no fun.
Get going, girl.
We do have a decent road again. Good idea, the wind blew the snow out of the
trees and when it's that warm that stuff gets wet and heavy. That drag works
pretty good, took me a while to figure out how Gary hooked up the chains and
I lost one and had to go back all the way down to the highway 'til I found it
but then i decided to make another run, the drag hooked up in a different way
and now we do have a decent road again.
January 16, 2008
Well, here we go again. I was asked if I could write the newsletter again,
but perhaps some kind of diary could do it.
I start with the day before yesterday, monday.
Gary is in Prudhoe Bay
freezig his behind off in 70below but the cats and me were just cozy and warm
in our cabin. Anyways, it was around noon and I looked out of the window and
here's the local wolf pack paying a visit, some 5-7 black animals in my
driveway. This is something we don't get too frequently up here and I was
thinking about taking pictures, but the camera was upstairs and they were
kinda skittish, like 'we shouldn't be here'. They got that right, my
Weatherby .22 is always right next to the door, loaded of course and I
grabbed it and opened the door. I knew it was a long shot but tried anyways
but missed. The wolf turned around the moment I shot and ran down hill. I got
the snow shoes and followed his trail for about 200 yards just to make sure
there is no wounded animal out there, but nothing. Well, at least I had some
exercise.
The wolfs must be desperate, there are no more moose and/or caribou around,
just a few rabbits and a couple lynx. The people down in the village keep a
close look on their live stock, but so far only a dog was lost.
It warmed up somewhat, from 25 below to 10 below, not that I mind but I had
to split some wood today and it goes ways easier in colder temperatures. No
need to go to the gym tonight, better watch some TV.
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