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Tag Archives: alaska

Where has the time gone? Between working snow removal (Dean) and running the sawmill for a month we’ve kept busy. A month ago we were riding snow machines and wearing the warm clothes. Now we’re digging drainage ditches, jumping on the trampoline and wearing summer attire.

Training the new guy.
Feels like summer.

Also last month I started experimenting with oyster mushroom cultivation and started my first tote of substrate. I had started with a grow kit from Home Depot. I grew one out last year and we enjoyed the ‘shrooms so much I thought why not grow more?

Growing kit.

I pulled a bit of the grow block off and used it to innoculate some straw and coffee grounds. I let it sit and grow mycelium until today when I checked it and I had pinning!! Woo hoo!

Lil baby oyster mushrooms!!

Can’t wait to eat them in about 10 days or so.

The kiddos set up the trampoline today, with some difficulty. But it’s up and ready for high energy kids. While we were out a large flock of sandhill cranes flew over chattering steadily. We’ve seen several geese flocks over the last few days but these were the first cranes. Summer is here.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Dean has been in the boat every available moment. He’s so excited about the prospect of halibut fishing at will. To be honest, so am I. But I still do have a house that needs finishing…

Future mushroom bed.

The kids helped me prep our wine cap mushroom bed today. We raked it out, layered cardboard first, then straw. We added our spawn and then top coated it with sawdust. Over that I put some wood mulch to keep the sawdust in place.

Straw layer with spawn scattered about.

Next on the list is an outdoor oyster mushroom bed. Maybe next weekend? And I’ve got to get another tote started indoors. I’ve got pearl and phoenix varieties for indoors.

The Oldest has plans for gardening this year, so a few more raised beds and updating our current hillside beds.

Back to work on the rec cabin build tomorrow. Another day another dollar.

Enclosing the gables.

#aklife

#aksummer

#winterisover

We started a new rec cabin this week. It’s been a long break but I’m back.

This is a 14’×20′ on a picturesque lot overlooking Island Lake.

It’s always exciting to start a new project.

Beams and floor joists on techno metal posts.
Subfloor down.
Temp stairs, door framed and first two logs laid.

Hoping to end the week with three courses of logs done. We’ll see how tomorrow goes!

#aklife

#shebuilds

#winterwork

Today we started working this moose up into sausage. Our two mainstays are country style sage breakfast sausage and Italian sausage. I took some time this morning to figure out my seasoning mixes before heading to the store to pick up a few necessary items.

Country breakfast sausage blend

It took me a lot longer than planned to get my shopping done so Dean prepped the grinder and started working on the moose before I got home. What a guy! He and Little Mister we’re ready to get grinding by the time I got my two sausage mixes ready.

Italian style sausage blend

Little Mister was very helpful but the grinder was too loud for him so…

Now it’s not so loud!

He and Dad got the first grind done then he helped Mom second grind and package our breakfast sausage. We got 10 lbs.

Breakfast sausage

My country sausage blend was a tad on the salty side. Note to self to adjust blend a little for the next batch.

We ended up with 20# of Italian sausage. I think there’s about 10 more pounds of meat left to process before getting the dog food started. Tomorrow we’ll do it all again.

#AKfood

#mooseisgood

This day in 1959 Alaska entered the Union to become the 49th State. Happy AK49 Day!

Read more about it here.

#AK49

#Alaskaispartoftheusa

#werenotanislandinthepacific

#weuseUSdollarstoo

With a little jazz and speakeasy flair we welcomed the new year alaskan style, of course.

Fireworks at midnight.

Hopefully 2021 has better things in store for us than last year.

#alaskafireworks

#newyearseve

#happynewyear

Darkness enfolds us as we fall deep into our winter sleep. I don’t mind, this is supposed to be our resting season. Officially under 6 hours of daylight today.

Solstice will be here soon and then we can begin counting up.

#aklife

#lovealaska

#winter

I did.

#election2020

#vote

#quietrevolution

Spent the weekend at the cabin. Went out with the idea of working on the deck posts but the frozen timbers were adverse to the idea. So we puttered around doing other things and relaxed a bit.

Dean pulled the leaning support post out from under the sun room and put in a temporary post until next spring. The old log post Dad installed had just rotted off and was skidding off its base.

The moon was so bright Friday night the kids thought it was full! Didn’t need a flashlight to go to the outhouse at night.

Saturday night’s full moon did not disappoint. We sat around the fire and watched the moon rise through the spruce trees.

The kids we’re catching up on LHotP episodes inside while Dean and I enjoyed the fire.

We had a wind advisory for Sunday and it started blowing early. Little Mister got a fright with a tree top breaking off and falling on the neighboring lot.

On our drive out there was a tree down across the road. So we made quick use of the chainsaw and cleared the road.

#thatsthewaywedoithere

#graycliffs

#alaskalife

Since I never made that follow up post about their visit, I thought I’d share a few highlights.

Waiting for them to come through the gate.
Our first meal together at Kriner’s in Anchorage.
A pit stop along the way home.
Photo op near home.
One of my favorite memories, seeing Papa and the kids walking hand in hand along the beach.
Had to stop in for a Salty Dog at the Salty Dawg.
Had to host a cookout for our friends to meet my folks. The weather was right for a bonfire.
And another salty dog. Someone forgot the salt tho, so I guess it’s a greyhound.
These two…
So long, farewell, adieu, until we meet again…
And they’re off. Love you! Come back soon.

I love moose.

They are so goofy looking.

Such majestic large creatures.

They taste great too!

In trying to perfect my moose calling skills for hunting season, I’ve been watching YouTube how to videos. Then I stumbled across this, The Best Moose Documentary Ever!

It really is!

It’s about a Russian moose farm and is quite thorough in moose life cycles, habits, behavior and full of tons of cute little baby moosies.

Watch it some evening!

#alaskalife

#lovealaska

#moose