Another Beautiful Day

Yeah here it is folks a look out our front door onto the frozen Tanana pronounced (Tan nan na) River. The low system that is moving in here is lit with a soft pink light just over the top of Denali. I spent the day organizing my seed and bulb list for the garden .

Vegetables for 2011

1. tomatoes
2. cucumbers
3. pickling cucumbers
4. small tomatoes
5. carrots
6. brussel Sprouts
7. cabbage
8. potatoes
9. onions yellow
10. onions green
11. celery
12. peas
13. beans
14. turnips
15. spinach
16. collards
17. lettuces
18. kale
19. zucchini
20. yellow squash
21. broccoli
22. cauliflower

Ornamental

1. egg plant
2. sunflowers
3. chili peppers
4. jalapeno peppers
5. misc peppers
6. green peppers
7. pumpkins
8. watermelon
9. okra

I will spend the next month gathering supplies to get the late maturing seeds started early. I will be using a green house to help with some of the vegetables.

Supplies 

• starting trays
• soil
• seeds
• 2 shop lites
• spray bottle

The Moon and Stars

Well it may not be for everyone but personally I love it when the seed catalogs start to appear in the mailbox! It is a positive reminder that no matter how bad this nasty cold weather is spring will come and it will get warmer. This year the garden is going to be bigger than ever and host a wealth of botanical and some very interesting heirloom plants. One of my favorite for the new variety in the garden is the Moon and Stars Watermelon. This little cutie is easy to grow, and so juicy and sweet that folks are going to fight over each piece. Now I will send you to the nice folks at http://www.greenpeople.org/ they have a huge variety of organic seeds, heirlooms and hard to finds. Stop by and browse their online catalog.

Earthquakes at -40 below

Yeah, we just cant cram enough fun into this place daily and felt the need to double up on the excitement. So we threw a 5.9 earthquake in there just to shake things up a bit. LOL. Maybe earthquakes are scary in other places more populated but here they are just a free thrill. My pots and pans were swinging back and forth and a couple of hanging signs here and there but nobody gave it more than a minutes attention, which is a typical Alaskan response these days.
The 40 below well that's just another one of the cold hard facts of living in the interior of Alaska. But there are trade offs we get the equally hot summers here and those long summer days! Luckily the severely cold temps don't last more than a week and then its back to more reasonable temps. You just prepare yourself for the cold weather and then it is not so bad. In fact you can have a lot of fun bundled up together watching John Wayne movies and drinking hot cocoa. There are all those naps you wanted to take and never got a chance and there is always the top to bottom cleaning routine when it gets boring!  You get used to the weather cycles and after a few years, you look forward to them. Learning to schedule yourself and things you need to do when the weather presents itself is another great skill for Alaskans.

North to Our Future

My family came to Alaska in 1974. I still remember the phone call that November day all those years ago. The caller Tom Russell had left a message for my father to call him after work and when my father called back my life and that of my family changed forever. We were not experienced travelers, just simple farm folk all we knew was wrapped up in a honest and long days work, and time off was spent in a 7 acre garden or running our ski boat around a local lake. We knew nothing of cold, snow or the frozen north.
Come the 17th of December though my mom had sold everything we owned save clothing and pictures and a few odds and end, kissed our relations goodbye and hit I 75 with a station wagon full of girls and a ford truck full of dreams.......
When we reached the Yukon Territory the trip became perilous. Families were dying in their vehicles becoming stuck on the roads due to the heavy snow we were the last vehicles that made it through before that storm was through. Many people never made it to Alaska that year. After 1 long month on the road yes I said a month on the road we finally saw the sign that said Welcome to Anchorage at the corner of Glenn Highway and Airport Heights. We made it and the rest well are fond memories I will try and share as this blog goes on. We had many adventures those first years, there were many good people who helped us through some hard times, that's Alaska and her people...

Baking Day

Fridays baking went off without a hitch and Saturday finds me listening to the sounds of passing snow machines flying down the Tananas frozen body to their destinations. In the summer we trade the sound of the snow machines for the hoards river boats that occupy the river.  Many of them are locals and we know their boats by the hum of their motor.

There are the occasional greenhorn travelers that go by, sometimes we get to hear a couple of minutes of their story as they pass. One fellow floated by a few years ago he was following the ice down the river. I was out raking along the bank and said hello. Judging from his accent he was from Norway or somewhere near by. Where are you headed, I asked him nervously noticing only an ore and  a tent and sleeping bag rolled at his feet a canteen and a case of chicken noodle soup. Where ever the river takes me he replied, a white smile lit his face. The river is clogged ahead I told him, slowly he drifted out of hearing range.
Another family I met while watching a fish wheel being built on the bank. They pulled over for a potty stop. It was a little family and a very pregnant momma. They were on their way to Fairbanks to have their baby. The mother asked how far was it to Fairbanks by road? I can get you there in 40 minutes I told her. No, no she said I will make it by river. I am going to write a book about my adventure and I don't want to mess the story of going to the hospital via boat! She was laughing then cringed in pain from a labor contraction. I do know for a fact they made it to the hospital I made her call me!

Things are always changing on the river. This past year we saw a slew of Jet Ski's and Wave Runners which look to be so much fun. Until you fall off of course.Then you're dead. These kids just do not realize the power of the water in this river the churning muddy water the sticks and rocks and drags underneath the current is so strong that it can pull a normal float coat and person right under without any trouble at all. I don't think you even have to have a license to drive them so I am praying folks are very careful this coming summer.  Ok enough worrying for now just tell everyone you know double your floatation when on a churning river!

Winter Blues

Living in Alaska's Interior was quite a change for Mat-Su Valley gal. I had grown up south of Alaska's frigid interior and though I had visited a time or two I really never imagined living here. That all changed when I fell in love and married a native man from Nenana. All these many years later the thought of living somewhere else brings tears to my eyes. My husband mentioned the other day as I complained to him of my old aching joints and muscles, that maybe we should be snowbirds. What, I gasped and felt the sting of tears in my eyes leave our home are you crazy? To his defense he was only thinking of me and the physical challenges the intense cold of our homeland can bring. In my mind however I am choosing to find ways to make home better in the winter, instead of leaving it 5 months a year. Keeping active is a big part I know, but just as important for me and getting daylight into my peepers. Full Spectrum florescent bulbs are great for this and your house plants will love them too. Here are some more ideas to try.

• Treadmill for walking which we do much less of in the winter
• Indoor vegetable garden or window sill garden
• Take a class at a community school or college
• Join a group or go to church do something weekly
• Eat summer food! BBQ in the oven, fruit salads, tea
• Listen to your favorite music a little louder
• Art Projects
• Home Projects
• Light up your house brighten your outlook
• Spring Cleaning and DE-cluttering
• Aromatherapy lavender, vanilla, peppermint, coconut
• make summer a state of mind

You may not be able to keep this up all winter but you really don't want to. Winter is nice and should be enjoyed, but when the winter blues start getting you down maybe you can try a couple of these ideas and cheer things up a bit. Good Luck.

Its the Great Pumpkin!

As I was carousing through the Alaska State Fair Website today I happened upon the veggie section and saw the picture of a Nikiski residents 1019 lb State Record Holder Pumpkin. I must say I am impressed it is a Goliath thing and beside it was a 122 lb watermelon. Well I decided to make this my new years resolution I want to grow a competition size Pumpkin or Watermelon! So I will start looking into how they grow these giants and do my best so wish me luck everyone. I have the long Alaskan summer to grow these guys in and a lot of determination.;) First prize is a great big blue ribbon and 80$.

Later...
PoohPooh tea humm...very interesting reading but pumpkins love it!

A Fine Day

Hi Friend,
Well it warmed up to almost zero today, that was encouraging. I spent the day baking bread which I do twice a week these days. Some I barter with other loaves go to folks who need some good home cooking. I was presented a bag of moose ribs last night and turned it into moose rib soup which is to die for! I shared the soup with several cabins and there are a bunch of happy little faces in Nenana tonight that had a belly full. I boiled the ribs to make the broth and added a little beef base. Garlic and Onion, Carrots, potatoes and celery and a shot of soy. When the veggies are cooking I take the ribs out of the pot, spinkle them with a little salt and broil them a little in the oven till they get a little crisp to them, remove and cool a little and debone them chop up the meat and add it back to the soup. These particular ribs were lightly smoked with cottonwood and they were delicious. Good deeds done for the day, I feel good like my day was not wasted!

A Good Morning

I woke up, it is a good morning!
That's what one old elder told me and I think its just a great attitude to have.

Where we are...Life here on the banks of the Tanana (thats pronounced Tan nan na River) is never boring. Located in Alaska's Interior less than 100 miles south of Fairbanks the tiny village of Nenana remains, at the confluence of the Nenana and the Tanana rivers. Im just north of the village of which my husband is a tribal member.
Whats the temp....Temperatures have dipped to 60 below and today Jan 19 we are sitting pretty at only 9 below. Summer temps get as high as 100 and the midnight sun is so hot and bright its hard to take for some. What we are doing...We are turning our land into a self sufficiant farmstead or attempting to. This is only the second year in a 5 year plan so your in near the start.You wont believe the veggies I grow in my garden, and the beautiful berries I pick and turn into jelly.
What the blogs about.....
I will attempt to share the true hardships and rewards and experience of starting and running a farmstead. Our goal is to provide all the meat, eggs, dairy and veggies we will need to sustain ourselves through out a year. We will attempt to grow fruit trees, all types of veggies, and include all you need to know about raising a beef steer, goats, pigs and chickens here in Alaska.
The Alaskan Way....
I will include stuff we do to help our community be it making soup or bread for elders or just helping in some other way. One thing you learn quick when living here is we need to all work together in some fashion. Whether it is just to bargin and barter for what a person needs for his grubstake or just to make life a little better.
If you have a question feel free to ask.

Hello Friend!

Alaska is My Home

Hello Friend,

Im middle aged, thick in the middle, middle of the road and usually in the middle of a project. LOL. I have lived here in Alaska since 74 and by now I think of Alaska as Home Sweet Home. This thought is soundly reinforced each time I get stupid enough to dare to leave her wonder and beauty and fresh air for a trip outside. It only takes a few hours to remind me how wonderful this state is. From her splendid mountains to her salmon filled rivers. From the tundra still unspoiled and hosting great herds of caribou and moose. This land has enthralled me, it owns my heart, my loyalty and I will do all I can to keep it this way. This blog is to be a place where I can share stories or just daily happenings and goings on, from my own point of view.