When we chose to use wood heat on a daily basis to augment our fuel-oil boiler in 2005 (see our heating bio here), we committed to a huge boost in the amount of wood we needed each year. Being frugal and healthy, we chose to go hunt that wood down in the wild and wrassle it home on our own rather than buy it.
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Category Archives: Alaska
Lovey Night Squirrels and Two Moose
I was up late reading when, around midnight, I heard the bird feeder thump against the house. Our bird feeder hangs just outside the kitchen window so we can get close looks at the birds. When the feeder thumps the wall, day or night, it’s almost always either a day squirrel or a night squirrel (red or flying).
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A Festive Beringian Hosiery Burning
Do you ever wonder how traditions began? On a cold, dark night, long, long ago…
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Bust a Move, Snowshoe Man
We generally see snow from late October through early April, but with an average annual precipitation of just 11 inches of water, we usually don’t see really deep snow. This year, however, we’ve been getting a lot of snow. It’s the third-highest snowfall ever recorded this far into the winter, and this past week it really piled up. With the long weekend, we’ve been getting out and enjoying it. Blowing it, shoveling it, walking in it, snowshoeing in it.
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A Brief History of Fire in Our Forest
The true-to-title version: I found a fire-scarred birch on the hill above our house and cored it to see how long it’s been since the last forest fire here. It was surprisingly long ago.
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