Homestead High Gear

Homestead life has kicked into high gear. On top of our usual increased autumn activity (See Upterrlainarluta: “Always Getting Ready”) I’m rehearsing and making props for The Lion in Winter, Aly’s in town, house sitting for friends, and Michelle’s packing for a trip south to visit family. Also, a few topics I’ve opened on the blog have updates.

Sunrise near Haines, Alaska

On October 4th, in the 6 a.m. hour, we had a spectacular sunrise! (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

Since my posting schedule (such as it is) has clashed with my rehearsal schedule, I’m finding it awkward to post at the end of the week. So, here’s a quick update on some of what’s been going on, and some pretty pictures, just to make it more interesting!

Michelle harvested most of the garden ahead of her trip. We had mixed success this year. Cabbages did poorly, lettuces fared the best by far, everything in between trended toward adequate. Michelle says most of the under-performers got planted too late. One odd observation: purple potatoes, grown this year from seed, had extremely bad scab. Other potatoes, some literally growing among the purples, didn’t show scab at all. We may be done with purple potatoes. They’re a nice novelty, but don’t have any special flavor.

Sunrise near Haines, Alaska

(Photo: Mark A. Zeiger.)

The Haines Assembly has asked the University of Alaska to delay their timber sale (see Something New to Worry About). No word on a response yet. The Assembly seems interested in defending the interests of their citizens, which we appreciate. We’ll still send our comments to UA within the original deadline. More on this as it develops.

Sunrise near Haines, Alaska

(Photo: Mark A. Zeiger.)

Thursday, we took advantage of sunny weather, and swept the wood stove chimney. It’s a big job, one we never take lightly (see Sweeping the Wood Stove Chimney). Amazingly, we found the chimney extremely clean! The job took much less time and effort than we’re used to. So much less, in fact, that we moved organically from that job to cleaning out the peak valleys in the roof and the gutters, collecting outhouse duff, and numerous other tasks to prepare for winter. All of that, and we still had time for a lingering lunch on the veranda.

Sunrise near Haines, Alaska

(Photo: Mark A. Zeiger.)

I also swung the final stroke that felled a firewood tree above the cabin, possibly the largest tree I’ve felled so far. More on that in a future post.

All of this seems none-too-soon. After weeks of snow on the more remote peaks of the Coast Range, The Mountain With No Name had snow down into the cirque Friday morning. Winter’s on its way!

These chores had taken second place to building play props. I’m having a great time making crowns for the royalty in the cast. More on that to come as well.

Sunrise near Haines, Alaska

(Photo: Mark A. Zeiger.)

Aly and I made wild mushroom barley soup with the boletes we’d dried earlier in autumn. Usually, we mix our wildcrafted mushrooms in this recipe (see Wild Mushroom Barley Soup).  Using our favorite mushroom exclusively made it a special treat. (I note that the first sentence in that post from 2011 is definitely no longer true!)

I bottled a 7+ gallon batch of birch wine that’s been fermenting since spring. It may be our favorite cottage wine, and we’ve got plenty to look forward to now.

Now that I read this over, we’re doing pretty well; we’re more on track, and in higher gear, than I’d thought!

This entry was posted in Homesteading and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Homestead High Gear

  1. Jean Lowe says:

    I was introduced to your blog by Virginia and Lloyd White, who are my friends and neighbors. I look forward to reading every post. Today’s pictures are stunning. The vista from my balcony is of waving palm trees, telephone poles and wires, and in the far distance, the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. At 89, I will choose SoCal, sadly without the beautiful sunrises. I wish you success in ALL your endeavors.

  2. Mark Zeiger says:

    Jean, thank you for reading our blog! Although I was born and (mostly) raised in Alaska, my mother’s family is from northern California. After Michelle and I were married, before Aly was born, we lived for a while in Fort Bragg, and later in Fresno. Of all the exotic fascinations of California, the palm trees may have captured my imagination the most. I never got tired of seeing them! And, though you may not get colorful sunrises, I bet your sunsets are spectacular!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *