View of the driveway from the bottom

Matt and Mandy helping move the White Spruce.

We decided to save the White Spruce to use for rough cut siding on our house. We're thinking that we can rent a saw mill and cut the logs ourselves. Can't get anymore local than that.

As promised...

These are some photos taken from last weekend. We first had to move the 'roughed in' driveway to its new location. Then we moved some land at the end of the drive for the garage area.

Clearing a spot for our garage pad and a neighbor mooskin

Our little piece of niceness

I feel like it's not really ours and yet it seems so familiar. It's been heartbreaking cutting trees down to make a path, but I know that we are doing something good. We've decided to plant at least one new tree for every one that we cut. It's very sad to see them go. They crack before they fall and shake the ground like dinosaurs as they hit. But maybe the sadness of each tree cut is simply a reminder that this is a new beginning. There's grief in change. Cutting the old down and planting new. -Chrissy

Our new road

Looks so empty. Our land is over on the left. Those are mostly all moose prints around Snorri on the road.

Clearing trees

Matt is looping the rope around the tree so we can tie it off in the direction we want it to fall

tieing off one of the larger trees

getting ready to cut the wedge out. Shaking like a leaf.

delimbing

Land

So, we finally bought some land. After much searching and comparing we found a really nice piece of southwest facing hillside (south facing is a big deal up here as we get so little sun in the winter and south means sun) Its 5.2 acres of large, old growth birch, alder and white spruce about 10 minutes from town. We've been working to clear out a driveway lane and garage pad. We're going to try and get the driveway in before snow flies this year which is getting nearer by the day. Once spring sets in (this seems so far away right now) we're going to get a garage put up that should be able to double as a good cabin. If all goes well then we'll be living out there by next summer. A house will follow over the next little while. Who knows what it will end up being, but we know we want a sauna, treehouse, house house, garage and garden.

Our inagural campfire on our new land

Our friends (& new neighbors) Mandy and Matt at our first campfire on our new land

Cindy and Jason came up to visit

Cindy and Jason came up to visit in August. We did quite a bit of blueberry picking and I think that they both had a pretty good time. Jason came up from Kentucky and Cindy from Anchorage, AK.
It was awesome to see them both this time of year, they met up with us in Fairbanks last year this time when we first arrived. Jason flew in to Anchorage to visit Cindy and they drove around the state, just happened to be in Fairbanks when we arrived.
Good company in a good place.

When chicken coops meet modern architecture

the chickens enjoying some fresh grass

Some photos from earlier this summer

Concentrating on canoeing


rearview of the truck with canoe