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

Bun Bun in the chicken coop

WTF

So often I see things and regret not having my camera. Last Friday I was at Sourdough Fuel, filling up my tank, when I notice a lady on roller skates. Keep in mind that this is mid afternoon. This person is in her 30's, twirling around on roller skates showing off her mad skills. All I could do was laugh. What else can you really do, but laugh. I even looked around to see if other people were noticing or thought it at all strange. Thankfully I wasn't the only one. Fairbanks is home to many strange people (myself included) and that's cool because it keeps things interesting, but even knowing that I'm still thrown for a loop from time to time.
Chrissy

Dinner

Friday dinner was procured from the Chatanika River with a size 18 griffiths gnat using a 5 weight fly rod. Had a great night of fishing, caught a bunch of smaller grayling at first. These two were some of the last of the night and were caught one after another.
I have been warned over and over about how grayling must be cooked VERY fresh, so I brought along a cooler with ice that night. We threw the fish on ice and had them cleaned and cooking about an hour and a half later. They were delicious and I plan on eating more. I think they would probably taste great cooked over a campfire right on the beach.

Snorri howling at moose

Snorri generally alerts us of anything or anyone passing the house. Today a momma moose and TWO babies were in our backyard when she started wailing as loud as she could. When I saw what she was yelling about, we stood quietly and watched them for about 10 minutes. The two babies played together in the pond while the mom foraged for goodies in the yard. After a while they calmly walked past our outhouse into the woods.
Every day is a reminder that I live in AK.

First time on the Chena River fly fishing

My Brother in Law Terry and I went grayling fishing on the Chena river last week about 30 miles east of town. We did very well.
My prize for the day.

-Justin

Beautious scenes from Chena Hot Springs Road

While Justin and Terry were fishing Mandy and I looked for wild flowers and other goodies.

Eli and chickens

Up the Richardson Hwy past Summit Lake

Awesome views of the Alaska Range. I don't think we could have asked for nicer weather.

Valdez

Driving the Glenn Hwy around midnight

Eli slept through all of the bumps and road construction. What a good baby. The view was magical- all five hours of it. We stayed the night in Glennallen before heading south to Valdez. Mandy and Terry stayed in a cute little cabin and we camped out in the truck with the dogs.

Kenai Fjords

Exit Glacier in Seward, AK

Me and Eli

Justin and I met up with Mandy, Terry, and my nephew Eli about a week and a half ago down in Seward. We traveled most of the road system together and had an awesome time, but getting to see Eli was, by far, the best part.

Gunnar checking out the chicken coop

The chickens moved out of the big house about three weeks ago and we're all a little bit happier now. They have more room to flap their wings and we don't have chicken dust covering every inch of the cabin. This was Gunnar's first and last time in the coop.
Chrissy

Ptarmigan Hunting and some strange weather

Well, its spring time in Alaska, and while its not 40 below, its been cold and off and on snowing alot. On Tuesday we had a dismal day in town with gray skies and light sleetish rain, but when a friend and I headed west of town up to Murphy Dome (a really big hill, REALLY big hill that goes above the timber line and has one of those weird looking early warning missle defense thigns on top of it) check it out we found awesome weather. Sunny, about 55 degrees and no wind. We were determined to see and bring home some of the elusive ptarmigan that live on this hill. The ptarmigan for those who don't know is apparently not that hard of a bird to hunt if you can figure out where they are hanging around, but up to this point I have not found that place. They are solid white in the winter and blend in with the snow pretty well. In the meantime, you end up trudging through snow and ice trying to find that place. We hiked around for a couple of hours, up and down, through big wide stands of willows that harbored 3 and 4 foot deep snow that was way to soft to be walking on. Most all of that snow on the hill has gotten mushy by this time of year, just too much sun. So we're falling through here and there. Sinking up to the waist.
Well, I saw one bird. It was around that point where you mentally give up on the goal you set out for and just start walking, not really paying any attention to the surroundings. Thats when it always seems to happen for me. I am loping along, trying to stay on top of the snow and then there he is, about 10 feet from me, just looking up. I shot and thought I had him, but a second later he flew off and left me searching for the next hour. No luck.
Ooh well, hes either another predators free meal or somehow my tired shot was so off that it blew right past him. In the end, I was just glad to have seen a ptarmigan this year and to have gotten out and seen the beautiful mountains this time of year. Can you find the ptarmigan in this photo? This morning we had some freak snow storm move through that is still dumping snow as I write. Its supposed to turn to rain later this afternoon, so it'll probably all be gone in a few hours, but its weird how we keep drying up, losing all the snow and then get it back a day later.
Back to work for me...
-Justin

more babies

The dogs have become quite fond of the chickies. They've gone from incessantly licking their lips to just calmly staring. The two blonds (Kentucky and Miss Ohio) are White Rocks and the light orange two (Marita and Buffy) are Buff Orpingtons. Precious huh?

More new chickens!

Just talked to the feed store and we'll be picking up our other 4 chicks tonight. 2 White Rock's and 2 Buff Orpingtons.
I will do what I can to get Chrissy to take some more photos and get them up here.
-Justin

our new arrivals

Justin and I both work for very cool people. We were able to leave work early today so that we could pick up 2 of the six chickies. The other 4 wont be here for another two weeks. Meet Nubbins and Cupcake. There will be a ton more photos to come.

getting inspired

Okay, so I don't usually post about things super personal to me, but in this case it's sort of necessary and I guess appropriate. For the past while I've had an overabundance of creative energy that I haven't been able to figure out how to channel. This morning gave me new hope and by writing about it, I thought it might help me gather my thoughts and send me down a new path. There's been a common thread throughout my photography and that is to construct things at some point during the process- whether it's an environment to photograph within or arranging the photos themselves. Lately I've been more interested in the creating side of things. The photograph has become secondary and is merely a documentation of an idea. The question isn't what should I photograph, but what should I create? I like to collect things. I find myself picking things up like twigs or dead insects that evoke something inside of me. I guess what they evoke is a sense of wonder... how can something so simple be so flawlessly beautiful? How can a leaf falling from a tree leave me so inspired and what do I do with this inspiration? I've recently started working for a local greenhouse. I'm pretty sure that it's saved my 'creative' life. It has brought me home and helped to ground me. I more or less grew up in a greenhouse, so I'm treading on very familiar territory. Touching the dirt, watching a seed grow, smelling the leaves of a tomato plant make me feel alive and feel connected to a cycle. My collection has begun growing again since I've started working there and this photo is a result of that. My new creative path is to take things we overlook or take for granted on a daily basis and to put them into a different context where they can be stopped and viewed with intent. I'm not sure where this path will take me, but I'm interested in finding out.