kay fox

I've never been to Alaska so not sure how this would work but here's what I'd do.  I'd put the house on the highest point and make sure you don't cut corners on insulation.  I'd find a sunny spot near the house for the garden and make it as big as possible.  I'm not sure what fruit trees/bushes will live there but if there are some, I'd get those planted ASAP.  I'd put the animal pens further from the house and build strong, tall, fences along with shelters to block the worst of the wind.  I'd have a smoke house, a fruit cellar to store your preserved food, and of course a storage shed.  I'd have a very small lawn and use every inch of the property to raise something be it food for family or food for your animals that feed your family.  

Please update us as you go along and post some pictures.  

I started eating a lot of garlic when I developed high blood pressure because I read it is good to reduce it.  I had never raised it but a friend gave me a bag full from his garden so I decided to plant them since it was fall and the time to plant.  I had a small raised bed 8ft by 4 ft.  I also had some garlic left over from the store so I planted half the bed with the store bought garlic and half with my friend's garlic.  I didn't expect any of them to grow so I didn't write down which was planted where.  One side came up and just kept growing all winter.  The other side did not have one plant come up.  Now I don't know which garlic I have but boy do I have garlic.  On a 4x4 section I harvested enough to fill my porch swing (I needed a place to dry it).  Some were the typical size we see at the store but some of them were big as my hand.  I will keep the biggest and best to use to plant again this fall.  I have been cooking with the fresh garlic and it is so good.  I plan to dehydrate lots of it for garlic flakes to use while cooking all year.  I just never knew it was so easy.  

They are the good guys.  I have never been stung by one and simply ignore them.

It was a strange winter and an unusual spring here so that must have disrupted things.  But, they are here now in a big way.  I'm just glad it wasn't a permanent drop in bees.

Here is a section just down the hill a bit from the house where we have put the husband's workshop (he loves doing woodworking).  If you look close, you can see the concrete piers next to it.  We will start this month on building my workshop (I do arts and crafts).  There is an old shed under that big tree that is too far gone to save so we plan to build a barn before tearing it down.  If you'll notice the forest behind this area, we intend to rent a dozer and clear up 15 acres for a garden and berry orchard.  When my husband was young, this area was a hay field but when it was sold, it fell into neglect and is grown up with weed trees such as sweetgum, locust, elm, and cedar so it's got to go (we bought it back 4 years ago).  There are a few nice hardwoods that were there originally so we'll keep those.  We've got a long way to go but we've come so far already that I feel confident we can do this.  I just want to see this land be productive again like it was when my husband's grandfather lived here a hundred years ago.   The last picture is of my apple orchard.  This was covered in locust that we cut down and still has some stumps too big to remove but so far things seem to be going well.  I use 5 gallon buckets with a tiny hole drilled in them to water the trees.  That way I can come by with a water hose and fill them let it trickle in ever so slowly.      

Here's a couple before photos and then the way it looks now.  If you'll notice the side of the house before it was renovated, it's very grown up.  We cleared most of that, built the backyard fence for our dog, and then planted blackberry bushes.  I went with 6 different varieties of thornless as an experiment to see which I prefer.  Some were set out more recently and will not produce until next year.  

Thanks everyone.  I don't think it will let me upload pictures directly from my computer so not sure how to post them.  

We bought our 60 acres 4 years ago and we've made great progress.  It had an old house that was falling down and everything was overgrown with thorn trees and weeds, and junk left behind from a previous gravel pit operation.  In this time, we've rebuilt the house (as in almost exclusively the two of us), we sold off all the junk metal, cleared out lots of brush and trees, built raised beds, installed an orchard of 12 apples and 4 peach trees, a row of blueberries, 3 rows of various thornless blackberries, built a woodworking shop, planted beautiful flower beds around the house, bought and moved a small guest cabin on to the property, and built a nice fence around the back yard.  We've got so many plans and dreams for this place but I'm very pleased at how it is going so far.  The dirt is improving and it looks like we will actually be harvesting fruit this year.  When I look at pictures of before, I find it hard to believe it is the same place.  I feel like this land is my blank canvas, what I design for it (buildings and gardens) is my artform, and my very talented and hardworking husband is my paint brush.  Together, we make an unbeatable team.  I wake up each day excited to get something else done.  Do you ever feel that way?        

That's a great article and explains a lot.  The bees are finally coming out here but still not as many as in years past.

I thought it was just here.  I've been very concerned.  I've got a row of catmint in front of my house and it is one of the first things to bloom.  Each year, it is covered constantly with an assortment of bees and butterflies.  This is the first year I have gone days without seeing even one.  They were out very early when my apple trees and blueberries bloomed but then they all disappeared.  I have seen one lonely bumblebee on my mint in the last month and none on my blackberries.  I have never seen a year like this.  We live near commercial farming fields so I just assumed they sprayed something and it drifted to our land but not sure now.  I go for a 3 mile walk each morning on a country road lined with wild blackberries and they are loaded with flowers but I still have not seen any bees on the flowers.  My blackberries are getting pollinated but I have no idea how unless it is the wind or night moths.  I feel like we woke up to the silent spring?