Dennis Goyette

Jeff Steez wrote:Hello friends,

I have received a rare opportunity to move out to remote Alaska and live a relatively rough lifestyle in the bush and renovate 3 cabins.

I am very, very seriously considering taking this opportunity to go learn about building houses there, greenhouses, bush craft, green woodworking, rocket mass heaters, etc... I will be bringing as many non-frivolous items as possible. I believe one cabin has solar, and Starlink should be in place. I am not sure where it will all lead, if I can make a livable salary documenting it on YouTube so I can buy some land of my own nearby, performing wildlife photography, astrophotography, green woodworking, leather working... I have absolutely no idea where this might lead and I cannot picture in my head any possibilities, but I do hope I will not have to return to FL. What I do know is this is an opportunity to experience the pristine nature I have so longed dreamt about.

The problem is, I have to make the drive from FL -> Homer, Alaska, and then ferry everything to Kodiak Island.

So, I was wondering if there are any people I could meet along the way to lend a helping hand as a guide once I hit the difficult stretch, on the Canadian coast, or along the way to Homer once I hit Alaska, regardless of how that help might be, even if it's just in the form of experiential tips and tricks, or old timey tales of your memories.

Cheers and thank you!

I have lived in Alaska twice. Once in a remote village, only get there by bush plane. Second time was on an island in the southeast, Prince of Wales (went there to NYC for a year to work for Johns Hopkins.) Putting my homestead up for sale in northern NH and hope to go back for good this summer. Will be traveling through Canada most of the way (except to 15-20 mins it takes to get across the CT River into VT to go to the nearest border crossing) and then the Alaskan portion. Long trip. I made a somewhat similar trip to get to POW taking a ferry from Prince Rupert to Ketchican. Hoping to find some one who will go and help me navigate while I travel.

r ransom wrote:I hope this will pass, but a sleepless night bread an increasingly strong desire to buy and learn to play a ukulele, or other similar string instrument.  That's all I can think about, playing music for my goose who loves song time.

I would play music like this

Only...i am not musical. Music is something I enjoy listening to,  i can tell my George formby from my queen (fun fact, it's the same ukulele).  But that's nearly my limit.

On a good day I can count to four.  In elementary school band, they put me as 3rd triangle (the one that doesn't play) and suggested I avoid music in my future.

And yet, there is a drive in me to identify the skills I am worst at in this world and test myself against them.

Ukulele are supposedly affordable, make a variety of music, and easy to learn.  Now, could I do this for under $50CAD?  Or hopefully, someone will talk me out of it?

My dad played it all the time when I was growing up, taught himself. Then played a guitar. He bought my mom an organ and then a piano 9or the other way around I forget) and taught himself to play that. For years he played by ear and then taught himself to read music.

I say go for it and relax and have fun.

Dennis Goyette wrote:

J Katrak wrote:I leave out sunflower seeds and water. In town. In the winter. It's a long, cold winter.

I like to grow things some will use as well that are also nice to look at in winter. Highbush cranberries, wintergreen etc.

I do oilers (sunflowers), corn and suet, all year around. In summer I get birds, squirrels, coons, occasional porcupine, bears. Winter birds, grouse, deer, squirrels, ermine, bobcat (didn't know mommy was a female until she brought her first little ones 2 years ago.)

I forgot about the moose as well.....young ones in spring and summer.... in the winter, they come up to the hills/higher country as the snow gets deeper. It's easy to spot their tracks since they are several feet apart and the deer stay away from the deep snow and stick to the trails they make packing the snow down....

J Katrak wrote:I leave out sunflower seeds and water. In town. In the winter. It's a long, cold winter.

I like to grow things some will use as well that are also nice to look at in winter. Highbush cranberries, wintergreen etc.

I do oilers (sunflowers), corn and suet, all year around. In summer I get birds, squirrels, coons, occasional porcupine, bears. Winter birds, grouse, deer, squirrels, ermine, bobcat (didn't know mommy was a female until she brought her first little ones 2 years ago.)

Marc Dube wrote:Yes but only in the winter. Sunflowers and home rendered suet from deer and elk mixed with Sunflowers. The suet mix is poured into large holes drilled into logs and then the logs are hung as feeders.

The good old fashion way....

Timothy Norton wrote:This installment of the Permies Poll series has been inspired by seeing all sorts of birdfeeders around the countryside.

We recently had a younger black bear hit some birdfeeders in a nearby town so now the question has come up. Do you try and feed wild birds?

[applepoll]

Share your thoughts and experiences!

Yes, but since I have bears in summer and squirrels all year round, I do not use feeders. It is spread on the bare ground, bee3n doing it this way for years. Suet cakes are useless. I use actual suet that I buy by the 40lb box at the store (cheaper) and keep it in a freezer till needed. I put small amount out at a time during the summer due to heat and the bears. My woodpeckers actual fly to me telling me they need more suet. They can be pretty annoying with their yacking "feed me feed me feed me". They also feed the suet to their little ones.

I have a simple pump on top of my well head. So I can pump, by hand, water when needed for drinking (I also have the parts to have the simple pump redirect the water into the well tank in the house instead of out. This requires some one with the right tool to connect it to the water line going in to the house. Not an easy chore to do, but a plumber can. I don't need 5000 gal storage. Rain water can be used to flush toilets or put a toilet between 2 stumps, dig a whole and then........In winter there is plenty of snow.

I bought one of these years ago for emergency Lifestraw community.
Though I have a generator with auto transfer switch, for long term power outages (think EMP) it won't be running all the time. I have a simple pump on top of my well head to get water if I need it. I can also catch rain water from gutters and 50 gal storage barrels. That water would need to be filtered so the lifestraw would come in handy. It holds 6 gals and is good for filtering over 30,000 gallons.

I use to have a freeze drier and dried them that way.

Thin chip fries. I slice them thin, spray oil on them, shake some cayenne pepper on them and then bake them. Of course there is the old baked potato with vegan meat loaf. Also, I boil them, fridge them and then make home fries with onions....