Cold Enough?...

 It'll do, at least for now, we seem to be back in the fifties when 40 to 50 below was the norm.

But with the new climate we've had for the last twenty years or so, it seems unusually so.

Our Christmas photo, such as it is. We didn't put up a tree this year, since the neighbors hosted Christmas eve dinner, so we took the pic outside when the frog said forty below.

But it can be nice outside even at those temps; sunset illuminates the tree tops on a clear, cold afternoon.

Heatin' Things Up...

Back when we first built the cabin, there were a series of wood stoves used for heating. The first was an old barrel stove that we borrowed from a friend at work, then an Ashley heater that another person from work sold us. But I liked the way that old barrel stove held a load of wood for overnight fires, so was on the lookout for one. When I was on a survey job down by Tanacross, I found a decent old barrel at a military dump site left over from when there was an army air base there in WWII.

Made from heavy steel with cold rolled edges, the barrel was so tough I couldn't pound out any of the minor dents. The door kit came from a stove works in Benton Harbor Michigan. We used that stove for almost thirty years. You could stuff it full of wood and it'd burn all night, but it sure left a lot of creosote in the stove pipe. So I finally got an EPA approved wood stove that left very little creosote behind, but the fire box was a lot smaller and it seldom kept an over-night fire.

While we didn't like the new stove as much, Ruty our old cat sure liked to sleep in front of the door, since a lot of the heat came through the glass.

We had a Monitor oil stove in the basement for years after we put in the holding tank, septic and  water system, rapidly advancing us into the twentieth century. But when Monitor went out of business a while ago, I finally decided to replace it with a Toyo stove. My neighbor had used them in his rental cabins and thought they worked well. Well maybe in his cabins, but not our basement. Even though they sell an extended exhaust kit and the dealer assured me it'd work fine, "just like a Monitor." After taking it in 3 times for service in the last five years, I finally talked to a different service provider and he told me Toyo's don't work in basements, their exhaust system is apparently not as efficient as the old Monitor and they fill up with soot when using the extended exhaust. So we had the old Monitor serviced and put it back in the basement, then moved the Toyo upstairs.

Marking the wall where the Toyo stove exhaust will be installed. It was no problem drilling through the sheet rock, but a lot more interesting drilling a 3 inch diameter hole through the log wall. We also had to install a pump and new fuel lines to bring the fuel upstairs to the stove. Then wired a new electrical outlet to plug in the stove and pump. 

The Toyo and fuel pump installed upstairs. After all that work, the stove fired right up first time and has been working fine, just in time for our first real cold snap.

Both stoves running at near thirty below; a sight that truly warms the heart as well as the house. Now we don't have to get up early in the morning to stoke the wood stove when it drops well below zero overnight.

Thanksgiving...

 Another Thanksgiving and the group keeps getting smaller. There were just a couple of neighbors over this year; it seems like only a few years ago when we celebrated with a dozen or more friends and neighbors. People move on, move away, or ultimately pass on. But it's still good to sit down with friends and share a good meal.

The goings on in the world gives less reason for thanks. It seems like the current political climate is just one of constant bickering and turmoil. Maybe the best view is from Charles Dickens that was quoted in the local newspaper: 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Perhaps we're entering the Season of Unreason…So here's another sunset photo, maybe something light to appreciate in darkening times.

Sunsets...

 This is the time of year when the sun is so low in the sky, it's only about 6° above the horizon at solar noon, that we get these great sunsets.  Here's some random shots that Andy and I took in the last few days.

The sun was just starting to set when we had the dogs off for their free run around 2:30. Andy took this with her iPhone.

So about a half hour later I got these shots with my trusty old Canon.

The alpenglow really takes off this time of year as the sun gets lower in the sky.

The sunset lasts for over half an hour; plenty of time for pics.

One final shot that Andy took a few days ago. Lights up the whole sky like a volcano or forest fire; pretty impressive!

First Dog Run...

 Finally got the dogs out when the rains of September and October turned to snow and the soggy ground froze. The trail along the Hot Springs road was flooded in places, but the cold weather last week froze over the ponds, while the snow this weekend covered the ice to safely traverse these bad spots. I thought it was much later than last years start, but a check of the dog runs showed it was a few days earlier. Memory, go figure.

Coming back to the dog yard, the dogs wanted to stop at the trailhead where we hook up and I wanted them to go all the way back into the dog yard. You can see who won that one. Gus knows the trails and he stops pretty much where he wants to.

Fallin' into Winter...

The bright yellow leaves are long gone, the garden's harvested and roto-tilled, and snow blankets the ground. I think it's safe to say autumn's ended and winters pretty much here. 

All the bikes are in the garage, oil changed, and tanks filled with gas. Should be ready to go in the spring.

The dogs are moved down to the winter yard; it rained so much this fall it was like walking on jello. Should be a lot better now the ground's frozen.

Filling all the holes that the dogs dug in the summer yard is a fall ritual. Hard to believe I used a shovel to fill them back in the day, before we got the backhoe. Be nice to have all that energy now!

Another Sigh...

 Not much going on other than trying to finish all the summer projects. A few years ago, I got a hold of a friends son, Cy, who'd worked as tree feller for the local electric co-op, to drop some trees near the house (Firsts 10/22/22). So now we had a few more leaners that had to go. Apparently he no longer does that for a living, but agreed to come over and help out.

Here's Cy fastening a rope to an aspen that was hung up in a spruce tree. He looped the rope around a tree to left and then I pulled as he dropped the tree. Fell right where he wanted it.

He did the same thing with another aspen leaner. This time he had to drop it between the power line drop, to the upper left, and the old sauna and outhouse to the right. He had to drop a spruce that was in the way, but both fell right where he wanted.

The last one was a birch between the shed and the house. It fell right where it should. The stump was hollow and the top branches dead. Gave a big sigh when he was done, it probably was a good time to get'em down.

First Snow...

 The first snows of the winter are here, right about on time according to the weather bureau.

These early snows often melt out, but this one seems to be hanging around. 

Looks like I'll be clearing the snow before I can finish chain sawing the pile of birch logs. Always one more thing to do before the serious cold weather gets here.

Fall Colors...

Just some random photos with the changing of the seasons...

Sunset illuminates the birch trees.

A rare sight, all the dogs lounging on their houses.

Took the Guzzi for a ride, down by the riverside

Airheads...

 One of the summer activities I frequent are the Airheads meetings. They are a group of motor heads, bikers, or whatever you call them that prefer to ride older bikes. While most have BMWs, the airhead name comes from riding older, air cooled cycles, as the newer ones are water/oil cooled and much more complex to keep running. They're not exclusive tho, and welcome disparate riders like me on the Moto Guzzi. So here's some pics...

The August meeting was at the Golden Eagle Saloon in Ester. Steve proudly showing his shiny BMW, other riders in the background.

Lee on his newly restored Beemer. Not sure of the model but it dates from the fifties. Note dog in sidecar. He's a regular at all the meetings.

The September meeting at Ollies place, or maybe Oles, can't keep those two straight.

Lots of dogs at Ollies (or Oles). Not sure what he does with them, but maybe he breeds them for sale? Some are pure bred malamutes, others supposedly from an old breed of Alaskan Inuit dog. The dog in the sidecar looked confused by it all. So it goes.

Almost Fall...

Just the other day, Andy noticed that the leaves are starting to turn yellow on the birch trees. August seems way too early for fall, but there you go, every year it starts around the end of the month. 

While we haven't had a frost yet in the hills, some of the low lying areas around town have.

It's time to start harvesting potatoes. This is just the first row of reds. We've also been eating a lot of broccoli, swiss char, and zucchini lately. When it's ripe, it's gotta go!

Andy harvesting more potatoes. While the Yukon Golds haven't been as productive as the reds, hope springs eternal for the rest of the crop. The corn may also produce edible ears, but will need some warmer weather this month to get it to ripen. Hope for the best while expecting the worst, that's the Alaskan way!

Baked Alaska...

 More like burnt Alaska with the results of the over-hyped Trump/Putin Anchorage summit. After claiming only he can get Putin to agree to a truce in the Ukraine war, Trump claims success when Putin turns down a truce and will only accept peace on terms that have already been rejected by Ukraine. Putin obviously wants to continue the war until he conquers most all of the disputed territories. But the real winner in all this was the Alaskan motorcyclist who got a free Ural sidecar rig. He apparently was riding in downtown Anchorage and was seen by a Russian camera crew filming Putins visit. They interviewed him and made a short film about how he loves the rig but can't get parts for it since they're made in Russia. They posted a clip of the interview on Russian TV. Putin found out about it, so he had a brand new rig shipped from Russia to Alaska and gave it to the guy.

The lucky Alaskan that got a brand new Ural, courtesy of V. Putin. But from what I've read about their poor reliability, he might not really be twice blessed.

Roly Poly...

There's an old Bob Wills song called Roly Poly, about a kid that can't stop running and/or eating. It was redone by Asleep at the Wheel and is one of my favorite Texas swing songs. Anyway, we've got our own Roly Poly and while he does like running and eating, though corn and taters not so much, it's more how he loves to roll in the grass. 

Earl doing another goofy sled dog trick. 

After rolling in the tall grass behind his house.

Here's the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar4H_3HGSVE&list=RDAr4H_3HGSVE&start_radio=1

Reconstructed Railing...

Mentioned earlier how the Christmas snowpocalypse of a few years ago destroyed the deck railing when the ice/snow load came off the roof in the spring.

So after the success in installing the loft railing (Bespoke Bannister...6/8/25), and now having snow guards on the new roof, figured it was time to redo the deck. When I took the old railing down, was able to salvage four of the posts and the cables.

Unfortunately, the new posts are a different width than the old ones. In fact, these varied in width from 3 1/4", like the old ones, to 3 5/8".  My attempts to clean up the edges using the corner moulding cutter on the table saw were futile, so wound up sanding it all off. Maybe next time will get'em done right.

The reconstruction in progress: once all the wooden dowels are in place, the cables, left from the previous railing, will be installed below them. Hopefully it'll last longer than the old one.

Andy "safely" enjoying the deck with the newly reconstructed railing.

Hot Enough for You?...

While the lower forty eight has had some hot weather, it's also been remarkably hot in Alaska. Not just the interior, where warm spells are common, but even the north slope has had temps in the 80's. In Fairbanks, after a mild winter, spring was cool, but lately it's just been hot. June had a week of 80's and now another week in July.

Over a hundred in the sun and 80's in the shade, it's just too hot!

The hot weather also brings forrest fires. While none are real close, we still get the smoke.

The dreaded orange sun when smoke obscures the sky.

The dogs don't much like this weather and spend most of the day sleeping in the shade of their houses. But during their free run, Earl likes to roll in the shady grass.

A dogs life ain't all bad!

Dire Dogos...

Not much going on besides splitting wood, so hope to have a winters worth done by the end of the month, then can move on to something more interesting. One of the things I've been reading about is the re-creation of the dire wolf, an extinct  Pleistocene predator made famous in the series Game of Thrones. Apparently the species was re-created through genetic engineering of the current grey wolf. Read about it here...

https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/dire-wolves-are-back-from-extinction-thanks-to-genetically-engineered-pups

But of course there were many biologists who quickly criticized it as hyperbole...

https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/colossals-de-extincted-dire-wolf-isnt-a-dire-wolf-and-it-has-not-been-de-extincted-experts-say

Regardless, it's kind of cool that, even if just to some limited degree, they have brought back an extinct species. So here's some photos...

The genetically engineered pups. You can call them dires or modified grey wolves, but they're still pretty darn cute.

Here's our version, the dire dogo at 6 weeks, held by the original owner before we brought him home.

The dire wolves have grown. Apparently there were 2 litters and the older ones are almost full size now. While these modern dire wolves have white coats, there's no evidence that all (or any) dire wolves were white. The pale coloration seen in them is due to genetic editing, not natural coloration.

https://www.iflscience.com/colossals-dire-wolves-are-now-6-months-old-and-theyve-doubled-in-size-79776

Mac, our dour wolf also likes to play with sticks, though it's not from genetic engineering, just being a goofy sled dog  (GOT-cha 9/10/21).

Bespoke Bannister...

In line with our ongoing attempts to finally finish the cabin that we started over forty years ago, we installed the last of the stair railings last fall to improve access and safety (Third Rail 8/18/24). Then it seemed advisable to put a bannister along the open edge of the loft. Not knowing much about building one other than the exterior deck railing that was taken out by the snowpocalypse a few years ago (Ice Fall 4/30/22), I googled it up and found out that a bannister is a free standing railing that consists of a horizontal handrail supported by vertical posts (balusters). So after buying some lumber (2X4s and 4X4s) I stacked them in the garage and forgot about it until this month. The 2X4s had warped beyond use but the 4X4s were still good, so cut them up into 3 ft posts. Ran them through the molding cutter on the table saw to smooth off any rough edges. then cut bevels on the top with a circular saw. Put double ended screws into the bottom of each and then screwed them into holes I'd drilled on the edge of the loft. For the top handrail, decided to use a pre-made one they sold at Home Depot. Made out of hemlock and sold by the foot, figured it'd be easy to work with, take up stain, and not warp like the 2X4s. After getting a ten foot piece home, laid it on top of the posts and marked them, then took it all down and out to the workshop and cut notches into the top of the posts, just wide enough to fit the handrail. Then it was just a matter of sanding and staining everything to get it ready to install in the loft.

Bannister man screwing in the last of the brackets stabilizing the posts. Note celebratory drink.

The finished project. Will be running some cables through the posts to fill in the open area below the handrail. It turned out pretty much like the departed deck railing, but that's likely cause I seldom do anything new or different nowadays. The only problem so far is Andy has hit her head on the railing when putting on her shoes and socks in the morning. Might have to install padding on the underside of the rail!

Logging Out...

Since all the birch collected last fall is spilt and stacked, needed to get out and cut some more. Suitable trees are hard to find, they need to be dead and down, but not so old the wood is rotted or "punky." There's a bunch of trees that were pushed over when one of the neighbors did some road widening a few years ago. He told some of his friends to take the wood, but it was hit and miss what was removed. So last fall I started cleaning up the remaining trees and just finished cutting up and hauling out the logs.

The last load of logs hauled back from along the road. They're cut into six foot lengths to fit in the bucket and just filled it up.

Then they get cut to length (<20 in) to fit the splitter and wood stove. 

After splitting, they're stacked up to dry for burning in the winter (thanks Andy). There's about two cords split so far; we're about half way there for the winter supply. Like money in the bank, there's never too much firewood!