You have probably read or heard this saying before, but when I was growing up my mom had this on a wall by our kitchen sink. I’ve always remembered it and when I am struggling to find the energy to do things like the dishes, (sometimes I let them stack up too much, which makes it even harder to find the motivation to do them…why is that?) I think of how often my mom did the dishes and I remember that saying and it reminds me how blessed I am. It’s something simple that gets me busy.

Thank God for dirty dishes;
they have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
we’re eating very well.
With home, health, and happiness,
I shouldn’t want to fuss.
By the stack of the evidence,
God’s been very good to us.

It’s the simple things that make us happy and give us motivation. Thanks for sharing yours with us. Have a great trip!
Lisa

Welcome back to ND if only for a short time. Enjoy your stay whatever the weather may be. N

Squash bugs are the bane of my existence! I may just stop planting zucchini and pumpkins for a couple of years.. They don’t seem to bother the cucumbers so much, but how they love those zucchini. Chiggers are also out in droves in Kansas this year – maybe a trade-off for the nice rain we’ve had lately.

The other day I accused my dear husband of pulling some of my carrots thinking they were weeds….sigh….have any of you seen or remember Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. See Bugs was always traveling here and there and well, ya know a bunny has to eat! Well invariably, Bugs always ended up under Elmer’s garden…that man got around a lot too! And the scene always goes like this…Elmer is standing admiring his fine looking carrots when all of a sudden, the plant starts to shake and bam! disappears! much to Elmer’s shock and frustration….well, I would be Elmer and the varmit would be a gopher. Who knew those little buggers could swipe a whole carrot plant with such stealth and speed. Gophers and I are not friends! With that said, an old remedy my Grandmother used was Ivory Liquid dish soap and castor oil, whipped, and a half cup added to a gallon of water and poured down every gopher hole you can find. It doesn’t poison anything, they hate the smell and it just chases them off. As this is not a poison icky, it will take a few applications.It is working for me, no more Elmer moments so far.

Hi Alexandra!!
I was so excited to read your post today, especially the part when you said,” just had an epiphany that I should do a series of photographs of farming hands….it would be beautiful and telling of the true nature of farming and how intimately a farmer knows her land and crops” and you could elaborate on what a day in the life of a farmer really looks like! We are hopefully moving to Montana soon, and I would love to farm and I always have questions when we take our long road trips to Montana from LA, as to what do farmers do in their day, what is that field of crops that we just passed, how long do they work in a day etc… that would be a joy to read as I have enjoyed all of ypour posts:)

Kind Regards,

Deborah

Oh my…we had a Miss Howe too, Miss Scheifelbein and Chicken Fat! Either she liked you or she didn’t. I was not athletic, but she did like me. I had no idea the record was distributed like that. Interesting. My husband, who was on the “other side” of the split gym, behind the curtain, never to see the girls….said the guys felt sorry for us whenever they heard it. A local facebook group discussed this song several months ago, and we were all laughing about it. The ad you mention made me pay attention to it right away.
The Presidential Fitness award was a prestigious patch to get. I struggled with the 600 yard “Dash” forever. The last year, when Miss S. timed me, I made it. I actually think she fudged it! She and I became friends after we took a stained glass class together. I now consider her “ahead of her time” for the healthy she tried to instill in us.

I was fortunate to miss the terrible music and ugly rompers. We had white blouses with snaps, red shorts, white tennis shoes and socks. It was a Catholic high school and gym classes were separate from the guys (thank goodness). Our gym teacher, Mrs. Lefebvre, was terrific: her son Jim played for the Dodgers and we secretly had a huge crush on him. I played volleyball and tennis which was about as jock as a female could get. Not too bad an experience for me. Kudos to those who made it through the torturous years!

Hi Alex,

I really enjoy your blog and gives me time to “pause” from my normal work and get lost in what’s happening in Alaska. I am from the Midwest, born and raised in Michigan and residing in Northern Indiana. I agree with you that taking the time to smell the flowers is so important. When I do not make time for those moments, my life feels a little more chaotic and less focused. I can easily get anxious about something. But if I have some quiet moments then I feel just the opposite. I love gardening because even though I have to focus on what I’m doing, I find my mind wondering from one thing to the next and I get completely lost in those thoughts. It is hard work and yet it is relaxing. I make time on the weekends for a leisure cup of tea and during the week I end my day with a cup of tea in the evening. I also like to write a quite note or a letter to someone in the evening. It allows my mind to relax and lets others I know I am thinking about them at the same time.

Unlike you all in Alaska, we are running 2-3 weeks behind. We are still dealing with frosts and I have not started my planting. I am hoping that the cold weather this past week is the last and have a lot of plans for the coming holiday weekend. You know the saying…the corn should be knee high by the 4th of July? Well we will be lucky if it is ankle high the way things are going. ha ha! It will be a late harvest for sure.

I noticed in your bio that you spent time in South Korea. A friend of mine lived and taught English in a village in South Korea for a year or two. Wouldn’t it be a really small world if you happened to know one another?

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Lisa

WOW a great learning curve, so reminds me of the one room apartment we once lived in and how ‘deprived’ I felt but we had all the amenities. Then into a one bedroom place and then THINGS came into the space – more – more – more and well you get the picture – now we have downsized and so wish we had the big house but glad we have just what we have. The reason for me saying this is your story is so familiar and I am so happy you are able to do your best to make a lovely home for Evan and Emma, she will learn a lot about living by #livingyurtlifebestlife. Thanks for the message. God Bless

Very interesting. I grew up in a home without electricity or running water so you are a way step up. I remember bringing my daughter to the farm and taking her to the outhouse when she was 2. She informed me the you could freeze your buttons off. I agree. Looking back it was great. We live in the same town in a cabin and travel when we work. We have 200 acres and a great person that takes care of our place when we are gone but no cell phone service. Such a great tragedy.. NOT! We have a facility for youth and I am amazed how they think this is the end of the world. I should send them to visit you. Love your stories and AVA is a real luckly little girl to have her mommy home with her….

I LOVE the photos of AVA! Thanks for sharing her with us. Also appreciate your frankness about life in a yurt…interesting and educational and resourceful. Best wishes to you and your family. BTW we wore out 3 baby carriers raising our children. Wish I had discovered them sooner. Keep your posts coming; I look forward to them. Peace and All Joy from Pennsylvania

Alex, this is lovely! I loved the part about how some of the bad would still be there just in a different way if you weren’t living in a yurt (because it shows that you are realistic..not grass is greener sort of person). If you have a bigger space, you’ll somehow end up filling it and then at some point be annoyed with all the stuff you have and that you then have to clean that bigger space! Not that it’s not nice to be able to spread out, and possibly ignore a mess in another room. If you and Evan can do this together, you can do anything together! 🙂 Love you so much woman!

This is my favorite poem about seasons. I wrote it once in the dead of winter. It makes me smile.
A favorite season?
Well, let me see…
This is what they mean to me.
I love Winter when it’s snowy and cold
I love Spring when the flowers unfold.
I love the Summer sun that warms my skin,
And I love Fall when the holidays begin.
So to pick a favorite I am perplexed,
My answer must be,
The one that comes next!

Dare I say this?! It was in the high eighties here in Central California….sigh. But has cooled to the 70’s again. I cleaned the planters, plowed the garden, plowed another spot for organic corn and surveyed the trees that need pruning…..that was around my full time job…oh my! So with that here is my amature contribution to poetry month:
Spring, spring I love thy green,
The bountiful blue sky, the bright sun in my eye,
Your fickleness of warmth and chill,
Oh spring, spring thou art a thrill!

My husband and youngest son had been to Africa hunting 3 times when a farm that my son has always loved came up for sale. We put pretty much everything we had into buying our farm. Since there would be no more pricey hunting trips to Africa after the farm purchase, they named it “Last Safari Ranch”

PS we have a very large rock out front with the name engraved on it.

Our farm name is For The View Farm…as you can guess the name is about our daily view of the horses and woods that surround our farm!

We hadn’t moved onto our small farm for a few weeks when my husband named it Windy Knoll. I was tickled because I was mentally trying names without knowing he was, too. His was perfect! You guessed it. The wind blows (mostly) all the time here…that and it sits on a small rise above the road. We’re mostly retired, grow a big garden, can and freeze our harvest, welcome our 8 children and 14 grandchildren’ visits…as well as assorted wildlife. Blessings to you and your new baby. Peace and All Joy living the country life!

My husband and youngest son had been to Africa hunting 3 times when a farm that my son has always loved came up for sale. We put pretty much everything we had into buying our farm. Since there would be no more pricey hunting trips to Africa after the farm purchase, they named it “Last Safari Ranch”

PS we have a very large rock out front with the name engraved on it.

Our farm name is For The View Farm…as you can guess the name is about our daily view of the horses and woods that surround our farm!

We hadn’t moved onto our small farm for a few weeks when my husband named it Windy Knoll. I was tickled because I was mentally trying names without knowing he was, too. His was perfect! You guessed it. The wind blows (mostly) all the time here…that and it sits on a small rise above the road. We’re mostly retired, grow a big garden, can and freeze our harvest, welcome our 8 children and 14 grandchildren’ visits…as well as assorted wildlife. Blessings to you and your new baby. Peace and All Joy living the country life!