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Just a little update from around the homestead and how we are doing now that there is snow.
Our addition is finally done enough to be considered livable, woohoo! I waited for a bit to make sure everything was working out properly before writing about it, but our insulation and chinking plan came together well. We are nice and toasty warm now!
First, we took all the gaps between the logs and stuffed them with left over insulation. We used the backed portion of insulation on the inside and other scraps on the outside. The backing is brown and blends in with the logs inside so you can’t even tell it’s there, really.
On top of the insulation, we added perma-chinking (Amazon) to prevent moisture from getting in.
It also filled any spaces that we weren’t able to get insulation into. These two together fixed 99% of the drafts we had. There are some spaces, like around the door and the floor, that we still need to work on. Kyle ran weather stripping (Amazon) around part of the door, but we need to purchase more to finish it. The floor is just OSB board for now (which I hate because it leaves slivers in my socks!). The drafts from it will be fixed when we put down real flooring over it.
In other news, we purchased more chickens!
We’re back up to 19, which is around what I expected to have at this time with our original flock before The Great Chicken Massacre. And our 4 wheeler is back up and running! I do have to tease Kyle here a little with an “I told you so” because I thought he was putting the new bearings in backwards, but he thought they made more sense that way. He finally took it to the local Yamaha dealership when he could’t get them in, and lo-and-behold, he’d put them in wrong! Luckily, the guys at the dealership are awesome and fixed it right up for us, no damage done.
See that?
Yeah, tires are not supposed to sit like that. I can make fun of Kyle for putting the bearings in backwards because we only needed new bearings after my wreck! Luckily, after my episode of amnesia, I’ve had no other issues in riding the 4 wheeler (besides being a little panicky and going super slow, but at least I’m riding again!). We do really need to purchase a second 4 wheeler as a backup. Kyle hiked the 15 miles to the road to get to work on his first day because it wasn’t fixed yet. He said he never wants to do that again, and after seeing the blisters on his feet, I don’t blame him. Hopefully, we can save up some money now that he’s working and buy another 4 wheeler. It’s at the top of our “must haves” list, but they are expensive, even used.
Funnily enough, our truck also needs the right front bearing replaced, too.
What are the odds that both vehicles need the same part at the same time?! Thankfully, one of the local mechanics has the piece in stock, so we’ll get that fixed shortly. After another 4 wheeler, we need a back-up vehicle as well. At least we can get taxis to and from the park if something happens to the truck, but I doubt a 4 wheeler taxi to the homestead exits, even in Alaska.
We’ve been working hard on getting firewood cut and stacked, and getting our two 55 gallon water barrels filled. It takes a lot of time to filter that much water with our homemade water filters. Once we’ve got them filled, it will be easy to just top them off as needed. Hopefully, we’ll have a rainwater catchment system set up by next year’s rainy season. That will really help cut down on trips to the creek to haul water.
We still have lots to do and lots to plan for next year around the homestead, but we’ve come so far from where we started! I can’t wait for the adventures tomorrow will bring!
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