Bush Living...

As we embark on this new adventure in our lives and marriage, I cannot express enough how happy I am that we took the opportunity to move here.

Firstly, I say this because for years upon years, I have wanted to leave New York and start somewhere new. Did I know that I would be moving all the way across the United States and then some? Nope, I had no idea!
But needless to say, I am glad that we are here!

The more that I sub in classes and get to know the students, the more I love it here and the new traditions it brings!
Since my last post, Aaron and I have been busy working at the school, but there have been a few adventures!

I have been berry picking with Lynn, which is such a tedious task. Tedious for many reasons!
1. Tiny berries on tiny bushes makes it difficult to see them unless you are right on top of them.
2. They stain everything!!
3. Even though you think you have a lot, when you check your bag, you really don't!

Additionally, we have gotten some wacky weather! We have had some cold days where the temperature gets below 30 degrees with the windchill. And can you guess what else we have gotten?!?

If you guessed snow, you are RIGHT!
Nothing super crazy; like it sticking (YET!), but definitely some mountains in the distance and the mountains a mile away.
To be honest, I was quite happy when I saw the snow on the mountain that's a mile away. Mostly because I think that snow is beautiful, I just don't like what comes along with it!

So, where many of my recent posts have been about the adventures we have taken and the scenery, this one will be a little less adventure. My apologies in advance if it's boring!

Today....I'm going to talk about the rare commodities while you live here in the bush.
Here is a picture.......what do you think is a rare commodity here?

If you guessed eggs, well, not so much! Cheese? Nah, not that either.
It's the BACON! We have been here for two months and haven't seen a slice of bacon since we arrived. We saw it at the store, and just had to get some! It was amazing to have some bacon!

Many of the Lower 48 peeps that I talk to just don't understand how different it is here. We don't have the option to just run to the store when we are out of milk. If we have a craving for breakfast sausage or bacon, we can't just go get it. Well, actually, we can if the store has it, but it's not very common.
There is such a difference between being 5 or even 10 miles from a grocery store. Most of the things at the store are triple or quadruple the price than what you all can get it in the Lower 48. Usually, the rule we have is...if it's double, grab it, because there is a good chance it won't be in stock for awhile. I have to make my own bread, not that I'm complaining because it's AMAZING, but it's a huge change!

Aaron and I have decided that though we have only been here for two months, it's highly likely that we are not leaving for awhile. There are many reasons we have decided this.....mainly because it's just too difficult to move our small amount of belongings and it's expensive!! It took far too much effort and worry to get the dogs here, and I just won't do it again anytime soon! Another reason....we LOVE it here. The small amount of people, the quiet from city life, and the outdoors is amazing!

So, anyway, onto the pups....



I bought 100 lbs, yup you read that right, of flour and decided to store it in my storage space under the island. Keep in mind, there are no doors on these spaces, just shelves. Well that was the wrong decision.......

If you can't tell by the pictures.....the two hooligans decided that the flour was a snack and ripped open a bag and started eating it. That's right....eating it!


Zver consistently sits by a window and watches everyone and everything that is going on outside! He doesn't ever move!

We are thinking that Eve has an obsession with her ball, well maybe an addiction.......
She cannot live without the thing!

We are convinced that the first 4 years of Anubis's life consisted of him being lazy regarding his ear. With that being said, we also believe that after living here for a year, he will have a pointy ear!



I caught Tink trying to cover her food while she was in her crate! Here is a video of it!

Anubis has been pretty spunky when he is out and about. Spunky enough to start digging in a hole that his entire head would fit in!

As I mentioned before, not really much going on lately....except working each day!

Today's adventures though....
Zver galloping through the tundra on the outskirts of town.

Aaron jumping in the cold cold water!

Toodaloo!

*Winter IS Coming*

Nothing But Busy!

Well, I'm going to start off by saying the past few weeks have been busy, busy, busy! Aaron has started school and also started teaching his kids!

During that time, I have been super busy as well! I was asked to babysit for a family of teachers. As they are both at work, I get to watch their little Eskimo baby! He is super adorable and very smart. From the stories I hear, too smart for his own good! I also started volunteering at the school, doing Zumba with a few of the high school girls while the rest of their class is in the gym. It has been super fun, and I get to exercise at the same time!


We have been out exploring on the ATV every week, going different places and sometimes the same places. We have been along the beach, through the Tundra, and to place here called California. But, it's nothing like the one in the Lower 48, no sandy beaches and warm sunshine each minute of the day!

We have seen an old truck stuck out in the Tundra (which apparently hasn't been moved for over 30 years!).




Some old mining camps, that still has all the equipment to mine just laying around.

 We have even seen a bunch of foxes as we explored!

Additionally, we have been fishing a few times, but haven't caught anything! The word on the street is that fish is much easier to catch when you have a net!

Which, we did help put out, and got a bunch of flounder (which are super creepy looking) and a few salmon.
Here, you can see me filleting my first fish EVER! And yes, I even gutted it as well. Which, those of you who know me, know I absolutely cannot stand the feeling of squishy bloody things!

Oh, and also, apparently seal and walrus season is right around the corner!

Before moving on, I want to tell you about an amazing idea that the school had a few years back. Last year, each teacher family had a village family that they would spend time with, go hunting with, and get to know. This year, they switched it around a little bit, and each quarter, teacher's get a new family to spend time with for that quarter.

Anywho, Aaron plans on going seal and walrus hunting with the father of the family. I plan to help the mother sew some seal skin gloves. A few Mondays back, the whole family came over and spent time with us.
I made homemade Tikka Masala for everyone, and our village family made us a special treat. Here is the picture of it, can anyone guess what it is?

I'll give you until the end of the blog to guess!




We went fishing again, and still didn't get anything. Although along the beach, I found a ton, literally a ton(!), of starfish ranging from babies to adult. Of course, being the animal lover I am, I threw in all of the ones that were on the beach that were still alive. I even got to see a few of them move!! It was fascinating!

Other than babysitting, this gal has been preparing for the tasks that Aaron has thrown at me! Some other things I have been engaging in is using Aaron's white board to add a little spice to his lesson plans. Here is an example of one of them. :)

Going deep now.....

I was walking to the house where I babysit and all of a sudden I smelled that amazing wood burning scent. It reminded me of New York, having a fire, and spending time with friends and family. It was comforting in some ways, but also saddening. It's not like I will be able to have a fire here, but it still won't be quite the same!
Additionally, we were looking for our next vacation spot, but we have realized that we are in a place that is quite costly to depart from! Regardless, that will not stop us from exploring the world and visiting family of course!

I have been seeing a ton of pictures from the NY State Fair while everyone has been attending. This will be the first year that Aaron and I do not go. It reminds me that I need to cherish the time I had in NY and keep those memories as good ones. :)

While it has been a busy few weeks here in the bush, it has been an absolutely amazing start to our Alaskan Journey!
So here are a few of the things we have tried since we arrived...
Muscox - Tastes just like Venison and Beef! Of course there is still a gamey flavor!
Carribou Liver - Now, everyone who knows me well, knows I absolutely do not like liver. Well, it's considered a disrespect to refuse a tasting of something. So of course, I try it. Though it still had a liver taste, it was seasoned very well. You can take it from me, it was decent liver!
Reindeer Fat - Too chewy for me!
Salmon Berries - Yes, these are actually berries, but sometimes they are sweet and sometimes tart!

And now, did anyone guess what the food is from above?

If you guessed Eskimo Ice Cream, you were correct. Now, obviously we are all preconditioned to think of ice cream as a sweet, savory treat, but this ice cream is a little different! So, my village family wanted to make this ice cream for Aaron and I, and I honestly was scared! I looked up a few recipes and the normal ingredients involve fat of some sort, ground fish, some sugar, and berries. I KNOW, it sounds absolutely horrifying, but trust me, it was not! Luckily my village family did not, that's right did not, use fish as an ingredient. First, she grated some reindeer fat and then mixed water and seal oil together, switching between the two, to make a creamy, fluffy mixture. Once that was finished, the sugar and berries were added and set into the refrigerator to cool. Some of the berries were very tart, but my first experience of Eskimo Ice Cream was a success and DID NOT involve ground fish!






Now, on to the puppies.....
Zver is his normal, crazy self! Here is a video of him using our couch as a playground!

And one of him howling at me because he wants me to make him dinner!

Anubis is his fluffy, lovebug self! He hurt his leg on a long walk and has been limping here and there. That doesn't keep him from thinking he can run around everywhere! He is a little grumpy about it though! He has been putting his ear up lately, which makes him look like a handsome stud!







Eve....well, those who know Eve, know that her number one priority is her ball. Here is a picture of her sleeping on the couch with it! It cannot leave her side!



And here is Tink, being her spunky, feisty self!

I'm sure that everyone is wondering, how is the weather?
Well, let's start by sharing these gems!

Since our first day in Alaska, we were not awake for the darkness to arrive. That has officially changed, as the day before Aaron started school, we stayed up until 4 am to get his classroom ready! When we walked outside, we FINALLY got to see the moon! It was well worth the wait.

Here is the run down of how quickly we are losing daylight (about 7 minutes a day). When we first arrived, it would get dark around 2/3 AM, after about two weeks it was 12/2 AM. Now it get's dark by 11PM.

Also, as of late, it has been rainy, windy, and downright CHILLY!
This screenshot is from a week ago!

 I fear that summer is slowly passing us by and it's time to prepare for the the cold that's about to be our village!



We have ventured the village a little bit and found multiple homes with a stock of Huskies! One even has puppies, but they are not big enough quite yet to explore. I will take pictures once they are big!


Well, I will leave you with that for a little while!
Cheers!

*Winter IS Coming*

The Adventures Begin!

Let me begin by telling you that we haven't really done much in the first week here, other than eat, sleep, and arrange our new home for comfort.



In the past few days though, we have been out on the ATV's and hiked up the second largest mountain that's a 30 minute walk from our house. :-D Here is a picture of our hike, minus the stops along the way!

Before I go into detail of our adventures the past few days, I will give you a preview of the sunset on the ocean in Unalakleet.


I was not here for these, but Aaron was gracious enough to go out at 1:30 AM to catch these beauties!

Each day we attempt to bring the pups on an hour long walk, which ends up being about a mile and a half a day. They do enjoy going on walks each day and enjoy lounging in the sun when it comes through the window!

When we bring two dogs on a long hike, this is what we come home to! 

And, they occassionally like to wiggle accross the floor!

AND NOW....

Adventure #1 - ATV's through the Tundra!
The first time out, we went through the Tundra to a place called Sunset. Nothing special here, just a drive a long the beach to the Tundra. I say that it was nothing special, but it was beautiful.

We were able to witness Salmon doing their yearly travel up river to spawn. The video is sideways, my apologies, but I will remember in the future to leave the camera right side up!

Of course, all of us being the children we are at heart; attempted to catch them. I should mention that we tried to catch them by hand, and a few of us were successful in this, me being one of them!

Don't believe me? Check out this video!

After catching a few Salmon, we ventured through the Tundra to visit an old Mining Cabin.

While here, we found a hard core safe located just inside of the front door!
We assume that the reason for this cabin, which was fortified very securely, was for the purpose of locating and mining gold! Based on the size of that safe, we are also thinking it might have been a pretty good location to find some gold!

Adventure #2 - Hiking the 1,351 Ft High Mountain (on the left of the picture)!

So, this was a rewarding adventure, but very very difficult! These mountains here in Alaska are nothing like the ones back home! Let me explain!
1) The mountains back home are usually uphill, then have a decent amount of either flats or downhill again.
2. There is shade to take a break from the sun!
VS.
1) Nothing but uphill, uphill, uphill, then more uphill. For the most part, this mountain was hilly!
2) NO trees in sight! Which equals no shade, other than when you move to a point that the clouds block the sun!

Despite these little differences, the hike up was difficult, but we did it and I was able to get a picture of Brevig, a panorama of the ocean, and mountains, so it was worth the effort!

Of course, this is round two of Husky on a Mountain!
For anyone who may not know what I'm talking about; last summer we went to the Adirondacks and explored Whiteface Mountain with our Husky, Zver.





We also brought a long Eve, who hiked up the mountain with Aaron's Dad, Tony, who hiked the mountain like it was nothing! In the picture on the left, he is the little speck of a human leading the way!













The day after this hike means for SORE, VERY SORE legs!

I am blessed to be here in this beautiful village, with mountains and the ocean within walking distance. We have heard stories of other villages around us that do not have running water, have children who break into homes and the school, and have a different atmosphere than here in Brevig.

At this point, I go back to my social work roots to mention how much one realizes the importance of CONSISTENCY!! Here, there is a continuous change every few years in their teachers and support systems. There is not a continual pattern that these kids are used to, it's no wonder that some other towns have far more extreme problems. There is no CONSISTENCY!

Regardless, I am still loving the weather here, and the ability to explore the area! The last few days have been beautiful, with a high of 65 degrees. Yes, yes, I know, it may seem cold to all of you Lower 48 humans, but it's the highest it will get here! Which to us, is downright toasty!


Well, that's all for now!

*Winter IS Coming!*