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July 6, 2017: Living the Life

I have heard said that Pete and I are living the dream. My sister has never said this, but I know that she thinks it. Actually, she has said that we “live a rich life.” And she might be right. We live in a pretty area, and though it’s getting built up, it’s getting built up slowly. And the trend may reverse itself when, inevitably, the Alaskan economy goes belly up. I wouldn’t mind seeing this happen. I moved here because I didn’t want to have to deal with what I would have to deal with in most other places – traffic, sirens, noise, crime, grime. I see this, minimally, even with just a handful of people living on our loop year around.

It takes hard work, being able to prioritize, and a commitment to place in order to make living off the grid work. I am seeing others around us do a half-ass job of it. The telltale signs are lots of litter and lots of vehicles lying around. One neighbor right now has, by the side of the road, a pick-up truck full of bags of garbage. No concern there about bears getting into the mess and becoming habituated. But one of these neighbors, whenever he goes for a ride on his 4-wheeler, takes his gun. I suppose that if a bear wandered over to the vehicle he’d shoot it, no questions asked. Ahhh-laska. People like this individual motivate me to give time and money to Planned Parenthood. Yes, I am in favor of abortion.




Our place is looking pretty good right now – and the upper quadrant animals that we now have on hand are producing eggs and giving us milk. And the lower quadrant animals are doing their jobs as riding horses. As for the middle quadrant animals – Ryder has become an excellent trail dog and indispensable when it comes to putting the goats, Stormy and Ranger, in their rightful places. As for Rainbow – the end is coming, but she is quite comfortable and I think enjoying her final days. We have a routine that she likes – she gets help getting out and assistance eating. And she is in no pain when she’s sleeping or moving about.

Sometimes I see this place through my own eyes. Had a wonderful trail ride this morning, Pete rode Hrimmi and I rode Raudi. We did the bench loop, and after that we went to Grizzly Camp. Hrimmi is still getting her trail legs, but she’s slowly getting stronger and more sure of herself. Raudi, she’s in her prime, now going up and down hills in a real steady fashion.

And sometimes I see our place through the eyes of others. Today my friend Laura, who is in my Bones for Life class – came out for a visit. We had a wonderful time. It began with a garden tour. I then put her on Tinni and we rode our trails. Tinni was his usual steady eddy self. I rode Raudi. Our trails are lush and green. We didn’t see a soul. We got back to the house just before a thunder and lightning storm. Went over Bones for Life lessons. Pete made potato leek soup with our goat milk.

Nope, couldn’t do better. So yes, we are living the dream. Got lucky this lifetime.

Next: 184. 7/12/17: Fresh Spine

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