We thought the new title and description more fitting. It also "simplifies" our blog entries and combines our pursuits instead of compartmentalizing them by having separate blogs for each endeavor.
We are indeed on the simplification track, yet getting there seems, well, not "simple" at all. We have been moving our businesses and lives in the northbound direction now for a few years and it is just starting to take shape and feel real to us. We break ground in June!
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| The "Enchanted Cedar Forest" trail in the works! |
We began clearing a portion of our new dog mushing trail that will be perfect for beginners as well providing a gateway to more challenging trails for our advanced participants.
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| Neil learns to "witch" for water. |
The weekend was a productive one because, in addition to trail clearing, we met with seven local contractors for our building project. Don from McKeever Well Drilling taught Neil how to "witch" for water. Neil was skeptical at first but he actually found some! We're believers now.
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| A solar system that is comparable to the one we will need |
Jerry Lileryd from Sun Energy was kind enough to give us a tour of various systems in the area that he has installed. Our system will consist of solar panels, batteries, an inverter and a generator back up. We're crossing our fingers that the well drillers will find an Artesian well and then we can add hydro power to the mix and not to mention, the potential for a big pond for the dogs! This may be wishful thinking but if you don't put it out into the universe......
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| Yagy antennae to help boost cell coverage |
A big consideration for us, to stay in touch with our customers and the world is phone coverage! There is none. We have a satellite phone that we use for emergencies during our remote adventures but the price of service is not cost effective for this to be our main source of communication. With a Yagy antennae and a Smooth Talker cell phone booster, we should have no trouble having a reliable phone connection. The antennae in the photo is receiving a signal from the towers in Grand Marais, some 30 miles away!
Another big one for us is mosquito season. It is absolutely HORRIBLE for about 2 months. Neil and I can get away from the bugs but the dogs have a more difficult time with it. The dogs are on their third year of garlic supplements during bug season and last year convinced us that it really does work. We had clouds of mosquitoes in the dog yard. It was the worst year on record for the little buggars. And wouldn't you know, there were very few actually ON the dogs. So, we'll continue feeding garlic seasonally. We're also designing the dog yard so that it will have good air flow and circulation from the direction of the prevailing winds. Something called a Skitter Vac will be placed nearby to help suck up any skitter that hasn't seen the no trespassing sign. A Skitter Vac is powered by propane which has a low carbon footprint as it has a byproduct of water. This machine emits carbon dioxide which attracts the bugs then it sucks them up! Love it!
What else?! Lots. Gosh, there are so many things to take into consideration and new things pop up all the time. We just have been and will continue to just go with the flow and take things as they come and turn our compass in the direction of "simple".
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