As a mother and also a grandmother, I am so excited about the new joy coming into y’all’s life. I don’t believe there is a more exciting, intriguing, sorta scarry time in a woman or man’s life. But the blessings are boundless, as is the work that goes into helping to direct this precious being along life’s path. Brightest blessings to all of you in this special time in your lives.

Always so inspired by all you are doing and thankful when you have time to share everything with us. Do you have colleagues here in Montana who would "coach" a mountain girl in this environment on sustainable gardening and the possibility of yurt life? We also have a home in town (Missoula), I have a Gallery, and my husband has not yet retired ~ but we do have mountain property we will soon be on exclusively when he retires. My basket business will be with me forever!
Carry on, Little Mother! Judy in Montana

Hi Alex
Thanks for all that you share, congrats on your degree, and all the best with your new arrival! I wanted to share a book title with you. I’m guessing you may have already heard of it, but just in case: Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice chronicles a year of full moons, their lore and feasts that accompany them. It’s perfect for a food lover and outdoor enthusiast like you!
Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
Melanie

Congratulations on your first baby!!! My baby will be 10 years old on Dec. 22 and being his mother has been the best journey of my life.
I really enjoyed your blog and look forward to reading it again! My son and will be be visiting Alaska for the first time in June!!:)
Happy Holidays!!!!
Kelly in CA

Hi there Alex,
Congratulations on everything! Home and baby together will be great. You’ll make your first memories at the same time. Our first was born January 16th… ( three weeks early ) His due Date was February 3rd. We drove to the hospital in the midst of snow flurries and watched it snow out the window until he finally arrived some eight hours later. After that all eyes were on him. Our baby turns 18 this January. UNBELIEVABLE! We wish you an easy delivery, and much love and warmth together in your new home and in the days ahead as " new " parents. I have to say, I loved that part of becoming a mom… I’m not sure when I finally stopped saying I was a " new " mom, but I’m pretty sure beamed from the inside out every time I spoke those words. There truly is nothing like the arrival of a brand new babe…Enjoy and be blessed!!!
Deb ( your beach blogging sister )

It is 12 degrees with a wind chill of 0 today here at almost 2:00 p.m. about 2"s of snow over night. I think it looks like you have a bit more snow – so pretty. Happy to hear you are doing well and that the yurt is too. Love to hear all about your ‘adventuresome’ life – yes to me it is adventuresome. God Bless

We just got blasted with snow and wind too this week so I know the feelings. Wind blowing and the whistling sounds around the chimney and places. We burn with would too. Someone always has to let the cat out around 4 and that is a good time to full the stove again. Sounds like it’s working out great there!

Everything looking real good! I live in a ceder home. Every once in a while I crave drywall. Something to paint or to change the color. All the rooms in the house are wood. I love it but I just feel like painting something sage green, or some fun color. But it passes, and I get busy and thank the Lord I have an easy house to live in. 🙂

Love all the pics and blow-by-blow updates. Thanks for the vicarious thrill!

WOW y’all are coming right along and looking good!!! Thanks for the update and pic’s. God Bless

My lovely Alex, We are so happy that things are finally coming together. I do not know if you have heard this story…We started building our house shortly after Evan was born. His first favorite toy? A plastic hammer rattle. His first words? Not Dada or Mama……"Pound, pound, pound"! The intuitive building skills have been there forever.
Love, Mom and Dad Pederson

My entire married life (41 years) seems to have been spent in construction – we fixed up 2 old houses, built a cabin here on our land, built a house – it burned down and we intend to build another one…meanwhile, we are adding a room to the tin can we are living in which is way too small…we’ve built out buildings, and whatever else – my husband is the King of Shelving by now! But we’ve never lived in a yurt! Sounds like fun!

So glad the stove is fixed and working properly. What a difference! last entry was a little depressing but it goes to show you that things can change and turn around if you hang in there. Husbands are wonderful too! They seem to make a lot of things all go in the right direction. P.S. The black creosote is just awful to clean up. We go though it once a year! Yuk! Keep the progress coming! Love it!

Check out Permies.com for information on rocket stoves that are easy to build, can use way less fuel, store and release heat over a long period of time, releases far fewer greenhouse gasses, can double as furniture and will be far safer then a conventional stove for your little one to be around, also it does not have to occupy the center of your yurt. In all it can save you a lot of future work. Paul Wheaton is the guy with info. I know you’ve invested a lot of work and $$ in what you’ve done with your conventional stove. Check this out though and see if this choice could help. Good luck to you and your family.
Theresa Z.

Hello Alex,

I came to your blog through MaryJanesFarm newsletter, and thought I’d respond to your question about heating with a woodstove. We live in a 104-year-old farmhouse (built from a 1908 Sears catalog kit!) in Olympia, WA, and as far as I know, it has only been heated by coal or wood all these years. We bought our current woodstove twenty-eight years ago, and it’s our only permanent heat source, still works great. About twenty years ago we refinanced, and were required to install baseboard heaters, but when the inspections were done, we removed them – they were actually more of a fire hazard than the stove! Anyway, we also have issues with wet wood, so we have a rotating system: outside wood stack, then into the woodshed, then a small stack near the back door and a stack around the stove. My husband works in construction, so we get lots and lots of kiln-dried scraps, which get the fire going quickly and hot, and actually dries out wood that’s still a bit damp – but only put one or two pieces on at a time, damp wood can kill the fire!

Light woods, such as fir and alder, dry out faster, and are good for getting the fire going well, and heavy woods, such as cedar and apple, work best added later, and last much longer. During the months we use the woodstove, I just make it part of my routine to check the fire every so often.

Heating with wood is messy, so there’s more cleaning to do, but the to-the-bones warmth is so worth it! People love coming to our house, especially when the power goes out, because we stay toasty warm, and we can still cook! I raised four children here, not one of them had any injuries related to using the woodstove.

We do have electric space heaters for occasional use in a couple of rooms that are a distance from the stove, such as the bathroom, also for those times when we need heat but aren’t available to stoke the fire, and for the ‘transition’ times of early fall and late spring, when a fire is just too much, but we need to take the chill out in the morning and evening.

Once we put insulation into the walls and had storm windows made, we found that it was unnecessary to stoke the fire during the night – banking it well and clamping down the baffle keep it going low all night, with a good bed of coals ready to go in the morning.

I’ve even come to enjoy clomping out to the woodshed to get a wheelbarrow load of wood to stack around the stove and near the door. Then I curl up on the couch next to the fire, with a cup of tea, and I’m in heaven. 🙂

Hello Alex and Evan,

I absolutely love reading your blog!and the building of the yurt is amazing. Have you ever seen the movie, "The Tail Of The Yellow Dog"? It is a beautiful movie about living the nomadic life in Mongolia and they live in a yurt. The movie itself is beautifully photographed and the chidren in the movie are absolutely adorable as well. So is the simple life they live and what the children in the movie get to experience. I wish for our children that they could even just for a moment put down all the electronics and just be…children. Even though you are going through some hardships now, you will reflect back on this time as very special and like most things in life, only come around once. To be young, positive, and living off the "grid" somewhat is all a fantastic part of your life! and with a new baby coming. How exciting! Take one day at a time and enjoy all that comes your way. You are doing a great job.

Blessings,

Deborah

I am shocked that you do not have a wood stove that has a water tank to heat your tea & dishwashing water etc…
Also the heated water tank provides warmth for the room.
Seen Rick on Rick’s Restorations using the Steelwool & Vinegar application – I can’t wait to try it out.
Good Luck

Don’t worry about farming while pregnant! I did it through my whole pregnancy, and even though my daughter had to arrive by c-section, I was feeling back to normal in a matter of days. The Dr. said it was because I was in great shape while pregnant and my muscles were strong. So do what you want to and don’t fret about folks worries, it’s your body and you alone know what it can and can’t do at this point! Your body will bounce back faster and your baby will be healthier if you keep at the work that makes you happy! Good luck!

I really enjoyed your post and wish you well with your pregnancy…such a healthy environment to be in. Please keep posting the yurt progress too, looking forward to seeing how that comes along.

Great post! I thinks it’s awesome how you’re enjoying everything about your pregnancy and having to farm at the same time- exhausting.

you travel to such spectacular places! I would love to see some pics from your travels and of your yurt

Oh my yes hope the internet cooperates with posting the pictures – your words are great but I’m such a visual person. God Bless

Alaska is a beautiful place and I’ve always wanted to visit. I can’t wait for the pictures.

This is just so VERY awesome. Love the pics. Love your
fortitude. Can I move in with you?

what an adventure! Thanks for sharing : )

I’m a new Farmgirl (well, probably "old" farmgirl, but new to the Sisterhood.
I discovered MaryJane’s magazine while up in Homer, AK for three months last winter as a granny nanny for our traveling nurse daughter’s new baby —
I loved cross-country skiing on the hayfields — my second trip to AK– what an amazing place! Great blog!

How very exciting!! Can’t wait to see more pics in the future.

Oh how nice to have a CSA in your area – there are noises being made that we might get one going in our area – YEA!!! even though I am not physically able to do much I will do all I can to help out, think it will be fun for this old farm girl to have time with the soil. God Bless

That’s happiness!That blueberry stained grin! Oh to be a kid again up in the mulberry tree, picking and snacking with stained fingers.

Congratulations, Alex! You reminded me of a wonderful woman that I met at a farmer’s market in the small town of St. Maries, ID. I was purchasing organic beets (my recent addiction!) and we were discussing her planting sites in the area. I looked at her hands and saw the short nails, complete with the embedded soil…What I saw was strength! Her glowing face and the twinkle in her eye told all…
Very happy for you and picturing the yurt!

Congratulations!

That so exciting Alex!! Congratulations on your pregnancy from all of us at MaryJanesFarm! 🙂

Congratulations Alex and Evan! Wishing you all the best!

Alex, this is wonderful news. I love that you are excited and fully experiencing your pregnancy. I love that even in the city you dress and act as who you are. So many women could use you as an example of what a woman is, not the air-brushed models in magazines. You are living the best life, move forward with confidence and enjoy all the happiness coming your way.