Eliguk Outpost

South Africa. That's where the family that just left by floatplane are from. They currently reside in the U.S., but their trip was all arranged from a brother living in South Africa, who loves venturing off the grid. He was asked to find an 'off-the-grid' place in Canada that was rustic, had mountains, a lake, good fishing and was 'hard to get to'. I'm a little tickled that the website I created is doing it's job! Beer Lasagna. Before & After. Their lifestyle was completely different from our own, of course many people's are. But this family was used to having servants. In South Africa, all middle income families have…

Arnica flowers to steep in Olive oil I had spent the last mosquito infested, wet month painstakingly collecting each herb for my own recipe salve/balm for sore arthritic hands and muscles. I knew all the ingredients were here somewhere, I just had to forage for them. Arnica Flowers (for topical anti-inflammatory, blood circulation stimulant, well known pain herb) was added to virgin olive oil and sun-infused for 2 weeks. Then  a preparation of virgin coconut oil was set at 85F for 2 weeks infusing Devils Club Root (for general pain), Willow Bark (tough pain relief for Gout, sciatica, back pain & sprains), Juniper & Berries (rheumatic conditions, sore muscles, nerve…

Stop-overs We knew the heat would come, and with it a few more guests. Mainly unwelcomed guests, those blood sucking, humming, flying leeches. All single male pilots. Ones you can't turn away because it's business, and they were all sent here because they heard the food and fishing was great. In the back of our minds we're thinking, "Maybe they will bring their families or friends next time?" "Maybe they will talk with others about the great fishing and how we catered to their every need?" ...And maybe they will. It makes me sound incredibly ungrateful, but one after the other, after the other, all spoke of how tough business…

Chicken Soup for the Soul The Chicken soup was as comforting as the fire that warmed the tiny log cabin. Reminiscent in flavor with components of the previous meal cooked on the back of it's hot steel casing. A Mid-Summers day marking the start of Summer, yet the stove is being constantly fed the dead standing Spruce & Pine. "Why do they refer to it as Mid-Summer?" It seems we never got beyond chilly, wet April; yet our days will only get darker from here. Astronomically, the summer solstice is considered to be "mid-summer", because it is technically the longest day of the year. However, using this definition would place…

Rolling thunderstorms The rains didn't stop, and the cool days continued; It felt more like April, not June. The days are barely passing 16C (61F) highs, and by now we should be well into 25C (77F). Our leaves are still budding on some trees! We only have 2 months left before it starts getting cold again. We are approaching a full moon and of course last night I had to run up to the greenhouse and build a fire for our -1C (30F) hard frost temperature! I know we normally get a frost through every Summer month before the full moon, but we've been only a few degrees away from…

Rainy day naps... The May showers continued to rain down in all formations including snow, hail & sleet. Conditioning the pups with it's hypnotic/rhythmic pattern to fall asleep at the sounds of pounding rain on the roof. So much so, that when it's sunny out and I want them to sleep, I just need to play a lullaby so-to-speak; a meditation track of rain and thunderstorms. But now that they can climb out of their pen, all hell has broken loose! There's no room in box to hunch over and assume the 'poo position' without your sibling knocking you over (therefore ruining your moment of relief). The only thing left…

Finally Planted! It was a successful week. Am I surprised? Yup. Without sleep, I managed to keep all the puppies alive and healthy, put an entire garden in, clean cabins, catch up on laundry, plan & prep feasts for the long weekend....heck, I even washed windows! Mountain Man finished the deck build and now he will wait to put the screen in. We decided it was better to wait for a little more warm weather, so I can get to stain the wood before the screen goes up. Makes the job easier for the one wielding the paint brush. The deck is so beautiful, but lets face it, it looks…

The last (almost 2 weeks) have been a blur! Hopefully you’ll be sympathetic by the end of this blog entry to understand why there wasn’t 4-6 hours cleared in my schedule to give you an update. Mothers Day arrived and I enjoyed one of my last relaxing days filled with just the usual ‘housewife duty’ stuff. We got to bed by 11pm and closed our eyes. That’s when the panting started. Brook was wedged between us, and she picked that night to go into labor. Three days early from her and Storms first tie. I was a bit concerned as the pups need at least 58 days (of the 63…

Stocking up on feed... We had our last ice fishing session nearly 10 days ago, I say 'we' because, well...I'm sure you get what I mean by the photo below. We caught one trout and baked it for our pregnant girl who needs all the extra nutrition. It's taken a few months to stock up on all the feed we will need for the busy Summer ahead. I'm sure I don't have to tell you the rising cost, and short supply of everything has made finding the same pet food next to impossible! Brook has been feasting on wild game organ meat that I've had in the freezer (not quite…

Wild hair, don't care! Wild hair - don't care; I've got my Mountain Man back! It's taken a long time to hone this 'informal-happy-go-lucky' wilderness look and I'm quite comfortable with not having to be presentable on any given day (which may soon backfire.) Two weeks away again for the 100th time, over the span of several years and this just feels 'normal' now. One thing is clear on that first day back together...we just giggle all day. Mountain Man had left Vanderhoof early as usual while it was still below zero, so the ground was solid enough to make it all the way home towing his heavy load. Cottonwood…