Living the Dream

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At first, we slept in the 12 X 16-foot kitchen. During the day, we moved an entire hill with sweat and shovels so that we could build our 21 X 34-foot addition. We now have two stories plus an attic.

We are the first settlers in this valley. Even the Indians chose areas farther north or south, where the salmon are. We began by squatting on the land, but now have a license of occupation from the government. That means we pay taxes but have official permission to stay here.

0ur family of four lives on between $2,000 and $3,000 a year. Jay makes $2,000 to $2,500 a year form his wood carvings and does a little tanning for local trappers. We earn $660 a year keeping weather records for Environment Canada and also trade some of the vegetables from our three-acre garden.

Out here, I've learned the pleasures and frustrations of dog sledding and snowshoeing. I've learned the bitter realities of using the outhouse at -30°C-or worse, during the bug season. I've learned patience during the endless fall rains.

Bit by bit, we are engineering a few small luxuries. Until recently, the closest thing we had to running water was me descending to the creek with buckets. Now a gasoline pump eliminates the tedious and exhausting chore of hauling those five-gallon pails of water up a steep 40-foot slope. We have a cold-water tap right in the kitchen and eventually will have a hot-water system as well. Also in our plans is a water wheel, to give us electricity for more precious light in winter.

We subsist on wild meat, with domestic chickens, rabbits, and geese to supplement it. We never shoot more than one moose a year, and we use every part. We boil down the bones for soup stock, and make the skin into rawhide.

Our lives are tightly governed by the seasons. During the warm months, we're busy growing and storing away food for the winter. Our garden provides us and our animals with all the vegetables we need. Last year, we harvested 1,755 pounds of potatoes and 1,050 pounds of carrots. We also grew parsnips, peas, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, brussels sprouts, onions, garlic, strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, asparagus, celery, and parsley. Our root cellar keeps our produce fresh until the next growing season.

The endless round of pioneer chores often prevents us from going on casual hikes. Even as I write this, I am hustling off every few sentences to split and carry in wood, to feed the fire, to carry laundry to the creek, and to put water on the stove.

I also have a great deal to wash, all by hand, in spring. I move my laundry down to the creek to enjoy the sunshine and mountains as I scrub. I use wool gloves inside rubber gloves to protect myself from the icy bite of the creek water.

In the snowy months, I have more time for projects like writing, knitting, sewing, and stitching slippers from some of the hides that Jay has tanned. Jay spends may hours carving. Our daughter learns her three R's through a correspondence course, and in her spare time, she shares our artistic enthusiasm for carving and making things. We all find ample time for other kinds of learning too: Every moment we are surrounded by nature, the greatest teacher on earth.

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