Best Snowshoe for Deep Powder, New vs. Old Snowshoes

As I mentioned in one of the last posts, we've been doing a lot of snowshoeing recently. And as discussed, I have found modern style snowshoes to be pretty ineffective for actually moving through deep snow. I've pondered for several years if I needed a new-to-me pair of snowshoes and if so, what would best fit my needs. I have found over time, this is a good process to work through to be sure I am going to acquire an item I actually need or want and know I will use for sure. I don't have time or space in my life for things that don't fit that description, so I don't want to waste any money or energy on any of the trillions of items in the world that I do not need or want and know I will use for sure. 

 So, when I'm thinking through something I might want, unless it's something I already had that is totally worn out, broken, and unrepairable, and needs replacing with the same item, this is what I usually do. Think about, do I need this? Almost always the answer is

Another Big Nighttime Visitor

A couple mornings ago, when Burley and I woke up and first went outside, I saw new tracks in the snow. One advantage of getting more snow almost every day, is the ability to easily pick out and follow fresh tracks. Burley has a pretty huge foot print for a barely 50 pound dog. Much larger than many dogs his size, and this serves him well for living in deep snow country as those big feet act a bit like snowshoes. But at first glance I knew these tracks were not Burley's. They were two to three times larger than his feet. My first thought was that our resident mountain lion had visited again. But a second glance let me know that they were not cat tracks. Just like a house cat, mountain lions can retract their claws, so their paw prints just have a pad and toes, no nail print visible. Each of these tracks I was looking at had a very clear nail print at

Snowshoeing with Burley

With lots (more than 11 feet in the mountains above me since January first alone!) of snow, Burley and I have been enjoying quite a few snowshoes through the woods. I love being able to float over the deep snow, the quiet of the winter woods, and

Winter Squash

Some of the many squash I helped grow and harvest at a previous job in a different and much warmer location!

 Winter squash (the hard, sometimes oddly shaped and colored ones, not things like zucchini which are summer squash) are a great way to get lots of vitamins, minerals and fiber, among other thing, into your diet in the winter. Check out http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2751/2 or other sources if you want to see a list of all the vitamins and minerals they contain. They also store very well, so are a great winter food. I would love to grow and store my own as they are pretty easy to grow. If you have a warm enough climate. Most varieties take a 100 day plus frost free growing season and here we're lucky to have 50 days without snow. Usually with multiple frosts in that period. But wether you can grow your own or buy them, one of the best things about squash is how easy they are

2019 Highlights

Sometimes on new years day, I want to tell people, "you know, a new year starts for you each day you wake up still alive." Do something with it. Don't wait for some random day on a calendar to make resolutions and do new things. If it's something you want to or know you need to do, start right now. Whatever day on a calendar that is. 

That said, it is nice to look back through what happened in the last while every now and then. So here's some highlights

Safe Cleaning

At this time of year, some of you may be doing a bit more cleaning than normal due to the residue of family visits and holiday parties. In any case, I'm guessing that most of you do some cleaning, at some point in your life. As a society we seem to have been sold the idea that this needs to involve a lot of expensive and toxic

Night Time Noises

The most frequent night time visitor we see here is a fox. Probably more than one as there are quite a few in the area, though I don't usually see more than one at a time in our yard. I love having them come through as they are great at putting a dent in the population of small rodents. Last night Burley and I were awakened in the middle of the night by a very different sound though.

Winter Decorating with Pine

As you probably know, I really enjoy the flowers surrounding my house, garden, wild in the woods, and seeing their beauty all summer. With our long winters, there are many months of the year with no flowers growing outdoors here. So, I do some winter decorating with

Tiny House Cooking - Christmas Caroling Chili

With the frigid cold weather we woke up to this morning, with temps a little below zero F, a good hot hearty soup was on my mind. Chili seems to be another of those dishes that most people have passionate opinions about the correct way to make. I never order chili if I am away from home because

Deepening Snow

Over the past week or so, the snow pack on the ground has deepened a good bit. From the above photo to just a little deeper now than

Podcast Interview - 6 years of Off-Grid Tiny House Living in Wyoming

Hey all, I thought you might enjoy knowing that I’ve been featured on

Winter Crystals

It's continued to be cold, with little new snowfall over the past few days. Though there is more in the forecast which is

Tiny House Coloring Book!

If any of you enjoy coloring, check this out! A brand new Tiny House coloring book featuring many people's tiny homes, including Fy Nyth (and Burley!). See a couple pages below. Put together by my fellow tiny house dwelling

Finally Snowy

So as you may know, this winter has started out unusually dry. We've had a few inches of snow several times, since late September. And overall cold temps, down to -10F. Actually setting the record for the coldest October in the area. But even when it's cold, when the sun comes out and you have dry air, the snow just evaporates. It's called sublimation - the process of a solid turning

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Hello from Burley and I in the snowstorm which is finally blanketing the area is a permanent coat of white for the year. (It's about 6 inches deeper since snapping this photo) I hope you are all enjoying your Thanksgiving Day! You might have seen this before, but thinking about this kind of thing always makes me more

Stretching, Ice, and Flashes of Blue

The photo looks sunny, but it's been pretty cold. Just a few flurries that have all evaporated except for the shadiest spots. But lots of pretty ice crystal patterns everywhere. And Burley loves spending his mornings snoozing in the cold sunshine or practicing yoga in front of the house. I wonder if we people all stretched as consistently

Welcome & Follow by Email

Hey folks. If you just found your way over here from Youtube (or anywhere else!) welcome from me and Burley at Fy Nyth!

 I just got a heads up that the subscribe to the blog by email link was not working which I was unaware of. I believe I've fixed it, please let me know if it's still not working. Find it near the top of the right hand side, and please do subscribe so we can stay in touch no matter what the FTC, Youtube, or other media companies decide to do. We're very glad to have you here and trying to stay in contact as I figure out what all these rule changes mean for my ability to share info

Some Interesting and Different Meals

As you probably know, I very much enjoy cooking and sometimes am asked, "what kind of food do you make?" I never know how to answer this question. I make a lot of things. :) I think one of the wonderful things about preparing your own food is not only the quality and knowing what is actually in it, but being able to experiment with different ideas and flavors to make things exactly the way you prefer. So I rarely make two things exactly the same. Above is something like an open faced "egg macmuffin."  The biscuit made with freshly hand ground einkorn wheat, grass fed

Winter's Firewood Prep Etc.

Winter is well on it's way here. The snow isn't deep yet, but the temps plummeted weeks ago. Burley and I as always, are cozy in the house. And the way we stay cozy, is with the little mini

Canning Summer Bounty

This summer and fall I was able to preserve a lot of wonderful food for enjoyment through the next year. Canning is one of the ways I store bounty for later enjoyment, and I love looking at rows of beautifully colored canned foods on my pantry shelves! Growing and eating various and sometimes unusual colors is so much fun. The above photo is all carrots