Tracks and Scat: Noticing Nature

Engagement with nature is the same as with people. It requires slowing down and paying attention to details. It isn’t driving past and enjoying the view. It isn’t jogging through a park while chatting with a friend or listening to music. Engagement means walking, looking, pausing, noticing, analyzing, comparing, and appreciating.

In this regard, one of my favorite pastimes in the remote part of Alaska where we live, is to identify and interpret the scat and tracks of the wild animals that live here. In winter, the tracks are clear for several days in the snow, but the warm excrement slips below the surface and disappears, so that clue is lacking.

In summer, ground cover obscures the tracks, other than in mud. But I see vague footprints in gravel along creeks, and of course our forest is riven with myriad animal trails and the occasional matted grass where one bedded down for the night (or day). Among bushes and trees, I notice branches stripped by moose, berries scattered by bears, trees gnawed by beavers, and tree trunks rubbed raw by bull moose as they shed their velvet and paddles (antlers). Bears leave swatches of coarse hair where they rub against trees (and our cabins). In summer, animal scat lasts for days, and I can infer how recent it is and what the animal ate.

By paying attention, I learn about my largely silent neighbors: where they travel, if they are moving fast (in fear or in pursuit) or slowly (feeling safe), what they have been eating, how recently they have passed through, and the conditions for their respective dens.

In the spirit of the season, this article focuses only on WINTER TRACKS. A summer article will describe SUMMER clues.

Every afternoon above about 0 degrees F, my husband, dog and I take a walk. We prefer the frozen, windswept lake for easy walking in shallow snow, but we also go into the woods on snowshoes (to cut firewood). Either way, we look for tracks, point them out to our chocolate lab mix dog, Buddy, and try to interpret what we see.

VOLES, HARES, WOLVERINES, BEARS, MARTENS, WEASELS, LYNX, ad WOLVES

VOLE

This week, in the flat light of an overcast day, we barely saw the close, shallow tracks of a vole (meadow mouse) heading away from the woods and out toward the middle of the lake. Why? Any dark colored creature on the white expanse would be an obvious appetizer to an eagle eyed carnivore – avian or otherwise. Usually, we find their serpentine trails in spring when the snow melts, in long stretches dug slightly into the mud and slightly into the lowest layer of snow, where they are insulated to a balmy 33 degrees F. Why would one venture out into the cold exposure of a windswept lake? I do not know.

Our dog and other animals hear or smell the voles beneath the snow. Buddy sniffs and digs where he can reach under the chicken coop, where I am sure voles hole up during the winter and gather occasional bits of food and straw.

MARTEN

A more dramatic occasion occurred with a marten. These animals (whose fur is the ermine you associate with royalty) are about the size of a cat, but with shorter legs, all brown/black, with cupped ears. They have been referred to, evocatively, as “nature’s most adorable assassin.”

Moose on our frozen lake

My husband was soaking in our outdoor, wood fired hot tub mid-winter. I happened to be looking out our kitchen window and saw the following, too. A black marten left the shelter of trees (which they can climb) and trotted out to the middle of a meadow. There he stood for a moment and then jumped up into the air and straight down into the snow, emerging with a vole in his mouth. He returned a while later for a second course, but the voles had skedaddled. Instead, he was attracted to the sound of Bryan splashing water over his head in the tub. Did he hear another meal? The marten bounded toward him and even climbed up the lowest two steps to the deck surrounding the tub! Adorable or not, my husband was disinclined to be so close to those sharp teeth, so he splashed water onto the marten, who ran away into the woods. He has his space; we like ours.

HARE

Hares, being a prey species like voles, usually stay in the woods, but one time we watched from our front porch as a hare raced out of the woods and along shore, as fast and straight as I have ever seen one move. Sure enough, a predatory marten was chasing. Before they disappeared beyond the trees, it looked like the marten was gaining. It is a dog eat dog world out there. When we walked down to the lake to analyze the tracks, the distance between the leaps of both creatures was greater than we had ever seen, reflecting their speed.

Usually, hares stay in the woods, sheltered among the roots of birch or under the snow weighted boughs of spruce or a thicket of alder laid low by the snow. When they venture out for forage, like dead grass or berries, they move from one sheltered tree to another. Their tracks are distinctive from the way they jump – their big back feet tend to obscure their smaller front foot prints, like a frog jump.

In spots illuminated and warmed by the sun, the older tracks (of any creatures) expand in the snow, looking much larger than is true. This is one way to assess how much time has passed. Tracks in shaded areas tend to remain true to size longer.

The tree canopy protects the hares somewhat, but since the deciduous trees shed their leaves in autumn, they are particularly vulnerable to predators in winter. One year, we spied a bright red (so fresh) blood pool at the base of a tree, and a light blood trail leading away, but no footprints at all! Our interpretation was that an eagle or hawk dove down to grab a fleeing hare just as it emerged from its sub-nivian hideaway. I doubt it was an owl because those birds are so light. I have seen them dive to break a duck’s neck, and then sit there to feed on the large bird that it could not lift.

LYNX

Here, the lynx/hare population follows a predictable 10 year cycle: more hares = more lynx. Last year was the trough, so we anticipate seeing more of both in upcoming years. Only once have I seen what I think were lynx tracks. Their feet are so insulated with tufts of fur that you can barely see the toes and claws. The tracks looked to me almost like a big softball shape slightly indented into the surface, surrounded by a softened snow edge.

MYSTERY DECODED

Perhaps the most joyful discovery occurred shortly after Freezeup this year. When the lake ice was thick enough to support our weight (4 – 6 inches) and barely covered with an inch or two of snow, we ventured out, wearing ice cleats since the ice was so slick, and carrying a rope in case one of us fell in. Can you can interpret what we saw before I answer the question?

Along the perimeter of the lake, maybe three feet from shore, we saw what looked like a single tire track that scraped the snow down to the ice. It was about 6 inches wide and 6 feet long. Then a gap of 10 inches of snow, and then another track of ice, then snow, then ice, for 1/3 to ½ a mile! Two or three times, the track veered right up to the shrubbery along shore. What was this?

We bent down to get a clearer view, because in the flat light of winter, there are no shadows to illuminate nooks and crannies. Then we saw it: two small foot prints at the end of each icy track. Of course! This was a river otter sliding and then leaping and then sliding along shore! Wouldn’t you have loved to see that in action! How fun! Perhaps its forays to the shrubbery were to find any remaining open pools of water. On the far side of the lake, two such pools remained liquid for another week where little creeks drizzled into the lake. Sure enough, we found evidence that the critter slid into the water and disappeared into the woods. What a delightful discovery and happy memory! Had it snowed before our walk, we would have missed the evidence.

WOLVERINE

A few years ago, a wolverine hung around our place. These are creatures that look like small bears and are noted for their fierce temperament. We used our scat and tracks book to identify the animal by the size of the feet and the distance between steps. We found two trails, on two different days, where it wandered out of the woods, in a loop along the lake, and then back into the woods about ½ mile north of our cabin.

A night or so later, our dog alerted to an exterior visitor. The next morning, we found that the wolverine’s tracks led from the woods north of us, under our cabin’s front porch, out the other side and down to the lake. Because of the dusty dirt beneath the cabin, its dirty paw prints left a clear trail in the snow where he exited. We even saw sharp front claw marks in the icy snow berm that he had to climb up from under the cabin. Did it smell the gray water line under the sink? Did our dog leave a bone somewhere? I do not know why it paid a visit, but I am glad that we did not let our dog out that night. He surely would have lost his life to this apex predator.

MOOSE

Moose prefer riparian landscapes where rivers offer open water longer than our lake in the winter, and shore plants like willows can feed them. When they travel through snow, they, like we, travel along hard packed snowmachine tracks for easier walking. Imagine the caloric stress for a 1200 lb pregnant herbivore laboring through belly high snow, looking for food for 6-7 months! They are understandably ornery and often unwilling to cede the trail to an oncoming snowmachine or dog sled. For this reason, it is common to carry a gun to startle the huge ungulate into moving away a few dozen yards so we can pass.

For the same ease of transit, moose are often seen walking on roads in Alaska. As you may imagine, collisions can be fatal for both beast and driver. In the populated area around Anchorage, volunteers are on call to collect the enormous road kill, butcher it, and deliver it as food to homeless shelters and other food charities. Nice.

In winter, we see moose when we near rivers, and less often on our lake, especially now that we have the dog. I recall seeing one curl up, rather miserably, it seemed to me, out of the wind below our cabin, after nibbling whatever she could reach on low birch and ash branches. The next morning, we saw that she had traversed the snow paths on our property, sampling adjacent tree branches, before heading into the woods, which protect her from wind. Off the path, her footfalls in the snow were so deep that we could see her belly scrapes in between them.

If reincarnation exists, I do not want to become an arctic moose. It seems to be an arduous and vulnerable life.

BEARS

Bears hibernate, of course, so we were astonished to see the unmistakable footprints of a large bear in a glen low on our property one New Year’s Day. Naturally, we were disinclined to follow in our bulky and cumbersome snowshoes, so we retreated. I called Fish and Game after the holiday to inquire, citing measurements for the footprints and the stride length. A warden explained that the bear was likely old or ill and left a den to die outside somewhere. Somehow this strikes me as both sad and noble. How about you?

These excursions illuminate my environment. From animal tracks, I discern (or interpret) evidence of joy, thirst, hunger, fear, confusion, illness, and dying. Human footprints surely yield such clues, too, to attentive doctors, policemen, and forensic analysts.

We just need to pay attention.

Are You Prepared? For What?

I previously posted my article to www.survivalblog.com.  I highly recommend this website for people interested in practical, "how-to" articles for self-reliance.

 

Throughout the country, kind people volunteer their time and talents to help others harmed by natural or personal disasters.

Photo courtesy of vecteezy.com

We can only help others if we are first prepared to take care of ourselves and our families.

Below are real situations that have happened to us, or people that we or our friends and relatives know.


What would you do?  I hope that these real situations and questions can prompt useful and interesting discussions among family or other groups.

1.  In ice fog conditions, your car goes off the road and down into a ditch where people cannot see you.  You are injured.  What do you have within reach to call or attract attention for help, keep warm, and care for your injuries?

Considerations:  Cell service is spotty in large swaths of rural America, and often depends on line of sight to cell towers.  Take note of locations in your vicinity where cell service is unavailable.  Do you have any other means of communication in your car, such as whistles, flares, or ham radio?

2.  On a winter morning, you and your family members are away from home. Some are at work, school, supermarket, a doctor’s appointment, etc.  The power goes out in a broad region, including the buildings that each of you occupies at that moment.  What do you have on hand (in your purse, backpack, desk, or locker) that will help you get home or to your family’s predetermined rally site (if you have chosen one).  How will you keep warm where you are or where you are going?  How can you communicate with your loved ones to ensure that all are safe?  How far will you need to travel?  Do you have apparel appropriate for the season’s conditions?

Considerations:   Without electricity, your cell phones, elevators, electric keyed doors, ATMs, cash registers, traffic lights, heat, and water will not work.  If you work in a high-rise building, can you get to the stairs and leave the building safely? Do you know in advance if your car can get through the exit gate of the parking lot? Do you have ham radio to reach others in your family?

3.  You awaken at home one winter morning to discover that the power went out during the night.  Your home is getting cool.  What can you do to preserve or produce food, water, and warmth?  Do you know how long your refrigerated and frozen food last if you do or do not open the appliance? (Often, the website can tell you… in advance) What food do you have on hand that can be cooked or prepared without electricity?  How much water do you have that does not require an electric pump?    

Photo courtesy of vecteezy.com

Considerations:  If your municipal or well water requires an electric pump, it will cease to run.  Do you have a hand pump for your well and have you attached it, primed it, used it? (Mine takes about 100 pumps to prime and get a few gallons from a 62 foot well.  It is tiring!).  Do you have jugs of stored water?  How old and tasty is the water?   If you have a generator, how many watts can it power?  Given the gas you have on hand, how many hours can it run? If you can power only a few appliances, what are your priorities and how much power do they need?  Note: for many appliances, the run rate wattage is much lower than the necessary START UP wattage.  So check this out. (A great source of information is www.generatorist.com.)   

Will your gas grill or stove ignite without electricity?  How many bags of briquettes do you have for a non-gas grill?  If exterior temperatures are below 45, you can store refrigerated food outside.  If it is below freezing, outdoor shelves can function as a freezer.   

4.  Your region is devastated by a natural disaster that physically isolates you from resources you need (perhaps roads are impassable because of a tornado, hurricane, flooding, landslides, earthquake or extreme snow storm).  You cannot get to the pharmacy, supermarket, or hospital.  However, your home is intact. With the supplies you have on hand, how long can you wait for access, how can you help or support nearby emergency service personnel, or how can you create your own access to resources you need?

Considerations: How many meals and how many gallons of water can your current supplies provide for how many people?  Do you have mechanical can openers  and sharpeners etc or only electric ones?  What are your greatest vulnerabilities? How do you handle neighbors and others who seek you out because your home is intact, for shelter and food?

5.  You are in a somewhat remote, off-road recreational situation with a friend in winter.  Perhaps you are snowmachining, dog mushing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, biking, or camping.  Your friend gets injured or his/her transportation device is damaged and cannot travel as before.  What injuries or damage are feasible in your location? What do you have on hand to address likely injuries or damage?  Can you call for help?  If cell service is not available, what do you do?  If you need to leave your friend, what  can you do with supplies on hand to ensure safety and comfort during your absence?

Considerations:  Each of these recreational activities involves a different carrying capacity for supplies and different transportation speed.  In the situation most likely for you, what can you carry to address potential problems?   Did you let someone know your departure time, route, and expected return time/date? Does your contact person know whom to contact after you do not return on time?  (Such as Alaska state troopers?) Do you have a personal EPIRB (electronic personal information beacon)?   Are you familiar with land to air emergency signals?  At the very least, you can carve out SOS and darken it against the snow, but other signals are faster, designate specific needs (like food or medical care) with less effort.

6.  You are commuting to San Francisco (or New York) or elsewhere and are stuck in the Berkeley (or New Jersey) Tunnels when traffic stops.  Air quality is terrible in the tunnel.  Your car radio does not at first report the issue.  (It turns out that two semi trucks jackknifed on the highway ahead, and it takes many hours to clear the accident so traffic can resume.)  What do you do for fresh air, information, and emptying your bladder?  What do you have in your car to help alleviate this situation?

7.  You and your family are evacuating by car with millions of other people in advance of a hurricane.  The traffic is so thick and slow that cars are running out of gas, which further slows everyone else if they do not move to the side.  Pretty soon, your car’s gas is dangerously low and you are not yet out of the predicted danger zone for the incoming storm.  What do you do?

8.  You discover an out of control fire at your home.  Pick a likely spot: the woodstove, fireplace, kitchen stove, bonfire, or burn barrel.  What do you have on hand to deal with it?  What can you do in advance to mitigate such danger?

Considerations:  Grease fires, electric fires, wood fires,  vs. other sources of ignition respond differently to mitigation efforts.  Research this.  Examples:  water vs. baking soda or sand.   Have you ever tested your fire extinguishers?  Have you checked the gauge to see how functional they are (they degrade over time).

9.  You are on a late season float plane right before Freezeup at a remote lake.  The water is still liquid, but the air is below freezing temperature.  As the plane taxis through the water, it sprays water onto the tail where the water freezes on contact and weighs down the rear of the plane.  When the plane labors to ascend into the air, it fails, falls, and the rear sinks into the frigid water.  All passengers and pilot are able to escape the sinking plane and swim to shore, although some have to carry others who are hypothermic.  Now what?

Considerations:  The pilot wears a float coat with some precautionary items in its many pockets.  Passengers have whatever they were wearing and in their pockets.  Their bags and purses may be in hand, but are more likely, stowed in the rear.  Their clothes are sodden and starting to freeze on them.  The pilot is required to have a heavy bag of emergency supplies in the back of the plane, but it is now sunk in the lake.  The first need for all people is warmth.  How do you accomplish that?  What might you want to keep on your person for future flights?

10.  You are in a rogue (fake) taxi in a foreign country (or in the USA) that kidnaps people for their ATM cards or their cash and clothes.  You give up your money and any other valuables.  The driver and accomplice dump you in a slum with no money, no shoes, and no cell phone.  Now what?

11.   On your shopping trip to your usual supermarket, the power goes out.  You realize that since the machines will not work, the cashiers may kick out everyone, and that you do not have enough cash on hand to buy everything because you expected to pay by credit card.  Might they accept cash?  How much cash do you tend to carry and which items in your cart would you prioritize when the power goes out?  Or would you leave the check out line to look for other items?   Or would you leave the store to get home before traffic builds?

Considerations:  First mover advantage is well recognized in many situations, from sports to business.  But another well known point is “Never let a crisis go to waste.”  Somebody will take advantage of a power outage.  Given your size or age or children in tow, is it better for you to turn on your flash light to search for other items in the store or is it wiser to get out of the store with what you can buy at that moment?

12.   A storm has caused a tree to crash onto your home.  In your vicinity, this could have been a hurricane, tornado, ice storm, heavy rain or heavy snow. You now have a big hole in your roof or wall or window. If the storm was wide spread, there may be LOTS of people ahead of you to get the attention of repairmen.  What do you have on hand to patch the hole?  Can you repair it?

Considerations:  How much does a tarp cost, or a roll of 6 mm plastic? How would you attach it or weigh it down? How much does a roll of window screen cost?  How would you attach it? How do you preserve wood or walls that have been damaged by several days of rain water?  Can you put R factor insulation under a tarp over a hole in the roof? How do you address heat loss?

13.  If you are lucky enough for your home to escape a wildfire, you may still be close enough to suffer devastating smoke damage to every surface and fabric in your home.  How do you protect from that or clean it up?  How long does that take?  What is irredeemable? Is there anything you could have done before you evacuated from that dangerous situation?

Every one of these scenarios is based on real people I know or by relatives who know them. Considering realistic emergencies like these can enable one to plan ahead, possibly downgrading an emergency to an inconvenience.

I hope these scenarios will provide fodder for interesting winter discussions and planning.

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Readers may be interested in my book, Log Cabin Reflections by Laura Emerson, available through Amazon as a Kindle book.  With lots of photos, it describes the highs and lows of our learning curve to  live 40 miles from the nearest road in Alaska. 

Despite Two Feet of Snow, Spring has Sprung

Although our land is still blanketed by 2 feet of snow and the lake remains frozen, spring has sprung this week.  How do I know?

One clue is the first of many flocks of migrating geese and one, lone sandhill crane (where is its mate?) announcing their annual return to The Great Land.  Welcome back!  I have missed you!

Birch Sapping in Spring

A second is that twice a day, my husband and I stomp through softening snow to collect sap from the birch trees we tapped on April 20.  We drink this bracingly cold liquid as a vitamin rich spring tonic, and use it instead of water to make wine, beer, coffee, and anything else.  After ten days of clear flow, the sap turns milky, ending the tree’s gift to humans.  The rest belongs to the tree.  This change signals the imminent budding of the leaves.  So, one night, a few days later, I go to sleep in a black and white world and awaken to soft, technicolor green. 

Where the snow is thinnest or has melted and refrozen as ice, as at the base of a tree or building, I am always awed by the tenacity of a green bit of fern or dandelion or myosotis (forget-me-nots) already formed and ready for the heat and light of the sun.  Wild currants pop out of the snow already in bud.  Last year the haskaps flowered when their lower trunks were still encased in snow.  These plants, too, know when spring has arrived, and they are prepared to make the most of our short summer season.

I love such seasonal changes.  They teach me to take nothing for granted.  The flying bird will disappear, the sap run will end.  The green plants and deciduous trees will leaf out in May and then shrivel or flutter, yellow, brown, and red to the ground five months later.

It is my privilege to pay attention.  To notice.  To appreciate.   Nature does not need this appreciation.  It does not need me.  But perhaps that is exactly why I say thank you and endeavor to reciprocate for her many gifts of food, home remedies, shelter, and beauty.

Every day, I take a “walk about” to pay careful attention to the plants on our property and in the woods.   JX Mason (on this site) has described this sort of activity as a walking meditation. I had never thought of it that way, but I do now.  I am focused and calm.  Maybe my heart rate or blood pressure slows – I do not know.  But the daily practice is important to me.  My spirits rise and I feel a sense of expansion in myself. 

As the snow recedes, I hop out of bed thinking about the plants.  In the spring, I prune dead or damaged branches, and cull plants girdled under the snow by hungry voles and hares.  Later, in a sort of reciprocity, I watch for short, two week periods of optimal harvest conditions for tasty and nutritious leaves, berries, roots, and shoots that I am lucky to gather and enjoy.  Shall I eat this lambs quarter raw or cooked today, or in a pesto? Shall I dry or pressure can these other leaves for winter food?   Among the edible plants, our first spring salads are of dandelion leaves, fireweed shoots, and fiddleheads (ferns).  Next I harvest the flavorful young leaves of berry bushes, birch, and alder for tea and flavored vinegars – fresh leaves now and dried for later.  In early/mid May, I harvest bright green spruce and larch tips and snip them into salads, cakes and muffins to which they confer a delightful citrusy flavor.  Other plants share their beneficence later in the summer.

Leaves to rake in the Fall

Late in the summer, I gather seeds of edible, medicinal or beautiful plants that I wish to spread to new areas – the delicacy of columbine, the hardiness of daisies, the scent of iris and yarrow, and rake birch leaves onto tarps that I dump onto raised bed gardens and around fruit bushes and trees as a winter blanket.  Under the weight of the snow, the leaves break down and leaven the soil the next year. 

I do not have a TV or radio or alarm clock.  I have plants and animals that tell me what time of year it is and to get outside and DO SOMETHING joyful and meaningful and healthful.  So I do.   

I hope that you can and do, too.

The Beauty of Winter Trees

Natural settings can speak to people, make them feel at home.  One of my sisters has  been attracted to oceans, another to the desert.  For me, it is forest settings that have always beckoned.

 Every morning, I feel a sense of peace and gratitude as I look out my window at the mature Boreal Forest in which I live.  I regard the trees as my friends, mentors, caregivers, and benefactors.  Alive, they protect me from sun, wind, and cold; they yield nutrients and medicine, as well as beauty. Dead, they continue their beneficence, transformed into my cabin, decks, docks, furniture and fire wood.   

Trees at noon in December

This time of year, I watch the long blue shadows of birch and spruce trees slither across the snow and I am dazzled by the brightness of hoarfrost that coats every surface of the trees.  An occasional owl hoots or raven caws, but otherwise, our winter woods are silent and magnificent.

Almost every afternoon in February and March, my husband and I drive a snowmachine (snowmobile) and sled into the woods along trails we groomed several days before and left to harden.  Our goal is to cull 11 cords of standing dead spruce trees each year for firewood to heat our home and the outdoor soaking tub.  

Sadly, our part of Alaska was infested by spruce beetles about eight years ago.  These tiny insects killed most of the mature white and black spruce throughout millions of acres.  It was very sad to cut down the three stately 85 foot trees near our cabin, but it is even worse to view the skeletal remains.  Dead trees are hazardous, too, both for fire and falling, so every year since the infestation, we pick an area, first on our property, and subsequently, on the state land that surrounds us, to cull dozens of dead trees.  They are put to good use. 

Hoar frost on the trees

Aside from the practical aspect of gathering firewood, this seasonal project generates joy, as well.  Although the beetles devastated mature trees, they did not kill the saplings.  Trees below about 10 feet tall survived the onslaught.  Every time we fell a thicket of dead ones, we find spindly young conifers below them.  Next summer, they will enjoy more sun and space to grow straight and tall and healthy.  In subsequent years, other plants colonize the clearings, too, predominantly prickly rose, elderberry, and highbush cranberry.  Hares, martens, and weasels burrow under the dead branches that clutter the forest floor.

In March, as the snow begins to soften and rot, springy alders and highbush cranberries pop up from their heavy blanket of snow, waving for a moment before they assume a vertical position for summer.  

When the snow starts to recede in April, brown doughnuts of soaked earth encircle the warming trees.  My husband and I tap several birch trees for ten days before the leaves emerge, drinking the bracingly cold sap straight, as well as using it in any recipe that requires water, such as coffee, rice, and homemade wine and beer.  The clear liquid is a nutritious spring tonic, chock full of vitamin C and minerals, such as iron, zinc, calcium, and potassium.  It tastes slightly sweet and vaguely woody.  Eau de paper bag.    

When the soil dries up, I wander through our property, carrying flagging tape and pruners.  I clip the broken branches of saplings and cut out trunks girdled beneath the snow line by hungry hares and voles.  With delight I flag tiny seedlings so that I will not trample or weed whack them when the fast growing wild grasses obscure them.   In subsequent years I marvel as these tiny growths add branches and height, in many cases growing out of the stumps of dead trees.

My woods are a vibrant community of the elderly and the young, the sick and the healthy.  I wander in wonder and awe.   

Ways to Save Eggs for Months

Egg laying is partially predicated on the season.  Our hens, of various breeds, are always most prolific layers in the summer months.  In the autumn, when they molt (shed their feathers and grow new ones) they do not lay at all for 6 to 8 weeks.  During the cold winter months in Alaska, they shiver in the chilly coop, laying maybe half as often as in the summer.  It is only in March, when we have 12 hours of daylight, that they venture out into the snow and start to lay regularly again.

Therefore, I learned various ways to save eggs to eat during the molt and all winter.

Note:  In the USA, people who buy eggs at a supermarket are purchasing eggs that are washed, which removes the bloom, which is a clear thin coating that the hen naturally produces as she lays to protect the egg from bacteria and dirt.  This is why, in this country, eggs are stored in the refrigerator.  

 In the many other countries that do not wash the shells first, shopkeepers store eggs on room temperature shelves, and millions of shoppers store them at home this way, too, up to about 21 days, depending on ambient temperature.   

Since we do not wash our hens’ eggs either, I store them in a large metal bowl on a kitchen counter for up to three weeks.  If I am surfeited with eggs, I store them long term in the various ways listed below.

The following are my experiences and opinions.  Someone else's could be different.  

HOW TO TEST EGGS FOR FRESHNESS

Put any questionable eggs in a deep, flat bottomed pot and cover them with water.  If any float, air has gotten inside the shell and you do not want to eat them.  If they rise slightly off the bottom and turn sideways, I cook them sooner than the eggs that do not rise or tip at all.

LONG TERM EGG STORAGE

GLASSING

I do not know why the term, “glassing” is used for this technique, which involves submerging raw eggs (in their shells) in a lime solution and setting the crock or food grade bucket somewhere, undisturbed, at room temperature.  I have successfully cooked with eggs that I glassed and stored at room temperature for nine months. I have read in Mother Earth News, that people have stored them for two years.  The most I have stored for 9 months is 125, in two food grade 5 gallon buckets with lids. 

To make the solution, I measured out a proportion of 8:1  water to pickling lime, and then heated the water enough that the lime dissolves, stirring thoroughly.  After it cools to room temperature, I pour it into a food grade bucket and gently place unwashed, fresh eggs into the water, making sure that no egg shells rise above the solution.  Over time, the solution will sink to the bottom, so it is important to gently stir up that bottom layer, to recoat the shells.  I do this once a month.   

One year, I neither heated the water nor stirred once a month.  Big mistake!  The eggs on the bottom layer were practically cemented to each other in the lime, but the eggs above the bottom layer rotted.  What a noxious job it was to pull those out and toss away 60 eggs!  Plus, I hate wasting food.

When cooking with the eggs that have been glassed for several months, I rinse them first, and then crack them into a transitional bowl to check.  I find that both the yolks and whites are runnier than fresh eggs, so they are better suited to scrambling, custards, or baking than for fried eggs.

IMPORTANT:  This treatment works only for farm fresh, unwashed eggs that still have the protective “bloom” on the shell.

FREEZING

1)      FAVORED:  Raw beaten eggs can be poured into muffin tins or ice cube trays, frozen, and then popped out to be stored in plastic bags or other containers.  It is helpful to measure the amount of one eggy ice cube for future recipes.  I found that a muffin tin holds about an egg and a half, and my ice cube trays held less than one egg.  These individual units thaw quickly.  When scrambled, the texture of these frozen, raw eggs is the same as unfrozen, raw eggs.  I rarely separate eggs and yolks for recipes, but you can do so and freeze the beaten raw yolks separately from the raw whites.  Either way, freezing raw eggs in measured portions is a very convenient and reliable method.

2)      NOT FAVORED:  Hard boiled eggs can be frozen in or out of the shell.  Shelled eggs will crack when the interior expands in the cold.  Either way, the texture of the white will be rubbery but the yolk will feel normal..  I freeze whole eggs as a winter treat for my dog or hens, but I would not serve them to people.   

3)      VARIABLE RESULTS:  Raw, eggy recipes, like quiche, pancake batter, etc. can be made in advance, packaged well, and frozen, to be thawed overnight for cooking the next morning. I have done so short term with a number of brunch dishes for large gatherings.  NOTES:  a) Like anything in a freezer, if it is not wrapped well and if it is frozen long term, it will develop ice crystals, making the recipe more watery. (b) Many raw vegetables do not freeze well, but cooked vegetables do.

   

PICKLING

My husband and I are not fans of pickled eggs, but many people like them.  To me the texture is rubbery and the vinegar/egg combo is unappealing.  However, my father-in-law told me that “back in the day” pickled eggs were a staple snack food, often free, on the bar at pubs.

 

SAVING EGG SHELLS

 I utilize all the egg shells, too.

1)      If you want to reduce the bitterness of a batch of coffee, drop a half egg shell in your percolator or coffee maker.

2)      To give my dog extra calcium, I grind up dried egg shells and sprinkle it on his food.

3)      I crush hundreds of egg shells each year and distribute the material in my gardens.  The shells have several benefits:  calcium, of course, and the texture lightens heavy soil, and the sharp edges are supposed to deter slugs and other soft bodied pests, although the amount of egg shells in my gardens has never deterred slugs in rainy summers.

In conclusion, we love raising hens for fresh eggs and all the other benefits that hens bring to our homestead.  As with any summer bounty, like zucchini, it is useful to figure out how to save eggs for later in the year and how to utilize the shells. Waste not, want not! Don’t take July’s production for granted.  Planning ahead for low productivity later in the year will be well rewarded.

Winter Preps to Raise Food in Alaska + Recipe - Bubbles and Squeak

(My book, Log Cabin Reflections, is available on Amazon.  Each chapter includes pictures of our off-grid, off-road life in remote Alaska.)

Buddy preparing to haul

We live in USDA Zone 3b, which means that not only is our growing season short, but also winter temperatures can plummet to -35 F.  Still, we do have a number of hardy perennials plants (like berries, rhubarb, and horseradish) but obviously fewer perennials than warmer climates enjoy.

To maximize food growth in summer, I start almost all annual (and desired perennial) plants in the winter, some outside, and some in.

Winter sowing:  This practice is so easy and low maintenance that it almost does not sound feasible, but it does indeed results in healthy plants.  It works best for seeds that need cold stratification (a period of several cold weeks before warming up) and for those that like to sprout in cool spring weather.  To winter sow, I save plastic vinegar and distilled water jugs, slice them around the middle except for a hinge near the handle, fill with about 4 inches of soil, water it with a soil nutrient/root stimulater, sow the seeds and then leave the jugs outside, tied to a banister post so they will not blow away in a heavy wind.  In the spring, when the air warms up, I water the soil lightly and the seeds sprout!  

This method works beautifully for cabbage, onions, garlic, and spinach.  For flowers, it has worked well for valerian, delphinium, lupines.  For some reason, I did not have success with poppies or yarrow.

An alternative that can be done in warm weather, is to store damp seeds in a baggy in the refrigerator for several weeks.  I have done this, too, but the sprouts were so delicate that they did not transplant well for me. 

 

Testing germination:  Seeds age out.  If stored in a cool, dry, dark location, most can be expected to last for 3 years, but beyond that is a gift not to be presumed.  People living in humid and hot environments may find that their seeds age out faster than mine.

Cabin on a sunny winter morning

Last winter, I was determined to get rid of dead seeds, so as not expect that a packet was viable.  I separated and test germinated the oldest packages (2016 - 2019).  To do so, I dampened a paper napkin cut in half, rolled ten seeds into it and inserted this bolus shaped napkin in a small baggy which I labelled with seed name and the average range of germination timing.  Ten seeds makes it easy to extrapolate to the percentage of viable seeds in the packet.  All six varieties of peppers were dead as were the cucumbers and onions.  Beans rotted in the damp.  Some of the seeds of two varieties of rhubarb germinated, as did corn, beets, radishes, one of the tomato packages and one of the tomatillo packages, and to my surprise, watermelon.  I gave all the dead seeds to the chickens as a winter snack. 

From now on, I will do this every winter, to ensure that I have seeds on hand that will produce a good crop.  Those that are dead I can reorder in time for a snowmachine delivery for March-April starts indoors.    

Germinating in a cold oven: I set almost all of my little seed pots in a cold gas oven.  The pilot light keeps the interior a more consistent, toasty temperature than my wood heated home offers, in the mid '70s, which is a germination temperature enjoyed by most seeds.  In side by side comparisons, the seeds that start in the oven sprout several days ahead of their comrades outside the oven. This location is also good for seeds that require darkness to sprout, like cilantro.

Mini-greenhouse:  In a corner of my cabin, I have a 4 shelf mini-greenhouse (6ft h x 3ft w x 2ft d) covered with a plastic sheath with two zippers on the front.  Each shelf has two grow lights.  This environment stays warmer and more humid than the southern windows, where I used to start seeds.  I always sow slow germinating plants, like oregano, in February, as well as fast growing greens that we can enjoy as small, fresh salads or sandwich toppings by early March.  As with the winter sowing, I always add a root stimulator to the soil or water.  One caution is that the plastic can make the environment humid enough to encourage the growth of gray, fluffy mold on the surface of the soil.  To mitigate that, I roll the plastic front “door” up over the top of the structure during daylight hours and close it up at night. 

Challenges:

1.    This year, I dug up the annual herbs before the gardens froze and brought them inside, hoping that they would overwinter in the mini-greenhouse.  However, I found that even with the grow lights on for about 8 hours they did not thrive.  They prefer 12+ hours of light.  The result was not worth the effort, so I dried the remaining leaves, put the pots outside and will seed them again in February.

2.  A mistake that I often make is to start plants too early because I am so eager.  This results in leggy plants that are weak when transplanted outside.  One year, my potato plants lay sideways on the ground!

     Every gardener has his or her hacks and a history of hits and misses.  These are a few that work for me so that I can utilize the cold and lazy months of winter to get a head start on a fast and furious summer of food production.

 RRECIPE:  Bubbles and Squeak

Bubbles and Squeak – what an evocative name for left overs!  This side dish or entrée is mentioned in British texts as far back as the 1700s.  It is a tasty way to use up a combination of leftover mashed potatoes, vegetables, and bits of meat. (Note:  if you like this recipe, check out Irish Colcannon, which is similar, but adds milk.)          

Melt 6 oz butter in a large, flat pan.

Sautee ½ cup chopped or diced onion and garlic to taste, about 3 minutes.

Add 2 cups of mashed potatoes.  Thoroughly saturate with the melted butter.

Add 1 cup chopped, raw, green vegetables and mix in well with the potato.  Cabbage is traditional, but any leafy green or diced broccoli will work nicely.  Mix in any cooked, chopped meat, if desired, like ham or sausage.

At this point, decide whether you want the final product to be loose or individual patties.

If the former, warm through and serve, as a hash.

If the latter, shape the food into patties and chill for an hour or more, then fry in additional oil, pressing down on the patties to crisp up the cooking surface, and then flip, press, cook, and then serve. 

Bubbles and Squeak is tasty either way.  The only difference is texture and presentation.