the author does like to from scratch, shaping and trimming wood from large blocks into fine finished products. th-cam.com/users/postUgkxD-QRFQz730FJEh4f9BYSf-nkIMIC9hL_ as another reviewer mentioned, most projects require a lot of high-dollar equipment that most of us dont have the room or budget for. But, knowing how to do these things, even if we wont be able to practice the full stack project, is still great.
You all are keeping me company for several months since my hubby died in June. So interesting. Real people. Love the ingenuity and the resourcing. Using everything. Your adventures are great.
So so sorry for your loss hun!! There are no words for how I feel.. seek solace in God and take it one day at a time, one moment at a time, and it is OK to cry and grieve..
Whenever my grandmother added blueberries to pancakes, muffins, cake,etc., she always added a little bit of flour to them. Enough to coat them good. Then gently folded them into the batter. This helped to keep the batter from turning blue. In cakes, it helped to keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the cakes. In pancakes, another thing she did was to add the blueberries to each pancake as you cooked them. You added the blueberries as soon as you put the batter into the pan. Then flipped as usual.
LOVED the end when Arielle spun around with the sparklers and just kept going off-camera! You two are the epitome of what life is all about: happiness, adventure, and love.
When most other TH-camrs are so concerned about the perfect lighting you guys are just working away with the flashlight's like nobody's business 👏👏 and the content is still the best in my opinion ☺️ Good work. Keep it up!
I bought a kindling ring on amazon for my mom because i saw her sitting in her chair with a hatchet and trying to split kindling while watching tv. Since I didn't want her to accidently slip and cut an artery in her leg, it was a very sound investment. She loves it.
Taking a break from Junior year nursing school studying to watch this. Sometimes I play y’all’s videos in the background to center myself! There’s such a calming presence that radiates for you two amazing people! ❤❤
Old retired nurse here. Wishing you a wonderful career. #1 advice ... always be kind and if you get flustered hide in a closet and scream in a pillow then put that smile back on and get to work NURSE. Huggs
"I grew up as a kid, Ariel" That made me chuckle. Thanks for another awesome video. I can't wait to see the transition to the new cabin. Happy New Year!
WOW YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST ❤️!!!! This video was 8-9 days old uploaded & had nearly 2000 comments when I left my comment yesterday . Thinking 🤔 you’d never see it or even care, “YOU SELFLESSLY STILL CAME BACK, READ AND LIKED ❤ MY COMMENT”. This speaks volumes for what kind of people you really are😉. I’ve been watching & commenting on TH-cam since 2005 or 2006 & I can honestly say that Most TH-cam content creators don’t do this. Most will post vids look 👀 at the first 200 comments or less & never go back. Nor do I think they care that much about their subscribers. But you guys aren’t the average ordinary creators : NOPE 👎 U GUYS ARE EXTRAORDINARY! THANKS ERIC AND ARIEL I LOVE ❤️& RESPECT YOU GUYS MUCH MORE NOW! U’RE NOW MUCH COOLER THAN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT !!! 👏😁
Hey you guys, I hope 2023 brings you all that you wish for the coming year. Many thanks from across the pond in the UK for all the hours you have given us of your life in. Alaska. You helped me escape the loneliness of the isolation during Covid and the stresses that have come along with it. For me watching your lives in Alaska is real escapism and I know that it isn't the easiest of life for you but your positive energy, you resourcefulness reach right across the pond into my home. Many thanks for all the hard work you put into your channel to give us such enjoyment. May you, your four legged and two legged companions stay safe and well and so look forward to seeing your new adventures. 😀
I’m looking forward to your move. I loved watching you begin your life at your current home. I can’t wait to see your new garden plan and new builds. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2023! 🎉
Thank you so much for this long video, what a treat ! I wish you both a very happy new year, thank you for what you bring here, it’s one of my favourite corners of the internet !
You are so lucky to be around snow. I have lived in Massachusetts for 46 years why whole life. We used to get harsh winters and snow over the last 5 to 6 years we have got hardly any snow it rarely gets to the teens and single digits. It is really worrisome. I’m glad I found your channel just subbed. Two years ago I got a great deal on some ll bean snow shoes they are still in the package. I would go nuts with them near your cabin.
After my 70+ yr. old husband saw you use the Kindling Cracker, a year or two ago, he got on line and found one for our cabin. It works amazingly well! He can cut a lot of kindling without a lot of strain and pain on his arthritic body. I've been to Alaska twice, once in 1968 (Alcan highway was large rocks back then), and both of us went for a month in 2014. We always enjoy watching you two!!
The new cabin seems to be an awesome well built structure . Your jointly inquisitive minds in running the firewood fuel types comparison is what keeps me watching your channel. Of course, the endless variety of meals prepared and impeccable filming of the Alaskan scenery helps too! All the best Arielle & Eric in 2023 . 👍🙏🏻🥣🍗🐕❤
I love all the information you guys put out! Random fact, a lot of hunter/gatherer tribes used to kill trees while they were standing by peeling the bark away at the base. This would season the wood for them so they wouldn't have to process and store it to season.
When you were using the drill, I couldn't help but think how helpful that would be for a senior with decreased upper body strength trying to rough an Alaska winter. I always enjoy y'alls content, it's so educational and informative, you guys are inspirational in the way you handle challenges out there. Please keep the videos coming
Eric and Arielle you guys are the best! My wife and I live in Willow AK. We love watching your teamwork and how you love each other and adventure together We also use wood for our primary heat and we found we boosted out burn times by about 10-15% if you rake your coals as close to the front (or back, depending on the air intake location) and then set the logs in parallel and layer them so they burn the logs from front to back like a candle. Helps us not have to get up at night as often 🪓❤️🏕️
Ermine, mink, and other critters will wreak havoc on chickens so you will have to reinforce their run and coop areas with 1/4-inch hardware cloth to protect your hens and roosters (at your new place). Mink will bite them through the heads and necks - they are fiercely mean critters.
I always look forward to your videos, you both are so unpretentious and amazing with what you do. Probably one on just a very few true homesteaders on YT.
As a lifelong resident in the upper Midwest who lives out in a rural area a skid loader is such a vital tool to have. Snow removal goes so fast, you can buy attachments that pull trees, drill post holes, picks up brush and trees, etc, etc. Best of luck with your new place and thanks so much for letting us tag along. Best wishes for 2023.
I agree. The areas around blueberries in pancakes can take longer to cook, but adding flour seems to fix that problem. Although, I really like to just add them to individual pancakes right before I flip them.
Thank you for the gift of a one hour episode. It's exciting to see the new cabin. Those snow covered trees with the pink sky were stunning. I think you guys are going to flourish there. Wishing you a wonderful New Year! And again, thank you for sharing.🙂❤
The kindling cracker is EXTREMELY limited by the size of wood you can't use, and if you use wood sized "just right", it will expand and jam in the ring and now you have a slowdown whacking the wood free from the unit. I cut off most of the ring, leaving only the "12:00 - 3:00" section intact so wood can lean against it, and with one good whack the wood is secure in the axe head so you no longer need the ring to hold/balance the wood. A BIG improvement. And frankly, you don't even need any part of the ring at all. You hold a piece of wood on the axe head with one hand and give a sharp blow with the other hand and now the wood is immobilized on the axe head. The ring is quite unnecessary. The corkscrew device has one big advantage over the cracker and the axe, and that's what you mentioned - the kindling pieces don't go flying everywhere, and if you're cutting any serious amount of kindling, that represents a lot of bending over, reaching, walking over to get the pieces which wastes time and calories. Personally I use the kindling cracker in my warm basement next to the wood stove, but after this video, I think the best solution might be using the corkscrew device in your drill press, and those pieces of kindling drop neatly in a pile on the floor under the drill press table. You have more and faster control over the wood this way.
Hi olesya. I hope that you and your family are well. Thank you for sharing your life with us. Watching your videos each week brings such joy to myself and all of your viewers. Kindest regards from Donna, England 🏴
I love Eric's praise of a good cup of coffee. I can relate! Also, I vote for the 'kindling cracker'. It literally sings when you use it. I'm making bean, mushroom, and kale pasta tomorrow! All of that and New Year's fireworks too! Cheers! Here's to 2023 and to you and me and everybody!
The lovely thing about this video is that you both looked like it was a holiday, you were relaxed and chilled which is so nice to see as we know your day to day life is not like that and I think it was because it was a longer stay than your usual little breaks.
Here I am, in Australia, a 39°c day predicted this weekend, watching your snow filled videos. I can't wait for winter, cooking on fire! You guys are awesome
I just wanted to say my 7&8 year olds just love your channel! We've watched half a dozen videos so far. My oldest said she hopes to be as cool as you guys 😂
I have a few friends in Canada and they use a propane generator or a dual fuel generator in which one is propane. They say, Propane has a freezing point of -44°F.. Compared to gasoline generators, propane-powered models are less likely to freeze or experience difficulty starting during cold weather. Additionally, propane is cost-effective and more environmentally friendly, making it a smart choice because it does not degrade over time; it can be stored for a very long time without losing its properties. They do also put them inside a ventilated metal cover with ventilation holes to keep wind from hitting their generators be they portable or backup or standby. If you do not protect your generators from subzero winds it won't matter which generators you buy. Also the heat it generates inside the cover helps keep it safer. Hope this helps.
I absolutely love your videos. I look for them each week. The only problem is I could watch you much more often. One thing I wanted to say is I absolutely adore how kind you are to your dogs and how good you are to them. You can really see how much they mean to you with how gentle and thoughtful you are to them at all times. Keep up the good work in all you do.
Thank you. I so look forward to your postings. I love seeing Bandit, Bo any your loving relationship. Love seeing you do activities and survival together. Also, love the scenery you post. Alaska looks soooo peaceful. Thank you and GOD Bless🐞🙏👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽🙏🐞
My husband and I Moved up to Fairbanks area last June Before we came up here To check out our house Our driveway is also a very long driveway about 9 miles long... So we wanted to be prepared before we moved up here and we bought something to help us snowblow and it's helped us out tremendously I know that some people Live on a very low budget but if you live in Alaska By yourself a cabota tractor with a snowblower on it That tractor is the best investment that my husband and I ever Bought for this State... Are neighbors are very happy too because We also snow blow the entire road all the way down to the highway They said to us we wish you were here last year when we got so much Snow....
What a beautiful cabin! I can’t wait to follow your journey to moving to your amazing cabin in the spring. Your vlog is so entertaining as always. Keep warm. Best ❤
Love the adventures you take us all on with you, You both are an inspiration the way you two have a bond with love for each other. Hope all your dreams come true this year.
Thank you so much for bringing this to me every week. I long for the day when I can live away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You all give me that inner peace while I wait.
Also thanks for the testing of the types of splitting logs and learning bout the birch burning cold/wet/dry... ive learn new things from you especially canning stuff so thanks again for sharing your life in Alaska with us...
I recently retired and keep a list going to prioritize and not forget. After working an 11 hour day 5 days a week for the last 30 years it was quite an adjustment.
The tracks you asked us to identify is the pretty white bird you were just hunting I’m not sure of the spelling but starts with a P… and we love our kindling splitter because I can help my hubby. Happy New Year Eric and Ariel cheers from Ontario 🇨🇦
Absolutely love your channel!!! My husband and I are in love with your new property! You may find the wildlife to calm down once your there permanently with your dogs marking their territory and just activity in general? Can't wait to see what you both have in store for the new place. 🙂
I love your content so much!!! Thank you! I have a suggestion to wash the dishes in the cabin: get a spray bottle and mix water with dishwasher soap, and spray the dirty dishes , then with a sponge clean them and the rinse is a lot easier than having to soak the dishes first. I saw it as a way of saving water but is so much neater that way in your case... Hope it helps.
Come Valentine's Day I am gifting the Kindling Cracker to friends who live up here east of Kirkwood ski area in the Sierras. Where most folks heat with wood, and with 165 inches/ 13.75 feet of new snow in the last 9 days it will make splitting wood fun! Thank you for showing how well it works.
I'm still so happy for you all and your new home! I love it! And I'm thankful precious Bo got to experience living there briefly!! Really a big job,hard job having to move though !!
Looking forward to watching your video this week Arielle & Eric ! LOVE learning from you both & your passion is bright & clear. We are so similar, love nature, love space, love being busy, love as close to financial freedom as possible. Keep doing what you are doing, you are definitely my #1 TH-cam channel...THANK YOU SO MUCH !!! 😁
Guys...I am in Miami Florida and was born on a tropical island....so note that I am pretty clueless about living in those freezing environments. Hubby and I do, however, RV quite a bit and make fires often. Just recently I saw a video where another homesteader used an old truck tire to put on top of his wood cutting stump to help the wood from flying off when it was cut. He put the kindling splitter inside the tire hole (also just used an ax) and started splitting wood inside the tire hole. The wood that is cut is held on top of the stump by the tire....as oppose to flying off and you having to pick it up each time you want to continue splitting it. I thought it was ingenious! Just a thought from clueless, WARM, me! I CAN make a mean piña colada if you're ever in my neck of the woids! 😁. Take care. Love your videos.
Sometimes Bo just has the saddest eyes when you're putting him up into the car or something, like he's certain he could have done it, just these ol' bones :
Happy New Year to you guys as well!! Wishing you both and the fur babies the very best of everything this year. Can't wait to see all the progress to come on the new cabin :)
and a happy new year right back. can't wait to see what's in store in the future with all the projects, chickens, etc. You two be safe and warm cause you sure warm me up just watching
Personally, I use my splitting maul for splitting kindling. The steel head weighs about ten pounds. Often, I'll just sit the maul on a piece of wood to be split, and drop it eight or ten inches onto a solid surface. The mass of the maul commonly splits the wood without having to "swing" the maul at all. Keeps the hand holding the wood out of the way ---an important consideration! Other times I'll sit a bigger piece of wood on the cutting surface, and swing the maul. That works well for bigger pieces that need more power to split. I enjoyed seeing the methods you demonstrated, but I remain happy with the methods I've developed. I heat my home with wood almost entirely here in urban Seattle. When I need wood for the stove, I take the wheelbarrow out the front door, down the steps on a 2x6 ramp and load up wood from the wood pile. Then I reverse that trip and leave the wheelbarrow in it's home in the living room! I feed the stove directly from the wheelbarrow. Handling and moving wood takes a good deal of the labor required to heat with wood, and the method I describe minimizes wood handling for me. I suppose it would outrage a lot of women, but I don't have to worry about that myself.
Good morning! This is another fantastic video, learned so much from you both it makes me wish I we’re young again. I would know so much more on woods and starting fires. You both are incredible, what I admire most is your creativity and determination. Your plans for the new year sounds just great… hope to have many more of your awesome videos to see you. You sure are the very best on TH-cam… when you post a new video, my heart warms up with joy and eagerness to enjoy. Thank you. ❤
When I was growing up, we heated with a wood stove. One year, I had a bunch of shorter rounds so I tried putting them in vertically as a lark. If there's a good bed of coals to start with, they will last longer since there's much less surface area actually burning. Something to try if you have any around.
the author does like to from scratch, shaping and trimming wood from large blocks into fine finished products. th-cam.com/users/postUgkxD-QRFQz730FJEh4f9BYSf-nkIMIC9hL_ as another reviewer mentioned, most projects require a lot of high-dollar equipment that most of us dont have the room or budget for. But, knowing how to do these things, even if we wont be able to practice the full stack project, is still great.
You all are keeping me company for several months since my hubby died in June. So interesting. Real people. Love the ingenuity and the resourcing. Using everything. Your adventures are great.
That hurts my heart 💔 We are so sorry for your loss, thank you for your kind words.
❤I’m so sorry for your loss I lost my husband in July last year
I lost my husband three years ago. The heart is still broken but life still goes on. Trust in Jesus and allow him to take your heaviness. 🙏🕊
So so sorry for your loss hun!! There are no words for how I feel.. seek solace in God and take it one day at a time, one moment at a time, and it is OK to cry and grieve..
That solid track i thinks a seal ,lol jk
Whenever my grandmother added blueberries to pancakes, muffins, cake,etc., she always added a little bit of flour to them. Enough to coat them good. Then gently folded them into the batter. This helped to keep the batter from turning blue. In cakes, it helped to keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the cakes. In pancakes, another thing she did was to add the blueberries to each pancake as you cooked them. You added the blueberries as soon as you put the batter into the pan. Then flipped as usual.
LOVED the end when Arielle spun around with the sparklers and just kept going off-camera! You two are the epitome of what life is all about: happiness, adventure, and love.
Ariel releasing her inner child with those sparklers was the best!
Thanks to you, I get to experience Alaska once a week. Amazing!
Amen , beautiful country ty Jesus for content creators ❤️
I feel the same way, I have always wanted to visit Alaska!
Lol
Me too! Being in Brisbane Australia an 'all 🤩😃
Agreed, really priceless
An hour video? How are we so lucky?! I LOVE your longer videos! Also, great Home alone quote Eric!
an hour and 9 minutes!!!yay!!! Please keep up the long videos...can't get enough of you two!!
Right I LOVE this LONGGGG video.. They both are amazing
Yeah I agree!
When most other TH-camrs are so concerned about the perfect lighting you guys are just working away with the flashlight's like nobody's business 👏👏 and the content is still the best in my opinion ☺️ Good work. Keep it up!
I bought a kindling ring on amazon for my mom because i saw her sitting in her chair with a hatchet and trying to split kindling while watching tv. Since I didn't want her to accidently slip and cut an artery in her leg, it was a very sound investment. She loves it.
Taking a break from Junior year nursing school studying to watch this. Sometimes I play y’all’s videos in the background to center myself! There’s such a calming presence that radiates for you two amazing people! ❤❤
Thank you 🥰 Wishing you the best in your future endeavors!
Sophomore nursing student here, and I do the same thing! :) Arielle and Eric really do bring us some amazingly informative and calming content!
You hit the nail on the head!!!
Old retired nurse here. Wishing you a wonderful career. #1 advice ... always be kind and if you get flustered hide in a closet and scream in a pillow then put that smile back on and get to work NURSE. Huggs
Nurses ROCK!
"I grew up as a kid, Ariel" That made me chuckle. Thanks for another awesome video. I can't wait to see the transition to the new cabin. Happy New Year!
made me smile too haha. Eric went full " watch this"
35:18 is that your hut just chilling there under the tarp that you just built on your new property???😂
WOW YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST ❤️!!!! This video was 8-9 days old uploaded & had nearly 2000 comments when I left my comment yesterday . Thinking 🤔 you’d never see it or even care, “YOU SELFLESSLY STILL CAME BACK, READ AND LIKED ❤ MY COMMENT”. This speaks volumes for what kind of people you really are😉. I’ve been watching & commenting on TH-cam since 2005 or 2006 & I can honestly say that Most TH-cam content creators don’t do this. Most will post vids look 👀 at the first 200 comments or less & never go back. Nor do I think they care that much about their subscribers. But you guys aren’t the average ordinary creators :
NOPE 👎 U GUYS ARE EXTRAORDINARY! THANKS ERIC AND ARIEL
I LOVE ❤️& RESPECT YOU GUYS MUCH MORE NOW! U’RE NOW MUCH COOLER THAN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT !!! 👏😁
You two are just plain fun 💚💚
Bandit is a handsome lanky boy, Bo remains just a squishy puppy face.
I love them.
Hey you guys, I hope 2023 brings you all that you wish for the coming year. Many thanks from across the pond in the UK for all the hours you have given us of your life in. Alaska. You helped me escape the loneliness of the isolation during Covid and the stresses that have come along with it. For me watching your lives in Alaska is real escapism and I know that it isn't the easiest of life for you but your positive energy, you resourcefulness reach right across the pond into my home. Many thanks for all the hard work you put into your channel to give us such enjoyment. May you, your four legged and two legged companions stay safe and well and so look forward to seeing your new adventures. 😀
Just rewatched this, and loved, while loading the trip vehicle:
'Coffee. Coffee. More coffee. OK, let's go.'
I totally fallen in love with your channel.I have been binge watching for several days.
I’m looking forward to your move. I loved watching you begin your life at your current home. I can’t wait to see your new garden plan and new builds. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2023! 🎉
Thank you so much for this long video, what a treat !
I wish you both a very happy new year, thank you for what you bring here, it’s one of my favourite corners of the internet !
You are so lucky to be around snow. I have lived in Massachusetts for 46 years why whole life. We used to get harsh winters and snow over the last 5 to 6 years we have got hardly any snow it rarely gets to the teens and single digits. It is really worrisome. I’m glad I found your channel just subbed. Two years ago I got a great deal on some ll bean snow shoes they are still in the package. I would go nuts with them near your cabin.
Rewatching. I really appreciate the wood burn time study!!!
I just love those sky views with the blue and pink...I could enjoy that!! I see why you want to live there.
After my 70+ yr. old husband saw you use the Kindling Cracker, a year or two ago, he got on line and found one for our cabin. It works amazingly well! He can cut a lot of kindling without a lot of strain and pain on his arthritic body. I've been to Alaska twice, once in 1968 (Alcan highway was large rocks back then), and both of us went for a month in 2014. We always enjoy watching you two!!
The new cabin seems to be an awesome well built structure . Your jointly inquisitive minds in running the firewood
fuel types comparison is what keeps me watching your channel. Of course, the endless variety of meals prepared
and impeccable filming of the Alaskan scenery helps too! All the best Arielle & Eric in 2023 . 👍🙏🏻🥣🍗🐕❤
I love all the information you guys put out! Random fact, a lot of hunter/gatherer tribes used to kill trees while they were standing by peeling the bark away at the base. This would season the wood for them so they wouldn't have to process and store it to season.
That's very interesting! Thank you for sharing!
It's called "Girdling," we used to do it for Deer Camp (month Long) Definitely Kills & Seasons the Tree 🌳
When you were using the drill, I couldn't help but think how helpful that would be for a senior with decreased upper body strength trying to rough an Alaska winter. I always enjoy y'alls content, it's so educational and informative, you guys are inspirational in the way you handle challenges out there. Please keep the videos coming
Eric and Arielle you guys are the best! My wife and I live in Willow AK. We love watching your teamwork and how you love each other and adventure together
We also use wood for our primary heat and we found we boosted out burn times by about 10-15% if you rake your coals as close to the front (or back, depending on the air intake location) and then set the logs in parallel and layer them so they burn the logs from front to back like a candle. Helps us not have to get up at night as often 🪓❤️🏕️
thumbs up on music and storytelling editing. good job we appreciate all your time & efforts
Truly enjoy the longer videos ❤ my fave part was Arielle realizing the romance of a bath 😂
Kindling cracker is the way to go. Better way to keep your fingers
This is my favorite channel!!! Definitely admire your hard work ethic and love for each other and your animals.
Ermine, mink, and other critters will wreak havoc on chickens so you will have to reinforce their run and coop areas with 1/4-inch hardware cloth to protect your hens and roosters (at your new place). Mink will bite them through the heads and necks - they are fiercely mean critters.
The couple have kept the cabin so cosy n comfy for themself n all animals very nice video
I always look forward to your videos, you both are so unpretentious and amazing with what you do. Probably one on just a very few true homesteaders on YT.
As a lifelong resident in the upper Midwest who lives out in a rural area a skid loader is such a vital tool to have. Snow removal goes so fast, you can buy attachments that pull trees, drill post holes, picks up brush and trees, etc, etc. Best of luck with your new place and thanks so much for letting us tag along. Best wishes for 2023.
I agree ❤
@@mti2035 look into the side door loaders. So much easyer to get in and out of. Or a tractor PTO come in handy.
Amen. Hard to beat a skid loader for clearing snow on a small lot.
Also if you flour those frozen blueberries with some of the dry mix that also helps
I agree. The areas around blueberries in pancakes can take longer to cook, but adding flour seems to fix that problem. Although, I really like to just add them to individual pancakes right before I flip them.
Wow, your cabin gets really warm.
Yay for seeing ravens, foxes, and dogs in the trail cam.
"This is frosted. Frosted Flakes." What a funny delivery haha
Thank you for the gift of a one hour episode. It's exciting to see the new cabin. Those snow covered trees with the pink sky were stunning. I think you guys are going to flourish there. Wishing you a wonderful New Year! And again, thank you for sharing.🙂❤
Oh my goodness! Over an hours worth of quality viewing....Thanks much!
Can’t say it enough! LOL.
Love your content, the editing and all of the adventures. Thank you for sharing ❤
The kindling cracker is EXTREMELY limited by the size of wood you can't use, and if you use wood sized "just right", it will expand and jam in the ring and now you have a slowdown whacking the wood free from the unit. I cut off most of the ring, leaving only the "12:00 - 3:00" section intact so wood can lean against it, and with one good whack the wood is secure in the axe head so you no longer need the ring to hold/balance the wood. A BIG improvement. And frankly, you don't even need any part of the ring at all. You hold a piece of wood on the axe head with one hand and give a sharp blow with the other hand and now the wood is immobilized on the axe head. The ring is quite unnecessary. The corkscrew device has one big advantage over the cracker and the axe, and that's what you mentioned - the kindling pieces don't go flying everywhere, and if you're cutting any serious amount of kindling, that represents a lot of bending over, reaching, walking over to get the pieces which wastes time and calories. Personally I use the kindling cracker in my warm basement next to the wood stove, but after this video, I think the best solution might be using the corkscrew device in your drill press, and those pieces of kindling drop neatly in a pile on the floor under the drill press table. You have more and faster control over the wood this way.
Hi olesya. I hope that you and your family are well. Thank you for sharing your life with us. Watching your videos each week brings such joy to myself and all of your viewers.
Kindest regards from Donna, England 🏴
I love Eric's praise of a good cup of coffee. I can relate! Also, I vote for the 'kindling cracker'. It literally sings when you use it. I'm making bean, mushroom, and kale pasta tomorrow! All of that and New Year's fireworks too! Cheers! Here's to 2023 and to you and me and everybody!
The lovely thing about this video is that you both looked like it was a holiday, you were relaxed and chilled which is so nice to see as we know your day to day life is not like that and I think it was because it was a longer stay than your usual little breaks.
Oh I love a road trip, thanks for sharing with us!!
Here I am, in Australia, a 39°c day predicted this weekend, watching your snow filled videos. I can't wait for winter, cooking on fire!
You guys are awesome
Thank you for shoing this
I just wanted to say my 7&8 year olds just love your channel! We've watched half a dozen videos so far. My oldest said she hopes to be as cool as you guys 😂
I can’t wait to see you guys when you move there and bring the chicken’s it’s going to be a awesome 2023 on your channel ❤🎉😊
You guys rock. Glad you had a good get away/new year's weekend. Here's to lots more adventures in 2023!
Word to Eric:
Never call Ariel a bad cook. 😅
I have a few friends in Canada and they use a propane generator or a dual fuel generator in which one is propane. They say, Propane has a freezing point of -44°F.. Compared to gasoline generators, propane-powered models are less likely to freeze or experience difficulty starting during cold weather. Additionally, propane is cost-effective and more environmentally friendly, making it a smart choice because it does not degrade over time; it can be stored for a very long time without losing its properties. They do also put them inside a ventilated metal cover with ventilation holes to keep wind from hitting their generators be they portable or backup or standby. If you do not protect your generators from subzero winds it won't matter which generators you buy. Also the heat it generates inside the cover helps keep it safer. Hope this helps.
It is amazing how much different it is between hard wood and soft wood burn times and heat out put
I absolutely love your videos. I look for them each week. The only problem is I could watch you much more often.
One thing I wanted to say is I absolutely adore how kind you are to your dogs and how good you are to them. You can really see how much they mean to you with how gentle and thoughtful you are to them at all times. Keep up the good work in all you do.
Thank you. I so look forward to your postings. I love seeing Bandit, Bo any your loving relationship. Love seeing you do activities and survival together. Also, love the scenery you post. Alaska looks soooo peaceful. Thank you and GOD Bless🐞🙏👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽🙏🐞
We installed a Blaze King Princess cat stove a few years ago, and LOVE the long burn times we can get on that thing. 18 hour burns and 24+ hot coals.
My husband and I Moved up to Fairbanks area last June Before we came up here To check out our house Our driveway is also a very long driveway about 9 miles long... So we wanted to be prepared before we moved up here and we bought something to help us snowblow and it's helped us out tremendously I know that some people Live on a very low budget but if you live in Alaska By yourself a cabota tractor with a snowblower on it That tractor is the best investment that my husband and I ever Bought for this State... Are neighbors are very happy too because We also snow blow the entire road all the way down to the highway They said to us we wish you were here last year when we got so much Snow....
You guys are a great team made for Alaska! Love your resourcefulness and ability to roll with any punches!
Good afternoon from Syracuse NY everyone thank you for sharing your adventures in life
How lovely.. I wish I was there!💎
Me too
Hi! Simple Living Alaska! Good To See Your Vlog!...
I was so impressed with the speed and technique with the hatchet. I've only seen cutting in half, then in half again...
What a beautiful cabin! I can’t wait to follow your journey to moving to your amazing cabin in the spring. Your vlog is so entertaining as always. Keep warm. Best ❤
Can't wait for spring & watching you develop another property!!! Love your videos!!
Thank y’all for taking us along on your journey! Love your new home!
You can decorate for the holidays to see your beautiful cabinet. All decorated be wonderful enjoy doing it too.
Cool vid, I dig the van looks like it’s well maintained and in great condition! I like people that take care of they’re things
Love the adventures you take us all on with you, You both are an inspiration the way you two have a bond with love for each other. Hope all your dreams come true this year.
Thank you so much for bringing this to me every week. I long for the day when I can live away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You all give me that inner peace while I wait.
Also thanks for the testing of the types of splitting logs and learning bout the birch burning cold/wet/dry... ive learn new things from you especially canning stuff so thanks again for sharing your life in Alaska with us...
I love no matter what you go with the flow you seem to make everything work no matter ❤
I recently retired and keep a list going to prioritize and not forget. After working an 11 hour day 5 days a week for the last 30 years it was quite an adjustment.
The tracks you asked us to identify is the pretty white bird you were just hunting I’m not sure of the spelling but starts with a P… and we love our kindling splitter because I can help my hubby. Happy New Year Eric and Ariel cheers from Ontario 🇨🇦
Ptarmigan
Absolutely love your channel!!! My husband and I are in love with your new property! You may find the wildlife to calm down once your there permanently with your dogs marking their territory and just activity in general?
Can't wait to see what you both have in store for the new place. 🙂
I love your content so much!!! Thank you! I have a suggestion to wash the dishes in the cabin: get a spray bottle and mix water with dishwasher soap, and spray the dirty dishes , then with a sponge clean them and the rinse is a lot easier than having to soak the dishes first. I saw it as a way of saving water but is so much neater that way in your case... Hope it helps.
Living the Alaska life , God Bless...
Come Valentine's Day I am gifting the Kindling Cracker to friends who live up here east of Kirkwood ski area in the Sierras. Where most folks heat with wood, and with 165 inches/ 13.75 feet of new snow in the last 9 days it will make splitting wood fun! Thank you for showing how well it works.
Love the video! Congrats on the new cabin! Love the winter videos but I can’t wait to see what you guys do with the new cabin in the spring!!
Fantastic and looking forward to you both transforming this new homestead. Happy New Year.
What an absolute gift, an hour long treat! Happy New Year to you both. You have no idea how much joy you bring to me! My favorite TH-camrs by far.
I'm still so happy for you all and your new home! I love it! And I'm thankful precious Bo got to experience living there briefly!! Really a big job,hard job having to move though !!
HAPPY NEW 2023 FROM NORTHERN IRELAND. CHEERS ALL.
Seems like Ariel wants an outdoor tub!! Woodfired soaked tub would be incredible
Looking forward to watching your video this week Arielle & Eric ! LOVE learning from you both & your passion is bright & clear. We are so similar, love nature, love space, love being busy, love as close to financial freedom as possible. Keep doing what you are doing, you are definitely my #1 TH-cam channel...THANK YOU SO MUCH !!! 😁
You guys are such an inspiration 💗 Love all the beautiful scenery!
Yeah Alaska has many much different nature, and all of it beautiful.
Great video. Thank you both for putting forth the effort it takes to film, edit, and publish these. Stay safe and stay warm.
Guys...I am in Miami Florida and was born on a tropical island....so note that I am pretty clueless about living in those freezing environments. Hubby and I do, however, RV quite a bit and make fires often. Just recently I saw a video where another homesteader used an old truck tire to put on top of his wood cutting stump to help the wood from flying off when it was cut. He put the kindling splitter inside the tire hole (also just used an ax) and started splitting wood inside the tire hole. The wood that is cut is held on top of the stump by the tire....as oppose to flying off and you having to pick it up each time you want to continue splitting it. I thought it was ingenious! Just a thought from clueless, WARM, me! I CAN make a mean piña colada if you're ever in my neck of the woids! 😁. Take care. Love your videos.
Sometimes Bo just has the saddest eyes when you're putting him up into the car or something, like he's certain he could have done it, just these ol' bones :
Happy New Year to you guys as well!! Wishing you both and the fur babies the very best of everything this year. Can't wait to see all the progress to come on the new cabin :)
and a happy new year right back. can't wait to see what's in store in the future with all the projects, chickens, etc. You two be safe and warm cause you sure warm me up just watching
Personally, I use my splitting maul for splitting kindling. The steel head weighs about ten pounds.
Often, I'll just sit the maul on a piece of wood to be split, and drop it eight or ten inches onto a solid surface. The mass of the maul commonly splits the wood without having to "swing" the maul at all. Keeps the hand holding the wood out of the way ---an important consideration!
Other times I'll sit a bigger piece of wood on the cutting surface, and swing the maul. That works well for bigger pieces that need more power to split.
I enjoyed seeing the methods you demonstrated, but I remain happy with the methods I've developed.
I heat my home with wood almost entirely here in urban Seattle. When I need wood for the stove, I take the wheelbarrow out the front door, down the steps on a 2x6 ramp and load up wood from the wood pile. Then I reverse that trip and leave the wheelbarrow in it's home in the living room! I feed the stove directly from the wheelbarrow.
Handling and moving wood takes a good deal of the labor required to heat with wood, and the method I describe minimizes wood handling for me. I suppose it would outrage a lot of women, but I don't have to worry about that myself.
Wow alot of Spring Happenings on the Ridge I'm excited to see what next week's begis
Bunnies are growing
Good morning! This is another fantastic video, learned so much from you both it makes me wish I we’re young again. I would know so much more on woods and starting fires. You both are incredible, what I admire most is your creativity and determination. Your plans for the new year sounds just great… hope to have many more of your awesome videos to see you. You sure are the very best on TH-cam… when you post a new video, my heart warms up with joy and eagerness to enjoy.
Thank you. ❤
Thank You for another cold but fun adventure. Happy New Year to you and your fur babies! 🥂🥂🥂
Happy New Year! Thanks for making my Sunday afternoon a success. Love you guys and the pups.
You 2 always busy you life is not boring, big hug 🤗
Thanks for sharing. The new cabin is wicked awesome. Much love from Boston, Massachusetts….
When I was growing up, we heated with a wood stove. One year, I had a bunch of shorter rounds so I tried putting them in vertically as a lark. If there's a good bed of coals to start with, they will last longer since there's much less surface area actually burning. Something to try if you have any around.