It’s hard to believe how fast time flies by as April 2014 marks two years since we purchased our property on 40 acres and moved back to Duluth! I knew the area very well as we used to grouse hunt up here and knew there was a designated dog trail around the property and outlying county lands.

It’s kind of fun not having any monthly utility bills, like electric and gas. We have a 100lb propane tank that feeds the house lights and the gas stove/oven. The house is heated by wood only and there’s plenty of it around!

We were a bit unsure about how dog care and kennel maintenance would be living completely #offthegrid, with no water and no power there can be a lot of challenges. Our biggest concern was water. A rain barrel was one of the first projects tackled. You wouldn’t believe how much rain water you can get in a decent thunder storm or all day light rain! In the winter, we have to haul water in from work in five gallon buckets. Twenty two dogs are drinking about 7.5 gallons per day.

We’d like to add another rain gutter on the west facing side of the house along with a 275 or 330 gallon tank to hold all the water collected.

The training is great up here, it’s THE reason we chose this place. We hardly ever have to load up the dog team to go out and train. The team can go right out of the driveway with unlimited mileage access even though the terrain is very hilly.

Some of the things we learned in the last two years:

  • stay out of the way of logging trucks, it’s a no win situation
  • find a better plowing system, there’s been WAY too much snow the last two winters for the wheeler to plow
  • get better grooming equipment
  • wolves are not an issue
  • bears ARE an issue
  • cut and dry more wood
  • there are a lot of crazy people that come down our road! even at all hours of the night
  • have a back up vehicle
  • hauling water is getting old

2014 Off the Grid Projects

  • level the house
  • build a lean to and freezer on the shed
  • start cutting and drying wood for building a sauna
  • more water collection
  • drill a well
  • clear an acre for an organized fenced in kennel
  • clear woods for better access to training trails
  • solar power

ari valor seppo