Seasons Greetings!

How another year is wrapping up is still a mystery to me. But alas, it is. Here’s what we’ve been up to.

Right after the new year I started a new job with PrimeWest Health in Alexandria. The learning curve is steep, but I think I’m getting the hang of things and I really enjoy the people I work with. I also really like being able to work from home. Right now I go into the office once a week and that has been going really well.

In January, Derrik and I got to go on a trip to Mexico with some friends. It was lovely, and we can’t wait to go back.

This spring we tapped our black walnut trees again. It was such a success in 2022 that we decided to up our game this year. We tagged trees last fall to make them easier to identify in the spring, and tapped nearly 100! We also converted one of our grain bins into a sugar shack for boiling sap into syrup. 

If you recall, we had record snowfall here last winter so tapping was a bit of a challenge. But, we made it work thanks to the snowmobile, sled, snow gear and lots of curse words. 

Boiling in our new sugar shack went well, too. We’d like to add some amenities like storage and seating for next year, but even if that doesn’t get done it works!

We also got chickens this year! After Derrik’s dad passed late last year Anita (Derrik’s stepmom) decided to sell their house and move to Texas, so we inherited the flock. It has been an adventure. We did lose some, but also got baby chicks in the summer, so now there’s 20 chickens running around Octane Acres. They are entertaining! Our next chicken project will be getting meat birds in the spring! 

In June we had a memorial for Derrik’s dad, Mike. We had a big party down by the lake and it was a great opportunity to catch up with some friends and family. We sure have missed him this year. 

We took a trip up north to Lake of the Woods this summer. We all got to go fishing and I caught my biggest walleye! While we were up north we also stopped at the headwaters of the Mississippi.

We ended the summer with our annual Labor Day party down at the lake. It was about a million degrees out, so we all hung out under canopies and did our best to stay hydrated. Even so, it was a great time and makes the end of the summer a little bit more bearable. 

This fall we ventured up to Duluth and Split Rock Lighthouse for their annual Edmund Fitzgerald memorial. If you have an opportunity to check that out, I highly recommend it. They light up and do tours of the lighthouse which is pretty neat. We also got to see my best friend Shannon, so that made the trip extra special. While we were in town we checked out the train museum and that was a hit. If you’ve never been, I recommend it!

Just before Thanksgiving Derrik and I were able to get away again for a quick trip to the Wisconsin Dells with a group of friends. (Big thanks to our moms for making these getaways possible!!) It was great to get away, but always good to come home, too.

We sincerely hope this finds you well, and that 2024 brings us more time with the people we care about and don’t seem to see nearly enough. 

Happy Solstice, Happy Yule, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year from all of us here at Octane Acres!

Eliza’s 2023:

  • Turned 6!!
  • Kindergarten Graduation
  • First Dance Competition (they did great!)
  • Went to Art Camp over the summer
  • Had her first swimming lessons and passed level 1
  • Joined soccer
  • Started 1st grade

Seger’s 2023

  • Turned 4!!
  • Drove a dirt bike
  • Discovered he LOVES campfires 
  • Helped Dad with all sorts of projects around the farm. He especially loves riding along in the skid loader.