Water, we are literally surrounded by water. If we aren’t living on the water on our sailboat, we are near the water at our coastal cabin residence. We both grew up on or near the water, so for us, it is home. Water, in all of its majestic qualities, is more than just a mode of transportation, the home for tremendous natural resources, or a beautiful backdrop for a breathtaking sunset, it’s also a necessity. When it rains, we don’t wish for sunshine, we are grateful for the resource!
The rain barrel filled up yesterday with 100 gallons, ready to fulfill all of our non-potable water needs. I haven’t drank city or well water as a primary water source for over a year. When we lived in Homer, we would collect our drinking water from a natural spring, either in Anchor Point or Ninilchik. The Ninilchik water source, in the parking lot right across from the fair grounds, is easier access and has a more powerful flow, but either would do better than the city or well water we had on tap, and the stream was a steady flow even throughout the Alaskan winter months.
These days look a little different. We take a dingy or skiff across the bay from our coastal cabin home and fill our drinking water from a mountain stream that shoots straight down the rocky cliff side into the salty ocean.
We used to fill all of our water there, for showering, dishes, and drinking, into 5-7 gallon jugs that we would haul down the slippery rocks to the skiff, across the bay, and up the gravel beach, to the trail to the cabin, and finally to the woodshed behind the cabin where it doesn’t bake in the sun. This process was always so much better at high tide, although the exercise is much appreciated. Homesteading life is an excellent exercise plan I’ve learned, and the physical opportunities are often welcomed and make the rest feel well earned.
We really go through the water around here. Our family ranges from the two of us to 7 of us, depending on the time of year. Have you ever considered how many gallons of water you use a day, in your home and for your personal or family consumption needs? It’s quite something to have it so on display. We were really draining through the water supply! Scott, being the wise and innovative one that he is, set up a hose system from that mountain creek cliff after a few sketchy trips of water collection so we can now fill the jugs from the dingy or skiff. What a game changer this is! Fresh water on tap feels pretty amazing in this coastal lifestyle.
Even more recently, Scott set up a gutter system at the cabin to collect rain water for dishes and showers. The gutter spouts into a 100 gallon water container and it’s so satisfying to watch it fill. With only a couple more months of non freezing temperatures, it’s a treasure to be enjoyed.
Our systems of life will adjust as the seasons do, but for now we are enjoying the abundance of rain water, the fish that travel through the salt water into our canner and the smoke shack. The gift of life is truly being in the present, enjoying each day, each moment, each breath, all as natural as the rise and fall of the tides.