Our site is in Alaska about 20 miles north of Anchorage outside of the Wasilla city boundary. Glaciers built the slopes and terraces quite a while back, but vegetation has been working on it since then to create a shallow layer of soil. The deepest soil we've found so far is about 6 inches. The trees are old growth Birch and Black Spruce with some Cottonwood, the tallest about 70 feet. Along the wet areas are Alder and Willow. Other plants include wild Roses, Currants, Highbush Cranberries, ferns, Raspberries, Lowbush Cranberries (maybe Lingonberries), Blueberries, and Arctic Dogwood, to name just a few.
     There are fairly large areas of boggy conditions; road building will be tough and expensive. We would like to maintain the natural drainage patterns as we put in access.
     About 1950 or so, the original homesteader's "improvement" of the property to establish her homestead was to clear about 15 acres for fields. In an attempt to keep animals out of the plantings she fenced the fields with barbed wire, which is still there in various levels of visibility. The old fields have grown up dense in Moose-eaten Birch, Alder, Willow and Cottonwood with Spruce for accents. This area is where we have in mind putting the main castle, village and fields.
     I was lucky enough to meet a fellow who was raised in the area. He told some stories about his childhood, about how he shot his first moose on the ridge to the north of our property, about pigs that had gone wild and roamed the area, about how open and free the place used to be. Ah, the good ol' days.
     Animals occupying the area include Moose (still), at least one small Black Bear, Fox, Sand Hill Cranes, Flickers, Rabbits, Spruce Hens, Bats, and lots more. We'll probably meet several more when we try to plant a garden!