October 2025

The October edition of ALO News comes to you from the Minnesota farm where autumn is ending rather quickly. October temperatures were very mild with a late freeze and colors that didn’t start changing until the middle of the month. Wildlife was very active, with deer, waterfowl and pheasants in abundance. October in Minnesota is like September in Alaska, and getting to experience both of those months mostly outdoors is a reward every year.   One daily activity on the farm is checking the numerous trail cameras, and here are a couple of deer images worth posting.

They represent some of the best among a bunch of bucks wandering about the farm, and here is one with a ways to go.

Andy came for hunting and took this video of deer activity in a field planted to rye where a deer stand has been erected. Note: No deer were harmed in the filming of this scene.  

An hour after that video was taken, this guy showed up 50 feet from Andy’s stand, after shooting time. 

Andy did manage to harvest a buck a couple days later.  

It’s not just deer on the farm. This fox squirrel appeared in the front yard and posed for a picture.

That type of squirrel is less common than black, grey, red and flying squirrels, which are all very common on the farm. Fox squirrels are the largest of the Minnesota squirrel varieties.

ALO Update 

ALO conducted some business from the farm.  There were two mediations scheduled, and both resulted in settlements. These were major cases, and the details are still being sorted out. A more complete report on them will follow next month. One case involved the city of Bethel and some of its police officers, and the other involved some North Slope companies involved in the oil industry. A settlement was also obtained in a Mat-Su Valley car accident, where a drunk driver paid insurance policy limits for injuries caused to a young woman client.  The last settlement was a malpractice claim against an Anchorage lawyer who missed a statute of limitations involving a negligence claim against an assisted living facility where an elder was badly  injured.  Alaska law holds that claims for injuries must be filed within two years of the incident in most cases, and it prevents any recovery if that deadline is missed.  ALO missed such a deadline in a case about 30 years ago, and it was not a pleasant experience. 

Bethel's Own Global Humanitarian

A long time Bethel resident Jill Seaman splits time between working at the Bethel hospital and volunteering at a very basic clinic in Sudan. Jill is one of those people who is completely selfless and has dedicated herself to the challenges of running a clinic in a war torn country, with extremely limited resources, some danger and much discomfort. She has conducted gatherings in Bethel to fundraise for that effort, and Bethel people have supported her generously. Her accounts of daily life in her small village there are riveting. It is not just the people of Bethel who have noticed Jill’s work.  Here is an account of recognition she received recently in New York City.  The world is a better place because of people like Jill.  The same can’t be said for everyone on this planet.

Mandatory Moose and Other Characters 

This month’s Mandatory Moose got into the Halloween spirit by helping himself to treats without any mention of the traditional trick.

Here is a murder of crows (correct terminology) helping themselves to a roadkill deer on the farm only to be chased away by a red-tailed hawk.

With substantial acreage, dead animals are strategically placed on the farm to feed living ones and to allow for good viewing and photos.  

This eagle didn’t have any deer to eat, so it swooped in on a pet and got a surprise.

Long ago the Angstman farm had cattle, and some of them were kept inside a barn during the winter. It was always an event when they were turned out in the spring for the first time after a few months cooped up. They would run and twirl and kick up there heels with joy.  That tradition seems to be quite popular in Sweden.

Regular readers of ALO news know that dogs are revered on these pages. This clip reveals one more reason for that.

Tariff Tantrums

A while back ALO news posted a clip of President Ronald Reagan discrediting tariffs. That clip was making the rounds at the time and apparently the Canadian government saw the clip and made in into an ad which played during the World Series and other places. Trump didn’t like the ad because it undercut his tariff policies. In a petty fit of anger he raised tariffs on Canadian goods because of the ad.  Since that time events have caused him to lower some tariffs because people have finally convinced him the tariffs are pushing up the cost of goods in America. He has claimed that is not so, but any thinking person knows it's true.  In fact, that very issue was addressed in a recent US Supreme court argument. Here is the exchange between the Chief Justice and a government lawyer. 

Of course it’s a tax on Americans , and it sounds like the Supreme Court is ready to say Trump has no right to establish tariffs without the support of Congress. And with the result of recent elections and polling, there is little chance that Congress would support the tariff plan.

The British Are Coming (With Subtitles)

Finally, after years of not being able to understand British speakers in movies, the widespread use of captions has made it possible to enjoy British productions for the first time. It is also true that it took a while for the Angstman family to start streaming because of tech issues.  Now it is apparent that the Brits produce exceptional stuff.  Their drama is well done and their comedy is hilarious. Here is an example of Brit humor.