The arrival of Autumn

I rushed off early this morning to a rescue call, jumping in the car with Allison and Julia to speed towards the college. It took me a while, but around 6:30 I noticed the sun was rising, and I watched it from on top of Potash hill. It's been a long time since I've seen the sunrise there, and it was in some ways comforting. But, it had a strange juxtaposition with my current life; the sirens and lights and the cups of coffee. It makes me feel connected to a not-so-distant past.

Life has been busy lately, but that hardly differs from any of the other months lately. I've been learning new skills as a firefighter and first responder trainee. Soon, I'll be starting an EMT-basic course, and maybe someday soon, will be an EMT. Volunteering on a fire department has its benefits: cool gear, awesome trucks, flashing lights, and the opportunity to help out folks in the community. It also has its drawbacks, like 2:00am calls and difficult volunteers. But, I'm happy doing it.

The cabin has been a major stressor, being half-complete and trying to live there all at once. Trevor and I have a space set up in the loft for sleeping, but we still can't cook there, and we only just got electricity last week (whew). Hopefully, we'll get a lot more done this weekend, as we're hosting another building party. And, it looks like there is insulation in our near future. Once we have water and propane, we will be much happier. One step at a time, I guess. It's not a pretty way to live, but it's effective for now.

I am very much looking forward to having a study soon, as I've been feeling a lack of privacy in our living spaces. I really do like living near to friends, but sometimes, I just need an hour in a closed room with my pup and a good book. I have grand plans for my new study, but as with everything else, it will come in its own time.

For now, I'm trying my best to stay relaxed -- of course, that will change when the next tone for Marlboro Fire and Rescue goes out. KCF415, this is 44 firefighter Katrick awaiting the next call.

Today

windows = done.

A quiet day

It's odd working alone now, after spending so many weeks working with a crew. I like the quiet, and the slower pace of the job. Working by myself really lets me get into detail, and shuffle from project to project with no predictable path. I do miss the speed with which things get done. Time is short now, so I wonder if the trade for quality over quantity is poorly timed. But, what can you do? The world doesn't spin around the cabin, as much as I'd like it to sometimes.

I finished one project today, and started another. The loft floor is finally completely installed, and I am very happy with the result:

The wood was reclaimed, and when I got it, it had variations in thickness and old varnish on the top. With a couple of passes through the planer, it looked beautiful again, and it installed fairly quickly. There are bows and cracks, of course, but I like them. Floors that look perfect are boring. I like quirky things. They have more character. I did end up buying a few new boards (as we didn't have enough to finish completely), but they match fairly well. After a pass with the belt sander, I think it will be hard to recognize them.

I started working on the siding, which I am very excited about. I don't know about you, but a blue Tyvek house is an ugly house. I'm eager to cover it up for good:

The siding is spruce, and we'll be staining it red so we can still see the grain in the wood. The trim is going to be a cream, or ivory -- some sort of muted white. I love the accent of paint when it's not the main feature.

I heard from Allison that red paint used to be made from sour milk and rusty tools. You take a big barrel of old milk, put all of the rusty tools you can find in it, and let it brew for a while. Then, you paint your barn red with it. I'm tempted to try it with the woodshed -- it would be fun!

Just for kicks and giggles, here's a photo of my rudbeckia/coneflower/daisy garden. I'm hoping it spreads next year!

The Clock Keeps Ticking

The days have rolled by, one by one, leaving so few ahead. I count 22 until the end of August, and it doesn't seem to be enough to get by. Perhaps, are we missing a month? Can I have just one more week?

The summer has most certainly thundered in, and I can see the autumn approach. A few days ago, I watched the storms sweep overhead in the hazy, humid weather. There were beautiful sunsets from the peak of the cabin, and the frogs have thoroughly enjoyed our unfinished well. The nights are growing chilly, and it is a sure sign that the Earth has turned just far enough that soon, we'll notice the woods changing and the animals scrambling for food and heat. I know I am; the wood stove and kitchen -- shelves for my food -- insulation for my warmth -- are all begging to be finished.

I've been stuck in the land of electricity for the last week. I've been burying a cable to the cabin, and it's tough work for one when you have 210' to dig. But, somehow, It will get done, and I'll be able to plug in a light for those midnight work sessions that I will inevitably be doing. Under orders from my significant other, I have to take a break from digging, so I am currently working on the windows and the siding. Once we have the outside finished, we can move in. The inside can wait until the fall, if needed. But, I have quite a list:

-Finishing the dry well
-Burying the utilities trench
-Installing trim and soffits
-Installing windows
-Installing siding
-Priming/staining siding and trim
-Stacking the rest of the wood pile
-Finishing the wood shed
-Installing the plumbing
-Insulating the floor
-Etc.

But, it will get done, someday soon. It's been harder lately to work because many of my friends and workers have gone away to other commitments (Canada, China, etc.). So, mostly, it's just me and occasionally another helper. But, there are many things that only I can do, so I can consider it good timing. We'll see.

I know I've not posted for a while, so I thought I'd post some pictures from the last month or so (In no particular order):

Edwin on the roof

Roof sheathing complete

Metal roof installation

Allison on the roof

Inside walls

Revolution

Wall sheathing nearly complete

Notice to all scallywags

Woodshed construction

Trebuchet (for besieging the chicken coop)

Sheathing complete, porch added

Peace out, all.

Dog days of summer

It's nice to have a day to organize your life -- work on the necessities and chores that pile up during the week. With Trevor and I working so much, a lot of things have fallen to the back of our minds: laundry, baking, dog baths, and packing, to name a few. We made some noble efforts to catch up this weekend.

Trevor started out today by making six jars of cherry jam. Boy, is it tasty! We've been buying in-season fruits in large quantities so we can save them for the winter. I've got a bag of blueberries in the fridge with 'pie' written all over it. When blueberries come into season in VT, I think I'll freeze a bunch so I can have blueberry muffins this winter. Raspberries and blackberries aren't far off!

I managed to do some yard work with the nice weather, and Trev and I transplanted a bunch of green things over at the cabin (oregano, coneflowers, chives, roses, mint, columbines, and others). We'd like to start the cottage garden, but the siding has to go up first. No use putting things in if they're going to get trampled.

Speaking of the cabin... Allison's organizing another work party for next Sunday, July 19th. Be there, or be square! We finally finished the roof. There would have been more celebration, but we were all dead tired. Allison and I ate a bag of cherries up on the ridge before coming down. I'm still trying to recover from the sunburn -- the metal roofing makes it feel like an oven up there. But, now we're on to more interesting projects. We've got interior walls, exterior sheathing, electric wiring, well digging, ceiling installation, and the list goes on. At least it's only July.

I'm off to work on pan-seared steak with onions and wine. At 9:00pm. I guess I've been losing track of time...

Like a Kat on a hot tin roof.

The rain never stops falling here. Three weeks of wet work let me know that I must be on track. How else would nature tell me to slow down? Each drop says, "Take a break... rest now... time to sleep... today is your day off...." No stopping for us, though. We've pushed our way through this unfortunate weather and have progressed very far on the one thing that will keep us dry: the roof.

The tricky thing about a roof is that to install it, it can't be raining very much. Now, I say 'very much' because tar paper isn't hard to lay, even if it's drizzling outside. Even metal roofing can be installed in the rain. Adhesive ice and water shield, however, doesn't adhere very well to wet wood. So, we have to wait for a dry day to install it. And, well, we haven't had many dry days for a while now.

We have finished 1/2 of the roof. The east side is completely done (chimney and all)! So far, no leaks! The west roof is proving more difficult because we decided to add a dormer to the loft space. The view was much too good to give up. And, I'm moving my study over to the west side so I can take full advantage of that dormer (and its window-seat potential)! I think we can have that side finished up in two days, if we get some sun.

In the meantime, we've been working on other projects that can be done in the rain, or under the dry part of the roof. Ashley and Edwin quickly finished up the firestopping in the walls, and Will has been working steadily on the dormer. Today, we lifted two collar ties into place, which look very fine. I'm trying to use native wood as much as possible; it's more ecologically sound, it costs less, and it looks beautiful. I can't wait to see it in the finished cabin.

In the next few weeks, I plan to sheath the house, start the woodshed and the porch, install some windows, and put up the interior walls. Once the roof is watertight and dried out, I can put up the toungue & groove pine ceiling, and then we're going to blow cellulose insulation into the gaps. I'm hoping it will keep the house toasty enough!

Of course, I can't sign off without at least a few photos to glimpse at, so please enjoy:

Carpenter extrodinaire, Rob

Ashley and Edwin at work on a floor joist


The much anticipated dormer


Will, at the helm of the 'danger dormer'

East side, complete


Peace out, all.

Long days of summer

On June 14th, we had a spectacular house-raising party. I'm exhausted from many days of work, so I'll be brief for now. Later, I'll post more details.

Before:

Ashley squaring a beam

Raising the first wall
Rob, checking for plumb
Consultation
West walls going up
Jodi and Josh securing the top plates
Walls are up
Installing the center beam (took 15+ people to lift)
Rob, notching the center beam
Window seat

As always, more to come.
-Adam

Progression and Fortune

Three walls down, one to go. Tuesday we put together the east wall, Thursday we finished the west wall and the bottom half of the south gable, and on Friday and the next Tuesday, nearly finished the top half of the south gable. With only two weeks to go before the big house raising (June 14), we're in a good spot. However, we've still got a few details to work out (floor joists, wood orders, well digging, etc.)More good news: we've got one more worker! My good friend Ashley decided to move to southern VT for a couple months this summer, and he's going to be helping us up at the cabin. It's incredibly useful to have someone who was raised in a cabin, and knows a bunch about 'simple living.' And, he's just fun. We've already had reason to break out the axes and machete to play.We cut a new center beam for the house, as the yellow birch we had previously cut had rot in its core. We chose a straight red maple just a stone throw from the cabin site, and with judicious use of axes, we felled it right where we wanted it to go. Who says you need chain saws when you've got a good axe and crosscut?! (In fact, the chainsaw has not been touched for the entire project, and we've already removed ~30 trees -- all to be used in a suitable fashion). Edwin and Ashley made quick work debarking the tree, and it's ready to be kerfed and squared.

Yesterday, we started work on our garden near the driveway. We debarked white birch, and set them 2' deep in the tilled soil. They stand 4' 4": tall enough for a 4' metal wire fence. Trevor went ahead and planted our tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and muskmelons. We've still got some basil and carrots to put in, but those will wait until a load of soil is dropped off later this week. The whole thing looks quite nice -- it has a farmhouse quality to it.

We've also changed our plans a bit and decided to dig a well for hand-pumped water. This Thursday, Ashley, Edwin, and I will pick up the shovels and start digging. We hope to get a 12' well, but it will most likely take more than one day. Wish us luck! It will certainly be fun, at the very least.

The more and more I think about it, I feel like a strange mix between a general contractor and a pioneer. Perhaps, a naturalist? Woodworker? Homesteader? Dog enthusiast? Nah. Maybe just canine.

Woof.

(Edit: The first picture and the wood-chopping pictures were taken by Joy Auciello. Her blog is at http://joystarstory.blogspot.com. Go visit!)

A Peck of Gold

"Dust always blowing about the town,
Except when sea-fog laid it down,
And I was one of the children told
Some of the blowing dust was gold.

All the dust the wind blew high
Appeared like god in the sunset sky,
But I was one of the children told
Some of the dust was really gold.

Such was life in the Golden Gate:
Gold dusted all we drank and ate,
And I was one of the children told,
'We all must eat our peck of gold.'"

-Robert Frost, West-Running Brook 1928

Days go by...

It's been a busy few weeks. It started out with a fantastic May day/ Beltaine party hosted by Trevor and me, and has progressed from there. Last week, I built a dining room table for my mother out of reclaimed birch and spruce; I worked with a group of friends to dig 400' of trenches around the cabin site; I helped my mother move into her new house; and, of course, I did another billion things I've forgotten. Can anyone say, "overscheduled?" I have this problem with saying no, you see...

However, things aren't as hectic this week. I'm standing in the kitchen, breathing in the scents of lemon and lime on the stovetop. I'm making marmalade for my first time ever, and I'm very excited to see how it turns out. Trevor is cooking Persian rice, and later, he's going to bake a strawberry rhubarb pie (rhubarb from our backyard!). I'm also going to attempt dandelion wine, but I'm hesitant, because last time I tried, there was a nasty smell coming from the jar a couple weeks into the project. Yuck. We'll see. At least I know I can make a mean hard cider.

The cabin is coming along beautifully. We're looking to start framing the walls next week -- the platform has been leveled, the water nearly drained, and the wood from the lumber store has arrived -- so we're two weeks ahead of schedule! Woot! We're going to be hosting a 'house raising' party in early June, and we'd love for many people to show up. Walls go up so quickly with lots of hands, so we may be ready for roofing by mid to late June. We're making progress!

So, without further babbling, let's get to the good stuff (check out my facebook page for more pictures):Will tossing a caber for our May day party; we had different sizes and shapes for various skill levels. This one was the biggest. Let me tell you -- this is fun. You get points on whether it flipped over, and what direction it's pointing when it lands. Truly -- it's more fun that you might think.Drumroll for the crowning of the May Queen (Edwin, this year). Other nobles include May King Joy, Chancellor Will, and High Priestess Chrissy. Long live the Queen!~

Joy tying ribbons on the May pole, after we all danced around it. For the uninitiated, everyone who is dancing takes hold of a ribbon attached to the top, and then weaves in and out of the other dancers to create this pattern. We've still got it up in our yard.

Trevor looking like a Greek statue (isn't he handsome?) while Jamie prepares to toss a caber.

Will playing with big digging toys. This one is called a 'dingo', and has a huge chainsaw-like bar attached to the front to dig ditches.


After loosening up the soil with the dingo, we hand dug about 300' of trenches in one day. Nice, eh? Here's Edwin and Allison in the background, shoveling away.

This is the dining room table in progress. It's done now (mostly), and currently being coated with linseed oil. I hope it will look good in my mother's new house. It has a distinct "farmhouse" type style.

Stay tuned,
Peace out, crazy cats.

That's the way...

...the 36 hour chocolate chip cookie crumbles.

Yeah, that wasn't very inventive. But, I have successfully made a fantastic batch of chocolate chip cookies, and you'd never guess, the trick is to leave them in the 'fridge for 36 hours. Stop drooling and follow the directions below:

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 cup butter or margarine
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup oats
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 12oz bag chocolate chips
- nuts (if desired. Pecans are godly).

Cream the butter, add sugars, vanilla, eggs, and oats. Sift together flour, salt, and soda. Mix with other ingredients. Add chocolate and nuts.

Next is the hard part: cover, and put bowl in refrigerator for 1 1/2 days. For real. There's a reason for this, I promise. The liquid in the cookie dough (to be unscientific, eggs) needs to be absorbed into the grains. The butter prevents this from happening quickly, hence, the waiting period. Trust me, the wait is worth it. It helps to develop the brown sugar/toffee flavor in the cookies.

When you are ready to bake them, keep in mind, bigger is better. Wonder why cookies at bakeries are so good? The wait period and size. When the cookie is bigger, you get multiple kinds of cookie: crisp on the outside, soft in the middle, and perfect in between. Try for 4" of cookie dough on the sheet, flattened a bit. Bake at 375deg. for 10-12 minutes. Most people overbake cookies because it's easy to do -- just make sure the center is not gooey, and don't bother to wait for them to brown too much.

These cookies, like all cookies, are tasty right out of the oven, but they develop new flavors if you let them sit for 2-3 days in a cookie tin.

I'm cooking a new batch tomorrow (er, today, I guess. 12:47. egads) I'd love to hear how they turn out for others!

"'Cause I try to climb your steps..."

Good progress today: we've cleared the south exposure of the house, dragged tree crowns and branches into the woods, organized lumber into stacks, and started to dig the dry well. I'm hoping to spend May digging trenches for plumbing and electric, and draining the moat around our castle er... cabin. Oh, and leveling the foundation. And installing a vapor barrier. And buying materials and tools for framing. Whew. It's going to be a rush to get this cabin done by September 1st. Wish me luck and dry days!

It was incredibly satisfying to cut down all of the trees by hand. No chainsaws! I'm hoping to cut and hew the center beam of the house by hand as well -- for looks, if nothing else. And, it is a pleasure to work with yellow birch this time of year; our whole cabin site smells like root bear and sugar. You can see the sap dripping from the stumps like a leaky faucet. Fascinating, but watching a stump bleed reminds me of the cost.

Trevor is learning how to use my camera, so he took this nice photo of the front path to the house. It will be beautiful once the trees leaf out!

Stay tuned.

A hundred feet in the sky

"...precision flying is a step toward expressing our real nature. Everything that limits us we have to put aside."
-Jonathan Livingston Seagull

God I love that bird. I let my limitations build to an overwhelming pile, and no surprise, it's hard to overcome them when they look back at you en masse. But as the great seagull said, perhaps it's time to put them aside, and let them build my character, rather than be a great opposition.

Lately, my limitations have been mental -- a brick wall in the way of my physical energy and enthusiasm. When my brain is quiet, or positively contemplative, I can leap valleys and climb mountains. Depression hits hard, and pulls at my physical energy in so many ways. I never realized how complex the brain and its emotions were until they became obtrusive. It's a limitation to be worked with, dealt with over time, and sometimes, put aside.

But apart from that, I have much to share regarding the cabin. Beware those on dial-up: many pictures follow.This is a view from the southwest corner of the cabin site. As you can see, the foundation needs some work. It most certainly is not level. No worries, though -- it's fairly well supported -- just has some frost heave issues. There is also a substantial quantity of wood there already, which I am grateful for.


Our current roommate has been helping me clear the site, and he will be a great asset this summer when we are knee-deep in 16p nails. We felled this birch a few days ago, and it is a good size for the center beam of the house. I plan to use most of the lumber we harvest -- either in the house, or in the wood stove. Waste not...

Obligatory group photo, and the ever-popular Sir Shadow the Magnificent. I've gotten requests for more puppy pictures, and because I simply can't resist, there will be more. To top it off however, is a sure sign of the approaching growing season:

Fly high,
-Adam