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.