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