September 2008
We staked out the cabin footprints, tagged important trees, then began to clear out a "hole" in the forest for the construction site. The indentation in the dirt is where the pond will be. Prior to moving the dirt around, that area was a ravine (or "holler") flowing with water during heavy rains. Up the holler, a spring bubbles to the surface briefly before flowing back underground. One consideration is to tap into that spring and feed it into the pond. At the base of the pond, a levee allows the water to spill into the creek directly below the building site. During the site prep, some glorious rocks were unearthed. We are crafting ideas as to the use of those specimen rocks.
I guess this marks the official beginning of the construction process. Building off the grid, in the middle of the Tennessee mountains is not a straightforward project. The research, considerations, consultations, decisions are all part of the process. Desiring to leave as minimal a footprint as possible, we take each tree, contour, rock, and spring into our thought processes. This is not a speedy endeavor, but will be worth the investment of time when completed
