New Construction Foreman

My niece and nephew are visiting from out of town and made the trip to check on the cabin this week. My nephew was not content watching the concrete pour from up above (where we sat), but suddenly appeared in the midst of the workers. With hands on hips, he observed, contemplated, and then began to INSTRUCT! Oh, yes, he pointed out where the concrete needed to be spread, how the buckets were to be handled, and gave great input (not requested, input, but valuable, I'm quite sure). It was amusing from my vantage point. Good humor was maintained by all.



Then my niece and I took time out to wade into the cold creek. Note her toes curled up! We waded in with the dogs, threw sticks, splashed, and squealed with the shock of the cold water. It was a beautiful spring day with blue skies, warm sun, and a cool breeze. All three of us hiked up the ridge line and out to the upper road. It was a great day for adventure.

March 19, 2009

The stone masons have begun to place the stones around the foundation of the Writer's Cabin. Rocks are plentiful, but gathering them is hard work. A neighbor has been helping out scrambling through the woods to collect rocks for us.






Writer's Cabin chimney, sub-floor, and foundation are ready for the log stacking to begin. I hoped to see logs today, but not quite yet. Perhaps next visit. When the cabin was dismantled, they were numerically coded in order to put them back together...sure hope those numbers are still in place!







Remember the crack? Well the guys have added more support and are now enclosing the foundation and support structure with stones. So far, it looks like a good solution!





Progress on the main cabin included the "basement" floor and another layer of the wall foundations in concrete. This little basement will be the control center for radiant floor heating boilers, the hot water heater, and any batteries for the solar energy system. The energy situation is still in limbo. Trusting the solution is nearing. Stay tuned...

Cantilever Crisis

One week since the last posting...arrived at the job site. An unusual spring snowfall prevented the crew from working the entire week. Do you see what horrible site met me on the porch rock? Your eyes are not deceiving you...there IS a crack. A hairline crack was discovered the entire width of the beautiful limestone. Eeeeeekkkkk! We examined it, phoned in a geo-tech engineer, and have determined there was too much weight in the unsupported part. Our choices: 1. Remove, search out a new one, replace and 2. Extend the support structure underneath the present rock. We chose number 2. Hopefully this is the right decision. It was difficult to find such a perfect fit for the location. Never a dull moment in the wilderness...

February 26, 2009

We are finally at the stage where a week makes a huge difference! The footprint of the Hamilton or Writer's Cabin is now covered with floor joists - decking soon to follow. Daddy made the day trip with me this time. It was impressive as the last time he'd seen the site there was only dirt! Mike gave us a tour of the latest work and it all looks great.



This was Mike's big surprise for me. I am sitting on a rock cantilevered over the pond. It is the porch off the master bedroom. Mike had been searching for the perfect rock. He found this way up the creek. Its about 15' in length, 6' in width and 8" thick. They nestled it perfectly up against the foundation.



Here is the back of the fire place. The fire brick will be on the interior fireplace wall, with stone stacked on the outside. I think the herringbone pattern is stunning. Robert has joined the process by gathering limestone from our land and hauling it to the building area. The black pipe at the base is a vent to allow fresh air into the firebox. Its pretty dreamy to imagine sitting in front of the fireplace in the fall and winter. Though still a long way off, the image is encouraging.

Dead End Roads

I've lost count of the hours invested in the exploration of a viable alternative energy source. Terry drove hours to our site a year ago to assess the options. A combination of hydro, wind, and solar was recommended. Pursuing those three, it became clear that each one requires a huge investment in set-up and maintenance. So, we then backed up and opted to select one. Solar did not seem promising due to the shady location of the cabin. Wind could be generated up on the ridge, but the many still days made us realize that might not be reliable. Hydro was our star option with the year-round stream below the site. With great enthusiasm, we gathered all the pertinent information for a calculation of the generating capacity of our stream. Flow rate, drop, volume, etc...weeks to determine all of them produced the number crunching result of --- 2.7kw/day. What?!? That is so little unless lights are all we want to run. What a discouragement. Then we began to pursue a combination of two: hydro and solar. We would have to install the panels up on the ridge in the sunlight and wire the power down to the site. Calculations continued. Dead-ends kept cropping up around every turn of the exploration.

The latest direction came from an astute expert in geo-thermal energy sources when he asked, "Why exactly do you wish to remain off the grid?" The question stopped me in my tracks as I tried to answer. We want to minimize our environmental impact, but the more we learn, often what initially appears to be "green" is, in fact, not so when measured by other means. I am simply not sure which direction is the best. So, here we are, with a cabin foundation and the energy question unsolved. Our next inquiry is into bringing in power from "the grid". If it is brought in underground, trees will not have to be cleared. The final outcome is still unknown, but I am remaining in the process...patience and persistence...it is a mystery where the open road will be discovered.

A Footprint - February 2009

Thrilled is an understatement! I was elated to approach the building site after weeks. It seemed each time I planned to head to the site, it would snow or rain and prevent the trip. To see the footings completed for the guest cabin and partially so on the main cabin, was a huge joy. At the far end of this photo you'll see the form for the fireplace. Myron was beginning to lay firebrick in a beautiful herringbone pattern when I arrived. Construction materials are lining the drive as the crew prepares to make significant strides forward during the present good weather.

Gratitude - January 2009

I ended the last posting with the reminder, "Embrace the process". A major element of this embracing is recognizing the many people who are contributing to this endeavor. I am keeping a log of those individuals that advise, encourage, and provide an array of "gifts" in the development of our property. So far I am at 35 people whom we would likely not have met if it were not for this project. What an enrichment to our lives to add these relationships! I am grateful for every conversation that expands understanding and knowledge. I often pause and marvel at this opportunity. While pausing and reflecting, I ask God's blessing upon each person. Thank you, God, for the richness of life through connection with people.

We are full of gratitude!