It’s all about preparing for winter now, both indoors and out, at Camp Many Moons on Huron Bay in Michigan’s U.P. Today, the dock came out of the water as insulation went into the house. I’m sad to pull the dock but excited to receive insulation!
In the midst of all this activity, an 80-foot tree came down during a gusty south wind. Yikes. No damage to house or human, but a reminder that all things are temporary.
We began the process of building this cabin (house) less than six months ago. It has the feel of permanence — more than is normal for someone who seeks change and adventure — but the tree-fall reminded me that nothing is permanent, not even this built-to-last house. Permanent or not, we’ve achieved so much already given the short building season in the far-north. We’ve had snow, but a milder fall than usual. It reached nearly 70 today! However, in keeping with the “nothing-is-permanent” theme, temperatures will plummet into the 30s tonight and stay cold. Insulation means that indoor work can continue through the winter. I’ll take a break at my East Coast home for a while and come back to stain and paint and select appliances. Today’s story in pictures below.
The insulators arrived in a huge truck. This will be a 2-day job and I planned to not post until it was done, but it was such an eventful day!
A rubber tube carries the foam from the truck. See if you can guess what kind of insulation this is–answer to follow in a day or two.
The tube carries ot into the house, where the workers have already laid plastic everywhere…
…because that was the first job of the three-man crew; to protect the house.
They also need to protect themselves, since this stuff is toxic during installation. (I wore a mask while taking these pictures and didn’t hang around long.)
After spraying comes trimming.
At mid-day, they focused on the outdoor work because temps will plummet tonight and it’ll be easier to do the indoor work in the cold. They insulated the porch roof because we might close it in one day. First, they had to enclose it in plastic…not easy in the wind!
As the insulators worked, Jeff and I took the dock out of the water. It was easier than usual using his newest “tool” called an Iron Mule, or forwarder. (I guess because it, um, moves thing forward? Also backward.) I swear he almost giggles when he drives this thing.
The first thing to do when moving a dock from water to land is to loosen the legs which stabilize it. They were mired into the sand so it took some persistent shaking and rattling….
…during which I, while trying to help, lost my Bluetooth earbud into the water. (I know. Why didn’t I take it off? Jeff was calling….!) I got into the water hoping to find it. No luck.
Jeff then connected the Iron Mule to the dock using a chain…
…and pulled it backwards onto land. It sits on wheels so isn’t hard to move — with heavy equipment, that is. This dock is the first thing that Jeff built for Camp Many Moons. (Thank you, Jeff!) He used a trailer frame for its base. Jeff is the consummate re-user. š
So now, the end of the dock sits about 6′ above the water–soon to be ice. The winterized remains of my Finnish “word tree” are in the foreground. I left the word kiitos (thank you) visible to remind me to feel grateful. For all of this, permanent or not.
I mentioned the winds. Another tree down. Sigh. It came down just before sunset. I took this photo with a headlamp, and you can’t see how long it is. More photos later.
For Many Moons 
The best time of your life
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