While awaiting arrival of trusses later this week to continue construction of our waterfront cabin, we scrub the new concrete patio (repeatedly), dig out one dead tree and cut down others, and wait. We also take outings on the bay to remember why we are building here. Nature! When you're immersed in daily tasks, it's … Continue reading Scrubbing, Digging, Waiting…
Next up, the patio, as we continue to create "The Cabin at Many Moons" on Huron Bay. Wood or concrete? Wood requires maintenance but concrete is boring...unless you "dress it up!" So we did. And now, we have the best of both: a concrete patio with the look of wood. At least I think it … Continue reading The Patio: Concrete or Wood?
The little dog was new. The men in ball caps were not new. I'm getting quite familiar with men in ball caps, and usually wear one myself these days. But I'm not so familiar with myself in this environment. Who is this woman, anyway? This week, I've been to "the pit" and I've been to … Continue reading A Visit to The Pit
Before a house is roofed, it should be wrapped. So say the construction experts. So we did, pulling this light-weight but strong stuff across the walls and around the corners, then stapling it into the wood frame. Each roll was 9' x 100'. We managed it, between the two of us and with the help … Continue reading That’s A Wrap
When you're building your own cabin, you need to make sure everything is plumb (vertically straight) as well as level (horizontally straight). So I put my eyeball up to the old transit, taking care to not nudge it and thus disturb its settings, while Jeff holds a yardstick up for me to focus on and … Continue reading On the Level (or Plumb)
As our nation divided several years ago, an assumption seemed to grow alongside that divide...that you can be an intellectual personal or a practical person but not both. I think you can be both. Henry David Thoreau was both. He's the latest American writer to absorb me while doing the practical cabin-building work at Camp … Continue reading Thinking of Thoreau
The vision takes form...3 patio doors and 10 windows, with a view to the water or woods or both. That's a lot of glass for a 1,000-square-foot dwelling. And that's the point. With four walls up now, the Cabin at Many Moons in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.) emerges more every day. It brings to mind … Continue reading A View Runs Through It
Needed: One capable man, one old back-hoe, one heavy chain, and a friend or two. Stand by with a few braces, and...ta-d-a-a! Two walls went up today, and suddenly, I can visualize it! The Cabin at Many Moons is taking shape. This was even more exciting than pouring the foundation. Photos and captions below. (To … Continue reading How To Raise a Wall
If the foundation gives a thing strength, the frame gives it shape -- whether "the thing" is a cabin or a viewpoint. Quality matters more with some things than others. The people who shape one's viewpoint should have the highest possible quality, but the wood that shapes a cabin can be a step down from … Continue reading Framing Begins
Happy Freedom Day! Isn't that a nicer way to think of it than a date on the calendar marked by fireworks and parades? Freedom seems like a simple concept. But it's not simple at all. In the U.S., Independence Day (usually called simply "July 4th") represents freedom from British colonial rule. That's simple enough. But … Continue reading Freedom Day!
For Many Moons 