We did it in 12 days. It's wasn't The Great Loop - but it was a loop, and it was great! The Lake Superior Circle Tour is "a thing" among northerners...to drive the 1,300 miles around the biggest, coldest and deepest lake in the world. I grew up on this lake, and saw "Circle Tour" … Continue reading Lake Superior Circle Tour – Pt 1
Building new stuff is one task. Maintaining old stuff is another. We're doing both at Camp Many Moons on Huron Bay as we build a new house while battling trailer limitations, rain effects, and insects. (They have the right to exist. They feed other forms of life. I know this. I just wish they didn't … Continue reading The New & The Old
It's a phenomenon I haven't felt since retiring, this driving need to stay on task. Set daily priorities, accomplish them, evaluate, adjust. Next? When we set out on this ambitious DIY building process, Jeff promised to give it a year. Is that even possible, I wondered, without a contractor? When I know nothing about building … Continue reading On Task
And now, the installation of interior doors as our DIY progresses to create the Cabin at Many Moons...another milestone in the process of turning a house into a home. We've had reliable heat for months. We have a flush toilet and shower, and a washer and dryer. And now, a door on the bathroom. Yes … Continue reading In-Doors & Outdoors
Sometimes the moon jumps into your eyeballs -- especially when it's full -- and reminds you to Just Stop. Look. Breathe. Notice. Make sure you're living and not just existing. When you're doing DIY construction, it can become a long grind from one task to the next. Each morning, the same questions: What's the top … Continue reading Full Moon, Full Schedule
The things we take for granted in "civilized" life! Winter has finally returned to Michigan's far-north. Snow is falling steadily as I write this, now measuring five inches with more to come and temps falling to 10 degrees. But the real headline here is something indoors at Camp Many Moons...something most of you take for … Continue reading Winter & Washing
Now he's a lumberjack. And a sawyer. Jeff had the idea of creating the steps to the loft from a local maple. He's been looking for the right tree for days. Yesterday, the chosen maple came down...all 60 feet of it... along with a hemlock just as tall which was intertwined alongside. Tha-whump! I caught … Continue reading Tha-whump! Two Trees Down.
It's February, and winter still hasn't "arrived" here on the 47th parallel. I'm back at Camp Many Moons in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where wild turkeys waddle out of my path and deer bolt across it. I hear coyotes at night and see evidence of a wild kill underfoot. And where is my attention? On toilets … Continue reading Picking Paints, Flushing Toilets
In my 60s, I'm more and more attracted to browns. I wonder why, since I once preferred reds and blues? I think one reason is my increasing immersion in nature. I find the earthy colors calming. That's why the Cabin at Many Moons is planned around them. This is a fortunate trend in late-autumn since … Continue reading Beautiful Browns
Winter arrived early. I usually greet the first snowfall with delight, no matter when it comes--but this year, not so much. When you're building a house and therefore don't have one yet, winter makes things more difficult. Prettier, but also more difficult. However, here it is. So I cleaned out the trailer, climbed a ladder … Continue reading Transitions
For Many Moons 