Some hire an expert. Some try to figure it out themselves. I'm the 2nd kind, with mixed results. A house isn't a home until the landscaping is done. As with this house itself, DiY is preferred when possible. (I'm all for experts in areas where my knowledge is lacking and consequences are big -- like … Continue reading Amateur Landscaping
Nature continues to entertain us as the kitchen takes shape in the Cabin at Many Moons, on the waterfront in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Cabinets are in and countertops are on the way! We are now one year into this building project. (For Day 1, see this post.) It's consuming but tolerable, since we are surrounded … Continue reading Cabinets Are In!
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.
Sept. 1, 2020. Cedar trees engage all your senses. Their fragrant needles tickle the nose. Their crooked, twisted branches confuse the eyes. Their sinewy bark agitates the fingers. Their snap-crackle-pop in the campfire delights the ear. The cedar tree stands for strength, and they live 100 years or more. I wonder why we've lost so … Continue reading The Life & Death (?) of a Cedar Tree
April 24, 2020. In the far north woods, nature can kick you in any season. A late-November storm brought down dozens of trees and cluttered Camp Many Moons with fallen branches and brush. My little patch of heaven is a mess. Cleaning it up is back-breaking work. What would I do without Jeff and his … Continue reading A Kick From Nature
May 10, 2019. Out with the tag elders, in with the fraser firs! The south end of my waterfront plot, across a small stream bridged by wooden planks, was overgrown with a weedy tree called tag elder. (They should be called "tangle elder," because you get all tangled in their skinny, hungry branches!) We removed … Continue reading From Tag Elders to Fraser Firs
For Many Moons 